My great grandpa was a lt. colonel and flew a C-47 and was the lead plane in Operation Varsity. After dropping the paratroopers near Wesel, his plane was hit and started on fire. He kept control of it long enough for the rest of the crew to bail out, and then went down in flames. He died less than a month and half before V-E day.
Saying a prayer for your Great Grandpa and all who were lost going down in the air in WWII.
My Great Uncle was a Navy reserve aviator who was lost after a collision at an air show at the launching of the aircraft carrier Wasp in 1939 right before the war...and rode his plane away from the crowds before bailing out too low...