Louis J . Sebille Louis Joseph " Lou " Sebille ( November 21 , 1915 – August 5 , 1950 ) was a fighter pilot in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II and later the United States Air Force during the Korean War . He rose to the rank of Major and posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions on August 5 , 1950 in South Korea during the Battle of Pusan Perimeter . Born in Michigan , Sebille worked as an MC in Chicago , Illinois before joining the US Army Air Corps shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7 , 1941 . Sebille flew B - 26 Marauder bombers over Europe from 1943 to 1945 and was highly decorated for his 68 combat missions . Sebille eventually accrued more than 3 , 000 hours of flying time . He briefly became an airline pilot before returning to the Air Force before the start of the Korean War . Sebille commanded the 67th Fighter - Bomber Squadron at the outbreak of the Korean War , flying F - 51 Mustang s in close air support and air strike missions . During one such mission , Sebille attacked a North Korean armored column advancing on United Nations units . Though his aircraft was heavily damaged and he was wounded during the first pass on the column , he turned his plane around and attacked again , deliberately crashing into the convoy at the cost of his life . After his death , he was awarded the Medal of Honor . Biography . Louis J . Sebille was born on November 21 , 1915 in Harbor Beach , Michigan . He attended Wayne State University in Detroit , Michigan . After his graduation from the university in the 1930s he moved to Chicago , Illinois where he worked as a Master of Ceremonies , in several Chicago nightclub s under the nickname " Lou Reynolds . " He was described as " a handsome glib master of ceremonies who used to wow the customers with his own parody of My Blue Heaven " . Sebille married and his wife gave birth to a son in December 1949 . World War II . Sebille enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan . He began flight training in January 1942 , in spite of being two months older than the cutoff age of 26 , as the desperate need for pilots combined with Sebille ' s skills as a pilot allowed him to waive the age restriction . During that time he was described as an outstanding pilot and leader , and his maturity was helpful for the younger flight trainees . After completing flight training , Sebille was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and assigned to the 450th Bombardment Squadron , 322nd Bombardment Group 3rd Bombardment Wing at MacDill Field , Florida . Sebille flew B - 26 Marauder aircraft . Deployed to England in January 1943 , Sebille flew bombing missions in the European theatre . The 322nd Bombardment Group , the first unit to fly the B - 26 Marauder , was sent on its first mission on May 14 , a low - altitude attack on an electrical power plant in the Netherlands under the control of Nazi Germany . The mission was Sebille ' s first sortie , and the group suffered one plane lost and 10 damaged . Three days later a second attack was assigned on the same target . Sebille was not on the mission list . Of the planes that flew the mission , one aborted and the rest did not return . Sebille advanced to flight leader and then was promoted to squadron operations officer with a temporary rank of Major . By the end of the war , Sebille had flown 68 combat missions with 245 combat hours . In the war he had been awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses and twelve Air Medals for his leadership . The unit returned to the United States in March , 1945 . After the end of the war , Sebille left active duty with the Air Force and began work as a commercial airline pilot . However he returned to the Air Force in July 1946 when offered a commission as a First Lieutenant . He held several positions , first as a staff officer with the Ninth United States Air Force headquarters at Biggs Army Airfield at Fort Bliss , Texas . Shortly thereafter , Sebille was assigned as an F - 51 Mustang and F - 80 Shooting Star instructor pilot , teaching other pilots how to transition from conventional fighter aircraft to newer jet engine powered models . Sebille then attended Air Tactical School at Tyndall Field , Florida . He was then assigned to Clark Air Base in the Philippines in 1948 . During this time , he flew an F - 51D named " Nancy III " ( tail number 44 - 74112 ) . In November 1948 , Sebille was once again promoted to Major and made the commanding officer of the 67th Fighter - Bomber Squadron , 18th Fighter - Bomber Wing , a component of the Fifth United States Air Force stationed in Japan for post - World War II occupation duties . In November 1949 , the squadron began receiving new F - 80 ' s but continued to fly a mix of F - 80 and F - 51 aircraft . Eventually , the squadron transitioned entirely to F - 80s , then back to F - 51s . During this time , Sebille was known to spend time in his squadron ' s Quonset hut . He frequently discussed fighting and death , including sentiments supporting suicide attack , at one point saying " If you have to die , then take some of the enemy with you . " During this time Sebille worked mostly administrative duty as the squadron absorbed new aircraft and pilots in Japan . Korean War . With the outbreak of the Korean War on June 25 , 1950 , the United Nations voted to send troops into South Korea to aid it against the North Korean Army to prevent the country from collapsing . Sebille ' s unit was among those send to assist the UN ground forces operating in Korea . By the end of July , the US had shipped a large number of aircraft of all types to Korea . On July 30 , the Far East Air Force s had 890 planes ; 626 F - 80 ' s and 264 F - 51 ' s , but only 525 of them were in units and available and ready for combat . Early in the war , these aircraft were used primarily to conduct raids and gather intelligence on North Korean ground targets , focused on disrupting North Korean supply to the front lines . However , as soon as UN forces retreated to Pusan Perimeter following the Battle of Taejon , the Naval aircraft were immediately re purposed for close - air support and airstrikes against North Korean ground troops on the front . These missions were significantly more risky and the aircraft suffered much higher losses due to North Korean ground fire . On August 1 , Sebille and his squadron moved to Ashiya Air Field and began conducting missions in support of the ground forces in Korea . By August 5 , Sebille had accrued over 3 , 000 hours of flying time over the course of his career . During this time , the 67th Fighter - Bomber Squadron operated primarily out of Ashiya but also used airfields at Taegu and Pusan . Medal of Honor action . At the beginning of the Battle of Pusan Perimeter , the night of September 4 , North Korean troops established a beachhead across the Naktong River and were using it to advance across the river and attack Taegu , where the UN ' s Eighth United States Army was headquartered in defense of the perimeter . A T - 6 Mosquito forward air controller spotted a North Korea column advancing through the village of Hamchang the next morning , September 5 . Sebille was ordered to lead a flight of three F - 51 ' s on an airstrike against the North Korean troops advancing there . Sebille flew a P - 51 ( tail number 44 - 74394 ) loaded with two bombs , six rockets , and six M2 Browning . 50 caliber machine guns . He and his wingmen , Captain Martin Johnson and Lieutenant Charles Morehouse , approached the village at an altitude of and spotted a North Korean armored column crossing the river in a shallow area . Sebille positioned himself for a medium - angle dive bomb run , planning to drop both of his bombs on his first attack . Diving , he held steady until about . When he spotted a target column of trucks , artillery guns and armored car s , led by a North Korean Armored Personnel Carrier , he hit the bomb release button on his control stick , and then made a sharp pull - up to the left to stay away from his bomb blast . However , only one of his bombs had released , and the of unbalanced weight under his left wing may have contributed to his near miss on the first run . North Korean anti aircraft fire struck Sebille ' s F - 51 as he turned to make a second run , heavily damaging the aircraft and it began trailing smoke and glycol coolant . Sebille had intended to release his second bomb , but he radioed Johnson that he had been hit and injured , probably fatally . Johnson radioed back Sebille should try to head for a US emergency landing strip in Taegu a short distance away , but Sebille responded with his last known words , " No , I ' ll never make it . I ' m going back and get that bastard ( " sic " ) " . He dove straight toward the APC that was his target . He fired his six rockets in salvo , but instead of pulling up to the regular , he deliberately continued to dive his airplane and the remaining bomb straight into the target , firing his six machine guns . His plane sustained even heavier damage , and he crashed into the North Korean convoy destroying a large contingent of North Korean ground troops and vehicles though being killed instantly himself . He was buried at Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park , Chicago . Upon hearing reports of Sebille ' s death , commanders in Korea did not think highly of Sebille ' s act , likening it to a kamikaze action . In spite of reluctance , Lieutenant Don Bolt , the squadron ' s assistant awards officer , forwarded a citation of the event to Washington D . C . where Sebille would be evaluated for the Medal of Honor . Shortly after the incident , both Bolt and Sebille ' s second - in - command , Captain Robert Howells , were killed in separate combat engagements . After his death , a short obituary for Sebille appeared in " Time Magazine " . The United States Air Force Academy also created a memorial to Sebille in Harmon Hall , the academy ' s administration building . Awards and decorations . Sebille was decorated several times during World War II . His decorations included the following medals : Medal of Honor citation . Sebille was formally awarded the Medal of Honor in a ceremony at March Air Force Base in Riverside County , California , in late August , 1951 . Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt Vandenberg presented the medal to his widowed wife and their son , who was 19 months old at the time . The ceremony was also attended by Johnson , who made a speech calling Sebille " a remarkable friend , a fine commander and a very brave man . " Sebille was the first person in the Air Force to be awarded the medal since the branch ' s creation in 1947 , and the 31st to win the medal in Korea . Only four Air Force personnel would win the medal in Korea , all of them posthumous awards .