Tribute To A Fallen Airman

A memorial plaque to Maj. Hugh Muse, Jr, a P-38 Lightning pilot shot down by German gunfire on Christmas Day 1943, was unveiled on 14 April 2012 in Vighizzolo D'Este, the small Italian town where his remains were discovered in 2008. Muse, a native of Yazoo, Mississippi, was twenty-three and on his fiftieth combat mission when he was killed. He recorded two aerial victories. The remains of Muse and his aircraft were excavated by the Romagna Air Finders, a private Italian organization focused on finding the remains of World War II pilots who crashed in the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna. Family members, US military officials, Italian dignitaries, and community members participated in the small plaque dedication ceremony.