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Lt. Col. Jay Zeamer, Jr.

Info from here, here and here.

Jay Zeamer Jr. (July 25, 1918邦arch 22, 2007) was a pilot of the United States Army Air Forces in the South Pacific during World War II, and received the Medal of Honor for valor during an air mission on June 16, 1943. Zeamer is one of only seven known Eagle Scouts who also received the Medal of Honor. The others are Aquilla J. Dyess, Robert Edward Femoyer, Eugene B. Fluckey, Mitchell Paige, Benjamin L. Salomon, and Leo K. Thorsness.

Watch "Old 666" video here.

Born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Zeamer grew up in Orange, New Jersey, the son of a traveling-salesman. He spent many summers at Boothbay Harbor, Maine, where he enjoyed rowing a homemade boat in the harbor.

Zeamer became an Eagle Scout at the age of thirteen, and enrolled in Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana, at fourteen. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after graduating high school and enrolled in the Reserve Officers Training Corps as a prospective officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

With a developing interest in aviation he joined a local flying club in nearby Norwood for lessons. In 1939, while still at MIT, Zeamer was commissioned an infantry second lieutenant in the Army Reserve. He graduated in 1940 with a degree in civil engineering and was assigned to Fort Dix, New Jersey.

Zeamer was discharged to enlist in the Regular Army as a flying cadet and completed primary flight school at Glenview, Illinois, where his leadership skills earned him the position of Captain of Cadets. In March 1941 he received his wings and a commission in the U.S. Army Air Corps after graduating from advanced flight school at Maxwell Field, Alabama.

His initial assignment was an engineering officer service testing the new B-26 Marauder with the 22nd Bombardment Group (Medium), based at Langley Field, Virginia, following which he was assigned to the group's 19th Bombardment Squadron as a co-pilot. On December 8, 1941, the 22nd BG was transferred from Langley to California to fly anti-submarine patrols off the West Coast of the United States. In March 1942 the 22nd BG was deployed to Australia, where Zeamer flew his first combat mission as a B-26 co-pilot on April 6, 1942. 1st Lt. Zeamer transferred to the 43rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) in September 1942, a group that flew the four-engined B-17 Flying Fortress, as a supernumerary with group headquarters.

On September 14, 1942, the 43rd BG moved to a forward base at Port Moresby, New Guinea, where it conducted both bombing and photographic reconnaissance missions. Acting primarily as an intelligence officer, Zeamer began flying combat again in October, filling in on combat crews needing a second pilot, and on a mission in November to photograph Simpson Harbor at Rabaul, New Britain, earned the Silver Star. Promoted to captain in April 1943 and becoming a pilot in the 43rd BG's 65th Bomb Squadron, Zeamer was awarded a second Silver Star for a night mission to Wewak in May 1943.

On June 16, 1943, volunteered to fly an unescorted B-17 nicknamed Old 666 to Buka, a small island off the north coast of Bougainville, a 1200-mile round-trip mission, to photograph Japanese installations and map the west coast of Bougainville as far south as Empress Augusta Bay in preparation for Allied landings scheduled for early November. Apparently unbeknownst to Allied intelligence, the Japanese had moved about 400 fighters into the Solomon Islands on June 15. The mission was Zeamer's 47th in combat.

The photo reconnaissance mission was without incident, although Zeamer's crew reported observing 20 fighters taking off from Buka airfield. Zeamer continued south to the mapping run and shortly before its completion, his B-17 was intercepted by five Japanese fighters attacking from the front. Though wounded in the attack, bombardier 2nd Lt. Joseph Sarnoski continued to fire his nose gun, shooting down two airplanes, including a Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah" reconnaissance plane. Zeamer also destroyed one of the attackers using a nose gun fired remotely by a switch on the flight control column. A 20-millimeter cannon shell exploded in the nose of the B-17, severely wounding Sarnoski and knocking him out of the compartment. Sarnoski dragged himself back to his station and continued to fire until he died at his position.

The B-17's oxygen and hydraulic systems were destroyed, as were the pilot's flight instruments, in the initial attack. Zeamer, injured with a broken leg and numerous fragment wounds, dove the bomber steeply from its assigned mission altitude of 25,000 feet to approximately 10,000 feet (where the crew could survive without use of the oxygen system), estimating the altitude by an increase in engine manifold pressure. An estimated 17 fighters began a series of attacks after the bomber leveled off, waging a 45-minute battle until low on fuel. Zeamer saved the B-17 by taking evasive action to disrupt their deflection, and the crew of the B-17 shot down at least two additional fighters.

Zeamer refused first aid for his wounds and flew the B-17 until the fighters broke off the engagement. Lapsing in and out of consciousness, he assessed the battle damage to the bomber, and concluded they would be unable to climb over the Owen Stanley Mountains, instructing the copilot, who was unwounded, to make an emergency landing at an Allied fighter airstrip at Dobodura, New Guinea. Without operable brakes or flaps because of the destroyed hydraulic system, the B-17 was ground-looped by the co-pilot. The casualties were one killed (Sarnoski) and six wounded.

At first thought dead from a massive loss of blood, Zeamer survived the ordeal, although nearly losing his leg during recovery. Colonel Merian C. Cooper, chief of staff to the deputy commander of the Fifth Air Force, Major General Ennis Whitehead, recommended Zeamer be received the Medal of Honor, to which Fifth Air Force commander General George Kenney concurred. He received the award from Chief of the Army Air Forces General Henry H. Arnold on January 16, 1944, at the Pentagon.

Sarnoski was also awarded the Medal of Honor, the only instance of World War II when two members of one crew were honored for separate acts of heroism in the same combat engagement. All other members of Zeamer's crew received the Distinguished Service Cross.

Zeamer was promoted to major on July 8, 1943, and lieutenant colonel in April 1944. He spent fifteen months of hospital recovery at Walter Reed General Hospital and returned to active duty at Mitchel Field, New York as a Tactical Field Air Inspector. On January 18, 1945, Zeamer retired from the USAAF on disability.

He returned to MIT and obtained a Master's degree in aeronautical engineering in 1946. Zeamer then worked for a series of aerospace companies: Pratt & Whitney in East Hartford, Connecticut, followed by Hughes Aircraft in Los Angeles, California, and finally Raytheon in Bedford, Massachusetts, until his retirement in 1968. After his retirement, Zeamer moved to Boothbay Harbor, Maine, where he enjoyed rowing in the harbor, as he had done in his childhood. He also had a second home in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Zeamer married in 1949, and with his wife Barbara raised five daughters: Marcia, Jacque, Jayne, Susan, and Sandra. Barbara Zeamer stated that he rarely talked about his wartime experiences or the medal. "I think he didn't feel he deserved it. He was so close to his bombardier [Joseph Sarnoski] and he felt terrible about his being killed."

Zeamer died in a nursing home at age 88. At the time of his death, he was the last living Medal of Honor recipient of the Army Air Forces. Zeamer's funeral was held on March 26, 2007, with a burial at Arlington National Cemetery. The Governor of Maine, John Baldacci, ordered that flags in the state be flown at half-staff on the day of the funeral.

Zeamer's Medal of Honor mission was featured on The History Channel and in the first chapter of the 1968 Martin Caidin's Flying Forts: The B-17 in WWII. Caidin describes "Old 666" as similar to the "Leper Colony" B-17 of the movie Twelve O'Clock High, but that Zeamer gathered his crew of misfits himself.

The MIT "Lt. Col. Jay Zeamer Squadron" of the Arnold Air Society and, on October 17, 2008, the Pope AFB headquarters building were named in Zeamer's honor.

Medal of Honor citation

The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to:

ZEAMER, JAY JR. (Air Mission)

Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Army Air Corps. Place and date: Over Buka area, Solomon Islands, June 16, 1943. Entered service at: Machias, Maine. Birth: Carlisle, Pa. G.O. No.: 1, January 4, 1944.

Citation:

On 16 June 1943, Major Zeamer (then Captain) volunteered as pilot of a bomber on an important photographic mapping mission covering the formidably defended area in the vicinity of Buka, Solomon Islands. While photographing the Buka airdrome. his crew observed about 20 enemy fighters on the field, many of them taking off. Despite the certainty of a dangerous attack by this strong force, Major Zeamer proceeded with his mapping run, even after the enemy attack began. In the ensuing engagement, Major Zeamer sustained gunshot wounds in both arms and legs, one leg being broken. Despite his injuries, he maneuvered the damaged plane so skillfully that his gunners were able to fight off the enemy during a running fight which lasted 40 minutes. The crew destroyed at least 5 hostile planes, of which Major Zeamer himself shot down one. Although weak from loss of blood, he refused medical aid until the enemy had broken combat. He then turned over the controls, but continued to exercise command despite lapses into unconsciousness, and directed the flight to a base 580 miles away. In this voluntary action, Major Zeamer, with superb skill, resolution, and courage, accomplished a mission of great value.

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The Gift of Your Time

“This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards
of the mysteries of God.” 1 Corinthians 4:9

It has been said, “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take
but by the moments that take our breath away.”

A young man learns what’s most important in life from the guy next door.

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls,
career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across
the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life,
Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend
with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could
stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The
funeral is Wednesday.” Memories flashed through his mind like an old
newsreel, as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

“Jack, did you hear me?”

“Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It’s been so long since I thought of
him. I’m sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,” Jack said.

“Well, he didn’t forget you. Every time I saw him he’d ask how you were
doing. He’d reminisce about the many days you spent over ‘his side of the
fence’ as he put it,” Mom told him.

“I loved that old house he lived in,” Jack said.

“You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make
sure you had a man’s influence in your life,” she said.

“He’s the one who taught me carpentry,” he said. “I wouldn’t be in this
business if it weren’t for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things
he thought were important. Mom, I’ll be there for the funeral,” Jack
said.

As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his
hometown.

Mr. Belser’s funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his
own, and most of his relatives had passed away. The night before he had to
return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door,
one more time.

Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing
over into another dimension, a leap through space and time.

The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every
picture, every piece of furniture....Jack stopped suddenly.

“What’s wrong, Jack?” his Mom asked.

“The box is gone,” he said.

“What box?” Mom asked.

“There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must
have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he’d ever tell me was
‘the thing I value most,’” Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered
it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had
taken it.

“Now I’ll never know what was so valuable to him,” Jack said. “I better
get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom.”

It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from
work one day, Jack discovered a note in his mailbox.

“Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main
post office within the next three days,” the note read.

Early the next day, Jack retrieved the package.

The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years
ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught
his attention.

“Mr. Harold Belser” it read.

Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There,
inside, was the gold box and an envelope.

Jack’s hands shook as he read the note inside.

“Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett.
It’s the thing I valued most in my life.” A small key was taped to the
letter.

His heart racing, as tears filled his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the
box. There, inside, he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his
fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover.

Inside he found these words engraved: “Jack, Thanks for your time! Harold
Belser.”

“The thing he valued most...was...my time.”

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared
his appointments for the next two days.

“Why?” Janet, his assistant asked.

“I need some time to spend with my son,” he said.

“Oh, by the way, Janet...thanks for your time!”

PRAYER:
Dear God, help me never to be so busy that I forget the value of giving my time to another. Amen

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