The tail section of the Lt. Howard N. Hickok’s Thunderbolt after the bail out over Amendola. Engine and propeller are buried underground. This emergency got Hickok membership in an organization called the Caterpillar Club, made up of pilots who successfully bailed out and walked back home. Victor Sierra

Caterpillar Club’s member

Amendola airfield, Apulia, Southern Italy, 1944: Lt. Howard N. Hickok, 65th Fighter Squadron, 57th Fighter Group, USAAF, and the wreck of its P-47D Thunderbolt. Upon returning from a mission, finds his aircraft too damaged to land, so he bails out a short ways away from the landing strip. Victor Sierra

Bail out at Amendola

Today is the Anniversary of the Japanese ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR.

However before hitting Pearl Harbor the Japanese FIRST ATTACKED THE AIR CORP BASES INCLUDING HICKAM. Hickam was hit first and hard.