John S . Walmsley , Jr . John Springer Walmsley , Jr . ( 7 January 1920 – 14 September 1951 ) was a bomber pilot in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II , and later the United States Air Force during the Korean War . Walmsley rose to the rank of Captain and posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions on 14 September 1951 above Yangdok , North Korea during a bombing mission . Born in Baltimore , Maryland , Walmsley jouned the Army Air Corps and spent the 1940s as an instructor pilot in the United States and Japan , but did not see combat . He was deployed with the 8th Bombardment Squadron to the Korean War , flying B - 26 Invader aircraft . During this time , Walmsley volunteered for a risky bombing campaign , Operation Strangle . During one of the bombing missions , Walmsley ' s aircraft spotted a Chinese supply train moving by cover of darkness . His aircraft attacked it until expending its ammunition and called for backup . He then used a spotlight on his aircraft to illuminate the train for subsequent attacks , exposing himself and his crew to intense anti - aircraft fire , which he did not avoid . The mission resulted in the successful destruction of the train , though Walmsley was killed when his heavily damaged aircraft crashed . After his death , he was awarded the Medal of Honor . Biography . Walmsley was born on 7 January 1920 in Baltimore , Maryland . He entered service from the city , as well , joining the United States Army Air Corps in 1944 . Walmsley served mainly as a flying instructor during World War II . Walmsley was then transferred to Japan in 1946 as part of the post - war occupation of that country . There , he flew bomber aircraft from 1946 to 1949 . After this , he attended Air Tactical School , graduating in July 1949 . Korean War . Upon the outset of the Korean War , Walmsley was assigned to the 8th Bombardment Squadron , 3rd Bombardment Wing , Fifth United States Air Force . He flew Douglas B - 26 Invader aircraft during the war . During this time , he was described as " cheerful and popular . " During the early phase of the war , missions including fairly simple bombing runs with fragmentation bomb s and . 50 caliber machine guns . In the summer of 1951 , the two sides of the conflict appeared to be reaching a truce . However , as the negotiations continued , North Korean and Chinese troops began moving supplies to the front lines while negotiations were taking place . The move caused UN troops to counter with " Operation Strangle , " a new interdiction campaign designed to attack supply lines using arclights , bright lamps attached to the bottom of the aircraft , which would spot truck convoys moving at night . The arclights , with an estimated 80 million candlepower , would easily illuminate supply trains but also expose the UN aircraft to antiaircraft fire . As such , North Korean and Chinese trains were heavily equipped with such guns , and the valleys through which they traveled were heavily fortified with anti - air capability . Walmsley was one of the first pilots to volunteer for the mission , which was seen as highly dangerous . By September 1951 , Walmsley had been promoted to Captain and had flown 20 missions using the arclights . At 55 or 60 missions , the " tour " would have been complete using the risky weapons . A September 12 raid was extremely successful ; in it , Walmsley ' s B - 26 attacked a convoy with bombs , destroying or damaging 16 trucks , and forcing many of the vehicle drivers off the road . Emboldened by this successful mission , Walmsley opted on September 14 to bring his bomber , " Skillful 13 " ( tail number 44 - 34314 ) to a mission alone in North Korea . Medal of Honor action . On 14 September Walmsley ' s aircraft , Skillful 13 , launched from Kunsan alone on a mission to search for truck convoys in North Korea . The aircraft was crewed by Walmsley as well as bombardier / navigator Second Lieutenant William D . Mulkins , photomapper Captain Philip W . Browning , and air gunner Master Sergeant George Morar . As the aircraft neared Yangdok , behind North Korean lines , it spotted an armed locomotive hauling supplies south in the middle of the night . Walmsley immediately had his crew attack the locomotive . They expended their complement of bombs in striking the locomotive , damaging but not stopping it . Walmsley then called in another B - 26 Invader from Kunsan , and upon its arrival volunteered to illuminate the locomotive with his aircraft ' s arclight . Walmsley ' s aircraft passed over the locomotive three times , illuminating it but , taking antiaircraft fire in the process from both the train itself and emplacements along the rail line , damaging the aircraft . Walmsley ' s actions not only illuminated the train but also allowed his aircraft to absorb most of its fire , sparing the other aircraft from attack . He did not take any evasive action against the North Korean anti - aircraft fire so as to keep the train illuminated for the other aircraft . After the third pass , the train was destroyed by the combined firepower of the two bombers , together with its cargo . However , Walmsley ' s aircraft was severely damaged . Its wings began trailing fuel , which ignited . Walmsley ' s aircraft caught fire , and proceeded about , fighting to maintain altitude before finally crashing into the ground in a mountainous region , killing Walmsley , Mulkins , and Browning , and severely injuring Morar . As the lone survivor of the crash , Morar was captured and spent the remainder of the war in a prison camp , though he survived . Walmsley was declared missing in action after the mission , and his status was listed as " presumed dead " after the end of the war . For their actions , Walmsley ' s crew each received a Distinguished Flying Cross . However , Walmsley himself was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously on 12 June 1954 . The medal was presented to his widow at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington , D . C . . Four weeks after the mission , the arclights and Operation Strangle were abandoned , as leaders felt the risks and casualties of the operation outweighed the benefits . Awards and decorations . Walmsley ' s decorations included the following medals : Medal of Honor citation . Walmsley was the second member of the US Air Force to be awarded the Medal of Honor in the war , after Louis J . Sebille . Four USAF pilots would be awarded the medal in the war , all of them posthumously .