Lt Edward R Hood, flew with the 452nd BG and made the ultimate sacrifice on 2 January 1945.

Mission 184 for the 452nd - objective was Ehrang marshalling yards in Germany. The 452nd had put up three squadrons in the B Combat Wing (31 aircraft plus 3 PFF).
There was flak over the target. 12 aircraft received minor damage, one major damage and two were shot down, 44-8201 "Rosalle Ann II" and 43-38921 (no name). According to the record, 43-38921 was flying as #1 in Lead Squadron 729. About 1 minute before bombs away, the aircraft received a direct hit between #1 and #2 engines, bending back the outer wing panel which hit the rudder, sending the plane into a flat spin. In the spin on the way down, the plane broke apart. One crew reported seeing chutes; all the other crews reported no chutes seen. The records states that 2Lt John E Everhart (F/C tail) survived and was POW. All other crew members were KIA as follows:- Capt Ralph-R Jones (Pilot) 25 missions 1Lt Edward R Hood (Cmd Pilot) 19 missions 1Lt Ross A Cullen (Navigator) 29 missions 2Lt Raymond E Childers (Bombadier) 13 missions T/Sgt John A Mann (Radio) 18 missions 2Lt Francis M Cusick (Radar) 20 missions T/Sgt Joseph H Manganello (Engineer) 20 missions S/Sgt John J Gable (W Gunner) 19 missions.

Edward was the Command Pilot on a PFF B-17 on the fateful day. PFF B-17s were specially equipped aircraft called Pathfinder Force [PFFs] . They were equipped with a radar navigation system devised by the British and improved by the Americans for targeting through heavy cloud cover. It was encased electronics and replaced the ball turret in the B-17 lead plane. These planes flew in the lead and others dropped their payload when this plane did. Since the ground couldn't be seen, the results were marked as "unobserved." The "secret" system was code named "Mickey". Highly trained operators were called "Mickey Operators."