Thursday May 25, 1944. During the allied air operations who had to destroy communication complex of the german occupant in the French south. 2 groups of B-24 Liberator from the 15th Air Force, 55th Bomber-Wing, the 464th and 465th Bomber-Group, had to drop bombs on Givors's railway junction, city located at 13 miles in the south of Lyon, Rhône's valley.
Four B-24 Liberator from the 464th BG will be very seriously damaged, 3 will not return at their temporary base of Gioia-del-Colle, in the Italian's Pouilles. The groups of American bombers had been hardly attacked on their return flight, by the Flak and the Luftwaffe, with Messerchmitt 109 and Focke Wulf 190 based in Istres, Salon-de-Provence and Channoines.
The 3rd B-24 shot down this day was piloted by the second lieutenant Donald L. Garniss. The serial of this plane was 42-52463 and was nicknamed "Table Stuff".
This B-24 will also not succeed in reaching Corsica's coasts, and will sunk at sea in front of La Napoule's gulf, just after having his 11 crew mens blowing out from the plane see by the squadron on the way back flight.
Since tis time, any sign of life of this crew, will never be given...Then the wreck of their B-24, were never located.
The lost of these 3 B-24 crews were commemorated by the inauguration of monuments raised in their memory : july 4, 1976 for captain Hornbaker's B-24, in Cannes, august 13, 1994 for second lieutenant Trotter's B-24, in the Estérel's forest, Saint-Raphaël and august 23, 1997 for second lieutenant Garniss's B-24 in La Napoule.