HOWARD, JAMES H. - Medal of Honor Recipient
Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army Air Corps.
Place and Date:
Over Oschersleben, Germany, 11 January 1944.
Entered Service at:
St. Louis, Mo. Birth: Canton, China. G.O. No.: 45, 5 June 1944. Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of
duty in action with the enemy near Oschersleben, Germany, on 11 January
1944. On that day Col. Howard was the leader of a group of P51 aircraft
providing support for a heavy bomber formation on a long-range mission
deep in enemy territory. As Col. Howard's group met the bombers in the
target area the bomber force was attacked by numerous enemy fighters. Col.
Howard, with his group, and at once engaged the enemy and himself destroyed
a German ME. 110. As a result of this attack Col. Howard lost contact with
his group, and at once returned to the level of the bomber formation. He
then saw that the bombers were being heavily attacked by enemy airplanes
and that no other friendly fighters were at hand. While Col. Howard could
have waited to attempt to assemble his group before engaging the enemy,
he chose instead to attack single-handed a formation of more than 30 German
airplanes. With utter disregard for his own safety he immediately pressed
home determined attacks for some 30 minutes, during which time he destroyed
3 enemy airplanes and probably destroyed and damaged others. Toward the
end of this engagement 3 of his guns went out of action and his fuel supply
was becoming dangerously low. Despite these handicaps and the almost insuperable
odds against him, Col. Howard continued his aggressive action in an attempt
to protect the bombers from the numerous fighters. His skill, courage,
and intrepidity on this occasion set an example of heroism which will be
an inspiration to the U.S. Armed Forces.
Browse Records by Era / War / Subject |
