75th USAAF Big Week

[Pilot Lodkins]

Today (Feb 20) begins the 75th Anniversary of USAAF Big Week

[JJB17463rdBombGroup]

Also this year is the 500th anniversary of one of the most momentous events in world history.
The conquistador Hernan Cortes's conquest of Mexico

[Skycat]

February 20, 1944: Staff Sgt. Archibald Mathies and navigator Lt. Walter Truemper flew their damaged B-17 home after the copilot was killed and pilot badly wounded. They stayed with the pilot and refused to parachute to safety along with most of the surviving crew. All three aboard were killed when the B-17 crashed on third attempt to land. Mathies and Truemper were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.