WWII Hero's Incredible Medal of Honor Story Now to Be a Movie

United States Army Air Forces airman Henry Eugene "Red" Erwin, Sr., who was presented the Medal of Honor for his actions in World War II. (Courtesy of Erwin family)

Red Erwin was in such bad shape, suffering from burns all the way to the bone, that then-Maj. Gen. Curtis LeMay put one of his legendary bull rushes on the regulations to get him the Medal of Honor before he died.

The medal was awarded and presented to Erwin within a week of his near-fatal injuries; it's still believed to be the fastest approval on record of the nation's highest award for valor.

Staff Sgt. Henry E. "Red" Erwin, the radio operator on a B-29 Superfortress over Japan in April 1945, beat long odds to survive and go home to Alabama, where he was welcomed at the hospital with a kiss from his wife Betty on the only part of his face that wasn't scalded.

The doctors didn't think he would see again, but he did. They thought he would lose his right arm, but he didn't. Following more than 40 surgeries, Erwin would work for 37 years counseling burn patients and advising on benefits for the then-Veterans Administration in Birmingham, Alabama.

He and Betty would have four children. Following his death in 2002, son Henry Erwin Jr., who had become a state senator in Alabama, said his father "embodied all the ideals of the Medal of Honor. He wore them like a well-pressed suit."

Anyone in the Air Force would know this heroes story.

Learning about the USAF Enlisted MOH winners was required and on the promotion tests.

Sgt’s Red Erwin, Snuffy Smith, Archy Mathies and Ken Vosler in WWII, Airman John Levitow, Chief Etchberger in Vietnam, and TSgt John Chapman in Afghanistan...

There’s only been 7 enlisted members of the Air Force who earned the MOH, and four of them were technically in the US Army Air Forces in WWII.

Citation:

“On 12 April 1945 Erwin, called “Red” by his crewmates, was serving as the radio operator aboard a B-29 Superfortress named City of Los Angeles, piloted by Captain George Simeral. The plane was in formation for a low-level attack on a chemical plant at Koriyama, 120 miles north of Tokyo, on their 11th combat mission. Along with their primary jobs, the twelve B-29 crew members had additional duties to perform. Erwin’s was to drop phosphorus smoke bombs through a chute in the aircraft’s floor when the lead plane reached a designated assembly area. He was given the signal to drop the bombs when the aircraft was just off the south coast of Japan and under attack by anti-aircraft fire and Japanese fighters.

Erwin pulled the pin and released a bomb into the chute, but the fuse malfunctioned and ignited the phosphorus which burns at 1,100 degrees, prematurely. The canister flew back up the chute and into Erwin’s face, blinding him, searing off one ear and obliterating his nose. Smoke immediately filled the aircraft, making it impossible for the pilot to see his instrument panel. Erwin was afraid the bomb would burn through the metal floor into the bomb bay. Completely blind, he picked it up and feeling his way, crawled around the gun turret and headed for the copilot’s window. His face and arms were covered with ignited phosphorous and his path was blocked by the navigator’s folding table; hinged to the wall but down and locked. The navigator had left his table to make a sighting. Erwin couldn’t release the table’s latches with one hand, so he grabbed the white-hot bomb between his bare right arm and his ribcage. In the few seconds it took to raise the table, the phosphorus burned through his flesh to the bone. His body on fire, he stumbled into the cockpit, threw the bomb out the window and collapsed between the pilot’s seats.

The smoke cleared enough for Simeral to pull the B-29 out of a dive at 300 feet above the water and turn toward Iwo Jima, where Erwin could be given emergency treatment. His crew members extinguished his burning clothes and administered first aid, but whenever Erwin’s burns were uncovered, phosphorus embedded in his skin would begin to smolder. Although in excruciating pain, he remained conscious throughout the flight and spoke only to inquire about the safety of the crew. Once at Iwo Jima, medical personnel didn’t believe he would survive.

Army Air Force officials, led by Major General Curtis LeMay and Brigadier General Lauris Norstad, approved Erwin’s award of the Medal of Honor in a matter of hours, so a presentation could be made while he still lived. A medal was flown to Guam and presented to him in the hospital there.”

https://militaryhallofhonor.com/honoree-record.php?id=1380

Thank you so much Vetvetdoug!

I retired in 1998 and did not know they upgraded his AF Cross!

So, I have him on my list now!

William Hart Pitsenbarger (July 8, 1944 – April 11, 1966) was a United States Air Force Pararescueman who flew on almost 300 rescue missions during the Vietnam War to aid downed soldiers and pilots. On April 11, 1966, he was killed aiding and defending a unit of soldiers pinned down by an enemy assault during the Vietnam War. Before his death he helped save over 60 men in the battle. He was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross, which was later upgraded to the Medal of Honor in 2000.

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