70 years later, WWII bombardier receives presidential honor
Source: AP
By MATTHEW DALY
WASHINGTON (AP) — At 22, 2nd Lt. John Pedevillano was the youngest bombardier in the U.S. Army Air Corps' 306th Bomb Group when he was shot down by Nazi fighter pilots in Germany in 1944.
Pedevillano and his crew were missing for a month before being taken as prisoners of war. The men were liberated by U.S. Army forces under Gen. George S. Patton in 1945.
More than 70 years later, Pedevillano has received the Presidential Unit Citation, with one Oak Leaf Cluster, for extraordinary heroism in combat. Pedevillano, a B-17 pilot, flew six combat missions before being shot down over southwest Germany on April 24, 1944.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., himself a former prisoner of war, awarded the presidential citation at a ceremony Tuesday at the U.S. Capitol. McCain called the ribbon a small token of the esteem in which Pedevillano and his fellow soldiers are held.
FULL story at link.
Retired U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt., John R. Pedevillano, 93, of College Park, Md., wipes tears from his eyes after Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, Gen. Larry Spencer, honored him with the Presidential Unit Citation with one Oak Leaf Cluster during a ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 7, 2015. Pedevillano served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as the youngest bombardier in the 306th Bomb Group, flew six combat missions and survived being shot down by Nazi fighter pilots. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/8033afc4d3ee4d16b145bf302072ee93/70-years-later-wwii-bombardier-receives-presidential-honor
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I got bleary eyed reading about it. I applaud the bombardier. 
