He took his plane lower so they could not attack from underneath. Friendly fighter planes were not expected, but suddenly four appeared, diverted the enemy planes, and escorted the lumbering plane back to base. The day was especially memorable to Mc Curry, as he later learned it was his elder son's birthday. His last mission, the 50th, was also memorable as it was flown through red muzzle flashes of 88 mm. This mission was to destroy the German 11th Air Force based in Salonika-Cedes, Greece, for which his group received the Presidential Unit Citation.
All missions are scary, just some more than others.
Mc Curry received several medals for his service in WWII, was recalled as a pilot for the Korean war, and then reassigned to the US Air Force's Air Rescue Service, where he served for 15 years and saved 23 lives for which he received the Aviators Valor Medal. He flew rescue missions from Greenland, Florida, Georgia, Scotland, Germany, California and Vietnam.