James S. Munsey
First Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Forces

On 22 April 1944, First Lieutenant James S. Munsey was serving as Pilot of a B-24 Liberator Bomber in the 735th Bombardment Squadron, 453rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), Eighth Air Force, U.S. Army Air Forces.

On that day, 1LT Munsey’s unit was in action against German forces while participating in a bombing mission against enemy targets in the European Theater of Operations. As 1LT Munsey’s Liberator bomber was returning to its base in England after bombing targets in Germany, it was attacked by German fighter planes over the English Channel. One of the plane's gas tanks exploded, blowing 3 of the crew members from the bomber. Although the other 5 crew members were able to safely parachute from the aircraft, the plane's communication system was destroyed by the blast of the explosion and that fact was unknown by 1LT Munsey and his co-pilot, 2LT Robert O. Crall, who remained at the controls so the other crew members could get out. As a result, 1LT Munsey and 2LT Crall continued flying the plane for so long neither of them could use their parachutes and both were killed in the crash. 1LT Munsey’s courageous actions and extraordinary heroism that day earned him, at the cost of his life, the U.S. Army's second highest award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross.

Second Lieutenant Robert O. Crall was awarded the U.S. Army's third highest award for valor, the Silver Star Medal, for his gallantry in combat.

Medals, Awards and Badges

Distinguished Service Cross
Purple Heart
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
Army Air Force Pilot Badge

Distinguished Service Cross Citation (Synopsis)

First Lieutenant (Air Corps) James S. Munsey (ASN: 0-686583), United States Army Air Forces, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as an Officer of a B-24 Heavy Bomber in the 735th Bombardment Squadron, 453d Bombardment Group (H), EIGHTH Air Force, while participating in a bombing mission on 22 April 1944, against enemy targets in the European Theater of Operations. The personal courage and zealous devotion to duty displayed by First Lieutenant Munsey on this occasion, at the cost of his life, have upheld the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the 8th Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces.

Burial

First Lieutenant James S. Munsey and Second Lieutenant Robert O. Crall share a grave at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in Lemay, St. Louis County, MO, in Section 82, Site 12.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46133380/james-s-munsey