Not many soldiers would consider the options in a life-threatening situation. Survival instinct will normally take over. The plane was surely going to crash, it was just a matter of what area it would crash in. Apparently, Billie gave up the idea of ejecting to safety, and steered his plane away from the town. It crashed hard into a forest just outside the town. He did not have time to eject, Billie went down with the plane. The mystery French woman was Valerie Quesnal, one of the many townspeople who survived because of Billie’s unselfish sacrifice. The townsfolk buried Billie in their sacred grounds and honored this hero, yet no one knew who he was.