AP Was There: US crewmen shot down by Soviets arrive home

OAKLAND, California (AP) — Sixteen Alaska Native men have been honored for rescuing the crew of a U.S. Navy patrol plane shot down over the Bering Strait by Soviet fighter jets nearly 70 years ago. With that belated honor, The Associated Press is republishing its story filed July 3, 1955, from Oakland, California, detailing the arrival of seven of the injured Navy crew members who were flown from Alaska after their plane was shot down by Soviet MiGs the previous month. Four other crew members did not need to be transported for care, and all 11 survived after being rescued by Alaska National Guardsmen on St. Lawrence Island.