SSgt Francis E. Owens, right waist gunner of the B-17 42-29928, took off from station 167 in Ridgewell, Essex, UK at 0930 on a bombing mission over the aero engine factory of Le Mans. The aircraft was hit during its bombing run and forced to return early at low altitude due to damaged oxygen systems. On the way back, numerous enemy strafing runs fatally damaged the aircraft. It crashed at noon, killing three crew members. Owens bailed out safely and was found by local Frenchmen on July 4th and went into hiding. In October, guided by the French resistance, he set off to try to cross the Pyrenees. But after months of inactivity and little food, he was quite weak. Along with another Sergeant, Owens dragged and carried a 2LT Bailey for eight hours when Bailey could not continue. This drove him to exhaustion and he and two other Americans, now unconscious, were left behind by the group in the snow. The bodies were initially found by Andorran shepherds and buried in Andorra. Owens' remains were identified in 1951 and he was buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery where the identification laboratory was located.