Alan Eugene Magee was a United States airman during World War II who survived a 22,000-foot fall from his damaged B-17 Flying Fortress.
11 Facts About Alan Magee
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Alan Magee was featured in the 1981 Smithsonian Magazine as one of the 10 most amazing survival stories of World War II.
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Immediately after the Pearl Harbor attack, Magee joined the United States Army Air Forces and was assigned as a ball turret gunner on a B-17 bomber.
4.
Alan Magee left his ball turret when it became inoperative after being damaged by German flak, and discovered his parachute had been torn and rendered useless.
5.
Alan Magee fell over 4 miles before crashing through the glass roof of the St Nazaire railroad station.
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Alan Magee was taken as a prisoner of war and given medical treatment by his captors.
7.
Alan Magee had 28 shrapnel wounds in addition to his injuries from the fall: several broken bones, severe damage to his nose and eye, lung and kidney damage, and a nearly severed right arm.
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Alan Magee was liberated in May 1945 and received the Air Medal for meritorious conduct and the Purple Heart.
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Alan Magee was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, as the youngest of six children.
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Alan Magee retired in 1979 and moved to northern New Mexico.
11.
Alan Magee died in San Angelo, Texas, on December 20,2003, from stroke and kidney failure, at the age of 84.