Killed in Action (KIA) crashed near Mayen in P-51 44-72772.



78th FG 84th FS. Captain Dorian Ledington, of Wichita, Kansas, had a miraculous escape in a mission in April 1945 when he had destroyed four aircraft and was banking left to finish off another that he had already damaged. An explosive shell (about.30 caliber) smashed through his cockpit canopy, grazing his neck and exploding inside the cockpit. Fragments of the shell and of plexiglass were embedded in his neck. He said, “I reached up and felt the blood streaming out. I figured I was a goner and decided I might as well take another German plane with me. So I pulled my Mustang around and made one more pass on the field, destroying the aircraft I had already damaged. Nobody could be more surprised than I was when I reached the Channel still alive.”



Captain Ledington was KIA on 21st April 1945 near Koblenz.