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On the night of March 30, 1943, Sergeant Pilot Kenneth Johnson, of Timaru, took to the skies over Europe as part of the Allied bombing campaign against Nazi Germany.
He was just one of thousands of New Zealand airmen who served with Royal Air Force Bomber Command during World War 2, but for his family in Timaru, his loss would be felt for generations.
Kenneth James Johnson, service number 414986, was the son of James Freeman Johnson and Isabel Josephine Johnson (nee Lyall) of Timaru, Canterbury.
He trained as a pilot with the Royal New Zealand Air Force before being posted overseas, where he joined No 44 Squadron of the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command.
By 1943, Bomber Command was carrying out increasingly large-scale bombing operations against targets across Germany.
Sgt Plt Johnson piloted the squadron's heavy bombers, taking part in missions that were both dangerous and demanding.
On the night of March 30, No 44 Squadron was tasked with bombing Berlin.
Sgt Plt Johnson was at the controls of an Avro Lancaster Mk I, serial number W4199, bearing the squadron code KM-H.
The aircraft joined the raid on the German capital, but it never returned.
The Lancaster was lost near Strausberg, east of Berlin, during or following the raid.
Sgt Plt Johnson was killed in action, along with the other members of his crew.
He was commemorated at the Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery in Germany, where his grave is recorded in Plot 7.E.18.
Although more than 80 years have passed since Sgt Plt Johnson's death, a small personal connection to the young airman survives in New Zealand.
Among his personal effects is a New Testament inscribed with his name — now preserved in the Air Force Museum of New Zealand.
It is a poignant reminder that behind every service number was a young New Zealander with a family, a home and a life beyond the war.
For the Johnson family of Timaru, Sgt Plt Johnson was more than a pilot serving with Bomber Command.
He was a son who went to war and never came home.
Today, his name remains part of the story of the New Zealand men and women who served during World War 2, and his grave in Berlin stands as a lasting reminder of the sacrifice made by a young Timaru airman far from home.