Vernon W. Damm's name appears among the War Department's list of Santa Cruz County deaths, yet no record of his residency in the county has been found.

Vernon W. Damm was born in McLennan County, Texas, on October 19, 1924, to Julius and Francis Damm. Vernon was raised and educated in that West Texas county along with his brother, Julius, and sisters, Ruth and Dorothy.

When enlisting in the US Army Air Corps during World War II, Vernon Damm declared Santa Cruz County his place of residence. After completing his basic and advanced training, he was assigned to the 398th Bomber Squadron of the 504th Bomber Group.

From an unofficial Japanese website, details regarding Damm's aircraft and final mission emerge. The plane to which Vernon Damm was assigned was a B-29 bomber nicknamed Coral Queen. That aircraft flew bombing missions out of North Field on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands. On February 15, 1945, Corporal Vernon W. Damm was listed as the "right crewmember" aboard the plane as it flew its bombing mission targeting the Mitsubishi heavy industry's Nagoya engine factory in Japan. During the mission, the plane was damaged and crashed, killing Vernon and the other nine crew members.

His body was not recovered and is included on the Tablets of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial in Honolulu. His awards include the Air Medal and Purple Heart.

A memorial stone was later erected in the St. Peters Church Cemetery in Glausner, McLennan County, Texas, in honor of Vernon and his brother Julius who also lost his life during World War II.

(USCR, 1930 US Census, TX, McLennan; NARA2; ACGEN; ABMC; Aoyagi, Aomori, Aomori Air Raids, October 12, 2005, http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http: //www10.ocn.ne.jp/~kuushuu, [16 September 2008]); 504th Bomb Group, WWII, http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/ Quarters/3109/, [16 September 2008]). US Gen Web, McLlennan County Texas, Glausner Cemetery List, http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/tx/mclennan/cemeteries/clausne2.txt [16 Sept 2008]).