From the June 18, 2010 Raleigh (NC) Telegram.
Edwin Stevens, 94, received the honor 66 years overdue, the third-highest military award.
In June 1944, he was a B-17 pilot. He and his crew of ten were on a mission over France and the plane was hit 151 times by AA fire. Three of the four engines failed over enemy territory, but the plane managed to get back over the English Channel, but couldn't clear the White Cliffs of Dover, some 300 feet high.
In a split-second decision, Stevens headed for the beach at the base of the cliffs. The cockpit split from the rest of the plane on the rough landing, but all the crew survived.
Said Stevens, however, "I don't know why I should get this special medal."
Like I Said, The Greatest Generation. --GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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