On May 29th, 1945, Lt. Royal Stratton of the 4th Emergency Rescue Squadron lead a deadly mission to save the lives of nine downed airmen adrift in enemy waters of a war-torn South Pacific.
During the Second World War, the 4th Emergency Rescue Squadron was stationed on the Mariana Islands of the South Pacific. Its crews policed flight paths searching for B-29 bombers in jeopardy and downed airmen in need of rescue in the open ocean of this war-torn theater.