 Rall was wounded, his left thumb was shot off, and he was forced to bail out.On August 12, 1944, Zemke transferred to the 479th Fighter Group, the least experienced in the Eighth Air Force.The commanding general of VIII Fighter Command requested Zemke provide his deputy commander, Lieutenant Colonel David C. Schilling, for command of the 479th after its commander, Lieutenant Colonel Kyle Riddle, had been shot down August 10 on a strafing mission.