Lieutenant Grover C. Siems Jnr. was from Montagh, Long Island, New York. After graduating from high school he worked at the Ranger Airplane Plant in Farmingdale, NY. He soon joined the U.S. Army Air Corps as an Aviation Cadet. He graduated as a fighter pilot in October 1943 at Moore field, Mission, Texas. His exposure to combat aircraft was limited to 10 hours in ageing P-40s. After graduation he was transferred to Dale Mabry Field, Florida, where he received flight training in P-51 Mustangs prior to being shipped to England.

At Gaux Hill, he received combat training in P-51s; and then, he was assigned to the 4th Fighter Group, at Debden as a replacement pilot under Col. Don Blakeslee. Grover, a master at one-upmanship, was soon sporting a pair on non-issue, high British flying boots, so as to appear an old hand in the Group.

The 4th was an aggressive Group, originally made up of the British Eagle Squadrons, and had just switched from P-47 Thunderbolts to P-51 Mustangs, Mission were hot and heavy, as their long range P-51s were called on to escort bombers ever farther into Germany. By 5 Mat 1944 Grover had destroyed his fifth enemy aircraft to become an "Ace". By the end of May several of his former classmates were already missing in action or prisoners of war.

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