After the miraculous flight home of the Lucy Lou on one stout hearted  Wright Cylone engine,  the war went on at Cheddington Air Field as usual:

 

The pilot and copilot were reprimanded by the Commanding Officer with  unsatisfactory reports  going into their

201 files.  They were  shipped out of Cheddington and never heard of again.

 

The Lucy Lou had her flak damaged  skin grafted with expert sheet metal workers from the maintenance section. Her engines were all replaced and she lived to fly again. It is unknown where she met her fate.  No one knows whether she was shot down by German 88's or if she was chopped up in a salvage yard after the hostilities were over.

 

As for T/Sgt.  Eddie Stearns,  he and his crew continued flying missions with new pilots in a new flying fortress. In due course he was awarded the coveted Distinguished Flying Cross Medal,  being the only enlisted man in his crew to win the award.

 

With his 3 speed French bicycle,  Eddie with other members of his crew often pedaled into the town of Tring to fraternize with the locals whenever  missions were not scheduled.  On one occasion they met a group of

good looking girls at the city park.   When the party broke up due to darkness it was learned that one girl  was two miles from home in the blackend out city.  Eddie volunteered to pedal her home on his bike and that's how a long serious friendship began with pretty little Lilly Woods.

 

When Eddie reached his required 35 missions,  he was reluctant to turn in his flying gear and leave Cheddington as his thoughts dwelt seriously and longingly  on his girl friend in Tring..  In order to keep seeing Llily,  he kept volunteering for additional missions; otherwise,  he would have transferred out of  England.  Then an unexpected turn of events occurred that forever changed the course of Eddie's life.  Lilly Wood's old boy friend who had been fighting with the King's Royal Hussars in India for 5 years suddenly returned home.   Eddie never saw or heard from Lilly Woods again.

 

Shortly thereafter, Eddie was called to the squadron orderly room.  When he reported,  he was met  by Col. Aber who was the CO and two additional officers.   After they fired questions at him right and left for a considerable length of time,  he finally asked them if this was another courts-martial.  They laughed and said,  "No,  not this time,  Sgt..  In fact, we would like for you to join our ranks and become our new Gunnery Officer".   In this postion Eddie would train and supervise the squadron gunners and fly only one mission a month to maintain his flying pay.

 

With the dissappointment he suffered  in the loss of Lilly and the fact he had flown 47 missions,  12 over the required number, he declined the offer and told them he just wanted to go home.  Orders were cut and in due course of time he arrived home in California on 18 December 1945,  his 22nd birthday.

 

Tragically,  the  sergeant  who was made the gunnery officer in place of Eddie  was shot down and killed on his first mission.