Donald J. Gott MOH & William E. Metzger Jr. MOH

Ok, Folks, this post tells the story of a Dual Issue of the Medal of Honor to two members of the same crew.   I'm sure there may be other times when the Medal was  issued to ground soldiers or naval sailors from the same unit who may have been both issued it, but dual award for aircrews are few and far between. There are a few and they will be covered also. So, here goes.

Lt Metzger (L) and Lt Gott (R) as they would look if you saw them from the front of the B-17 Source

 

In any case, the date is 9 November 1944 and the USAAF is attacking  Saarbrücken Germany.  A B-17 commanded by 1Lt Donald J. Gott and co-pilot 2LT William E. Metzger is on its bombing run when it is hit by Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AKA Triple A). 3 of it's engines are no longer useable and one is on fire.  This is especially dangerous as aviation gasoline is extremely flammable and since they are over the target, they still have at least half a load of gas, plus reserve. Several of the crew members were injured and the radio operator had lost an arm.  Lt Gott  and Lt Metzger decided that the best case scenario was to find a place in hopefully friendly territory where they could crash land and be rescued by friendly forces. (Given that they'd just bombed the target that was under them the populace below might not be in a charitable mood to treat them kindly.)

So, after dropping their bombs they exited the target area and found a friendlier area where the rest of the crew could safely bail out and did. 

 Lt Gott and Lt Metzger stayed on board and treated the radio operator while looking for a crash landing site.   Unfortunately, as the were approaching a field that looked like an acceptable landing site, at about 100' AGL (above ground level), the fire burned through the control cables and the bomber crashed killing them.  Adding to the tragic event, when one of the crew had bailed out, his parachute became caught on the horizontal stabilizer (the horizontal control that made the plane go up and down).  He evidently couldn't free himself and also died in the crash.  

Both Lt Gott and Lt Metzger were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions. 

 

Source

Citation of the Award of the Medal of Honor to 1Lt Donald J Gott

In a bombing run upon the marshaling yards at Saarbrücken a B-17 aircraft piloted by 1st. Lt. Gott was seriously damaged by antiaircraft fire. Three of the aircraft's engines were damaged beyond control and on fire; dangerous flames from the No. 4 engine were leaping back as far as the tail assembly. Flares in the cockpit were ignited and a fire raged therein, which was further increased by free-flowing fluid from damaged hydraulic lines. The interphone system was rendered useless. In addition to these serious mechanical difficulties the engineer was wounded in the leg and the radio operator's arm was severed below the elbow. Suffering from intense pain, despite the application of a tourniquet, the radio operator fell unconscious. Faced with the imminent explosion of his aircraft, and death to his entire crew, mere seconds before bombs away on the target, 1st. Lt. Gott and his copilot conferred. Something had to be done immediately to save the life of the wounded radio operator. The lack of a static line and the thought that his unconscious body striking the ground in unknown territory would not bring immediate medical attention forced a quick decision. 1st. Lt. Gott and his copilot decided to fly the flaming aircraft to friendly territory and then attempt to crash land. Bombs were released on the target and the crippled aircraft proceeded alone to Allied-controlled territory. When that had been reached, 1st. Lt. Gott had the copilot personally inform all crewmembers to bail out. The copilot chose to remain with 1st. Lt. Gott in order to assist in landing the bomber. With only one normally functioning engine, and with the danger of explosion much greater, the aircraft banked into an open field, and when it was at an altitude of 100 feet it exploded, crashed, exploded again and then disintegrated. All 3 crew members were instantly killed. 1st. Lt. Gott's loyalty to his crew, his determination to accomplish the task set forth to him, and his deed of knowingly performing what may have been his last service to his country was an example of valor at its highest.

 

Citation of the Award of the Medal of Honor to 2Lt William E Metzger   

On a bombing run upon the marshaling yards at Saarbrücken, Germany, on 9 November 1944, a B17 aircraft on which 2d Lt. Metzger was serving as copilot was seriously damaged by antiaircraft fire Three of the aircraft's engines were damaged beyond control and on fire; dangerous flames from the No. 4 engine were leaping back as far as the tail assembly (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tail_assembly). Flares in the cockpit were ignited and a fire roared therein which was further increased by free-flowing fluid from damaged hydraulic lines. The interphone was rendered useless. In addition to these serious mechanical difficulties the engineer was wounded in the leg and the radio operator's arm was severed below the elbow. Suffering from intense pain, despite the application of a tourniquet (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourniquet), the radio operator fell unconscious. Faced with the imminent explosion of his aircraft and death to his entire crew, mere seconds before bombs away on the target, 2d Lt. Metzger and his pilot conferred. Something had to be done immediately to save the life of the wounded radio operator. The lack of a static line and the thought that his unconscious body striking the ground in unknown territory would not bring immediate medical attention forced a quick decision. 2d Lt. Metzger and his pilot decided to fly the flaming aircraft to friendly territory and then attempt to crash land. Bombs were released on the target and the crippled aircraft proceeded along to Allied-controlled territory. When that had been reached 2d Lt. Metzger personally informed all crewmembers to bail out upon the suggestion of the pilot. 2d Lt. Metzger chose to remain with the pilot for the crash landing in order to assist him in this emergency. With only 1 normally functioning engine and with the danger of explosion much greater, the aircraft banked into an open field, and when it was at an altitude of 100 feet it exploded, crashed, exploded again, and then disintegrated. All 3 crewmembers were instantly killed. 2d Lt. Metzger's loyalty to his crew, his determination to accomplish the task set forth to him, and his deed of knowingly performing what may have been his last service to his country was an example of valor at its highest.

 

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_J._Gott

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_E._Metzger_Jr. 

https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=755&MemID=1046 

https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/medal-of-honor-first-lieutenant-donald-j-gott-united-states-army-air-corps/ 

https://www.ghostsofthebattlefield.org/medal-of-honor/medal-of-honor-donald-j-gott-world-war-ii-air-mission-november-9-1944 

https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-metzger-gott-moh