On 24 Sept. 1944, 1st Lt. Mary Louise Hawkins was evacuating 24 patients from the fighting at Palau to Guadalcanal when the C-47 made a forced landing. During the landing, a propeller tore through the fuselage and severed the trachea of one patient. She made a suction tube from various items including the inflation tube from a Mae West. With this, she kept the man’s throat clear of blood for 19 hours. All of her patients survived. For her actions, she received the Distinguished Flying Cross.
