Darrell R . Lindsey Darrell Robins Lindsey ( December 30 , 1919 – August 9 , 1944 ) was a bomber pilot in the U . S . Army Air Forces during World War II and a posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor . Biography . Lindsey was born in Jefferson , Iowa , to Jesse Lyle and Grace Alice Lindsey . After graduating from high school in Fort Dodge in 1938 , he attended Buena Vista University in Storm Lake for one year before transferring to Drake University in Des Moines . He enlisted as an aviation cadet at Fort Des Moines on January 16 , 1942 . He trained at Visalia , Lemoore and Victorville Fields in California , receiving his pilot ' s wings and commission as a second lieutenant in August 1942 . Lindsey was also trained as a bombardier at Kirtland Field , New Mexico , and in 1943 was assigned to the 314th Bomb Squadron at MacDill Field , Florida , with the rank of first lieutenant . He was transferred to Kellogg Field , Michigan , in September 1943 , and assigned to the 585th Bomb Squadron , 394th Bomb Group ( Medium ) , a B - 26 Marauder outfit . Promoted to captain in December , he was assigned as a flight commander . As part of the Ninth Air Force the 394th Bomb Group was deployed to RAF Boreham , England , on March 11 , 1944 , and immediately participated in the bombing of bridges , airfields and the rail system in France in preparation for the cross - channel invasion . On D - Day , the group attacked gun positions in Cherbourg , then continued to support Allied ground units in Normandy by attacking German lines of communication . In late July , the group changed bases to RAF Holmsley South in preparation for a move to the continent , and on August 7 , 1944 , began a three - day campaign against rail and bridge targets in the Île - de - France region of northern France for which the group as a whole received a Distinguished Unit Citation . On August 9 , Captain Lindsey , a veteran of 45 combat missions , flew as group leader to destroy the railroad bridge over the Seine River at L ' Isle Adam northwest of Paris . The bridge , one of the last over the Seine still standing , was heavily defended by German anti - aircraft units . Leading a formation of 30 aircraft , Lindsey ' s B - 26 was heavily damaged and both the right engine and wing set afire during the bombing run . Although knocked out of formation , Lindsey recovered his place and led the group over the target , then stabilized the aircraft so that his crew could parachute . According to the crew ' s bombardier , Lindsey severely lessened his own chance to escape to prevent the aircraft from spinning , which proved fatal when a fuel tank exploded just after the last crewman exitted the aircraft . Captain Lindsey ' s body was not recovered and he was listed as missing - in - action and presumed killed . On May 30 , 1945 , Lindsey was awarded the Medal of Honor , accepted by his widow , Evalyn Scott Lindsey Rhinehart ( 1919 – 1992 ) during an August 9 , 1945 , ceremony at First Presbyterian Church in Fort Dodge . In November 1946 , Lindsey Air Station , Wiesbaden Air Base , Germany , was named in his memory and served as the location of the Headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe . The station closed in 1993 and a red granite monument there was returned to Jefferson , Iowa , and placed on the lawn of the Greene County Courthouse , where it was dedicated to Lindsey on June 12 , 1993 . On the following day at Lindsey ' s " alma mater " , Buena Vista University , another memorial was dedicated to Lindsey and Ralph Neppel , also a recipient of the Medal of Honor who had attended Buena Vista . The memorial was donated by Judge Charles Pendleton , a BVU alumnus . Judge Pendleton had earlier made a donation in the memory of Evalyn Rhinehart , who had recently died ( August 17 , 1992 ) in a motor vehicle accident , and the wife of a fellow alumnus , Dr . Bruce L . Rhinehart ( 1922 – 2010 ) . Pendleton learned that she had been the widow of Darrell Lindsey , and that Lindsey ' s monument was being returned from Germany . Together , Pendleton and Rhinehart also began the Lindsey - Neppel Scholarship at Buena Vista in 1993 . Medal of Honor citation . On August 9 , 1944 , Capt . Lindsey led a formation of 30 B - 26 medium bombers in a hazardous mission to destroy the strategic enemy held L ' Isle Adam railroad bridge over the Seine in occupied France . With most of the bridges over the Seine destroyed , the heavily fortified L ' Isle Adam bridge was of inestimable value to the enemy in moving troops , supplies , and equipment to Paris . Capt . Lindsey was fully aware of the fierce resistance that would be encountered . Shortly after reaching enemy territory the formation was buffeted with heavy and accurate antiaircraft fire . By skillful evasive action , Capt . Lindsey was able to elude much of the enemy flak , but just before entering the bombing run his B - 26 was peppered with holes . During the bombing run the enemy fire was even more intense , and Capt . Lindsey ' s right engine received a direct hit and burst into flames . Despite the fact that his ship was hurled out of formation by the violence of the concussion , Capt . Lindsey brilliantly maneuvered back into the lead position without disrupting the flight . Fully aware that the gasoline tanks might explode at any moment , Capt . Lindsey gallantly elected to continue the perilous bombing run . With fire streaming from his right engine and his right wing half enveloped in flames , he led his formation over the target upon which the bombs were dropped with telling effect . Immediately after the objective was attacked , Capt . Lindsey gave the order for the crew to parachute from the doomed aircraft . With magnificent coolness and superb piloting , and without regard for his own life , he held the swiftly descending airplane in a steady glide until the members of the crew could jump to safety . With the right wing completely enveloped in flames and an explosion of the gasoline tank imminent , Capt . Lindsey still remained unperturbed . The last man to leave the stricken plane was the bombardier , who offered to lower the wheels so that Capt . Lindsey might escape from the nose . Realizing that this might throw the aircraft into an uncontrollable spin and jeopardize the bombardier ' s chances to escape , Capt . Lindsey refused the offer . Immediately after the bombardier had bailed out , and before Capt . Lindsey was able to follow , the right gasoline tank exploded . The aircraft sheathed in fire , went into a steep dive and was seen to explode as it crashed . All who are living today from this plane owe their lives to the fact that Capt . Lindsey remained cool and showed supreme courage in this emergency .