349th Air Mobility Wing refueling squadron members present POW with B-25 memento

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Cindy G. Alejandrez
  • 349th Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Members of the 70th and 79th Air Refueling Squadrons presented Bruce Sooy with a B-25 windshield at the Travis Air Force Base Heritage Center, April 8, 2014.

The windshield, riddled with bullet markings, was from the same plane he and three other Army Air Corps crew members had bailed out of more than 70 years ago, after realizing that three of four engines were down.

After crashing in Southern Germany, on March 18, 1944, Sooy spent 13 months as a prisoner of war. Thankfully, Sooy's crew, who survived the crash, also survived captivity.

As for the windshield, it remained in a farmer's barn, until it was recently sent to Ramstein Air Base and eventually picked by a Travis AFB crew.