Raymond L . Knight Raymond Lee Knight ( June 15 , 1922 – April 25 , 1945 ) was a United States Army Air Forces officer and a recipient of the United States military ' s highest decoration — the Medal of Honor — for his actions in World War II . Biography . Knight joined the Army Air Forces from Houston , Texas in October 1942 , and by April 24 , 1945 was a first lieutenant piloting a P - 47 Thunderbolt aircraft . On that day and the following day , in the northern Po Valley , Italy , he repeatedly volunteered to lead attacks on enemy air bases and exposed his aircraft to intense hostile fire in low - altitude reconnaissance and strafing missions . During a mission on April 25 , his airplane was badly damaged by anti - aircraft fire . Knowing that his unit was short on aircraft , he decided against parachuting to safety and instead attempted to fly the Thunderbolt back to his home airbase , but crashed in the Apennine Mountains and was killed . For these actions , he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor five months later , on September 24 , 1945 . Knight , aged 22 , died on April 25 , 1945 . His remains were relocated to Houston National Cemetery on April 25 , 1992 . Medal of Honor citation . First Lieutenant Knight ' s official Medal of Honor citation reads : He piloted a fighter - bomber aircraft in a series of low - level strafing missions , destroying 14 grounded enemy aircraft and leading attacks which wrecked 10 others during a critical period of the Allied drive in northern Italy . On the morning of 24 April , he volunteered to lead 2 other aircraft against the strongly defended enemy airdrome at Ghedi . Ordering his fellow pilots to remain aloft , he skimmed the ground through a deadly curtain of antiaircraft fire to reconnoiter the field , locating 8 German aircraft hidden beneath heavy camouflage . He rejoined his flight , briefed them by radio , and then led them with consummate skill through the hail of enemy fire in a low - level attack , destroying 5 aircraft , while his flight accounted for 2 others . Returning to his base , he volunteered to lead 3 other aircraft in reconnaissance of Bergamo airfield , an enemy base near Ghedi and 1 known to be equally well defended . Again ordering his flight to remain out of range of antiaircraft fire , 1st Lt . Knight flew through an exceptionally intense barrage , which heavily damaged his Thunderbolt , to observe the field at minimum altitude . He discovered a squadron of enemy aircraft under heavy camouflage and led his flight to the assault . Returning alone after this strafing , he made 10 deliberate passes against the field despite being hit by antiaircraft fire twice more , destroying 6 fully loaded enemy twin - engine aircraft and 2 fighters . His skillfully led attack enabled his flight to destroy 4 other twin - engine aircraft and a fighter plane . He then returned to his base in his seriously damaged plane . Early the next morning , when he again attacked Bergamo , he sighted an enemy plane on the runway . Again he led 3 other American pilots in a blistering low - level sweep through vicious antiaircraft fire that damaged his plane so severely that it was virtually nonflyable . Three of the few remaining enemy twin - engine aircraft at that base were destroyed . Realizing the critical need for aircraft in his unit , he declined to parachute to safety over friendly territory and unhesitatingly attempted to return his shattered plane to his home field . With great skill and strength , he flew homeward until caught by treacherous air conditions in the Appennines Mountains [ sic ] , where he crashed and was killed . The gallant action of 1st Lt . Knight eliminated the German aircraft which were poised to wreak havoc on Allied forces pressing to establish the first firm bridgehead across the Po River ; his fearless daring and voluntary self - sacrifice averted possible heavy casualties among ground forces and the resultant slowing on the German drive culminated in the collapse of enemy resistance in Italy .