World War II Medal of Honor Recipient. 2nd Lieutenant Kingsley was a B-17 Flying Fortress bombardier assigned to the 341st Bombardment Squadron, 97th Bombardment Group, Fifteenth Air Force, U.S. Army Air Forces in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. During a mission on an air raid to the Ploesti Oil Fields, Romania, on June 23, 1944, the B-17F bomber [tail #42-5951; nicknamed "O Pissonya"] on which Lieutenant Kingsley was serving was badly damaged by enemy fire and forced to drop out of the formation. The pilot continued on to the target and dropped his bombs, but was unable to keep up with the formation on the return trip and was attacked by enemy aircraft. During the action, Lieutenant Kingsley gave aid to the wounded tail gunner, and then went to give aid to the ball gunner who was also wounded. When the order came to bail out, Kingsley found that the tail gunner's parachute was missing. He placed his own chute on the wounded man [SSgt Michael J Sullivan] and then helped the wounded men bail out of the burning plane. The last sight of him was as he stood on the bomb door while the plane flew on auto pilot until it crashed. For extreme courage and selfless sacrifice, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on April 9, 1945. His body was subsequently located, returned to the U.S. Army Air Forces and placed to rest in Arlington National Cemetery.
World War II Medal of Honor Recipient. 2nd Lieutenant Kingsley was a B-17 Flying Fortress bombardier assigned to the 341st Bombardment Squadron, 97th Bombardment Group, Fifteenth Air Force, U.S. Army Air Forces in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. During a mission on an air raid to the Ploesti Oil Fields, Romania, on June 23, 1944, the B-17F bomber [tail #42-5951; nicknamed "O Pissonya"] on which Lieutenant Kingsley was serving was badly damaged by enemy fire and forced to drop out of the formation. The pilot continued on to the target and dropped his bombs, but was unable to keep up with the formation on the return trip and was attacked by enemy aircraft. During the action, Lieutenant Kingsley gave aid to the wounded tail gunner, and then went to give aid to the ball gunner who was also wounded. When the order came to bail out, Kingsley found that the tail gunner's parachute was missing. He placed his own chute on the wounded man [SSgt Michael J Sullivan] and then helped the wounded men bail out of the burning plane. The last sight of him was as he stood on the bomb door while the plane flew on auto pilot until it crashed. For extreme courage and selfless sacrifice, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on April 9, 1945. His body was subsequently located, returned to the U.S. Army Air Forces and placed to rest in Arlington National Cemetery.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
Inscription
MEDAL OF HONOR
2ND LT
ARMY AIR FORCES
WORLD WAR II
Family Members
Other Records
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