Arthur B. Cox Jr.

T/Sgt. Arthur B. Cox Jr., of Fountain City, Tennessee, served as engineer and gunner aboard "Big Eagle," a B-24 flown by Capt. Alexander Simpson in the 330th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group. On October 9, 1942, the 93rd Bomb Group flew its first combat mission, targeting Lille, France; Big Eagle became the first Eighth Air Force Liberator lost in combat. Cox later recalled: "I didn't see the fighter attack begin, but suddenly a burst from cannon or Flak hit our number two engine which burst into flames. The aircraft went into a severe dive and seemed out of control. ... When I left my turret the plane was still out of control. I was thrown from the flat deck out of the bomb bay doors. I didn't see anyone before I went out and hadn't meant to jump. I think I fell out at 15,000 feet and opened my chute at 10,000 feet."

Cox landed safely, evading capture. He made his way on foot near Douai, aided by French civilians, and evaded a German patrol at a canal bridge. Over the following months he was passed along a network of helpers through Nice, Grenoble, Toulouse, and Narbonne, before crossing the Pyrenees into Spain, arriving on April 28, 1943.

Spanish authorities detained him for a time near Figueras before his release was arranged. He passed through Barcelona and Alhama before reaching Gibraltar, and arrived back in the United Kingdom on June 28, 1943, roughly eight and a half months after being shot down.