Seventy years after John Pedevillano’s liberation and 71 years after he was shot down as part of a historic raid in Germany, the retired second lieutenant had some time in the spotlight on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pedevillano, a B-17 bombardier in the 306th Bomb Group during World War II, on July 7 <\/span>was presented with a presidential unit citation with one oak leaf cluster during a July 7 ceremony hosted by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Larry Spencer. But after the ceremony, Pedevillano wanted all attention to be focused on the airmen he flew with, and the country that “has done so much” for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I’m just one of many,” Pedevillano said. “And I never expected this.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second Lt. Pedevillano, then 22, was the youngest bombardier in the Army Air Corps storied 306th Bomb Group, part of the legendary Mighty 8th that flew bombing missions over Europe, when he was tasked with a mission unlike any others. It was his sixth mission of the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On April 24, 1944, Pedevillano and his crew took off in the B-17 “Miss Carriage” on a massive bombing mission behind enemy lines in Germany. But as they approached their targets, the fighter escort supposed to protect them was delayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Imagine, flying over enemy territory, with flak all around you, and no fighter cover,” Spencer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fifty German fighters attacked the flight, taking down 16 bombers during a 40-minute fight. Pedevillano’s bomber was hit and heavily damaged, but was able to still fly over the target and drop the bombs before crash landing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Their focus was on the targets, their focus was on protecting America,” Spencer said. “Their focus is on winning the war.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pedevillano and his crew were taken prisoner shortly after crash landing near Niederumelsdorf. They were forced to march 300 miles and held for a year at the Nazi prison Stalag Luff 7 until they were liberated by Army troops under Gen. George Patton’s leadership in April 1945.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The “Mighty 8th” Bomb Wing remains among the most storied in military history. Throughout the war, the unit earned 17 Medals of Honor, many Distinguished Flying Crosses and Silver Stars, more than 7,000 Purple Hearts, and 46,000 Air Medals. The unit took 47,000 casualties throughout the war, including 26,000 deaths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the ceremony, Pedevillano remains wary of the spotlight. He doesn’t want to be the center of attention, instead focusing on his comrades during his service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Thank you doesn’t seem like enough, but thank you for your service,” Spencer said. “We all, that are in the military, we all that came behind you are standing on your shoulders. Your example of courage is what we all aspire to be.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n McCain, himself a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War as a Navy aviator, said Pedevillano is an inspiration to his generation of pilots, and the current generation of those flying in the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pedevillano, now 93, resides in College Park, Maryland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “This is a generation, which to be very frank is leaving us as all generations have left us over the years,” McCain said. “And yet the inspiration that they provide to us, whether we served in military or not, is something that is of transcendent importance.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Seventy years after John Pedevillano’s liberation and 71 years after he was shot down as part of a historic raid in Germany, the retired second lieutenant had some time in the spotlight on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":42751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":67,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[16,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1695],"class_list":["post-20241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-your-air-force"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"GWLA4UGATBD7DKWG67SD2CZRMQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2015\/07\/08\/world-war-ii-bombardier-pow-honored-on-capitol-hill\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n