Of Broad Stripes and Bright Stars: Gallantry Over Bucharest

This is a story about one day in the lives of some of the Ploesti raiders, the men charged with the destruction of Hitler’s oil. On this day, June 28, 1944, the target was not Ploesti, but an oil refinery and storage facility in nearby Bucharest, Rumania. Some of the men had a bad feeling about this one, a feeling they wouldn’t return. Their experience taught them things rarely go as planned. This mission was no exception, but on this one things went terribly wrong, changing the lives of many, but bringing out the best in these men. This is their story.