"As a reward for his very great and glorious deeds, he is authorized to attack anything, anywhere, anytime during the time of darkness." So said the satirical award document presented to the Lieutenant for achieving the required number of night missions with the "Black Knights" of the 452d Bombardment Group. For months, Dash flew over North Korea only at night to dive-bomb roads and railways.  Initially, he was flying C-54s out of Japan for radar calibration flights from September through December 1951.  After four months of hopping around the local islands, into Korea, and back to Japan, he decided to volunteer for something more thrilling and made his way into the 729th Bombardment Squadron to fly the ‘glass-nose’ B-26C Invaders out of K-9 in Pusan.

These missions were immediately much more thrilling and just the sort of daring flying Dash was seeking.  After the North Koreans and  Chinese  began to move their supply convoys under cover of darkness, the B-26 converted to solely flying night missions.  It turned out to be the only suitable aircraft for the role, as the radar-equipped F-82 Twin Mustangs had been kept in Japan, the F-80s were too fast to locate targets at night, and the F-51 Mustang's gun shots could damage a pilot's night vision. Conducting night attacks on convoys became the primary task for the B-26 Invader during the war, and they had to develop various tactics to find their targets in the dark. Some planes were equipped with searchlights, while others worked with C-47 'Firefly' planes that dropped flares. Some operated in pairs as a 'hunter-killer' team, where the first plane would locate the target and fly over it until it disappeared, luring the drivers to turn their lights back on and expose themselves for the second plane.

By the end of March 1952 his crew of four included Lieutenant Bobby Hammet, bombardier, Lieutenant Paul Fine, shoran operator, and Lieutenant  Penny, flight engineer and gunner.  Hammet and Penny were new arrivals, having joined that month.  Dash had been flying with Fine since January when the young lieutenant joined the squadron.  Fine was a few years his senior with years of service in Europe during World War II.  They flew under the 729th for a month before the squadron was inactivated and all personnel and aircraft transferred to the 37th Bombardment Squadron.

Dash, who was typically humble about his military service in later years, regaled listeners of the tale of his fifty-first mission - just four short of completing a tour - when was shot down over enemy territory. Thinking only of the survival of his crew, he wrestled his B-26 towards the inky waters of Wonson Bay and violently splashed down. Had he aimed towards landfall he felt the North Koreans or Chinese would no doubt have taken every man onboard prisoner - a fate assumed to be worse than death. The waters were still shockingly cold as they gurgled into the fuselage. Abe panicked that none of his crew members were present or responsive. He was completely alone in foreign waters and only his determination to survive overshadowed overwhelming fear and isolation.

A distant Navy ship had seen Dash's B-26 plummeting from the sky and steamed towards the crash sight. Abe was the only survivor they pulled out and though cherishing his fortune, he felt immense guilt over the loss of his crew. After his last mission on June 6, 1952 he returned home to remain quiet about most of his wartime experiences and focus on his career in law and education. He practiced with great distinction and above all generously gave the greatest gift of knowledge to all of his pupils. It was his passion and focus and very rarely did he mention his experiences in the night skies above Korea - perhaps because of his humility or perhaps to avoid reliving any unpleasantries.