Peter Pulrand was born in Montreal, Canada on November 16, 1924 and was from Plattsburgh, New York. He was the only survivor of an OSS Mission flight crash on March 31, 1945.
He was the Co-Piloton B-24H (42-50331) Liberator of the 856th Bomber Squadron, 492nd Bomber Group performing the “Carpetbagger” mission to parachute six OSS (Office of Strategic Operations) operatives from Team Norso II (of the Norwegian Operational Group) as part of Operation Rype into Norway on March 31, 1945. Operation Rype was a mission to impede the redeployment of enemy forces from Norway to Germany. The OSS was a precursor to the CIA. While enroute to the parachute drop, the plane was forced to turn around due to bad weather. Upon return to Scotland, the plane lost 2 engines and the pilot directed the crew and passengers to bail out. Only the Co-Pilot was able to do so and survived. The rest perished when the plan crashed just south of Kirkwall, Orkney near St. Ola. A memorial remembers the crew and operatives on ““Liberator” Drive in Kirkwall.

FROM FIND A GRAVE: DEATH 23 Sep 2008 (aged 83) Peter Pulrang died Sept. 23, 2008. He lived in Plattsburgh, N.Y., for many years and in Cedar Key and Tallahassee, Fla., after his retirement. Pete arrived at Princeton from the Riverdale School in 1942. He joined the Army Air Corps, and while assigned to the Office of Strategic Services, flew low-level single-plane night missions, dropping supplies and personnel to the underground forces in mainland Europe and Scandinavia. In 1946 he returned to Princeton and earned his degree in history. In 1951 he received a medical degree from McGill University Medical School in Montreal. After internships in Montreal, Peter spent his residency in Philadelphia and eventually opened a practice in pediatrics in Plattsburgh. Pete was very active in medical affairs, including 17 years as director of school health services and 15 years as chairman of the pediatrics department at the local hospital. In 1975 and 1980 he served as an officer in child-health services in New York and Washington state. A B-24 Liberator with serial number 42-50331 of the 492nd Bombardment Group, 856th Bomb Squadron (The Carpetbaggers) crashed on 31 March 1945 at Walliwall. 7 crew members and 6 others on board died in the crash. The co pilot was the only survivor.This plane set off from Harrington Northhampshire on 30 March 1945. There were 19 B-24s involved in mission 919 to support Operation Rype forces in Norway. On board the plane were 6 Norwegian OSS agents who were to parachute into Norway. Bad weather forced several of the planes to turn back without being able to make their drop. This plane was one of ones forced to turn back. The only survivor reported that there was a fuel problem on the return flight and 2 of the 4 engines stopped and could not be restarted. The co-pilot, Peter Pulrang could no longer control the plane and gave the order to bail out, but he was the only one able to jump. He jumped from a height of about 800 feet and was lucky to survive. Death of Peter C. Pulrang- sole survivor Peter Curran Pulrang, M.D., died peacefully at his home in Tallahassee, Florida on September 23, 2008, at the age of 83. He was born November 16, 1924 in Montreal, Canada, where his father, Stanford Pulrang, Sr., was attending medical school. Peter grew up in Yonkers, New York. He served in the Army Air Corps in England during the Second World War, co-piloting a B-24 Liberator on missions over occupied Europe for the Office of Special Services. He was wounded in action and awarded the Purple Heart, as well as the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters. Peter was discharged at the rank of First Lieutenant in 1945. In 1947 Peter received his B.A. from Princeton University. He married Claire Anne Fearon of Scarsdale, New York in 1950. Claire passed away in 1996. Peter received his M.D. from McGill University in Montreal in 1951, Interned at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, and was a Resident at the Montreal Children's Hospital and St. Christopher's Hospital for Sick Children in Philadelphia. Dr. Pulrang was a pediatrician in private practice in Plattsburgh from 1954 to 1975. He was the Director of the City of Plattsburgh School Health Program from 1955 to 1975, and an attending physician and Chief of Department at the Physician's Hospital, the Champlain Valley Hospital, and after their merger in 1967, the CVPH Medical Center. A familiar sight on the side lines of Bailey Avenue Park on fall Friday nights, with his cowboy hat and rubber boots, "Doc" was always there for the PHS Hornets. From 1975 to 1980, Dr. Pulrang was the Clinton County Health Commissioner. From 1980 to 1990, he was the Head of the Child Health services division of the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. He was later an inspector for the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHCO). In retirement, Peter lived in Cedar Key, Florida, and later in Tallahassee, Florida, with his long time companion Myra Campbell, who passed away in 2005. Peter was a lifelong lover of opera, Lake Champlain, and more than anything else, enjoyed gathering, splitting, and storing wood for the winter.