Hooker OK Native To Be Honored With Memorial In Italy

A northern Italian village is holding a memorial ceremony to honor two U.S. World War II pilots who died when their bomber crashed into a mountain in 1945.

Relatives of pilot Earl Remmel of Hooker, Oklahoma, and surviving crew member Isidore Ifshin, a Bronx native living in Boca Raton, Florida, plan to attend Sunday’s ceremony in Ronzo di Chienis (ROHN’-zoh dee kee-NIS’).

The event was organized by a local historical group whose members have written a book on the last flight of an American B-25 Mitchell bomber dubbed "Maybe."

The plane was damaged during a bombing run near Trento on Feb. 6, 1945. Remmel and co-pilot Leslie Speer of Jeffersontown, Kentucky, kept the plane steady so the other five crew members could bail out. The plane crashed into a mountain moments later.