The number of accidental deaths among aircrew in WWll was surprisingly high, yet very little is written about the crews who died. As an example, the USAAF wartime experience led to drastic changes in the selection and training of aviation cadets to reduce the number of accidents and fatalities. Over the course of the war, the US Army Air Forces suffered over 54,000 accidents in the continental United States alone. That is quite apart from those accidental deaths occurring in the war zones themselves. These accidents accounted for over 15,000 fatalities, the equivalent of a World War Two infantry division. As a result of this wartime experience the Army Air Forces began instituting and enforcing stricter safety measures and emphasizing safety in all phases of training. By the end of the war, the Army Air Forces had transitioned from an organization with loose standards for selection, training, and safety to one with formal procedures for all three. In the process, the Army Air Forces established a new culture of professionalism for the US Air Force.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning we will remember them. - Laurence Binyon