On 1 February 1943, Ed Halseth and crew were one of the first 7 crews assigned to the 544th BS. After training at Wendover, Utah, and Sioux City, Iowa, they were issued B-17F 42-30039 in Kearney, Nebraska, which they flew to England.

This crew was shot down on the 25 July 25 1943 mission to Hamburg, Germany, aboard B-17F 42-3069 "Passes Cancelled." For this mission, the plane was piloted by Lt. Gordon Hankinson and co-piloted by Halseth: the original co-pilot, Fabian, had been shot down on the 25 June mission with the John Way Crew.