During WWII, Lt. Louis Curdes flew into the history books. Not only by shooting down German, Italian, and Japanese aircraft, but also a U.S. C-47 transport plane. Why? On February 10, 1945, he spotted the American plane about to mistakenly land at a Japanese-controlled airstrip in the Philippines. Unable to make radio contact, and knowing capture meant torture or death, Curdes made a split-second decision: disable the engines and force the plane to ditch safely into the sea.
He later guided a rescue mission that saved 13 Americans.
For his actions, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal.

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Photos Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

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