On 30 June 1944, Lt. Scott B. Ritchie, with gunners Ssgt Anderson and Ssgt Smith was assigned to a smoke mission in support of the RAF. Their aircraft crashed suddenly and unexpectedly without explanation. The 668th history reads: "One minute the ship was flying in the air -- the next, a twisted crumpled heap on the ground. Lt. Ritchie, renown for bringing ships in under pressure, was great pilot. He proved his ability in bringing in a flamer at Lake Charles. Next, bringing a sieve of a plane in here [Wethersfield] after a mission." Lt. Ritchie was a graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point, class of 1942.
"Goin' Home" courtesy of the U.S. Air Force Band