On June 26, 1944, notice came in through Communications, stating that the wreckage of an airplane had been spotted about twenty-five miles southeast of Moran, right at the foot of the Himalayas. A rescue crew with three jeeps, a truck, and an ambulance set out over a muddy jungle trail to the scene of the crash. Sgt. James H. (“Hank”) Mills was a member of the team. "It was the worst thing I ever saw," he recalled many years afterward. The heavy B-29 “Superfortress” bomber had broken apart and been driven into the ground. The team found no survivors, only parts of bodies. Official records still list the aircrew of “Stockett’s Rocket” as missing, although the circumstances of that crash conform to what is known about the wreckage reported by 3^rd Bomb Squadron personnel.

Thanksgiving on November 23, 1944, was not a memorable occasion for the men stationed at Peishiyi (Baishiyi).  Because some of the extra supplies ordered for the holiday feast had not arrived, the menu included duck and not turkey, which was promised later. It was finally on the menu a week later.  At about the same time, six of the 3^rd Bomb Squadron's B-25s were moved farther back to Wenkiang (Wenjiang) in the western suburbs of Chengtu (Chengdu). “Brass” considered them to be safer there from night attack now that the moon was waxing full, and the shortage of gas prevented them from flying missions, regardless of their location. The detachment that accompanied them went to Kwan-Sien Rest Camp north of the city. Meanwhile, in Chihkiang (Zhijiang), detachments from the 3^rd and 4^th Bomb Squadrons that made up Task Force 34 conducted business as usual. They took a one-day break on Thanksgiving Day before resuming operations. Another night mission to support heavy bomb operations by interdicting use of enemy searchlights at Hankow-Wuchang was off on the twenty-fourth. The bomber was pursued by enemy night fighters, but its pilot, 1Lt. Leo C. Baker, took cover in a patch of overcast encountered near Tungting Lake and lost them.