As we pause this Memorial Day to remember the military men and women who have gone before us, we also pay tribute to those who survived our nation's wars.

One of those is a World War II bomber pilot from Badger, South Dakota, whose story of survival is celebrated every year. 

Eighty-seven-year-old Ralph Christensen considers himself lucky he's still walking today.

"I have a certificate that says I'm a lucky bastard.  It's a nine by twelve certificate and that's what it says.  We got that when we walked out and weren't captured," Christensen said.

On his 13th bombing mission over Germany, Christensen's B-17 was hit by flack.  With one engine gone and no fuel, he somehow managed to pilot the wounded flying fortress to a safe landing.

"We threw out the ball turret, all the flack suits, all the 50 calibers, all the ammo, everything that would come loose," Christensen said.

After setting the plane down, Christensen and the rest of his aircrew were now foot soldiers.

"We carried 45's, and I couldn't ever hit anything with a 45.  The only thing I could hit is if I threw it," Christensen said.

Christensen's main concern was avoiding capture by the enemy. 

"We were in no hurry.  We were doing it at night when nobody was around and we'd catch a train going west and get on it," Christensen said.

After 11 long days and a hundred miles on foot, Christensen and his other crew members made it back to England.

They were so happy, they bought a bottle of cognac to celebrate. But for whatever reason, they never got around to drinking it until 2006 when the remaining four crew members attended their annual reunion. 

"I held it for 65 years.  Believe me, the cap didn't even leak. We were getting down to four guys and I said, 'Hey, we don't need to wait for two.  Let's share it four ways and if we live for awhile, I'll buy the next bottle and we'll tooter again,'" Christensen said.

Christensen flew 33 bombing missions over Germany during World War II.  He kept flying even after the war; in fact, the last time he got behind the controls of an airplane was five years ago at the age of 82.