They were hit by another plane. Read about the men who fought on Iwo Jima, talk to the guys who landed on Normandy. Anyone watching talking-head TV during the last two weeks would have heard some analysts wondering why the crew of the spy plane actually flew into alien hands instead of ditching it and its sensitive equipment at sea and chanced rescue or death. This begs a larger question, and this is whether the people of the United States can endure a war any more.
Nobody wants one, but they do happen.
In this era of increasing technology, whatever we do in a war, or in any tough situation, will be brought vividly into our homes. In the first years of our participation in World War II, the Roosevelt administration feared our population could not deal with the sight of dead American soldiers, sailors or airmen. The censors refused to allow the publication of any photos showing such. We could see dead Germans and Japanese, but not Americans. It was feared such a sight would greatly demoralize the home front.