Michael Vlahos was from Springfield, Ohio.  He was the son of Louis and Katina Vlahos.  He had two brothers (John and Lester) and one sister (Maxime.)  He graduated from the Springfield High School class of 1939, and he attended Wittenberg College in Springfield for two years.  He joined the US Army Air Force on 26 October 1942, and was commissioned in January of 1944.

Michael served as the bombadier of a B-17 that was nicknamed Hard to Get.  It belonged to  the 368 Bombardment Squadron of the 306 Bombardment Group.  The pilot of the Hard To Get was First Lieutenant Dean Allen.  On 26 August 1944, the Hard To Get was on a mission to bomb synthetic oil refineries at Gelsenkirchen, Germany.  As the Hard To Get was on its final approach to the target, it was hit by anti-aircraft fire which hit the left wing and ignited a fire in the bomb bay.  Allen gave the order to bail out, near Budberg in Germany.

In the ensuing chaos, Michael bailed out of the aircraft and was either hit by flak or deliberately shot by the Nazis as he fell to the ground.  The plane’s copilot (Lt. Charles U. Rapp), the Radio Operator (T/SGT Robert B. Newsbigle), and the Ball Turret Gunner (SSGT Eugene Le Veque) were all killed before they could bailout.  All are buried at the Ardennes American Cemetery.

The remaining crew members were captured.  However, 2LT Charles H. Evans (the Navigator), and TSGT Harvey J. Purkey (the Flight Engineer) managed to escape as they were transported. As they were being transported to a POW camp, 2LT Charles H. Evans (the Navigator), and TSGT Harvey J. Purkey (the Flight Engineer) managed to escape.  However, they were soon recaptured by an angry mob of German civilians.  Two Nazis, one of whom was the local Chief of Police, beat both of them to death.  Following the war, the two Nazis were tried and sentenced to death for their murders. Evans is buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery. 

The information above is based upon
MACR 8464
The attached account of the Hard To Get’s final mission provided by Henri Hannon
A biography of Michael Vlahos published online by Scott Muselin, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56361428/michael-l-vlahos
The Obituary of Lester Vlahoshttps://www.legacy.com/obituaries/springfield/obituary.aspx?n=lester-lou...