Vault: They investigated a WWII pilot

Summary

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The Bert Show

Episode: Vault: They investigated a WWII pilot
Date: August 4, 2026

Main Theme

This episode features a unique investigation led by Tracy from Blue Dog Investigations, exploring the story of an American WWII pilot, 2nd Lt. Edward Lee, shot down over Nove, Italy, in 1945. The central aim is to locate his surviving family, so an Italian woman can express gratitude for the sacrifices made by Allied soldiers that contributed to Italy's postwar democracy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Backstory: A WWII Crash in Italy

• Tracy shares how she was contacted by a woman (referred to as "Neighbo" due to name pronunciation barriers) whose father, at age 11 in 1945, witnessed the crash of an American military bomber near their village north of Venice ([00:28–01:14]).
  • Quote: B: "Her father was 11 years old in 1945, and he was living in a village called Nove, that's 70 miles north of Venice. A plane came over the mountains and they saw flames... Plane comes over the mountains, they see fire. They run away from the flames of this plane coming over, and then it breaks into pieces and falls down around this 11 year old boy." ([00:28–01:14])

2. Details of the Crash and Its Aftermath

• The plane, an American military bomber from the 71st Bombardment Squadron, 450th Bombardment Group ("The Cottontails," 47th Wing, 15th US Air Force), crashed with nine crew members aboard ([02:00–02:11]).
  • Three were killed, six were taken captive (of whom two were known to be liberated based on letters home). The pilot killed was 2nd Lt. Edward Lee ([02:30–03:08]).
  • Tracy is trying to find Lt. Lee’s surviving family, likely children or grandchildren.

3. Motivation for the Search

• The woman’s desire is framed as an act of gratitude. Living in a democratic Italy, she feels personally indebted to the Allied sacrifice and wishes to thank the pilot’s family ([03:23–03:40]).
  • Quote: B (reading the email): "Because we must remember today, Italy is a democratic country, thanks also to the sacrifice of Edward. Too often we forget how much the liberty cost." ([03:27–03:40])
  • The hosts reflect on the poetic, deeply Italian motivation to honor those responsible for freedom ([06:38–06:58]).

4. Tracing the Georgia Connection

• Tracy uncovers that the pilot’s next of kin, Mary Lou Lee, lived at 260 Glendale Avenue in Decatur, Georgia, at the time of the plane’s crash ([05:17–05:37]).
  • Quote: B: "And her address at that time was 260 Glendale Avenue in Decatur." ([05:37])
  • Speculation about possible family connections in Georgia or Alabama due to military assignments and wartime living arrangements.

5. The Investigation’s Next Steps

• Tracy plans to continue her search through property records and family histories in the Decatur area, inviting anyone with connections to reach out ([05:46–06:00]).
• The hosts inject humor, referencing Olive Garden’s “when you’re here, you’re family” as a mock thank-you to the Italian woman ([06:58–07:08]).

6. Emotional and Cultural Resonance

• The hosts are struck by the story’s cinematic feel, labeling it “romantic” and “amazing,” and envisioning it as the start of a movie plot ([07:08–07:22]).
  • Quote: D: "It's amazing. It sounds like a movie plot." ([07:17])
• Recognition that this story bridges generations and continents, underlining the enduring impact of WWII on families today.

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On the Motivation
  B: "Because we must remember today, Italy is a democratic country, thanks also to the sacrifice of Edward. Too often we forget how much the liberty cost." ([03:27])
• On the Search
  A: "It's an interesting story, man. Just that she, like, wants to thank somebody for her Italian freedom. But that sounds so Italian to me." ([06:38])
• Comic Relief
  E: "Let me tell you something, lady. You thanked us with Olive Garden because when I'm there, I'm family..." ([06:58])
• On the Story’s Drama
  D: "It's amazing. It sounds like a movie plot." ([07:17])

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Important Timestamps

• [00:28–01:14]: Recap of the wartime setting and eyewitness account of the crash
• [02:00–03:08]: Details about the crew, casualties, and Tracy's research focus
• [03:27–03:40]: Reading from the Italian woman’s heartfelt message
• [05:37]: Discovery of the Georgia (Decatur) address connection
• [06:38–06:58]: Reflections on Italian gratitude and culture
• [07:17–07:22]: Hosts compare the story to a movie plot

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Conclusion & Next Steps

The episode leaves the investigation open-ended, with Tracy pledging to dig further into property and archival research to track down Lt. Lee's family. The hosts signal their enthusiasm to revisit the case in upcoming episodes—especially if resolved before Memorial Day.

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Summary:
This episode of The Bert Show delivers a compelling blend of mystery, history, and heartfelt gratitude. Tracing the legacy of one WWII pilot, it highlights the lingering personal and cultural bonds between Allied veterans, their families, and the people they helped liberate—delivered in the show’s signature mix of sincerity, humor, and authenticity.

Transcript

[A]

The Bird Show. Blue Dog Investigations in studio right now. This one doesn't have any local tie ins really that we know of yet. But Tracy from Blue Dog sent us this email and it was such an intriguing story that we thought, you know what, let's share this because this could be pretty, pretty cool. This one doesn't have anybody that's looking for somebody from 1987 or 97. We're going back to World War II for this one.

[B]

The story is that I got an email from a woman. We're calling her Neighbo because I can't pronounce her name. But her father was 11 years old in 1945, and he was living in a village called Nove, that's 70 miles north of Venice. A plane came over the mountains and they saw flames. They were all out tree cutting. So this was kind of what they did for work.

[A]

He was like, this is 1945. World War II is going on. And this is. This is hard for us to embrace because we've never seen it. But every single day in your backyard, there could be soldiers, there are gunfire, bullets. You got planes overhead. So this is part of the daily routine in Italy every day back in 1945.

[B]

And he's 11 years old.

[A]

He's 11 years old is what's going

[B]

on in his life. So he and his sister and his mother are out cutting trees. The whole village is out cutting trees. I don't know if this is their job or what they're doing, but. Plane comes over the mountains, they see fire. They run away from the flames of this plane coming over, and then it breaks into pieces and falls down around this 11 year old boy. And this is my client Navo's father. So in the debris are three bodies. Let's see if I can keep all. Who they were, the pilot, they had different positions. But what she's actually looking for is family of the pilot.

[C]

So this is an American plane.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Okay. That had flown over and had broken

[D]

apart an American military plane.

[B]

American military plane. They were the 71st Bombardment Squadron, 450th Bombardment Group, known as the Cottontails from the 47th Wing, 15th Air Force, United States Army.

[A]

And this is information she had already. Before she emailed you, or this is

[B]

something that she had. And then other pieces I've put together based on some stuff that she had already gathered.

[A]

So her father and some other villagers in the backyard. Plane crashes. There are three American soldiers in that plane. All of them die in that plane crash.

[B]

There were nine altogether.

[A]

Nine.

[B]

Six were taken Hostage.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

From my research, I've discovered that at least two were liberated, and I have letters that they wrote home and all kinds of cool stuff. So, okay, so two had been released. I don't know what remained of the other four. I don't know if they were ever released or what happened. But three were killed, and 2nd Lt. Edward Lee was the pilot. And that's who we're looking for. Not him, he was killed, but his family, any surviving family, which would probably be children, grandchildren at this point. And why did she want to find the pilot in particular or his family? Why the pilot especially? I guess because he was sort of in charge and I don't know why him in particular.

[A]

What does she say that she wants to do? And if she finds him, she said

[B]

in her own words, why am I doing this? Because we must remember today, Italy is a democratic country, thanks also to the sacrifice of Edward. Too often we forget how much the liberty cost.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

So now at that time.

[D]

Yeah, fascinating.

[A]

The Allies won the war, obviously, and they were fighting against Italy at that point in 1945. But since the Allies won, she has her freedom. So she's looking for this pilot to say thank you for beating her country in the war.

[D]

So she must be into history, too, in order for her to research her father's life when he was so young. And these, you know, name. I mean, she must be going through family albums and history and journals and everything in Italian.

[B]

Well, being that her father was alive during this time and had this occurrence happen to him, then World War II is very, you know, very dear to her in researching it and finding out history about it.

[C]

Where does she live? Did we talk about where she lived?

[B]

I'm sorry, she's still in Nove.

[C]

So she is in Italy.

[D]

Okay.

[C]

So that's part of their culture is, you know, this is just a generation ago, you know.

[B]

Right.

[E]

So.

[B]

So she's a branch manager of a bank there.

[A]

The way the email is written, credit union is so cute because it's in sort of like broken English. It's in Italian and it's in broken English. And I wanted. It's so cute that I wanted to read the whole email, but it would have taken way too long. So why did they contact you? I mean, there are so many private investigating firms.

[B]

Not exactly. Sure. Some things. And this happens quite a bit when I have people in it. We're exchanging emails. I'll ask specific questions and some come back answered and others don't. So that I've asked, you know, why exactly me But I did find, clearly a Georgia connection. And I don't know. Yeah. Wow. The wife. They have a missing air crew report when his plane went down. And everybody got sent. Your husband or son is missing. Was sent to his wife, Mary Lou Lee. And her address at that time was 260 Glendale Avenue in Decatur.

[C]

Of course it was Georgia, because Mary Lou.

[A]

Yeah, right.

[C]

Yeah, Mary Lou. Well, she's in the south somewhere.

[B]

Exactly.

[D]

Whoa.

[B]

That's insane.

[A]

Where are you in the investigation now?

[B]

Probably going back to property records and things you've got on this one. I'm gonna have to kind of go back to, then come forward to try to find more information about Mary Lou. Maybe.

[E]

Why don't we just. If your name is Marilu or someone in your family's name is Mary Lou Indicator. Yeah. Call us.

[B]

Right. I'm assuming now he was stationed in. At Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery before he was deployed to Italy. So there's probably a Montgomery connection. Decatur may have actually also been. Because what happened quite a bit is at that time was they would be married, but then the wife would go live with his family while she was. While he was, you know, away. So it could be his family that she was living with.

[A]

It's an interesting story, man. Just that she, like, wants to thank somebody for her Italian freedom. But that sounds so Italian to me. You know, like, they're celebrating life every day, and she feels like she needs to grip onto it and thank the very people that gave Italy their freedom. It sounds very Italian.

[D]

Let's just figure this out over a bottle of Chianti sitting in some vineyard.

[E]

Let me tell you something, lady. You thanked us with Olive Garden because when I'm there, I'm family, and I don't need you to find anybody. Just keep those breadsticks coming.

[A]

Well, we want to follow up with you, like, in the next couple of weeks and see if you get any. There's something very romantic about, like, a World War II story that has some local roots to it. Right.

[D]

It's amazing. It sounds like a movie plot.

[A]

It does.

[D]

The beginning of one, at least.

[A]

So basically, you're in search, and we're not asking you guys to call if there's any. We're not looking for a connection here. We just thought it was a very interesting story.

[E]

Oh, this isn't Pilot Lost and Found.

[A]

Not World War II. Pilot lost and Found. So basically, this American soldier was shot down over Italy in World War II, and this Italian woman just wants to find his family to thank her for her Italian freedom. So we'll get Tracy back in here in, like, a couple of weeks, Couple months, whatever it takes. Would be great if you could do it before Memorial.

[B]

Oh, it would be awesome.

[A]

That would be a great time.

[B]

We'll see what can happen.

[A]

Bunch of work on that. All right, great. We'll see you in a couple of weeks.

[B]

Thanks for coming.

[A]

Thanks a lot.

[D]

Bye.

[B]

Bye.

[A]

The bird show.