Horace W. Quinn, (front row, third from right) who lived through remarkable circumstances during World War II, served as a radio operator-gunner on a B-24 bomber in the Army Air Force. Quinn’s airplane made an emergency landing in neutral Spain on his first mission. He was captured by Germans but escaped to North Africa. Returning to the air, Quinn flew seventeen more missions, including raids on the Ploesti oil refineries. On February 22, 1944, Quinn’s plane was shot down over Germany. He endured fourteen months captivity and severe privations as a prisoner of war.

After the war Quinn started the municipal airport in his hometown of Lodgepole, Nebraska. He flew a number of rescue missions during the terrible Blizzard of ’49.

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