The name Louis Tornabene likely doesn’t ring any bells. But he was instrumental to what is now one of the most notorious missions from World War II: the Manhattan Project. He served as a flight engineer and helped train the Enola Gay and Bockscar crews.
After the bombs were dropped, Tornabene was presented with an Air Medal — and then it was promptly taken back, with promises that it would be returned to him. But he never received his medal, and eventually, retired as a Major and said he had “almost forgotten” about it. After 70 years, though, the Air Force finally set about to make it right. In a ceremony held at the University of Virginia, officers and cadets gathered to honor his service as he was presented with the medal, finally, at 96 years old.
