 On 1 August 1943 a Boeing B-17F-95-BO Flying Fortress, 42–30326, c/n 5440, of the 541st Bomb Squadron, 383d Bomb Group, piloted by Roy J. Lee, was headed north up the Oregon coast on a routine patrol flight.The plane had left Pendleton Field, near Pendleton, Oregon, at 0900 and was tasked with flying to Cape Disappointment on the Oregon coast.They were then to fly 500 miles out to sea, followed by a direct flight back to Pendleton Field.