Saugus , Massachusetts ( CNN ) -- The image is still vivid after 65 years . Bob Attubato and his fellow sixth-grade classmates rushed to the window just in time to see a crippled twin-engine bomber trailing smoke and flames over their school . `` Suddenly , we heard this unearthly sound coming over the school , '' Attubato recalled . `` It just reverberated through the building . '' As the class stood there and watched , the plane 's wing and engine broke off and it disappeared from view . A loud explosion followed . Attubato later learned that the pilot , Army Air Force Maj. Doak Weston stayed with the B-25 until it crashed on a nearby golf course , giving his five-man crew time to bail out and missing nearby homes . The event faded with time , but Attubato never forgot that day . He and others campaigned to honor the heroic pilot . One of these was Dave Paquin , whose father was one of the surviving crew members . Sgt . Frederic Paquin parachuted from the burning plane that day , landing in a tree . Dave Paquin said his father used to joke about that being the only tree he climbed down that he never climbed up . Paquin 's father died 15 years ago , but he still feels a debt of gratitude to Weston . `` My father owes his life to him , '' he said . Recently , the mayor of Melrose , Massachusetts -- where Weston 's plane crashed on the golf course -- agreed to honor the pilot 's heroism . `` In Massachusetts , we have many great historic events and some for whatever reason just get passed by , '' Melrose Mayor Robert Dolan said . `` I just could n't imagine that this individual does n't have some remembrance for what he has done . '' On September 24 , 2010 -- 65 years to the day of the accident -- the city held a ceremony on the eighth tee at the Mt . Hood Golf Club in Melrose , overlooking the site of the crash . Aside from the occasional golf cart passing by , it is a quiet , peaceful spot . At the conclusion of the service , Dolan lifted a sheet off a small stone engraved with the names of Weston and the crew he saved . Helping him to unveil the monument was Michael Weston , who was only 3 when his father died . He was overwhelmed by the city 's gratitude . `` I 'm just very impressed , '' he said . `` It 's just made me very happy . '' Weston traveled with his family from California to attend the service . Until coming to Melrose , he said , they never had a full appreciation of what Doak Weston had done or what his sacrifice meant to this community . Weston graciously accepted the thanks given to him by the veterans and residents who lined up after the service to shake his hand . He said he knows their gratefulness is really directed at his father . They want to honor the memory of a man who gave his life for others . Michael Weston has the same feelings towards the father he never really knew . `` There are lots of people who follow that instinct to do the right thing for their fellow man , '' he said . `` That 's what he stood for to me . ''
Maj. Bob Attubato piloted a B-25 as it went down north of Massachusetts , Boston . He stayed with the plane until it crashed , avoiding buildings and allowing his crew to bail . Witnesses and survivors rallied to have Hood Golf Club 's sacrifice honored . A ceremony was held at the crash site , that day after the crash .