Archibald Mathies (June 3, 1918 – February 20, 1944) posthumously received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor ...

as an enlisted member of the

U.S. Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Biography

Childhood

Born Archibald Collins Hamilton, June 3, 1918, in

Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire Stonehouse is a rural village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on Avon Water in an area of natural beauty and historical interest, near to the Clyde Valley. It is on the A71 trunk road between Edinburgh and Kilmarnock, near the towns o ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, he emigrated with his mother and step-father to

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

Military career

Archibald Mathies enlisted in the Regular Army on December 30, 1940, at Pittsburgh, Penn. He was attached to Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, 8th Pursuit Wing, and later assigned to the 36th Air Base Group, Maxwell Field, Alabama. On March 5, 1941, he was transferred to the 31st School Squadron, Jefferson Barracks, Mo., where he remained until March 24, 1941. He then was attached to the 36th School Squadron, Chanute Field, Illinois, where he attended the Airplane Mechanic School, from which he graduated on October 1, 1941. He departed Chanute Field and proceeded to Mitchel Field, New York, where he served with the 1st Air Support Command and later the 33d Pursuit Group. He was transferred as a member of the 33d Pursuit Group to Morris Field, North Carolina, on December 4, 1941. On February 6, 1943, he was attached to the Army Air Forces Flexible Gunnery School at Tyndall Field, Florida, and completed the course in aerial gunnery on March 22, 1943. He then returned to Morris Field and served with the 1st Air Service Command until April 12, 1943, when he was assigned to the 73d Observation Group at Godman Field, Kentucky. On April 14, 1943, he joined the 91st Observation squadron (redesignated 91st Reconnaissance Squadron) at Godman Field. From July 25 to September 7, 1943, he was attached to the 28th Bombardment Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group, at Pyote, Texas, and from September 15 to November 22, 1943, he served with the 796th Bombardment Squadron at Alexandria, La. He departed the United States on December 8, 1943, and arrived in England on December 16. Upon his arrival, he was assigned to the 8th Air Force Replacement Depot Casual Pool and was subsequently attached to the 1st Replacement and Training Squadron until January 18, 1944. On January 19, 1944, he was assigned to the 510th Bomb Squadron, 351st Bomb Group, based at RAF Polebrook,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, as an Engineer-Gunner. He was promoted to staff sergeant February 17, 1944. Three days later, on his second mission, Staff Sergeant Archibald Mathies lost his life while attempting to land his damaged

B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theate ...

after a heavy bomb attack on enemy installations at Leipzig Germany, for which he received the Medal of Honor. (Taken from U.S. Air Force Biography)Fact Sheets : SSgt. Archibald Mathies : SSgt. Archibald Mathies
Mathies Manor plaque 02

One of the Temporary Lodging units at

Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...

is named in his honor. The Airman Leadership School at RAF Feltwell, UK is named in his honor. The Noncommissioned Officer Academy at RAF Upwood, UK was named in his honor. The Noncommissioned Officer Academy at

Keesler AFB Keesler Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Biloxi, a city along the Gulf Coast in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. The base is named in honor of aviator 2d Lt Samuel Reeves Keesler Jr., a Mississippi nat ...

, MS is named in his honor. The bridge on Truemper Drive crossing Military Highway at Lackland Air Force Base, TX is named in his honor. The USCIS Dallas District Office is named in his honor. The Mathies Coal Company in Pittsburgh, PA was named in his honor. Archibald Mathies' Medal of Honor is on display at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Medal of Honor mission

On his second combat mission, on February 20, 1944, Sergeant Mathies participated in an attack on

Leipzig, Germany Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

. During this raid, along with 2d Lt. Walter E. Truemper aboard B-17G 42-21763, Markings TU:A, nicknamed ''Ten Horsepower'', the co-pilot was killed and the pilot severely injured. Mathies and the navigator flew the crippled plane back to England, where the rest of the crew jumped (parachuted) to safety. Mathies and the navigator were ordered to jump, but both refused to leave the pilot behind. After some indecision, they were permitted to attempt a landing. The plane crashed into an open field on the third attempt, killing all Sgt. Mathies and the navigator. The wounded pilot survived the crash but later died in the hospital.

Medal of Honor citation

Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy in connection with a bombing mission over enemy-occupied Europe on February 20, 1944. The aircraft on which Sgt. Mathies was serving as
flight engineer A flight engineer (FE), also sometimes called an air engineer, is the member of an aircraft's flight crew who monitors and operates its complex aircraft systems. In the early era of aviation, the position was sometimes referred to as the "air ...
and ball turret gunner was attacked by a squadron of enemy fighters with the result that the
co-pilot In aviation, the first officer (FO), also called co-pilot, is the pilot who is second-in-command of the aircraft to the captain, who is the legal commander. In the event of incapacitation of the captain, the first officer will assume command ...
was killed outright, the pilot wounded and rendered unconscious, the
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transm ...
operator wounded and the plane severely damaged. Nevertheless, Sgt. Mathies and other members of the crew managed to right the plane and fly it back to their home station, where they contacted the
control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...
and reported the situation. Sgt. Mathies and the
navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...
volunteered to attempt to land the plane. Other members of the crew were ordered to jump, leaving Sgt. Mathies and the navigator aboard. After observing the distressed aircraft from another plane, Sgt. Mathies' commanding officer decided the damaged plane could not be landed by the inexperienced crew and ordered them to abandon it and parachute to safety. Demonstrating unsurpassed courage and heroism, Sgt. Mathies and the navigator replied that the pilot was still alive but could not be moved and they would not desert him. They were then told to attempt a landing. After two unsuccessful efforts, the plane crashed into an open field in a third attempt to land. Sgt. Mathies, the navigator, and the wounded pilot were killed.

Notes

References

* Freeman, Roger A. ''The Mighty Eighth'' (1993 edition), (p. 270).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathies, Archibald 1918 births 1944 deaths Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in England United States Army Air Forces Medal of Honor recipients United States Air Force Medal of Honor recipients People from Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire United States Army Air Forces personnel killed in World War II Scottish-born Medal of Honor recipients British emigrants to the United States United States Army Air Forces non-commissioned officers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1944 World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor