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It is May 17, 1943.
Ten US aircraft have taken off from southeast England and are headed across the English Channel to bomb the steel factory at Ijmuiden, a coastal city near Amsterdam.
Their mission was doomed from the start.
As the aircraft crossed the coastline, they encountered heavy barrages of German anti-aircraft fire and they all went down, one by one.
Thirty-seven fliers were lost, including Norris Calkins, the twenty-one-year-old bombardier on board the “Draggin’ Lady."
By Brenda ElthonIt is May 17, 1943.
Ten US aircraft have taken off from southeast England and are headed across the English Channel to bomb the steel factory at Ijmuiden, a coastal city near Amsterdam.
Their mission was doomed from the start.
As the aircraft crossed the coastline, they encountered heavy barrages of German anti-aircraft fire and they all went down, one by one.
Thirty-seven fliers were lost, including Norris Calkins, the twenty-one-year-old bombardier on board the “Draggin’ Lady."