World War II Honoree

Philip D. Pitts

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Washington, District Of Columbia

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

RANK: 2ND LIEUTENANT. HE WAS INDUCTED INTO THE ARMY AIR CORPS FEBRUARY 26, 1942 AT CAMP LEE, VIRGINIA. SERVED AS A B-17 ‘FLYING FORTRESS’ BOMBER BOMBARDIER ASSIGNED TO THE 350TH BOMB SQUADRON, 100TH ‘BLOODY HUNDREDTH’ BOMB GROUP, U.S. 8TH AIR FORCE ‘MIGHTY EIGHTH’. HIS UNIT WAS BASED AT THE THORPE ABBOTS ROYAL AIR FORCE AIRFIELD ENGLAND, UNITED STATES ARMY AIRFIELD STATION #139. KILLED IN ACTION ON HIS NINTH MISSION, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1944 DURING A BOMBING RAID ON THE RUHLAND SYNTHETIC OIL REFINERY, RUHLAND-SCHWARZHEIDE, GERMANY. HIS FLYING FORTRESS WAS SHOT DOWN WHEN IT WAS ATTACKED BY A LARGE FORMATION OF GERMAN FIGHTERS AND CRASHED IN THE VICINITY OF TELLERHAUSER, GERMANY. THERE WERE 9 CREWMEN ON BOARD, 5 PERISHED IN THE DISASTER AND THE OTHER 4 WERE CAPTURED AFTER BAILING OUT. THE ENCOUNTER BETWEEN THE AMERICAN AND GERMAN AIR FORCES, LATER KNOWN AS ‘BLACK MONDAY’ TOOK PLACE AROUND MIDDAY AND WAS ONE OF THE LARGEST AIR BATTLES FOUGHT OVER THE ORE MOUNTAINS IN THE EUROPEAN THEATER. HE WAS INTERRED IN A BATTLEFIELD CEMETERY AND AFTER THE CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES IN EUROPE, HIS REMAINS WERE RETURNED TO HIS FAMILY IN VIRGINIA, FOR BURIAL IN A PRIVATE CEMETERY. ON SEPTEMBER 11, 1994, THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ‘BLACK MONDAY’, THE CITIZENS OF KOVARSKA, CZECH REPUBLIC UNVEILED AND DEDICATED A MEMORIAL, HONORING THE AIRMEN WHO TOOK PART IN THAT GREAT AIR BATTLE. DECORATIONS AND MEDALS: AIR MEDAL AND A PURPLE HEART WERE AWARDED POSTHUMOUSLY. THE AIR MEDAL WAS AWARDED TO THE LIEUTENANT FOR MERITORIOUS ACHIEVEMENT WHILE PARTICIPATING IN AERIAL FLIGHT.