Eugene Paul Moran: B-17 Tailgunner

With the Tail shot off, he fell with no parachute and survived

Eugene Paul Moran was in his tail gunner position on the B-17 “Rikki Tikki Tavi” when his entire tail section was blown off. Helpless to do anything, he fell 4 miles and survived with broken forearms, broken ribs and a crushed skull. Captured by the Germans, he was thrown into POW camps for 17 months and marched 600 miles after his injuries healed enough to walk. He was eventually liberated at the end of the war in Bitterfield, Germany. Eugene died in 2014 at age 90. You can read more about Eugene in the book “Tailspin” by John Armbruster.

We are not the descendants of fearful men. Valor is in you. Set it free.