Elijah Gordy

In May, they flew with Colonel Munn to Malta. It was a single B-24 with full crew but no fighter escort was necessary. In Malta the crew was on its own for about four hours. Following the meeting they returned to Cerignola with no comment from Col. Munn.

After June 6 (D-Day) we learned the real purpose of a very high level meeting in Malta. Apparently the 459th Bomb Group was to lead the 15th Air Force in diversionary attacks in the area of southern France.

He flew 50 combat missions as a navigator for the 15th Air Force in Italy. He was in the 459th Bomb Group and the 757th Squadron. A squadron of P-38s were on the other side of town from Vaughn's squadron. The B-24 pilots greatly appreciated the cover they got from the P-38s. When the P-38s returned from a successful mission they would sometimes buzz the tents where the B-24 pilots were sleeping. The prop wash would sometimes be so strong as to tear up the tents.

He got a rest leave after 30 missions. Most other soldiers went to the Island of Caprice. However, Col. Munn wanted to go to Cairo, Egypt and asked Vaughn's crew to take him. They stayed in the old Shephard Hotel which has the longest bar in world. They saw pyramids and rode camels. They met a Major who was his gym teacher at Mt. Lebanon High School.

On the 45th mission, on way to Romania, his plane was hit. They continued on and dropped their bombs. After the drop, they were hit again by enemy aircraft. They were required to leave the formation and dropped down to low altitude. While crossing Yugoslavia, they were hit again and lost a 2nd engine. They crossed the island of Vis and headed out over the Adriatic. After a few minutes they had trouble with 3rd engine and a fire in 4th engine. They did not have enough fuel to return to land. They were forced to ditch the airplane in the Adriatic Sea. Prior to hitting the water, they sent an SOS to alert 15th Air Force. The pilot & copilot went out through windshield and got into a life raft. One gunner was killed. Vaughn was knocked out. The plane was sinking when he became conscious. He tried but couldn't open trap door on the top of the plane. The Flight Engineer, Ben Venutti, returned and opened Trap door and pulled Vaughn into raft. Vaughn and the crew were rescued by Italian fishermen from island of Vis. While they were still on the fishing boat, an Air Force PBY landed in the water, took them aboard, and returned them to their base.