FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: David Kingsley ~ January 7, 2013

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[Kathy in Alaska]

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~ Hall of Heroes ~

David Kingsley

Info from this website.

           

KINGSLEY, DAVID R. (Air Mission)

Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps, 97th Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force.
Place and date: Ploesti Raid, Rumania, 23 June 1944.
Entered service at. Portland, Oregon.
Birth: Oregon. G.O. No.: 26, 9 April 1945.

Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, 23 June 1944 near Ploesti, Rumania, while flying as bombardier of a B17 type aircraft.

On the bomb run 2d Lt. Kingsley's aircraft was severely damaged by intense flak and forced to drop out of formation but the pilot proceeded over the target and 2d Lt. Kingsley successfully dropped his bombs, causing severe damage to vital installations. The damaged aircraft, forced to lose altitude and to lag behind the formation, was aggressively attacked by 3 ME-109 aircraft, causing more damage to the aircraft and severely wounding the tail gunner in the upper arm. The radio operator and engineer notified 2d Lt. Kingsley that the tail gunner had been wounded and that assistance was needed to check the bleeding. 2d Lt. Kingsley made his way back to the radio room, skillfully applied first aid to the wound, and succeeded in checking the bleeding. The tail gunner's parachute harness and heavy clothes were removed and he was covered with blankets, making him as comfortable as possible. Eight ME-109 aircraft again aggressively attacked 2d Lt. Kingsley's aircraft and the ball turret gunner was wounded by 20mm. shell fragments. He went forward to the radio room to have 2d Lt. Kingsley administer first aid. A few minutes later when the pilot gave the order to prepare to bail out, 2d Lt. Kingsley immediately began to assist the wounded gunners in putting on their parachute harness. In the confusion the tail gunner's harness, believed to have been damaged, could not be located in the bundle of blankets and flying clothes which had been removed from the wounded men. With utter disregard for his own means of escape, 2d Lt. Kingsley unhesitatingly removed his parachute harness and adjusted it to the wounded tail gunner. Due to the extensive damage caused by the accurate and concentrated 20mm. fire by the enemy aircraft the pilot gave the order to bail out, as it appeared that the aircraft would disintegrate at any moment. 2d Lt. Kingsley aided the wounded men in bailing out and when last seen by the crewmembers he was standing on the bomb bay catwalk. The aircraft continued to fly on automatic pilot for a short distance, then crashed and burned. His body was later found in the wreckage. 2d Lt. Kingsley by his gallant heroic action was directly responsible for saving the life of the wounded gunner.

Friday, October 22, 2004
The gift of life
  By Todd Kepple
Courtesy of the Herald and the News of Oregon

 Phyllis Kingsley Rolison, sister of Second Lieutenant David Kingsley, touches a section of the plane in which her brother died 60 years ago  in Bulgaria. Rolison paid her first visit to the site where Kingsley's  B-17 bomber crashed in 1944. Debris from the plane was used in
construction of a memorial in Suhozem, Bulgaria.



'Second Lieutenant Kingsley made his way back to the radio room, skillfully applied first aid to the wound, and succeeded in checking the bleeding. ...

A few minutes later when the pilot gave the order to prepare to bail out, Second Lieutenant Kingsley immediately began to assist the wounded gunners.'

The Opissonya was struggling to maintain altitude as it flew away from its bombing target at Ploesti, Romania.

The B-17 Flying Fortress carrying Second Lieutenant David Kingsley and eight other members of the U.S. Army Air Force had dropped its payload on an oil storage facility, but had sustained damage from an anti-aircraft shell.

Its number 1 engine was out, and the plane had become separated from the formation of other bombers, leaving it vulnerable to enemy fighters. At some point, cables giving the pilot control over the tail section of the plane were severed.

Making matters worse, German ME-109 fighter planes scrambled from an air field at Karlovo, Bulgaria, and pursued the crippled Opissonya.

As the fighters attacked from the rear, 20-millimeter cannon fire hit tail gunner Mike Sullivan, injuring his head and shoulder, and damaging his parachute harness.

Sullivan crawled from the tail to the mid-section of the plane. Kingsley was asked to dress his wounds.

Kingsley removed the damaged parachute from Sullivan, and managed to stem the flow of blood from his wounded arm.

Kingsley's bomber, the Opissonya, sits at a base before its fateful final mission.

In an effort to keep the faltering plane aloft, the crew began throwing out unnecessary equipment, but the damage was too severe. The pilot struggled to maintain control, but knew that if the plane began a nosedive, it would be increasingly difficult for its crew to escape.

He signaled for the crew to bail out.

With Sullivan's parachute damaged, and perhaps lost in the confusion, Kingsley took his own parachute off and strapped it on Sullivan. He then helped Sullivan to the bomb bay, and made sure Sullivan jumped safely.

"Carrying me in his arms, Lieutenant Kingsley struggled to get me through the door into the bomb bay," Sullivan told the Oregonian newspaper the following year, when Kingsley was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

"He told me to be sure and pull the rip cord after I had cleared the ship," Sullivan continued.

"I did and as I was floating down I saw the Fort fall off and go into a spin. It crashed, exploded and burned.

"The last time I saw Lieutenant Kingsley, he was standing on the catwalk over the open bomb bay doors."

All eight crewmen who jumped from the plane made it to the ground safely. Seven were captured and held as prisoners of war, while one was hidden by Bulgarians sympathetic to the allied cause.

Sullivan, circa 1995 'Carrying me in his arms, Lieutenant Kingsley struggled to get me through the door into the bomb bay. ... The last time I saw Lieutenant Kingsley, he was standing on the catwalk over the open bomb bay doors.'

The B-17 crashed near the village of Suhozem, a tiny remote village.

A Bulgarian air commander on the ground watched the plane go down and went to the crash site. He found Kingsley's body in the cockpit.

Witnesses on the ground said the plane circled before coming down, indicating Kingsley may have tried to save his own life by making a crash landing in a field.

Bulgarian villagers buried Kingsley in a makeshift grave. He was later reinterred at Arlington National Cemetery.

Two months after the crash of the Opissonya, Russian forces captured the heavily damaged oil field at Ploesti. The captured members of the Opissonya were held as prisoners until being released on September 10, 1944.

Kingsley was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on May 4, 1945. The award was presented to his brother, Navy Pharmacist's Mate First Class Thomas Kingsley, in a ceremony at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Portland. The ceremony was followed by a high mass.

The Klamath Falls municipal airport, which had served as a naval air station during World War II, was taken over by the Air Force in 1957. It was named Kingsley Field on July 3 of that year.

The U.S. Department of Defense closed its base at Kingsley Field in 1978, but the Oregon Air National Guard reopened the facility in 1980.

Three members of the Opissonya crew gathered for a reunion at Kingsley Field in June 1995. They were pilot Edwin "Andy" Anderson, ball turret gunner Stanley Kmiec, and tail gunner Mike Sullivan, whose life was saved by Kingsley.

Kmiec is the only member of the crew still living.

Over the past 60 years, the Kingsley family cherished fond memories of a brother and the military honored him as a hero.

But there was also mourning in Bulgaria, which became a satellite nation of the Soviet Union. While the story of Kingsley's sacrifice was memorialized in America, it's rarely mentioned that the crash killed members of a Bulgarian family on the ground.

Villagers who knew the family are expected to be among those attending the dedication of a memorial Saturday at the tiny village of Suhozem, Bulgaria.

More about David Kingsley at Home of the Heroes.

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission!

[MoochPooch]

Evening, Kathy. How inspiring.

[Kathy in Alaska]

And close behind....Nana Hope snags the silver!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

And rounding out the top three....Hawaii bags the bronze!!

[The Mayor]

Freep mail me to be on or off the Daily Bread ping list

Fully Equipped
January 7, 2013

Karl Elsener, a Swiss designer of surgical equipment in the 19th century, worked for years on perfecting a military knife. Today his Swiss Army Knife is associated with excellence in blades and a variety of utilities. One model includes knife blades, a saw, scissors, a magnifying glass, a can opener, a screwdriver, a ruler, a toothpick, a writing pen, and more—all in one knife! If you are out camping in the wild, this one item can certainly make you feel equipped for survival.

We need something to equip us to survive spiritually in this sinful world. God has given us His Word, a kind of spiritual knife for the soul. Paul writes: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

The word translated equipped means to “furnish or fit completely.” How does the Bible equip us for life’s journey? It provides spiritual truth in doctrine; reproof in showing our imperfections; correction by revealing our sinful failures; and instruction in living a righteous life. There’s not a more valuable tool than God’s Word to make us fully equipped for spiritual survival and personal growth.

Lord, thank You for equipping us with Your
inspired Word. You’ve given us the tools we
need to live for You. Help us to take time to read
it and to follow what You tell us. Amen.

The Bible contains the nutrients we need for a healthy soul.

Read: 2 Timothy 3:14-17

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God . . . that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. —2 Timothy 3:16-17

Bible in a Year:
Genesis 18-19; Matthew 6:1-18

[Kathy in Alaska]

Thanks, Nana Hope, for today's Pledge…((HUGS)). Thanks, AfghanMan and Penguin Girl, for your service to America.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mooch...are you editing interesting stuff?

Have you escaped the recent storms? Snow?

[Kathy in Alaska]

God Bless you good, Mac. Good night and rest well. Thanks for helping honor our troops, past and present.
Thank you for your service to our country.

[luvie]

Callie is here. 6.8 lbs, 19” long, born at 6.05pm :)

WOOHOO!

[left that other site]

Hi Everybody!

((((HUGS))))

I took Linda to a very nice doggie park today. She go to run with a bunch of retired greyhounds. She kept up for a while, the when over to the fountain and drank a lot of water, and then came over to me and her eyes said, “OK I’m done. Let’s go home!”

LOL.

[NYTexan]

Wonderful!

BBH

[Kathy in Alaska]

Aloha and good afternoon, Hawaii...((HUGS))...hope you are finally having some sunny days.

How are your mainlanders? All healthy? Safe from storms and pneumonia?

Ms B posted last night that she has been down with pneumonia for the better part of a week and thinks she might finally live. Talked to an east coast friend and both her and her kids have all had it. YIKES!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Woohoo....Callie has arrived!!

Happy BIRTHday, Callie!!

Click

[luvie]

Thanks, BB! ((((LBH)))) back! :)

We’re very proud of her. I’ll have a picture when I get a chance and am not tired from a long day on the road.

[luvie]

Awwww...how sweet! Thanks, Kathy. She’s a keeper! :)

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Sand...((HUGS))...we will always remember. And thanks to you, too.

Did you have a nice weekend? Ready for Maddi?

[luvie]

Thanks,galz, for yet another wonderful story about one of our American heroes. God bless them all!

[SandRat]

Good evening, Kathy...HUGS))...had a good weekend and so ready for Maddi and the chores (light ones) GrMA SR came ups with.

[Kathy in Alaska]

TAPS

RIP

PFC Glenn Schoenmann, USA Welcome Home!
Company M, 3rd Battalion,
31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division

Amazing Grace

[E.G.C.]

A very pleasant good morning to everyone at the Canteen and to all our military at home and abroad. Thanks for your service to our country.

((HUGS))Good morning, Ladies. Thanks for this morning's thread, Star. How's it going?

[ConorMacNessa]

Good morning, Kathy!

*HUGS* On the early bus into the office. Hope you have a great Monday!