Nathan Bedford Forrest III (April 6, 1905 – June 13, 1943) was a brigadier general of the United States Army Air Forces, and a great-grandson of Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest. He was killed in action in Germany during World War II. Forrest was the first American general to be killed in action during the war in Europe. Early life and education Forrest was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 6, 1905, the son of Nathan Bedford Forrest II and Mattie Patterson (Patton). On November 22, 1930, he married Frances Brassler. According to the Arlington National Cemetery website, he had no children, making him the final male Forrest in his great-grandfather's legitimate direct line. He graduated from West Point in 1928 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the cavalry. In 1929, he transferred to the Air Corps and gained rank rapidly. Career Promoted to brigadier general in 1942, Forrest was serving as chief of staff of the Second Air Force when he flew missions as an observer with the Eighth Air Force in England. He was reported missing in action when the B-17 Flying Fortress he was in, leading a bombing raid on the German submarine yards at Kiel, went down on June 13, 1943. The other squadron members reported seeing parachutes and hoped the general had survived. However, Forrest was found dead on September 23, 1943, when his body washed up near a seaplane base on Rügen in Germany. He was buried on September 28, 1943, in a small cemetery near Wiek, Rügen. His family was presented his Distinguished Service Cross, which he was awarded posthumously for staying at the controls of his B-17 bomber while his crew bailed out. The plane exploded before Forrest could bail out. By the time the Seenotdienst (the German air-sea rescue) arrived, only one of the crew was still alive in the water. Legacy In 1947, two years after the war ended, his widow requested that he be returned to the United States and buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He was buried in Section 11 at Arlington on November 15, 1949. See also List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea Dates of rank June 9, 1928 second lieutenant February 4, 1934, first lieutenant June 9, 1938, captain January 31, 1941, major January 5, 1942, lieutenant colonel March 1, 1942, colonel November 2, 1942, brigadier general Source: In popular culture Alternate history