The Massive Effort to Bring Home an MIA Pilot from World War II
Two militaries, 16 divers and scientists, and a determined new agency wouldn't rest until Eugene Ford's body was identified. Here's how they did it.
By David Grossman
Nov 7, 2018
There were no small missions for the Tulsamerican, and the Battle of the Bulge was likely its biggest yet. Like 951 other B-24 Liberator bombers, the Tulsamerican had come a long way—the plane had been the very last one to roll off the line at Tusla, Oklahoma, paid for out of the plant worker's own pockets. On a cloudy day unfit for flight on December 16, the Tulsamerican was sent deep into German territory to bomb fuel refineries near the Polish border, leading a squad of six bombers.
Luftwaffe planes swarmed the bombers before they could reach the target. Three were shot down, but not before a few Nazi fighters went down as well. For the barely surviving Tulsamerican, the choices in the air were grim. The only hope was an emergency landing on the small island of Vis off the coast of Croatia.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/archaeology/a24694730/euguene-ford-nova-pbs-dpaa-remains/
