Photo of the day From the Stripes archives

August 11, 2009

Red Grandy ©Stars and Stripes

Near Bad Neuheim, Germany, June 12, 1954: Although 1st Lt. O.R. Secrest's F-86 Sabre jet skidded into a garden near the autobahn after its engine failed, it could've been much worse. After he flew under power lines and made a wheels-up landing, Secrest's ejection seat activated and he eventually landed on the tail of the aircraft. A softball team made up of medical personnel happened to be passing by on the way to a game, and they treated Secrest's injuries. Although temporarily blinded, he regained his sight in a few days.