Leon Johnson Medal of Honor

 

 

 

Ok, this one is difficult for me, I'm of two minds here.  First, Colonel Johnson (rank at the time)  was awarded the Medal of Honor for the B-24 Raid on the Ploesti Oil Refinery.  He was one of the five Medals awarded in the attack.*  

He was one of only two of the recipients who survived the mission.  He was in the lead aircraft as the mission began. As  we've read on other reports of the medals awarded, the majority were awarded to crews who were towards the end of the attack as were the 3 Medal of Honor awarded posthumously. There were also 56 Distinguished Flying Cross's awarded on the mission. Air medals were awarded to ALL crew members on the mission. 

But, he was there, not sitting at a desk in London "commanding" the mission." Got to give him credit for that.

So, on with the story. 

 

 Photo after Col Johnson was awarded the Medal of Honor.

 Operation Tidal Wave was the mission code name for an attack on the Axis Petroleum Refinery in Ploiesti Romania.  177 B-24 Bombers were committed to the attack.  53 of them and 500 crew members were lost.

101 Civilians were killed in the attack and 238 injured. A tidbit I didn't know was that one of the bombers that was shot down crashed into a women's prison and killed about half of the total civilian casualties.

 The attack temporarily eliminated about 46 percent of Ploesti’s annual production, but all the damaged refineries were back in full production within three months, making the attack fairly ineffective. 

5 Medals of Honor were awarded, 3 of which were posthumous. Leon Johnson was one of the Survivors, John Kane was the other.

 The mission was flown at ultra-low altitudes to enhance surprise.  One of the lessons learned (and relearned many, many times again) is that large formations of aircraft at low altitude are unlikely to surprise the folks in the target area nor the people along that route.

 

Source

 Suffice it to say, this mission was a failure.

But....This is the official picture of General Johnson as the 4 star commander of Strategic Air Command.  I'll leave it at that. 

Source

 

 

 Citation for the award of the Medal of Honor to Col Leon Johnson

For conspicuous gallantry in action and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 1 August 1943. Col. Johnson, as commanding officer of a heavy bombardment group, led the formation of the aircraft of his organization constituting the fourth element of the mass low-level bombing attack of the 9th U.S. Air Force against the vitally important enemy target of the Ploesti oil refineries. While proceeding to the target on this 2,400-mile flight, his element became separated from the leading elements of the mass formation in maintaining the formation of the unit while avoiding dangerous cumulous cloud conditions encountered over mountainous territory. Though temporarily lost, he reestablished contact with the third element and continued on the mission with this reduced force to the prearranged point of attack, where it was discovered that the target assigned to Col. Johnson's group had been attacked and damaged by a preceding element. Though having lost the element of surprise upon which the safety and success of such a daring form of mission in heavy bombardment aircraft so strongly depended, Col. Johnson elected to carry out his planned low-level attack despite the thoroughly alerted defenses, the destructive antiaircraft fire, enemy fighter airplanes, the imminent danger of exploding delayed action bombs from the previous element, of oil fires and explosions, and of intense smoke obscuring the target. By his gallant courage, brilliant leadership, and superior flying skill, Col. Johnson so led his formation as to destroy totally the important refining plants and installations which were the object of his mission. Col. Johnson's personal contribution to the success of this historic raid, and the conspicuous gallantry in action, and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty demonstrated by him on this occasion constitute such deeds of valor and distinguished service as have during our Nation's history formed the finest traditions of our Armed Forces. 

 My heartburn with this one is two words in his Citation. Those would be "destroy totally".  History indicates that to be untrue.  The refinery was up and producing petroleum at pre-attack levels in 3 months.

* For those wondering, these are the 5 Medal of Honor recipients for their actions on this mission, Lt Col Addison Baker (posthumous), Maj John Jerstad (posthumous), Lt Lloyd Hughes (posthumous), Col Leon Johnson, and Col John Kane.

 

Sources 

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_W._Johnson

https://www.maxwell.af.mil/News/Photos/igphoto/ 

https://warhistory.org/article/the-ploesti-raid

https://www.realclearhistory.com/2021/08/02/1st_ploesti_raid_bold_but_ineffective_787621.html

Monday Musings for a Tuesday

PEARL HARBOR (July 4, 2022) Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) and Zumwalt-class destroyer USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) sit pierside as a 4th of July fireworks display illuminates the night sky over Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022.
U.S. Navy Photo

Once upon a time I had a job, a job I loved, working with people who I loved and respected. Of course, I also worked with quite a few people who didn't fall into that category. But hey, that's life. The world is full of assholes, scoundrels, and nitwits, you can't always (mayhaps never) get to choose with whom you work.

That being said, I had breakfast on Sunday morning with one of the people from the old days whom I still love and respect. I introduce her as "my old boss" even though she said, at breakfast, "I wasn't really your boss."

"Were you in charge in the lab?"

"Yeah, kind of."

"Did I have to do what you told me to do?"

"Well, sure, I mean ..."

"So there, you were my boss."

Okay, I'm kinda old school. Someone is always in charge. Modern corporate America likes to think in terms of teams, all for one and one for all, but someone is always responsible for making sure shit gets done. Whether you call them the boss, or not, they call the shots. If no one calls the shots, then whatever you're working on invariably fails.

Anyhoo ...

We had nearly four inches of rain Sunday and we were out there in the midst of it. It bothers some people, as for me? Hey, it's water, it's not going to freeze, and if I get wet I'll eventually dry off. Which was the case, got a little wet, and dried off.

I love that opening photo. The ship in the middle, USS Michael Monsoor, is the one whose systems I worked on in the twilight years of my career. Best job I ever had and the reason I worked until I was 71. If some of our upper management hadn't been so stupid I might still be there. But it was time to walk away.

Do I miss it at times? Sure, I was there for 25 years, worked with some awesome people, got to work on some awesome systems. There are days I wonder if they'd have me back, then I sober up and go back to bed.

I miss it yes, but retirement means that one can finally march to the beat of one's own drummer and not that of some remote desk pilot wearing a suit.

Retirement is nice, but I do miss some of the folks I worked with. Fortunately I get to see two of them on a fairly regular basis. We hang out, tell stories, and enjoy each other's company.

I cherish those moments.

Be well, this bachelor stuff is tiresome, but The Missus Herself will return and I'll have to go back to shaving and not swearing at the television. If you're wondering, I do shower, every day. I even do laundry!

But going to bed at 2 AM and getting up at 10 is for younger folk, but with the wife not around, I have no one to remind me to be civilized.

Ah well ...

MOH History

 This is a rerun from 8 years ago, just to refresh y'all's memories on the History of the Medal of Honor. I found it interesting, even on the second go-round.

Interesting Facts and Figures

So, a few weeks years ago, Sarge turned me on to a new YouTube Channel entitled The History Guy.  Each video is 5 to 10 minutes long and concerned about some aspect of history that has been underreported.

The First Medal of Honor Recipient 

 

I soon noticed one of his videos that piqued my interest.  It concerned who received the first Medal of Honor.  According to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, the first Medal of Honor was presented to Private Jacob Parrott on March 25, 1863.  His Citation reads:

Rank and organization: Private, Company K, 33d Ohio Infantry. Place and date: Georgia, April 1862. Entered service at: Hardin County, Ohio. Birth: 17 July 1843, Fairfield County, Ohio. Date of issue: 25 March 1863. Citation: One of the 19 of 22 men (including 2 civilians) who, by direction of Gen. Mitchell (or Buell) penetrated nearly 200 miles south into enemy territory and captured a railroad train at Big Shanty, Ga., in an attempt to destroy the bridges and tracks between Chattanooga and Atlanta.

That's not the style of current Medal of Honor Citations, but evidently after capturing the train, he was himself captured by the Confederates and beaten 110 times for information.  In spite of this he managed to escape, but was recaptured and eventually exchanged.  Neither the fact that he'd received the Medal nor that he'd been a POW prevented him from accepting a commission and continuing to fight through the remainder of the war, finally passing in 1908 of a heart attack.

That's one definition of First Medal of Honor.  The History Guy video talked about the person who received it for the earliest date of action.  That distinction belongs to a Surgeon, strangely.   
 

Source

Assistant Surgeon Bernard J.D. Irwin was the only officer available to lead a mission to rescue 60 soldiers surrounded by Apaches in Arizona.  This event occurred on Feb 13, 1861.  However, the Medal would not be presented until 1894.  His Citation reads:

Voluntarily took command of troops and attacked and defeated hostile Indians he met on the way. Surgeon Irwin volunteered to go to the rescue of 2d Lt. George N. Bascom, 7th Infantry, who with 60 men was trapped by Chiricahua Apaches under Cochise. Irwin and 14 men, not having horses began the 100-mile march riding mules. After fighting and capturing Indians, recovering stolen horses and cattle, he reached Bascom's column and help break his siege.

 Again, not the prose we've come to expect for a Medal of Honor citation.  Essentially, he tricked Cochise into believing that he had a much larger force and that Cochise was surrounded.  Cochise left the area and the 7th Infantry unit was rescued.  The History Guy does a good job of discussing the pro's and con's of the situation.  It's not all Honor and Glory apparently, but it was an entirely different time back then.

Yet another "First"

 

Source

The first, and only as yet, Medal of Honor awarded to a woman didn't occur as a result of the expansion of women into combat arms in the late 20th Century.  Indeed, the first woman, Dr Mary Walker, was awarded the Medal of Honor  in November of 1865 for her actions at Bull Run, Chicamauga and Atlanta and while a POW.    As with other Civil War era citations, hers is rather sparse:

Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861; Patent Office Hospital, Washington, D.C., October 1861; Chattanooga, Tenn., following Battle of Chickomauga, September 1863; Prisoner of War, April 10, 1864-August 12, 1864, Richmond, Va.; Battle of Atlanta, September 1864 Whereas it appears from official reports that Dr. Mary E. Walker, a graduate of medicine, "has rendered valuable service to the Government, and her efforts have been earnest and untiring in a variety of ways," and that she was assigned to duty and served as an assistant surgeon in charge of female prisoners at Louisville, Ky., upon the recommendation of Major-Generals Sherman and Thomas, and faithfully served as contract surgeon in the service of the United States, and has devoted herself with much patriotic zeal to the sick and wounded soldiers, both in the field and hospitals, to the detriment of her own health, and has also endured hardships as a prisoner of war four months in a Southern prison while acting as contract surgeon; and Whereas by reason of her not being a commissioned officer in the military service, a brevet or honorary rank cannot, under existing laws, be conferred upon her; and Whereas in the opinion of the President an honorable recognition of her services and sufferings should be made: It is ordered, That a testimonial thereof shall be hereby made and given to the said Dr. Mary E. Walker, and that the usual medal of honor for meritorious services be given her. Given under my hand in the city of Washington, D.C., this 11th day of November, A.D. 1865. Andrew Johnson, President (Medal rescinded 1917 along with 910 others, restored by President Carter 10 June 1977.)

Because she was not actually enlisted or commissioned in the Army, merely volunteering,  the Medal was rescinded and finally restored by President Carter.  I believe he got that one right.

Further perusal of the CMOHS website, provides an interesting tidbit that there have been 19 people who have received the Medal of Honor twice.  One of whom has a last name of Custer.

Source

No, not THAT Custer, THIS Custer, 2Lt Thomas W. Custer received the Medal of Honor for capturing the enemy's flag at Namozine Church VA on May 10 1863 and again at Sailor Creek VA in April of 1865.  His Citation reads:

Capture of flag on 10 May 1863. SECOND AWARD Place and date: At Sailor Creek , Va, April 1865. Date of issue: 26 May 1865. Citation: 2d Lt. Custer leaped his horse over the enemy's works and captured 2 stands of colors, having his horse shot from under him and receiving a severe wound.

 The last of the Dual Awards Recipient, Louis Cukela, Sgt USMC received both the Army and Navy  Medal of Honor.  (Each Service has their own Medal of Honor to award.)  Evidently, he single handedly captured an enemy machine gun position by flanking it then bayoneting  the crew.  At that point, he used their grenades to destroy the remainder of the position.

Source

I got a chuckle out of the blurb on him as he is credited with saying "If I want to send a goddamned fool, I'd go myself"

Sgt Cukela's Citation reads:

When his company, advancing through a wood, met with strong resistance from an enemy strong point, Sgt. Cukela crawled out from the flank and made his way toward the German lines in the face of heavy fire, disregarding the warnings of his comrades. He succeeded in getting behind the enemy position and rushed a machinegun emplacement, killing or driving off the crew with his bayonet. With German handgrenades he then bombed out the remaining portion of the strong point, capturing 4 men and 2 damaged machineguns. SECOND AWARD For extraordinary heroism while serving with the 66th Company, 5th Regiment, during action in the Forest de Retz, near Viller-Cottertes, France, 18 July 1918. Sgt. Cukela advanced alone against an enemy strong point that was holding up his line. Disregarding the warnings of his comrades, he crawled out from the flank in the face of heavy fire and worked his way to the rear of the enemy position. Rushing a machinegun emplacement, he killed or drove off the crew with his bayonet, bombed out the remaining part of the strong point with German handgrenades and captured 2 machineguns and 4 men.

 

The first USAF Medal of Honor

 

Trick Question, who was the first person whose actions earned him the Air Force Medal of Honor?

The Air Force Medal of Honor was not authorized until 1963.  The first action for which an Air Force Medal of Honor was awarded occurred on March 10, 1966 and involved Major Bernie Fisher, but regular readers of this blog should have gotten that one right.

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. On that date, the special forces camp at A Shau was under attack by 2,000 North Vietnamese Army regulars. Hostile troops had positioned themselves between the airstrip and the camp.

Other hostile troops had surrounded the camp and were continuously raking it with automatic weapons fire from the surrounding hills. The tops of the 1,500-foot hills were obscured by an 800 foot ceiling, limiting aircraft maneuverability and forcing pilots to operate within range of hostile gun positions, which often were able to fire down on the attacking aircraft. 

During the battle, Maj. Fisher observed a fellow airman crash land on the battle-torn airstrip. In the belief that the downed pilot was seriously injured and in imminent danger of capture, Maj. Fisher announced his intention to land on the airstrip to effect a rescue. Although aware of the extreme danger and likely failure of such an attempt, he elected to continue. 

Directing his own air cover, he landed his aircraft and taxied almost the full length of the runway, which was littered with battle debris and parts of an exploded aircraft. While effecting a successful rescue of the downed pilot, heavy ground fire was observed, with 19 bullets striking his aircraft. 

In the face of the withering ground fire, he applied power and gained enough speed to lift-off at the overrun of the airstrip. Maj. Fisher's profound concern for his fellow airman, and at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.

The last Medal of Honor presented to date. 

 

 I found it interesting to read that on June 26, 2018, President Trump presented the Medal of Honor, posthumously, to  1LT Garlin Murl Conner assigned to the 7th Infantry Regiment , 3rd Infantry Division for actions that occurred in WWII.  

Source

Lt Conner  had previously received 4 Silver Stars, a Bronze Star and 3 Purple Hearts.  After returning to duty from injuries, he volunteered to move forward of the front lines to direct artillery fire against a German attack, continuing to do so throughout the attack eventually calling the fire in on his own position.

That is generally not conducive to a long life, but the Lt managed to survive and received the Army's Distinguished Service Cross for the action.  Lt Conner's citation:

On the morning of January 24, 1945, near the town of Houssen, France, German forces ferociously counterattacked the front left flank of the 7th Infantry Regiment with 600 infantry troops, six Mark VI tanks, and tank destroyers.
Lieutenant Conner, having recently returned to his unit after recovering from a wound received in an earlier battle, was working as the Intelligence Officer in the 3d Battalion Command Post at the time of the attack. Understanding the devastating effect that the advancing enemy armor could have on the Battalion, Lieutenant Conner immediately volunteered to run straight into the heart of the enemy assault to get to a position from which he could direct friendly artillery on the advancing enemy forces.
With complete disregard for his own safety, Lieutenant Conner maneuvered 400 yards through enemy artillery fire that destroyed trees in his path and rained shrapnel all around him, while unrolling telephone wire needed to communicate with the Battalion command post. Upon reaching the Battalion’s front line, he continued to move forward under the enemy assault to a position 30 yards in front of the defending United States forces, where he plunged into a shallow ditch that provided minimal protection from the advancing enemy’s heavy machine gun and small arms fire.
With rounds impacting all around him, Lieutenant Conner calmly directed multiple fire missions, adjusting round after round of artillery from his prone position, until the enemy was forced to halt its advance and seek cover behind a nearby dike. For three hours, Lieutenant Conner remained in this compromised position, enduring the repeated onslaught of German infantry which, at one point, advanced to within five yards of his position. As German infantry regrouped and began to mass in an overwhelming assault, Lieutenant Conner ordered friendly artillery to concentrate directly on his own position, having resolved to die if necessary to destroy the enemy advance. Ignoring the friendly artillery shells blanketing his position and exploding mere feet from him, Lieutenant Conner continued to direct artillery fire on the enemy assault swarming around him until the German attack was finally broken.
By his heroism and disregard for his own life, Lieutenant Conner stopped the enemy advance. The artillery he expertly directed, while under constant enemy fire, killed approximately fifty German soldiers and wounded an estimated one hundred more, preventing what would have undoubtedly been heavy friendly casualties. His actions are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the 3d Infantry Division, and the United States Army.

The Lt passed away in 1998, but the paperwork was processed to upgrade the Distinguished Service Cross to the Medal of Honor in 2017.  President Trump approved it.  

Well done, Mr. President. No....I'm not tired of winning, nor am I likely to become so. To many Men and Women have given everything to defend "We the People" for us to tire.

Never give up, Never surrender!

The Back Yard is Happy Once More

OAFS Photo

Well, I don't know about happy, but the grass has been trimmed, cut, and groomed to American suburban standards. Not that I care much for that, but The Missus Herself does, and she has a lot more sense than I do.

So that's taken care of, for another week, and then the dance begins again.

Where's Ned Stark mumbling about "Winter is coming ..."

At least the weather is nice right now. And my knee is better, I'm actually hobbling around sans crutch. Though mind you, I don't stray far from them!

I like a nicely cut lawn, as long as it ain't me doing the cutting.

I'm getting too old for that ...

The Back Yard is Starting to Look Like ...

OAFS Photo

What we have here, is a failure to ...

Mow the lawn.

It's in work as we speak, finally got a guy to do it, cost me a pretty penny it did.

But as I am semi-functional in the mobility department, I couldn't do it myself.

The idea of contacting a certain retired Army officer out Kansas way to see if he and his missus would consider renting me a few goats did cross my mind. But as an acquaintance of mine pointed out, the goats would eat more than just the grass. Though the soil of New England be most rocky, I'm sure that The Missus Herself would have no trouble planting me, Your Humble Scribe, in the back yard when she returned from Korea to see her gardens gone.

I mean the bloody rabbits are bad enough.

I mean it's been a month since the grass had been cut, I cut it just before heading south for Roberto's birthday. During that time I managed to fire truck up my right knee. Being hobbled as such, couldn't cut it when I got home. Figured I'd give it a week then try again.

The doctor at urgent care advised me that the knee healing would be four to six weeks before I could expect to start cutting grass again.

So I took a Zen-like view of the situation, as recommended by a certain retired Naval Officer of my acquaintance, and stopped letting it bother me. I also decided to get out of the do-it-yourself lawn mowing thing altogether. Traveling a lot, as we do now, the grass doesn't get the attention it demands while we're on the road. So ...

I hired a guy.

Seems like a good man, an honorable chap. Only time will tell if it's a long term solution to my not wanting to mow the lawn anymore.

We travel too much, and ...

I'm lazy.

So ...

Here we go.

A Quarter Century Later ...

Source

Twenty five years ...

A quarter century ...

The world went from looking pretty good, from my own perspective, to yet another nightmare vision.

I'd grown up during Vietnam, the specter of that conflict loomed ever closer as I got older. Casualty lists published in magazines, along with pictures of those who fell, were not uncommon. I began to wonder if that was my fate.

No.

Then the Cold War, which seemed to heat up throughout my adulthood, but never boiled over. The threat of nuclear weapons hovered over everything.

I was on Okinawa when two U.S. Army officers were murdered by the North Koreans in the DMZ. We had two squadrons of Phantoms on the way to Kunsan in no time at all. War seemed very likely.

No.

The Soviet Union collapsed, the Warsaw Pact died, it looked as if peace was breaking out all over. I retired from the Air Force, my oldest went into Navy ROTC, things were looking pretty good.

In the spring of 2001, my son was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy. My oldest daughter had an ROTC scholarship in hand and would be following her brother into that program. Everything seemed wonderful, and in many ways it was.

It was a Tuesday, an absolutely gorgeous day. I was in the courtyard at work, chatting with a buddy, someone mentioned that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. My first thought was this ...

Source

I went down to the cafeteria, on the way I heard that it was a commercial airliner which had hit one tower of the building.

It wasn't an accident, it was this ...

Source

At the cafeteria where, back in the good old days, we had a television tuned to CNN, we could see one tower of the WTC smoking. There was a big crowd in there, all eyes glued to the screen, everyone was very, very quiet.

As we watched, a second aircraft hit the other tower.

A friend in the crowd turned to me and asked what this meant, I answered with three words ...

"We're at war."

And so we were, but with who? A bunch of assholes who were already dead? The country they came from, the guy who planned the whole thing?

While I walked back to my desk, in stunned silence, my first thought was how this might affect my son, now on active duty. Then I wondered how The Missus Herself might feel about me returning to active duty. It was a possibility.

But this was a different war, Dubya went after the wrong bad guys, Iraq was a sideshow. Afghanistan followed, the world once again went to hell in a handbasket and once again the specter of nuclear weapons raised its ugly head.

Who was the enemy?

All I know is that the world changed that day, and not for the better.

And things seem to be getting worse.

The American people woke up on September 11th, 2001. Now they've gone back to sleep.

The wolves are once again at the door.

Never forgive, never forget ...

U.S. Air Force Photo

Too many Americans already have.

David R. Kingsley MOH

 

 

Source

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47ieN_FFXrw

Okay, this is another of the several Medal of Honor recipients who were participants in raids on Ploesti in WWII.  This was not the disastrous B-24 raid, I've written about before that had 5 Medal of Honor recipients involved.  This was a B-17 raid on the oil refinery on June 23 1944.  Unfortunately, he did not survive this raid, but, read on and see if you think his actions met the standards of the Medal of Honor.  Lt Kingsley was a bombardier aboard a B-17.  The aircraft took severe damage from enemy aircraft and several crew members were injured.  The aircraft commander ordered the crew to bail out to save their lives.  One of the crew members could not find his parachute.  Lt Kingsley gave him his chute saving the crew member's life. Unfortunately, Lt Kingsley could not leave the aircraft and was killed on impact.  In my humble opinion, I'd say his actions absolutely met the standards required of the Medal of Honor.  Rest in Peace, Sir! 

 

Source

 Second Lieutenant Kingsley's official Medal of Honor citation"

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, June 23, 1944 near Ploesti, Romania, while flying as bombardier of a B17 type aircraft. On the bomb run 2d Lt. Kingsley's aircraft was severely damaged by intense flak and forced to drop out of formation but the pilot proceeded over the target and 2d Lt. Kingsley successfully dropped his bombs, causing severe damage to vital installations. The damaged aircraft, forced to lose altitude and to lag behind the formation, was aggressively attacked by 3 Me 109 aircraft, causing more damage to the aircraft and severely wounding the tail gunner in the upper arm. The radio operator and engineer notified 2d Lt. Kingsley that the tail gunner had been wounded and that assistance was needed to check the bleeding. 2d Lt. Kingsley made his way back to the radio room, skillfully applied first aid to the wound, and succeeded in checking the bleeding. The tail gunner's parachute harness and heavy clothes were removed and he was covered with blankets, making him as comfortable as possible. Eight Me 109 aircraft again aggressively attacked 2d Lt. Kingsley's aircraft and the ball turret gunner was wounded by 20mm. shell fragments. He went forward to the radio room to have 2d Lt. Kingsley administer first aid. A few minutes later when the pilot gave the order to prepare to bail out, 2d Lt. Kingsley immediately began to assist the wounded gunners in putting on their parachute harness. In the confusion the tail gunner's harness, believed to have been damaged, could not be located in the bundle of blankets and flying clothes which had been removed from the wounded men. With utter disregard for his own means of escape, 2d Lt. Kingsley unhesitatingly removed his parachute harness and adjusted it to the wounded tail gunner. Due to the extensive damage caused by the accurate and concentrated 20mm. fire by the enemy aircraft the pilot gave the order to bail out, as it appeared that the aircraft would disintegrate at any moment. 2d Lt. Kingsley aided the wounded men in bailing out and when last seen by the crewmembers he was standing on the bomb bay catwalk. The aircraft continued to fly on automatic pilot for a short distance, then crashed and burned. His body was later found in the wreckage. 2d Lt. Kingsley by his gallant heroic action was directly responsible for saving the life of the wounded gunner. type aircraft. On the bomb run 2d Lt. Kingsley's aircraft was severely damaged by intense flak and forced to drop out of formation but the pilot proceeded over the target and 2d Lt. Kingsley successfully dropped his bombs, causing severe damage to vital installations. The damaged aircraft, forced to lose altitude and to lag behind the formation, was aggressively attacked by 3 Me 109 aircraft, causing more damage to the aircraft and severely wounding the tail gunner in the upper arm. The radio operator and engineer notified 2d Lt. Kingsley that the tail gunner had been wounded and that assistance was needed to check the bleeding. 2d Lt. Kingsley made his way back to the radio room, skillfully applied first aid to the wound, and succeeded in checking the bleeding. The tail gunner's parachute harness and heavy clothes were removed and he was covered with blankets, making him as comfortable as possible. Eight Me 109 aircraft again aggressively attacked 2d Lt. Kingsley's aircraft and the ball turret gunner was wounded by 20mm. shell fragments. He went forward to the radio room to have 2d Lt. Kingsley administer first aid. A few minutes later when the pilot gave the order to prepare to bail out, 2d Lt. Kingsley immediately began to assist the wounded gunners in putting on their parachute harness. In the confusion the tail gunner's harness, believed to have been damaged, could not be located in the bundle of blankets and flying clothes which had been removed from the wounded men. With utter disregard for his own means of escape, 2d Lt. Kingsley unhesitatingly removed his parachute harness and adjusted it to the wounded tail gunner. Due to the extensive damage caused by the accurate and concentrated 20mm. fire by the enemy aircraft the pilot gave the order to bail out, as it appeared that the aircraft would disintegrate at any moment. 2d Lt. Kingsley aided the wounded men in bailing out and when last seen by the crew members, he was standing on the bomb bay catwalk. The aircraft continued to fly on automatic pilot for a short distance, then crashed and burned. His body was later found in the wreckage. 2d Lt. Kingsley by his gallant heroic action was directly responsible for saving the life of the wounded gunner. Source