Due to too heavy cloud cover, Maupin and wingman Lt William Johnson had to fly back to base. As it was flying at about 4000ft over Belgium, Maupin's Thunderbolt #42-22535 was hit by Flak from the battery at Brustem near Liège, Belgium. With the radio out and his plane damaged, he belly-landed his P-47 in a field near Neerwinden, Belgium and hurriedly left the place, managing to evade capture. Helped by Belgian citizens and members of the Résistance, he found himself last hidden in a secret camp in the Belgian Ardennes, liberated by US troops on 5 September 1944. See the story of his evasion and other details at http://www.evasioncomete.be/fmaupinhp.html