Richard L. 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 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-109s 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.

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