Branch of Service
U.S. Army Air Force
Hometown
McCook, Nebraska
Honored By
Charles Henry Atkinson
SERVED WITH THE FLYING TIGERS IN CHINA. HIS P-51 FIGHTER PLANE WAS SHOT DOWN OVER JIANLI IN HUBEI PROVINCE, WHILE DEFENDING CHINA FROM JAPANESE FORCES ON HIS 81ST MISSION WITH THE 14TH AIR FORCE IN 1944. THE 20-YEAR-OLD LIEUTENANT BAILED OUT AND LANDED IN A RICE PADDY WHILE HIS AIRCRAFT SANK IN A NEARBY LAKE. LOCAL PEOPLE SAVED HIM AND HELPED HIM RETURN TO HIS SQUADRON TWO MONTHS LATER.