Return to Paradise

OAFS Photo

So for the third year in a row, we're heading down to Virginia's Eastern Shore, staying at the same place, with the same people. The Nuke and her tribe and The Missus Herself and Your Humble Scribe. To say I love it down there is an understatement.

Juvat has Medal of Honor posts scheduled through part of next week and I plan to let those flow. After that he'll revert to his normal Monday schedule. I dare say, if I hit a bump in the road, posting wise, he'll have a whole bunch written up and ready to go.

Good wingman, that.

For the vacation I plan on doing vacation-type posts, ya know, today we went swimming, then we threw some meat on the grill (well, Tuttle does that, the boy LOVES to grill and I'm not one to stand in the way.), ate that meat along with whatever sides were prepared, then we drank some beer. Er, um, well, I drank some beer. Tuttle will join in on occasion, but he's more of a wine/liquor kind of guy. Must be the fighter pilot in him, Big Time is the same, though he's all about rum and whiskey, though not at the same time. Only old maintainers make that mistake.

Stop looking at me like that. (See Matthew 7:1 for further guidance.)

I'm not sure if I'm going to finish the Franco-Prussian War tale, I'm almost done with the second book I've read on that conflict and, while fascinating, it's also rather confusing.

It all goes like this:

• France invades Germany, just a little poke really, then falls back
• Germans (think Prussians, Bavarians, Saxons, Württembergers, various Hessians, and a few others of that ilk. Germany was, at the time, a concept, not a country) swarm into France and start kicking ass
• French and their "Emperor" (I put that in quotes because the man who held that title wasn't worthy of shining his uncle's boots, if'n you catch my drift) get surrounded at Sedan, the army there and the "Emperor" go into the bag. So basically the Imperial government is vacant at the head (though the Empress, note, no quotes, the lady kicked ass, did a creditable job of trying to carry on)
• Then the remaining professional army also goes into the bag after yet another siege
• The "Government of National Defense" is formed and the French hope to fight on, with thousands of semi-enthusiastic untrained (for the most part) volunteers, a few "voluntolds" in there as well
• The French "strategy" is to save Paris, which is surrounded, and that is pretty much the only strategy
• Most of the French populace doesn't live in Paris, but the government does and ... Well, you can guess the rest.

It's all rather confusing, both sides had a plethora of incompetent generals and both headquarters in the field had lots and lots of toadies and minor nobility clogging things up - remember, Prussia had a king at the time, he was the HMFIC. Though not everyone listened to him.

So for the time being, that story will sit idle. Rather like a TV show that gets stopped in mid-season while the execs try to determine if it's worth bringing back.

I won't regale you with politics, as I abhor that topic and most of those who participate in that "sport." I'll leave that to Tuna, Beans will wax political at times as well. Not sure how they get through it without vomiting on their keyboards.

Anyhoo, that's all for now, the Chesapeake Bay beckons and I cannot wait to stand on her shore once more.

Sarge, out.

OAFS Photo

John A Jerstad MOH

 Ya know, sometimes I hate blogger with a passion.  Not 10 minutes ago, I finished this post and hit update and the post disappeared.  Thanks loads, Google!

Now that I got that off my mind, on with the rerun.

Today's post is back on the topic of Medal of Honor recipients, and we'll discuss Major John L Jerstad's actions on one of the deadliest missions flown in WWII.  That would be the raid on Ploesti, Romania code named Operation Tidal Wave in which 53 B-24's were shot down (Crew of 10) and 55 more were damaged.

 

John A Jerstad Major USAAf 

Source

John L. Jerstad enlisted as an aviation cadet in July 1941. After flight training he was commissioned in February 1942.  In October 1942 he was transferred to Europe and flew B-24s with the 328th Bomb Squadron as a Captain.  In April 1943, he was promoted to Major an became the Wing Commander's Chief Operations Officer.

This tells me something, in 14 months he rose from Lt to Major.  Either he was extremely talented or casualty rates were extremely high.

Or Both! 

By August 1943, Major Jerstad had completed more than the requisite 25 missions to go home. However, as a group operations planner, he had knowledge of an upcoming mission and asked if he'd be allowed to fly on that one.  Which was approved.

That mission was titled "Operation Tidal Wave" which would include 179 B-24s, 18 hours of flying time and 2400 miles round trip to attack the oil refineries in Ploesti Romania.  

The attack was executed, 53 aircraft were lost 10 men per crew.  5 crew members were awarded the Medal of Honor on this mission.  3 of them were  posthumous. 

 

Source

 

Major Jerstad was one of them.  3 miles from the target, his B-24 was hit by AAA and caught fire.  Ignoring a close field that he could crash land his critically damaged bomber in, he continued to the target and dropped his bombs.  With the bomb bay doors open the flames became intense and the bomber crashed killing all on board.

Source

 

 

Rest in Peace, Major Jerstad and your crew.  You earned it, heroes.  

 Citation for the Award of the Medal of Honor

John L. Jerstad, U.S. Air Force Photo

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty. On 1 August 1943, he served as pilot of the lead aircraft in his group in a daring low-level attack against enemy oil refineries and installations at Ploesti, Romania. Although he had completed more than his share of missions and was no longer connected with this group, so high was his conception of duty that he volunteered to lead the formation in the correct belief that his participation would contribute materially to success in this attack. Maj. Jerstad led the formation into attack with full realization of the extreme hazards involved and despite withering fire from heavy and light antiaircraft guns. Three miles from the target his airplane was hit, badly damaged, and set on fire. Ignoring the fact that he was flying over a field suitable for a forced landing, he kept on the course. After the bombs of his aircraft were released on the target, the fire in his ship became so intense as to make further progress impossible and he crashed into the target area. By his voluntary acceptance of a mission he knew was extremely hazardous, and his assumption of an intrepid course of action at the risk of life over and above the call of duty, Maj. Jerstad set an example of heroism which will be an inspiration to the U.S. Armed Forces.^[4]

 Rest in peace, Major!

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L._Jerstad 

https://www.war.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/Article/2709280/medal-of-honor-monday-army-maj-john-jerstad/ 

 

William A Shomo MOH

 

Ok, another in the series of USAF (and predecessor) Medal of Honor recipient.  This recipient is a member of a list of very few but lucky recipients.  He served in WWII where he earned the medal.  He passed away in 1990 at 81.  So, earned the medal and survived the war.  There aren't a lot of those folks.

 

In any case, on with the story which takes place in the Pacific AOR.  I'll confess that I didn't realize that P-51s were in use there.  

 

Source

 

 

I thought the primary fighter for the long range needed in the Pacific was the P-38.  Well, evidently I was mistaken and learned something new.  The P-51 went into action in the Pacifi in January 1945.  So...Thanks Sarge for offering me the opportunity to learn some History.

 

7 of those 8 Japanese flags occurred on  ONE sortie! 

Source

 

In any case, the subject for this week is Major William A Shomo. 

 

Major Shomo

Source 

 

 

 

Take a look at that picture. Does he look like a badass or what?  Well, let me tell you his story and believe me, when you've read it, you'll add a new definition to the word "Badass".

 

Prior to December 1944, after Major Shomo had been stationed in Papua, New Guinea and flying very short range P-36's and P-40s (a big problem in the little lake called the Pacific Ocean).   At that point, he was transferred to Mindoro, in the Phillipines.  He was given command of an F-6D squadron at that point.  While armed with the standard P-51 6x50 cal machine guns, the F-6D's primary mission was photo reconnaissance.  

 

F-6D 

Source

 

 

That makes this story a little bit more interesting.

 

On January 9, 1945, Major Shomo was leading a reconnaissance mission over northern Luzon.  On spotting a Japanese "Val" dive bomber approaching it's airfield to land.  Major Shomo immediately dived on it and shot it down for his first victory.

 

Two days later, on another reconnaissance mission to photograph Japanese airfields on Luzon, they saw 12 Japanese fighters escorting a bomber.  Major Shomo immediately pulled up in an Immelman turn (basically an vertical 180 degree turn) and engaged the formation.  In the engagement, he attacked two of the escorting  fighters and then the bomber.  All of which he shot down.  At that point he engaged some of the other escorts, shooting down four of them.  His wingman shot down 3 of the remainng 6 aircraft.

 

I expect morale in the Japanese squadron took a hit. 

 

Folks, flying and fighting like that takes a lot of guts and even more skill.  AND...That's not the highest score for a single engagement.  Just so my Navy friends don't protest.  The highest single engagement victory count is.  Commander David McCamble shot down 9 Japanese fighters and two probables in a single engagement. 

 

President Reagan (and I have quoted him recently) said "Where do we get such men?"

 

Good Question. 

 

 

Citation for the award of Medal of Honor

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Maj. Shomo was lead pilot of a flight of two fighter planes charged with an armed photographic and strafing mission against the Aparri and Laoag airdromes. While en route to the objective, he observed an enemy twin engine bomber, protected by 12 fighters, flying about 2,500 feet above him and in the opposite direction. Although the odds were 13 to 2, Maj. Shomo immediately ordered an attack. Accompanied by his wingman he closed on the enemy formation in a climbing turn and scored hits on the leading plane of the third element, which exploded in midair. Maj. Shomo then attacked the second element from the left side of the formation and shot another fighter down in flames. When the enemy formed for counterattack, Maj. Shomo moved to the other side of the formation and hit a third fighter which exploded and fell. Diving below the bomber, he put a burst into its underside and it crashed and burned. Pulling up from this pass he encountered a fifth plane firing head on and destroyed it. He next dived upon the first element and shot down the lead plane; then diving to 300 feet in pursuit of another fighter he caught it with his initial burst and it crashed in flames. During this action his wingman had shot down three planes, while the three remaining enemy fighters had fled into a cloud bank and escaped. Maj. Shomo's extraordinary gallantry and intrepidity in attacking such a far superior force and destroying seven enemy aircraft in one action is unparalleled in the southwest Pacific area.

 

Sources

 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_A._Shomo

-https://worldwarwings.com/pilot-destroys-40-enemy-planes-wwii/.   

Good info source here, but the number of kills in the URL is wrong he didn't destroy 40 aircraft. I don't know why that is in the URL, that was Dick Bongs kill number

 -https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/william-a-shomo 

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_P-51_Mustang_variants#P-51D_and_P-51K 

https://alchetron.com/cdn/william-a-shomo-0721dfb0-d2ec-4bf4-a8a3-a89a433630a-resize-750.jpg 

 

I'm Right Here ...

Where I like to eat in Hanford, CA.
OAFS Photo

I am easing back into posting something everyday. Juvat was concerned that his Medal of Honor posts were not generating enough "hits" as the blog has seen in the past. I told him not to worry. This blog has never been about pleasing the masses in order to generate more "hits."

After all, the vagaries of how Google/Blogger counts visits to these parts is suspect at best. When the daily post gets less than 300 hits (average seems to run around 200) I find it hard to believe that the following graph represents anything approaching reality -

Under the hood screenshot

Sure, a hundred thousand hits one day, under ten thousand the next? Sure, I believe that.

I know there's about a hundred hard core readers out there, you all seem to be here every day, you don't always comment, but I know you're there. Might be another hundred or so casual readers, but it's all grist for the mill. I know you folks like the Medal of Honor posts. apparently the spambots do not. Which is a bonus in my estimation.

So, what am I going to be writing about in the near future? I honestly don't know. I'm going to let the Medal of Honor posts go on, there are six left, with my own offerings interspersed with those.

I have a lot of things on my plate right now. Not things I have (or need) to do, but things I want to do. After all, I am retired.

I did have an idea for a new series the other day, after a sleepless night of trying to put the elements of the story together, I dumped the idea. Hey, it felt like work, I don't do that anymore.

I've acquired a new boardgame or three over the past few months, got another one Tuesday. This was truly an impulse buy. I liked the concept, so I put my money where my mouth is and pulled the trigger. 

OAFS Photo

The game is slightly outside of the norm for me, as it is, to some extent, card-driven¹. Which means that another element of chance has been added, outside of the dice rolls of course. I've played other card-driven games which were actually fun. So I thought I'd give it a try. It also comes with a system for solitaire play. Which I need, as I tend to play these for their historical insight as opposed to being competitive.

As I once told my step granddaughter, I'm no longer a very competitive guy. The Air Force broke me of that habit.

"Wanna get promoted?"

"Well, sure, I just have to be the best at my job right?"

"Uh, yeah, sure. You also need to be better than Sergeant Schmuckatelli over there who is the squadron voting officer, volunteers at the local orphanage, and scores very high on the tests."

"Uh, Schmuckatelli is always off doing his additional duties, we never see him around the shop. How does that make any sense, Lieutenant?"

Never did get a good answer on that one. So competitive I'm not, unless it involves chasing a ball around on a field. And I'm far too old for that sort of thing anymore. (I'm 73, my knees act like they're over a hundred, and don't get me started on my back ...)

Anyhoo, I do play games against other humans, usually my family. Which can be fun.

"Uh, honey, are you sure you want to land there and attack Berlin? You'll need to roll eleven or better for that to ..."

"Yay! I rolled a twelve!"

"Why yes, yes you did. Wanna watch TV or something?"

She's exceptional at boardgames, but we used to have a Mattel Intellivision, think early video game, at which I constantly beat her, badly. Funny how we don't play that anymore ...

Ah well, back atcha soon, I promise.

¹ One draws, or is dealt, cards which dictate what you can or cannot do. Want to invade the Philippines? Better have the right card in your hand. Things of that nature.

Ray Benevidez MOH

 

 

Ok, folks, we've read several posts describing the heroism of the Medal of Honor recipients.  All of them were heros and performed actions "Above and beyond the call of duty."   You may not have noticed, but they're all "air force".  So I decided to throw y'all a curve ball, see if you can find out what it is. 

I certainly haven't read all the citations (yet), but this one is by far the Toughest I have read about.  Oh, did I mention, he's a Texan, born and raised in DeWitt County, southeast of San Antonio.  At 17, he enlisted in the Texas Army National Guard.  In June 1955 (a month that has special meaning to me) he joined the active duty Army in the 82nd Airborne Division.  

His next step was to join the Special Forces.  In 1965 he was sent to Vietnam as an advisor to a regiment of the Republic of Vietnam Army.  On a solo reconnaisance mission he stepped on a land mine.  Doctors told him he would never walk again.

Here's were the Bad Ass comes to fruition. 

Getting out of bed at night (against doctors' orders), Benavidez would crawl using his elbows and chin to a wall near his bedside and (with the encouragement of his fellow patients, many of whom were permanently paralyzed and/or missing limbs) he would prop himself against the wall and attempt to lift himself unaided, starting by wiggling his toes, then his feet, and then eventually (after several months of excruciating practice that, by his own admission, often left him in tears) pushing himself up the wall with his ankles and legs. After over a year of hospitalization, Benavidez walked out of the hospital in July 1966, with his wife at his side, determined to return to combat in Vietnam. Despite continuing pain from his wounds, he returned to South Vietnam in January 1968. Source 

 He returned to Vietnam in January 1968.  Bad Ass indeed.

But, No...He goes back into combat.  He heard a radio call from a Special Forces unit that was surrounded.  He grabbed a medical bag and boarded a helicopter.  When they arrived in the vicinity, he JUMPED out of the helicopter 30-40 feet in the air.  Again,  here's the description of the event.

At one point in the battle an NVA soldier accosted him and stabbed him with his bayonet. Benavidez pulled it out, drew his own knife, killed him and kept going, leaving his knife in the NVA soldier's body. He later killed two more NVA soldiers with an AK-47 while providing cover fire for the people boarding the helicopter. After the battle, he was evacuated to the base camp, examined, and thought to be dead. As he was placed in a body bag among the other dead in body bags, he was suddenly recognized by a friend who called for help. A doctor came and examined him but believed Benavidez was dead. The doctor was about to zip up the body bag when Benavidez managed to spit in his face to show that he was alive.^[6]Benavidez had a total of 37 separate bullet, bayonet, and shrapnel wounds from the six-hour fight with the enemy battalion   Source

 On February 24 1981, President Reagan presented him with the Medal of Honor.  During the ceremony, he stated "If the story of his Heroism were a movie script, you would not believe it."

 

Spot on, Mr President. 

Citation for the award of the Medal of Honor.

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:

On 2 May 1968, Master Sergeant (then Staff Sergeant) Roy P. Benavidez distinguished himself by a series of daring and extremely valorous actions while assigned to Detachment B56, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, Republic of Vietnam. On the morning of 2 May 1968, a 12-man Special Forces Reconnaissance Team was inserted by helicopters of the 240th Assault Helicopter Company in a dense jungle area west of Loc Ninh, Vietnam to gather intelligence information about confirmed large-scale enemy activity. This area was controlled and routinely patrolled by the North Vietnamese Army. After a short period of time on the ground, the team met heavy enemy resistance, and requested emergency extraction. Three helicopters attempted extraction, but were unable to land due to intense enemy small arms and anti-aircraft fire.

Sergeant BENAVIDEZ was at the Forward Operating Base in Loc Ninh monitoring the operation by radio when these helicopters, of the 240th Assault Helicopter Company, returned to off-load wounded crew members and to assess aircraft damage. Sergeant BENAVIDEZ voluntarily boarded a returning aircraft to assist in another extraction attempt. Realizing that all the team members were either dead or wounded and unable to move to the pickup zone, he directed the aircraft to a nearby clearing where he jumped from the hovering helicopter, and ran approximately 75 meters under withering small arms fire to the crippled team.

Prior to reaching the team's position he was wounded in his right leg, face, and head. Despite these painful injuries, he took charge, repositioning the team members and directing their fire to facilitate the landing of an extraction aircraft, and the loading of wounded and dead team members. He then threw smoke canisters to direct the aircraft to the team's position. Despite his severe wounds and under intense enemy fire, he carried and dragged half of the wounded team members to the awaiting aircraft. He then provided protective fire by running alongside the aircraft as it moved to pick up the remaining team members. As the enemy's fire intensified, he hurried to recover the body and classified documents on the dead team leader.

When he reached the leader's body, Sergeant BENAVIDEZ was severely wounded by small arms fire in the abdomen and grenade fragments in his back. At nearly the same moment, the aircraft pilot was mortally wounded, and his helicopter crashed. Although in extremely critical condition due to his multiple wounds, Sergeant BENAVIDEZ secured the classified documents and made his way back to the wreckage, where he aided the wounded out of the overturned aircraft, and gathered the stunned survivors into a defensive perimeter. Under increasing enemy automatic weapons and grenade fire, he moved around the perimeter distributing water and ammunition to his weary men, reinstilling in them a will to live and fight. Facing a buildup of enemy opposition with a beleaguered team, Sergeant BENAVIDEZ mustered his strength, began calling in tactical air strikes and directed the fire from supporting gunships to suppress the enemy's fire and so permit another extraction attempt.

He was wounded again in his thigh by small arms fire while administering first aid to a wounded team member just before another extraction helicopter was able to land. His indomitable spirit kept him going as he began to ferry his comrades to the craft. On his second trip with the wounded, he was clubbed from behind by an enemy soldier. In the ensuing hand-to-hand combat, he sustained additional wounds to his head and arms before killing his adversary.^{[7][note 2]} He then continued under devastating fire to carry the wounded to the helicopter. Upon reaching the aircraft, he spotted and killed two enemy soldiers who were rushing the craft from an angle that prevented the aircraft door gunner from firing upon them. With little strength remaining, he made one last trip to the perimeter to ensure that all classified material had been collected or destroyed, and to bring in the remaining wounded.

Only then, in extremely serious condition from numerous wounds and loss of blood, did he allow himself to be pulled into the extraction aircraft. Sergeant BENAVIDEZ' gallant choice to join voluntarily his comrades who were in critical straits, to expose himself constantly to withering enemy fire, and his refusal to be stopped despite numerous severe wounds, saved the lives of at least eight men. His fearless personal leadership, tenacious devotion to duty, and extremely valorous actions in the face of overwhelming odds were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service, and reflect the utmost credit on him and the United States Army.

 Sergeant Benevidez passed away in 1998 at 63.  He is buried in the Fort Sam Houston National Semitary

My primary source for this post is here. Wikipedia is usually a good source for these posts.  IMHO they went way beyond their usual level of detail.  I highly recommend reading it in it's entirety. You might also find the video of President Reagan presenting the MOH to Master Sergeant Benavidez interesting

Peace out, y'all! 

Other Sources you might find interesting

 https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ronaldreaganroybenavidezmedalofhonor.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Benavidez 

https://www.cmohs.org/news-events/medal-of-honor-recipient-profile/roy-benavidez-presevering-to-the-last/ 

 https://www.cmohs.org/news-events/medal-of-honor-recipient-profile/roy-benavidez-presevering-to-the-last/

 

 

Maynard Harrison Smith MoH

 

 Ok, folks, I found this to be an interesting story.  Apparently, heroes aren't always good guys but they can rise to the occasion.

 

On with the story!

 

Maynord Harrison Smith was given the nickname of Snuffy when he joined the Army Air Corps.

 

Source

 No Beans, not that one.

 

 

Source

 

This one!  According to this source, he was a bit of a trouble maker.  Drafted into the Army at 31, he seemed to find his place, although he still had "issues". In an interview with Andy Rooney (prior to Rooney's fame), it was noted that he was "a moderately pompous little fellow with the belligerent attitude of a man trying to make up with attitude what his five-foot-four, 130-pound body left him wanting.” As a result, his nickname (in the modern Air Force call sign) "Snuffy", was bestowed on him. 

 

Suffice it to say when the time came, he arose to the occasion. An excellent retelling of his Medal of Honor mission can be found here.  I'm not going to copy it or try to retell it.  Go! I'll be here when you get back.

 

Wow! Right?   Holy Mackerel, the courage exhibited (and to be honest,  a touch of luck) is astonishing.  

 

The quote "Where do we get such men?" (nowadays "such people”) was from James Michener's "Bridges at Toko-Ri" but  President Reagan made it famous when he used it in a speech.  It was true then, it is true now!

 

 

 Smith's MOH citation

 

 For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty. The aircraft of which Sgt. Smith was a gunner was subjected to intense enemy antiaircraft fire and determined fighter aircraft attacks while returning from a mission over enemy-occupied continental Europe on 1 May 1943. The aircraft was hit several times by antiaircraft fire and cannon shells of the fighter aircraft, 2 of the crew were seriously wounded, the aircraft's oxygen system shot out, and several vital control cables severed when intense fires were ignited simultaneously in the radio compartment and waist sections. The situation became so acute that 3 of the crew bailed out into the comparative safety of the sea. Sgt. Smith, then on his first combat mission, elected to fight the fire by himself, administered first aid to the wounded tail gunner, manned the waist guns, and fought the intense flames alternately. The escaping oxygen fanned the fire to such intense heat that the ammunition in the radio compartment began to explode, the radio, gun mount, and camera were melted, and the compartment completely gutted. Sgt. Smith threw the exploding ammunition overboard, fought the fire until all the firefighting aids were exhausted, manned the workable guns until the enemy fighters were driven away, further administered first aid to his wounded comrade, and then by wrapping himself in protecting cloth, completely extinguished the fire by hand. This soldier's gallantry in action, undaunted bravery, and loyalty to his aircraft and fellow crew members, without regard for his own personal safety, is an inspiration to the U.S. Armed Forces.

 Here's a good summary of the rest of his life. Quite the character!

 

 

 

Lt Jack W. Mathis MOH

 Ok, folks this handsome young lad, if you hadn't noticed is Texas born and raised.  San Angelo to be precise, about 80 miles south of Big Spring, my domicile for about 10 years of my youth.  Big Spring is a next door neighbor to San Angelo and except for one reason which I'll tell you about, he and I could've been friends.

Source

 

He was a bombardier in the B-17 in England. He and his brother had both volunteered to be bombardiers and had gone to that school together.  He had completed 14 missions (of 25 needed to return to the US). On his 15th mission. he was tasked to be the lead bombardier on a mission.

The bombing procedure at the time was the lead bombardier would find the target aim point and when the time came to drop, he would trigger off his bombs.  EVERY other bombardier in the formation would do the same thing, at the same time, when they saw him drop.  

I'm not sure exactly why this was the methodology other than possibly with a hundred or so aircraft in tight formation and a hundred or so bombardiers trying (and literally flying) to get the aircraft in the right position to hit the target.  Mid-airs might be a reason.  

Besides a large flight of B-17's, sometimes several hundred on a mission and up to 8000lbs of bombs each, the tactic of dropping all at once could be very effective, especially if the target was large.

To say the least.

In any case, he was the bombardier in the lead airplane, as the formation approached the target, AAA became very dense and the lead plane was hit. Lt Mathis was severely injured.  His right arm was shattered and badly wounded in his right side and abdomen.  Realizing that the attack would fail if he didn't release the bombs properly, he dragged himself back to his position, found the target and released the bombs.  The rest of the formation followed suit.

Unfortunately, the wounds to Lt Mathis were fatal and he passed away shortly thereafter.

Lt Jack Mathis's brother Mark was also in his squadron albeit assigned to a different crew.  He requested to be transferred to his brother's crew which was granted.

He was killed in action a couple of months later.

Rest in Peace, Warriors! 

 

 

Source

 

Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy over Vegesack, Germany, on March 18, 1943. 1st Lt. Mathis, as leading bombardier of his squadron, flying through intense and accurate antiaircraft fire, was just starting his bomb run, upon which the entire squadron depended for accurate bombing, when he was hit by the enemy antiaircraft fire. His right arm was shattered above the elbow, a large wound was torn in his side and abdomen, and he was knocked from his bomb sight to the rear of the bombardier's compartment. Realizing that the success of the mission depended upon him, 1st Lt. Mathis, by sheer determination and willpower, though mortally wounded, dragged himself back to his sights, released his bombs, then died at his post of duty. As the result of this action the airplanes of his bombardment squadron placed their bombs directly upon the assigned target for a perfect attack against the enemy. 1st Lt. Mathis' undaunted bravery has been a great inspiration to the officers and men of his unit.^[1]'