Returning from a mission to Budapest, Hungary on April 3, 1944, the B-24 piloted by 1st Lieutenant Jess Powell simply could stay airborne no longer. Heavy flak on the way to and from the mission had taken its toll. In fact, of six aircraft in the flight, only Powell's made it back to Italy. The big bomber, limping on one engine, came down hard in an olive grove, with the landing gear only partially extended. S/Sgt. Hollis H. ("Hap") Holliday, the nose turret gunner, was trapped with his legs beneath the bomber and his body still inside the aircraft for four hours. Amid grave concern of fire his rescuers worked tirelessly until he was freed.
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