Armand Sedgeley was just a 22 year bombardier on a B-17 bomber during WWII. On Valentine’s Day, 1944, his plane, was flying on the right side of a bomber’s formation, on a mission to take out enemy supplies at a railroad supply yard near Verona, Italy.
The tail gunner reported that his gun was not functioning thereby making the bomber vulnerable to attack. Four enemy fighters peeled Armand’s B-17 off.
Three of Armand’s crew members were killed during the attack and the pilot determined that they would have to take the plane down. They landed in the waters outside of Corsica and were rescued.