2nd Lt. Robert C. Ayrest was born on April 21, 1921. His hometown was Inglewood, California. His wife was Mary L. Ayrest, two sons Robert Claud and Howard Donald, and a brother Alan. He was a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity at UCLA.

2nd Lt. Ayrest was the pilot of Crew 5 of the 712th Bomb Squadron, 448th Bomb Group. He flew B-24H-5-FO (42-7733) “LAKI-NUKI” via the southern route from Florida to Seething, England in December 1943. On the flight from Marrakech, North Africa to England bad weather and Germans jamming radio communications led to an attempt to land at a German-held airfield in the Brest Peninsula of France. The aircraft received severe damage from enemy flak and Co-pilot 2nd Lt. Litman was wounded. Pilot 2nd Lt. Ayrest and the crew were able to land the aircraft at Preddannack, Cornwall. “LAKI-NUKI” caught fire after landing and was destroyed.

On 10 Feb 1944 Crew 11 of the 712th Bomb Squadron was the scheduled to fly "Boomerang" (42-52132) when they told to stand down and that Crew 5 would be flying the mission to Gilz-Rijen, Holland. “Boomerang” crashed 2 miles west of Tibenham due to bad weather and violent maneuvering to avoid a mid-air collision. 2nd Lt. Ayrest was killed in the crash. He is buried in the American Cemetery at Cambridge, England.