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Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
Mr. William E. Polcsa

Sgt. Vecchiola was a member of a B-17G bomber crew of the 817th Bomber Squadron, 483rd Bomber Group of the 15th Air Force flying a bombing mission out of Sterparone, Italy to bomb Budapest/Tokol A/D on 30 July 1944. His bomber was shot down by antiaircraft fire and crew was reported Missing in Action.
Sgt. Vecchiola was captured and transferred to a prisoner of war camp in Poland. He escaped when Soviet Troops pushed into Poland.
In 1992, Vecchiola returned to Budapest with other World War II fliers who fought in the skies over Hungary. They were warmly received. He and a friend were driven to the cornfield where he had landed after parachuting from his bomber. He was the only survivor of his crew.