Pilot, Ballinger Crew. 381st BG, 533rd BS, 8th AF. Shot down 4 July 1943 on B-17 #42-29928. Mission #7 to the Gnome-Rhone engine factory in Le Mans, France. MACR 161. Evaded capture, EE 248. Evaded for months with S/Sgt Owens until Lt Ballinger dropped out due to leg troubles. Walked alone over the Pyrenees after becoming separated from his party. He reached England on 3 December 1943 and returned to the United States.

After the war, Mr. Ballinger moved permanently to California where he was engaged in the development of a children's amusement park when he was killed in an automobile accident on 10 September 1955. He is buried in the Golden Gate National Cemetery.
Newton Falls, OH