Francis P. Crawford – Technical Sergeant, United States Air Force

From contemporary press report:

Francis P. Crawford,70, a Hicksville, New York, native, decorated war veteran and retired vice president of the international insurance division of the Cigna Corp, died January 19, 1995 at Mercer Medical Center in Trenton, New Jersey.

He had been living in Yardley, Pennsylvania, and had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage six days earlier. He grew up in Hicksville, New York.

During WWII, served in the US Army 8th Air Force, was shot down over Germany in November 1944 on his 11th bombing mission as a B-17 top turret gunner and was a prisoner of war for 7 months. He was awarded the Bronze Star for valor and the Purple Heart.

He was a graduate of Hicksville schools and New York University, where he majored in business. He had worked for Cigna for 26 years when he retired in 1986. He had continued living in Hicksville until around 1970 and moved to Yardley from Rosemont, Pennsylvania, almost 15 years ago.

He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Eleanor Marie, the former Elenanor Marie Helm; 5 daughters, 3 sons, a sister, a brother, and 20 grandchildren. A mass was said Mon at St Ignatius Catholic Church, Yardley, with burial in Arlington National Cemetery.

Mar 17, 1924-January 19, 1995

He was buried with full military honors in Section 67 of Arlington National Cemetery.

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard