Bombers sent by the US Air Command were prevented from bombing a town by a flying monk during WWII.  

During WWII the Allies were told about a cache of weapons that the enemy was storing in a small town called  San Giovanni Rotondo in Italy.  Reports state that before they bombed the town they wanted the people to be able to escape with their lives, so they flew a plane over and dropped leaflets to tell the people to leave the city because a bombing raid was coming in for the weapons cache. 

 

Flying Monk

In the town was a humble monk known as Padre Pio, the towns people came to him about the bombing and he told them not to leave, that the town would not be bombed.  As the historical account goes, the bombers began their journey from Puglia to San Giovanni Rotondo and were stopped midair by a monk that was flying right in front of their planes with his arms extended out and his hands open and facing them.  The allied pilots, who were from many different nationalities and faiths, kept returning to base with the news that they did not complete their mission because of a flying monk in the air kept preventing them from the bombing.  

Commanding General of USAF General Nathan F. Twining 

Stationed at the base was General Nathan F. Twining and upon hearing these bizarre reports of a flying monk, he decided to lead the bombing squad himself out to see what was going on.  He couldn't believe that there was a monk that was flying in the air and that the stories they pilots were telling about their bomb bay doors refusing to open, or their bombs falling harmlessly to the ground and not exploding were true.. or even the crazier reports that planes were being turned around in midair by themselves by the flying monk preventing bombings. 

General Nathan Twining Meets Flying Monk

General Twining happened to be in Bari at the time he kept hearing these incredible stories, he didn't believe the pilots and he thought that they were seeing things.  He decided to launch another bombing raid, and he, himself, got into one of the bombers and they all took off for San Giovanni Rotondo to hit their target.  He reported himself, that as they neared the monastery in San Giovanni Rotundo, a monk appeared in the clouds right in front of his plane and it was flying at the same speed that he was.  He reported that the monk had his hands extended and immediately all the bombers bomb bay doors were opened and the bombs fell harmlessly into the open fields below.  He reported that their planes turned around by themselves and they aborted the mission, returning to Bari with his own first hand incredible account.  

After the war, General Twining went to San Giovanni Rotundo and as he walked up the step to the monastery he found himself standing right in front of Padre Pio who quipped with humor "So you are the one that wanted to destroy everything".  He became good friends with Padre Pio.  Here is an image of the 464th Bombing Group and other Americans meeting Padre Pio after the war ended. Padre Pio is the one with the gloves on his hands.

Colonel Loyal Bob Curry 

Colonel Loyal Bob Curry from Birmingham Alabama was stationed as part of the 464th Bomber Squad in the Army Air Corp during WWII.  He was stationed under the command of General Nathan Twining and was witness himself to Padre Pio who was flying in the air in front of him.