Captain, US Army Air Corps, World War II. On 31 Dec 1944, he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart in one of the most extraordinary flying missions of that war. In 1942, he joined the Army Air Corps, becoming a pilot of a B-17G Heavy Bomber. Assigned to the 100th Bomb Group (Heavy), he was stationed in Thorpe Abbotts, England. On 31 Dec 1944, during his 22nd mission, his group bombed Hamburg, Germany, and were on their way home when they were attacked by German fighters. When the lead bomber crashed, Rojohn's bomber moved to "fill the hole" and immediately collided with another B-17, flown by 1LT William McNab, coming up from below, apparently trying to fill the same hole. The two planes locked together, and could not separate. Both 1LT McNab and his copilot were instantly killed. Fire from McNab's plane began to work its way to Rojohn's plane, so Rojohn ordered his crew to bail out. With the help of his copilot, 2LT Robert Leek, Rojohn held the planes steady while both crews bailed out. Both planes crashed near Wilhelmshaven, Germany, and miraculously, both Rojohn and Leek survived the crash landing. Rojohn's remaining at the controls enabled four men from his plane and four men from McNab's plane to bail out safely. All survivors of the dual plane crash were captured by the German Army, and sent to a POW camp. After the war, Rojohn left the Army and went to work with his brother Leonard in their father's air conditioning and plumbing business in McKeesport, Pa. In 1946, he married Jane McCormick; they raised a son and a daughter.
Captain, US Army Air Corps, World War II. On 31 Dec 1944, he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart in one of the most extraordinary flying missions of that war. In 1942, he joined the Army Air Corps, becoming a pilot of a B-17G Heavy Bomber. Assigned to the 100th Bomb Group (Heavy), he was stationed in Thorpe Abbotts, England. On 31 Dec 1944, during his 22nd mission, his group bombed Hamburg, Germany, and were on their way home when they were attacked by German fighters. When the lead bomber crashed, Rojohn's bomber moved to "fill the hole" and immediately collided with another B-17, flown by 1LT William McNab, coming up from below, apparently trying to fill the same hole. The two planes locked together, and could not separate. Both 1LT McNab and his copilot were instantly killed. Fire from McNab's plane began to work its way to Rojohn's plane, so Rojohn ordered his crew to bail out. With the help of his copilot, 2LT Robert Leek, Rojohn held the planes steady while both crews bailed out. Both planes crashed near Wilhelmshaven, Germany, and miraculously, both Rojohn and Leek survived the crash landing. Rojohn's remaining at the controls enabled four men from his plane and four men from McNab's plane to bail out safely. All survivors of the dual plane crash were captured by the German Army, and sent to a POW camp. After the war, Rojohn left the Army and went to work with his brother Leonard in their father's air conditioning and plumbing business in McKeesport, Pa. In 1946, he married Jane McCormick; they raised a son and a daughter.
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