 Recent research by historian Norman Fortier suggests that Mayer was shot down by Lieutenant Walter Gresham of the 358th Fighter Squadron of the 355th Fighter Wing.The claim is based on gun camera footage and recollections of Mayer's wingman, who was forced to bail out during the action.Mayer was buried at the cemetery of Beaumont-le-Roger, France, and in 1955 re-interred at Saint-Désir-de-Lisieux German war cemetery near Lisieux, Normandy, France.