Richard Felman Richard L . Felman ( May 29 , 1921 – November 13 , 1999 ) was a distinguished officer in the United States Air Force who flew combat missions during World War II and the Korean War , receiving 27 awards and decorations over the course of his military career . Felman was born in the The Bronx , New York City . He was the son of American - born David and Dora , a Jewish immigrant from Poland . He had one brother , Irwin , born six years earlier . At the age of 21 , Felman enlisted in the U . S . Army Air Corps on July 24 , 1942 and became a master navigator . In early 1944 he was assigned to the 415th Bombardment Squadron , 98th Bombardment Group , 15th Air Force stationed in Lecce , Italy as a Second Lieutenant flying B - 24s . He was a member of a " Liberator " bomber crew whose aircraft was named " Never a Dull Moment " . In July 1944 , Felman ' s B - 24 was hit by German ME - 109 s and 10 of the eleven - man crew bailed out from 18 , 000 feet over the Yugoslav hills . Felman was later awarded the Purple Heart for his service during the plane crash . The Americans , led by Felman , landed in central Serbia . Serbia , at the time , was a Nazi Germany - occupied territory , but controlled by the Chetniks , a resistance movement led by Draža Mihailović . The Chetniks protected them from the Germans , despite the fact the Germans burned the nearby village of Pranjani in retaliation , killing around 200 women and children . Felman and his men stayed safe with the Chetniks , and were airlifted out of Serbia on August 10 , 1944 . Felman became friends with Mihailović and his Chetniks , as did the other Allied airmen who had been gunned down over Serbia in the same year . Over 500 downed US airmen survived because of assistance from the Chetniks . During Felman ' s stay in Serbia , he was embraced and then carried about 500 yards to a cabin . He was given fruit , flowers and slivovitz ( Serbian national drink ) which Felman described as " 160 proof Serbian plum brandy . " Felman was then offered a crutch and taken to the Serbian Orthodox church in the village by an elderly man . Both men prayed in the small Serbian Orthodox church . Felman described the scene : Felman was personally decorated twice by King Peter II of Yugoslavia . Felman ' s contacts included Constantine Fotich , Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović , Milutin Devrnja , Vojvoda Momčilo Đujić , Slobodan Jovanović , Zvonko Vučković and many other prominent men in the diaspora . The Chetniks were denied support by the Allies by the end of 1943 . Draža Mihailović was accused by the Partisans in 1946 of being a collaborator and tried in Belgrade . Felman and 21 others in April 1946 petitioned Harry S . Truman and the U . S . Government to be allowed to go , at their own expense , to Belgrade and present their testimonies to the jury on Mihailović ' s trial . They were denied by the State Department , because the U . S . had established relations with the Communist Partisans in the latter stages of the war , and did not want to disrupt their relations with the Communist Yugoslav government that was created post war . Despite Felman ' s insistence , he was not able to reach Belgrade . Mihailović was found guilty of high treason , executed and buried in an unmarked grave on July 17 , 1946 . Because of his efforts , Mihailović and his organization , on the recommendation of General Dwight D . Eisenhower , were posthumously awarded the Legion of Merit by President Truman for their contributions to the Allied victory and the rescue of American airmen from behind enemy lines . The Legion of Merit is the highest award the U . S . can give a foreign national , Felman continued arguing that Mihailović and his Chetniks should be honored for their rescue of US pilots . In 1970 , he went on the Congressional Record pressing for legislation for a statue on Capitol grounds honoring General Mihailović . In 1976 and in 1977 , the bill was introduced into the Senate by Strom Thurmond and Barry Goldwater . However , the legislation died in the House because of the aforementioned U . S . policy towards Yugoslavia . It was reintroduced over the next decades several times , but failed each time . Richard Felman retired from the United States Air Force in 1968 . In 1995 , for the 50th Anniversary of the VE Day , Major Richard Felman returned to Serbia after 50 years , accompanied by his wife Mary Anne as well as Captain Nick Lalich and Lt . Col . Charlie Davis . He was met on the mountain of Ravna Gora by 50 , 000 Serbian people who gave him a thunderous ovation . Felman died at the age of 78 . He was survived by his wife Mary Anne and his brother Irwin . He had no children . On November 13 , 1999 he was interred at the " All Faiths Memorial Park " in Tucson , Arizona .