Yes, there’s another dead hero in Marcouray… in his own sky.
OPERATION REPULSE: Resupply mission at Marcouray.
Hit after passing the DZ, the cockpit on fire, the situation becomes very critical for the C-47 BP-485346.
But the pilot, Captain William R. Wales, had made his choice…
To avoid the danger of a possible explosion that could have impacted neighboring aircraft, he decided to take the maximum altitude to give his crew a chance to jump out of the plane.
Attached is part of the missing crew report for this aircraft,
Captain Adonis, who was in another plane in the formation, states:
“After passing the DZ…he pulled his plane to one side and over the formation…. I saw 3 or 4 parachutes…
It was obvious that this was a desperate attempt to get away from the formation so as not to endanger the other planes and at the same time give his crew a chance to parachute out….”
All his crew were able to jump, and no other aircraft were damaged by his.
William won’t jump….
This is the story of Captain Wales’ last flight, on December 23, 1944.