serviceyears branch death_place death_date birth_place allegiance unit awards placeofburial_label battles birth_date placeofburial rank article_title name
1942 - 1944 united states army air forces europe 9 november 1944 lima , ohio united states 729th -rrb- bombardment squadron , 452nd bomb group -lrb- heavy medal of honor place of burial world war ii 9 february 1922 woodlawn cemetery , lima , ohio second lieutenant william e. metzger , jr. .
 william e. metzger , jr.
william e. metzger , jr. .

william edward metzger , jr. -lrb- february 9 , 1922 -- november 9 , 1944 -rrb- 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 .
metzger joined the army from his birthplace of lima , ohio in october 1942 , and by november 9 , 1944 was a second lieutenant serving as the co-pilot of a b-17 flying fortress in the 729th bomb squadron , 452nd bombardment group .
on that day , during a bombing mission over saarbrücken , germany , his plane was severely damaged and several of the crew were wounded by enemy fire .
knowing that the most seriously injured crewman needed immediate medical aid , and fearing that he would not receive such aid if he was dropped by parachute into enemy territory , metzger and the pilot , donald j. gott , decided to try to fly the crippled aircraft back into allied territory .
once reaching friendly airspace , metzger chose to stay behind with the pilot and seriously injured man while the other crewmen parachuted to safety .
he and the pilot attempted a crash landing , but the aircraft exploded before touching down , killing all three on board .
for their actions , both metzger and gott were posthumously awarded the medal of honor six months later , on may 16 , 1945 .
metzger , aged 22 at his death , was buried at woodlawn cemetery in his hometown of lima , ohio .
