everyone home in kokomo through an all-night celebration. cars after midnight drove through town honking their horns. booze freely flowed. everybody was having a good time. the hobbes and mandeberg families could not celebrate. they were happy. they assumed their sons were safe because, let's face it, what are the odds of my son is going to die in the final moments of war? nah, that's not going to happen. but still cautious. let's wait until we find out. in the coming days, others received words from their loved one that they were coming home soon or later, and they did not. in fact, some of the letters written to billy hobbs for his birthday, which happened to be august 15, the day he was shot down, that was his 22nd birthday, some of the letters and cards were returned to the hobbes family with that horrible stamp, return to sender. they are going, what's going on? it wasn't until september the government informed them those four pilots were missing in action. they could not be declared dead, because there were no remains, so they had to k