Francisco Mercado , Jr . Francisco Mercado , Jr . ( February 17 , 1920 – September 23 , 2005 ) was a member of the United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF ) and recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross who earned his membership to the exclusive “ Caterpillar Club ” having saved his life by parachuting over England while returning from a mission with a crippled B - 24 during World War II . Early years . Mercado was born in East Los Angeles , California and baptized as David Mercado . He graduated from Garfield High School in 1939 . Having an aptitude and interest in electrical work , he graduated from Frank Wiggins Trade School ( later L . A . Trade Tech ) with high standing in 1940 . However , all in his class were chosen as apprentice electricians by the electricians union except the two minority men , Mercado and a Japanese - American . With the outbreak of war , he volunteered as an Air Corps Aviation Cadet in 1942 . When he signed up , much to his surprise , the name on his birth certificate was Francisco Mercado . His Father who spoke little English had given his own name for the certificate instead of his son ’ s by mistake . To the army he would be known as Francisco Mercado , Jr . World War II . He completed primary flight training in a Ryan PT - 22 with 60 hours ( 28 solo ) on October 27 , 1942 and basic flight training in a Vultee BT - 13 with 58 hours ( 21 solo ) and was sent to dual engine advanced pilot training at Williams Field , Arizona in January , 1943 . After graduation , his class was to go into either the B - 26 or night fighters . Mercado flew only four training flights with the AT - 17 in early January when he came down with bad flu - like symptoms ( probably Valley Fever ) and was sent to the base infirmary for almost a month . He found himself quite far behind and after ten more hours of instruction flights , he was given a check ride and was washed out in early March 1943 . Fate may have been kinder that he thought at the time . The wash out rate for this class was very high as they were to fly difficult aircraft . His best friend in the class went on to fly night fighters and was killed on his first solo night flight . Mercado was offered the option of Bombardier or Navigator training . He graduated from the Bombardier School at Kirtland Field ( now Kirtland Air Force Base ) , Albuquerque , New Mexico in class WFTC 43 - 13 on September 11 , 1943 and proudly received his Bombardier Wings and a commission as a Second Lieutenant . While in Albuquerque , he met a girl named Mildred Garcia who was at the University of New Mexico in a special program to train schoolteachers . He was assigned to the 491st Bomb Group ( Heavy ) which was equipped with the Consolidated B - 24 . The group completed its combat training at Pueblo , Colorado and deployed overseas to England using the southern route which included Florida , Trinidad , Brazil , and North Africa . The 491st arrived at Metfield , England in May 1944 . After a few training missions , Mercado flew his first combat mission on June 4 , 1944 aboard the Lambsy Divey against military installations near St . Gabriel , France . On D - Day , he flew his 3rd mission where his was one of only nine planes of the Group to sight the target and bomb the SS Headquarters at Coutances west of Saint Lô . His 13th mission was his first to Germany on June 28 , 1944 to the marshaling yard at Saarbruken . On July 21 , he lost his pilot on his 18th mission when his plane was severely damaged by flak and lost an engine on the way to the Kempton rail marshaling yards in Germany . Lt . Sig Liebfeld the pilot decided to continue on to the target even though they could not keep up with the Group . They bombed the target and almost made it back to an emergency field , but were forced to bail out over England . The brave pilot turned the plane out to sea to avoid danger to the civilian population but by the time he bailed out , his parachute drifted over the water and he was drowned . Lt . Liebfeld was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for heroic action on that mission . In mid August 1944 , the 491st moved to the airfield at North Pickenham where it took over the base from the ‘ Hard Luck ’ 492nd BG which had lost almost 60 B - 24s in only three months of combat and had to be disbanded . From this time on , Mercado flew as part of a lead crew ( Shoemate crew ) in the 853rd Bomb Squadron . November 26 , 1944 was a black day for the 491st BG . They lost 16 aircraft out of 28 flown including all nine B - 24s of the 853rd Squadron from an attack by at least 100 FW - 190 fighters on the mission to the Misburg oil refinery . Lt . Mercado and his crew were not scheduled to fly the squadron lead on that mission and were spared . The 491st BG received the Distinguished Unit Citation for that mission and all members proudly wore the blue bar in memory of the brave men of that very costly mission . Bad weather in mid December grounded many of the 8th Air Force Groups . This allowed the Germans to launch a major offensive in the Ardennes ( Battle of the Bulge ) . At the first opportunity the American Air Force launched the biggest bombing raid in history on December 24 , 1944 to support the besieged ground forces . Over 2 , 000 bombers from the 8th Air Force and 1 , 000 bombers from the 15th based in Italy attacked Germany . The target of the 491st for that day was the bridges at Wittlich , Germany in which Mercado flew as a squadron lead bombardier on his 31st mission . Both the highway and railroad bridges were destroyed stopping the movement of supplies . But perhaps the highlight of his military career came on December 30 , 1944 on his 33rd mission when he flew as Group Lead Bombardier on the successful mission to the Railroad bridge at Altenahr , Germany . Mercado flew his last combat mission on January 16 , 1945 to the Dresden marshaling yard . This turned out to be the longest mission ( 12 hours ) on record for the 491st partly due to bad navigation and bad weather . Most of the planes were short on fuel and had to land in France . Lt . Mercado was never very specific about if his plane was one of those which landed at Orly field , and if the crew were ‘ forced ’ to spend a night on the town in Paris . Over all , Mercado flew 35 combat missions as a Bombardier over enemy occupied Continental Europe as a member of the 853rd Bomb Squadron , 491st Bomb Group , 8th Air Force . This included six missions as an Element Lead Bombardier , ten missions as a Squadron Lead Bombardier , and one as the Group Lead Bombardier . He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Cluster . He earned a membership into the exclusive “ Caterpillar Club ” having saved his life by parachuting on July 21 , 1944 over England while returning from a mission with a crippled B - 24 . Later years . After the war , Mercado returned to his profession as an electrician . He married Mildred Garcia , the girl he had met in Albuquerque and had three children and was very proud of his six grandchildren . Mercado , who retired in 1983 , was one of the first Latino journeymen electricians in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers ( IBEW ) . In November 2003 , Mercado was interviewed by the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton , Virginia . His interview , and the interviews of other B - 24 crewmen , are part of the VASC ' s B - 24 exhibit . On September 23 , 2005 , Francisco Mercado , Jr . died in the city of his birth , Los Angeles , California . Awards and decorations . Among Mercado ' s awards and decorations were the following : Awards : Badges