 He successfully completed 32 combat sorties and earned the rank of 1st Lieutenant with the 455 Bombardment Group.He was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action on 2 May 1944.On May 10, 1944, Lieutenant Bell was bombardier of a B-24 on a mission to bomb an enemy aircraft factory in Austria, when he was severely wounded by a burst of flak, causing him to lose his right eye and suffer shock and loss of blood.