It was a foggy morning on Saturday the 28th of July 1945, so foggy that when Lieutenant Colonel William F. Smith contacted LaGuardia Airport on his way to New York to pick up his commanding officer, air traffic control wanted him to land. He believe however that despite the restricted visibility he could navigate through New York City. The last thing LaGuardia heard from Smith with the ominous words, “From where I'm sitting I can’t see the top of the empire state building.”

At 9:40AM, having avoided several other skyscrapers Smith’s B-25 Mitchell Bomber hit the 79th floor of the empire state building sending fireballs through the offices of the National Catholic Welfare Council. Smith was killed as well as his two crewmen and another 11 office workers. There was one miraculous tail of survivor though, elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver who plunged 75 stories in an elevator car and lifted toe to tail.