Hit by flak and crashed near Coudres ( Normandy) on 07/08/1944 in B-17 'Take It Easy' #4297173, not wound, hided by french underground (Resistance: réseau CRUCEY (Eure et Loir) by waiting American army (5th amored division, August 15th).

He is the only one of that crew who will not become POW.

Donald F BRIDWELL will be successively hidden-hosted by Mr GOIMBAULT in Moisville (27) from 08/07 to 10/07, Georges DESMARRES in Moisville (27) from 11/07 to 06/08 then by André JAFFREUX () from 06/08 to 14/ 08 until the arrival of the American army.

A report has been etablished by M.I.S (American Military Intelligence Service) on August 17 and 19th.

However his handwritten surname on this report is Bridwell and not Briwell as on the website www.americanairmuseum.com or BIRDWELL on the typewritting of that M.I.S. report?

His civil job was carpenter in San Antonio (Texas).

Anecdote: While, at the end of July 1944, Donald F Bridwell (married to Myriam since 1936) was on the run in France, hosted by the resistance (CRUCEY network), his son Jim (James) Bridwell was born in the USA, on July 29, 1944, in San Antonio (Texas), his place of residence where he worked as a carpenter in civilian life.

Jim Bridwell made headlines as an atypical escalator-climber.

Here is what the New York Times said in 2018 after his death:

« Jim Bridwell, a flamboyant — and, some said, reckless — climber who took daring routes up incredibly daunting mountains in Alaska, the Andes and, especially, Yosemite National Park, died on Friday in Palm Springs, Calif. He was 73.

James Bridwell was born on July 29, 1944, in San Antonio.

His father, Donald, was a pilot in World War II and later for Pan Am, and his mother, the former Miriam Boxwell, was a homemaker who occasionally painted. The family moved around when Jim was young, spending time in Japan, New York and Connecticut.

Mr. Bridwell’s wife of 45 years, Peggy, said his interest in mountaineering started with birds."

Here is what the Giuardian said in 2018 after his death:

Jim " Bridwell was born in San Antonio, Texas, son of Donald and Miriam. His father was a wartime air force pilot who later flew for Pan Am, and, moving from posting to posting, Jim recalled he was “always the new kid on the block”. "