Top ace, Gabby Gabreski survived!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabby_Gabreski
Prisoner of war[edit]
On July 20, 1944, Gabreski had reached the 300-hour combat time limit for Eighth Air Force fighter pilots and was awaiting an aircraft to fly him back to the United States on leave and reassignment. He had already advised Kay Cochran to proceed with wedding plans, and his home town of Oil City, Pennsylvania, had raised $2,000 for a wedding present in anticipation of his return.[15]
Gabreski found, however, that a bomber escort mission to Russelheim, Germany, was scheduled for that morning, and, instead of boarding the transport, he requested to “fly just one more.”[16] Returning from the mission, Gabreski observed Heinkel He 111s parked on the airfield at Bassenheim, Germany, and took his airplane down to attack.
Gabreski’s was dissatisfied with his first strafing run on an He 111, and he reversed for a second pass. When his tracers went over the parked bomber he dropped the nose of his Thunderbolt to adjust, and its propeller clipped the runway, bending the tips.[17] The damage caused his engine to vibrate violently and he was forced to crash land. Gabreski ran into nearby woods and eluded capture for five days, but was eventually captured. After being interrogated by Hanns Scharff, Gabreski was sent to Stalag Luft I. He was liberated when Soviet forces seized the camp in April 1945.[18]
Gabreski flew 166 combat sorties, and was officially credited by the USAAF with 28 aircraft destroyed in air combat and 3 on the ground.[19] He was assigned five P-47s during his time with the 56th FG, none of which was ever named, but all of which bore the fuselage identification codes HV: A.[20]
Gabreski was also credited with 6.5 kills in the Korean War. He was one of only 7 US pilots to be an ace in 2 wars. Gabreski served in the military for 26 years.
Gabby and Kay were married for 48 years and had 9 children. 2 of their sons graduated from the US Air Force academy and were pilots. Their daughter-in-law Terry L. Gabreski was promoted to lieutenant general in August 2005.
Read Martin Caidin’s book “Thunderbolt” for information about the 56th Fighter Group (Zemke’s Wolfpack) with aces Robert Johnson and Gabby Grabreski.
But we all still want to know; did he and Kay get married?
Yes, Gabby and Kay married and had nine children. Gabby again became an ace in the Korean War, one of very few pilots to ace in both wars. He went on to a distinguished Air Force career.