Robert Edward Femoyer is one of only eight known Eagle Scouts who also received the Medal of Honor; the others are Aquilla J. Dyess

Aquilla J. Dyess

-References:...

, Eugene B. Fluckey

Eugene B. Fluckey

Rear Admiral Eugene Bennett Fluckey , nicknamed "Lucky Fluckey", was a United States Navy submarine commander who received the Medal of Honor during World War II.-Early life and career:...

, Charles P. Murray, Jr.

Charles P. Murray, Jr.

Charles Patrick Murray, Jr., was a United States Army officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.-Early life:...

, Mitchell Paige

Mitchell Paige

Mitchell Paige was a recipient of the Medal of Honor from World War II...

, Ben L. Salomon

Ben L. Salomon

Benjamin Lewis Salomon was a United States Army dentist during World War II, assigned as a front-line surgeon since there were no equivalents of today's advanced paramedics...

, Leo K. Thorsness

Leo K. Thorsness

Leo Keith Thorsness is a retired colonel in the United States Air Force who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Vietnam War. He was awarded the medal for an air engagement on April 19, 1967. He was shot down two weeks later and spent six years in captivity in North Vietnam as a...

 and Jay Zeamer, Jr.

Jay Zeamer, Jr.

Jay Zeamer Jr. 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...

 He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces

United States Army Air Forces

The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....

 and is the only navigator

Flight officer

The title flight officer was a military rank used by the United States Armed Forces where it was an air force warrant officer rank. It was also an air force rank in several Commonwealth nations where it was used for female officers and was equivalent to the rank of flight lieutenant...

 awarded the Medal of Honor.

Biography

Femoyer was from Huntington, West Virginia

Huntington, West Virginia

Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...

, an Eagle Scout, he attended Virginia Tech

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, popularly known as Virginia Tech , is a public land-grant university with the main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia with other research and educational centers throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and internationally.Founded in...

, Class of 1944. A building at Virginia Tech is named in his honor.http://www.vt.edu/about/buildings/femoyer-hall.html

Femoyer joined the Enlisted Reserve Corps on November 11, 1942. He was called to active duty in February 1942 and took basic training

Basic Training

Basic Training may refer to:* Basic Training, a 1971 American documentary directed by Frederick Wiseman* Basic Training , an American sex comedy* Recruit training...

 at Miami Beach, Florida

Miami Beach, Florida

Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...

. He became an aviation cadet in July 1943, but failed his pilot training at the Mississippi Institute of Aeronautics in Jackson, Mississippi. In 1944, he graduated from the Army Air Force (AAF) Flexible Gunnery School at Fort Myers, Florida, and the AAF Navigation School at Selman Field, Louisiana. He went to the European Theater

European Theatre of World War II

The European Theatre of World War II was a huge area of heavy fighting across Europe from Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 until the end of the war with the German unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945...

 in September 1944, as a second lieutenant and was assigned to the 447th Bomb Group's 711th Squadron.

Six weeks later, on November 2, 1944, as a navigator on a bombing mission over Merseburg

Merseburg

Merseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, he was wounded by enemy aircraft fire, which seriously damaged his B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. In spite of extreme pain and great loss of blood he refused morphine

Morphine

Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...

 in order to keep his mental faculties clear. For two and half-hours he guided the lone bomber through six changes in course around enemy antiaircraft concentrations. Bleeding steadily, he worked with amazing clarity despite pain described as "almost beyond the realm of human endurance". As the crippled aircraft crossed safely over the English Channel

English Channel

The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

, Second Lieutenant Robert Femoyer finally allowed an injection of morphine. Thirty minutes after landing he died of wounds. For his actions during this mission, he posthumously received the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

.

Medal of Honor citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty near Merseburg, Germany, on 2 November 1944. While on a mission, the bomber, of which 2d Lt. Femoyer was the navigator, was struck by 3 enemy antiaircraft shells. The plane suffered serious damage and 2d Lt. Femoyer was severely wounded in the side and back by shell fragments which penetrated his body. In spite of extreme pain and great loss of blood he refused an offered injection of morphine. He was determined to keep his mental faculties clear in order that he might direct his plane out of danger and so save his comrades. Not being able to arise from the floor, he asked to be propped up in order to enable him to see his charts and instruments. He successfully directed the navigation of his lone bomber for 2 hours so well it avoided enemy flak and returned to the field without further damage. Only when the plane had arrived in the safe area over the English Channel did he feel that he had accomplished his objective; then, and only then, he permitted an injection of a sedative. He died shortly after being removed from the plane. The heroism and self-sacrifice of 2d Lt. Femoyer are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army.

See also

• List of Medal of Honor recipients
• List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II

External links