Walter E . Truemper Walter Edward Truemper ( October 31 , 1918 – February 20 , 1944 ) was a United States Army Air Forces officer in World War II and a recipient of the U . S . military ' s highest decoration , the Medal of Honor . He and his crewmate , Sergeant Archibald Mathies , were posthumously awarded the medal for attempting to save the life of their wounded pilot by staying aboard and trying to land their damaged aircraft . Truemper , Mathies , and the pilot were killed when the aircraft crashed following a third unsuccessful landing attempt . Biography . Born on October 31 , 1918 , in Aurora , Illinois , Truemper was one of 10 children . He attended business college and worked as an accounting clerk before enlisting in the United States Army from Aurora on June 23 , 1942 . He served for a few months with the 174th Field Artillery at Camp Bowie , Texas , until he entered flying training . He took pre - flight training at Ellington Field , Texas ; flexible gunnery at Harlingen , Texas ; and advanced navigation at Hondo , Texas , and was commissioned a second lieutenant , Air Corps on August 26 , 1943 . He served with the 796th Bomb Squadron at Alexandria , Louisiana , until being sent to the Eighth Air Force as a replacement aircrew member in December 1943 . He was assigned to the 510th Bomb Squadron , 351st Bombardment Group , based at RAF Polebrook in England . On February 20 , 1944 , Truemper took part in a bombing mission over Leipzig , Germany , as a navigator aboard a B - 17G Flying Fortress nicknamed " Ten Horsepower " ( 42 - 31763 , markings TU : A ) . During the mission , the aircraft was attacked by a squadron of German fighter planes . The attack left the bomber severely damaged , the co - pilot dead , the pilot unconscious , and the radio operator wounded . The remaining crewmen were able to fly the plane back to RAF Polebrook , at which point Truemper and the flight engineer , Sergeant Archibald Mathies , volunteered to stay aboard while the others parachuted to safety . After observing the aircraft , their commanding officer determined that it was too badly damaged for the two inexperienced men to land and ordered them to bail out as well . The pilot was still alive and could not be moved , however , and Truemper and Mathies refused to leave him behind . They made two unsuccessful landing attempts before crashing on their third try , killing all three airmen . For this action , both Truemper and Mathies was awarded the Medal of Honor four months later , on June 22 , 1944 . Truemper , aged 25 at his death , was buried at Saint Paul ' s Lutheran Cemetery in Montgomery , Illinois . Honors . Three streets have been named in Truemper ' s honor , one at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas , one at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska and one in Aurora , IL on the street he lived . Medal of Honor citation . Truemper ' s official Medal of Honor citation reads : For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy in connection with a bombing mission over enemy - occupied Europe on 20 February 1944 . The aircraft on which 2d Lt . Truemper was serving as navigator was attacked by a squadron of enemy fighters with the result that the co - pilot was killed outright , the pilot wounded and rendered unconscious , the radio operator wounded and the plane severely damaged . Nevertheless , 2d Lt . Truemper and other members of the crew managed to right the plane and fly it back to their home station , where they contacted the control tower and reported the situation . 2d Lt . Truemper and the flight engineer volunteered to attempt to land the plane . Other members of the crew were ordered to jump , leaving 2d Lt . Truemper and the engineer aboard . After observing the distressed aircraft from another plane , 2d Lt . Truemper ' s commanding officer decided the damaged plane could not be landed by the inexperienced crew and ordered them to abandon it and parachute to safety . Demonstrating unsurpassed courage and heroism , 2d Lt . Truemper and the engineer replied that the pilot was still alive but could not be moved and that they would not desert him . They were then told to attempt a landing . After two unsuccessful efforts their plane crashed into an open field in a third attempt to land . 2d Lt . Truemper , the engineer , and the wounded pilot were killed .