DOB/DOD: June 3, 1923 (Arnett, OK) – November 9, 1944 (Hattonville, France); 21 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
ENLISTMENT: September 21, 1942, in Hartford, Connecticut.
SERVICE NUMBER: O-763966
FAMILY: Born to Joseph E. (1880-1959) and Mary L. Hanlon Gott (1887-1978). Two brothers, Clarence (1912-1913) and Otto J. (1918-1983). Two sisters, Hazel C. Gott Peil (1910-1991) and Lucile M. Gott Compton (1914-1986).
OTHER: When Donald Gott registered for the draft on June 30, 1942, he worked at U.S. Aluminum Company at 2190 Post Road in Bridgeport, Connecticut. On his draft card, he listed his mailing address as 905 Howard Avenue in Bridgeport.
DECORATIONS: recipient of the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Purple Heart Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two Bronze Service Stars for participation in the Northern France and Rhineland Campaigns, and the World War II Victory Medal.
MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION
AWARDED FOR ACTIONS DURING: World War II
BRANCH OF SERVICE: Army Air Forces
ASSIGNED TO: 729th Bombardment Squadron 452nd Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force
GENERAL ORDERS: War Department, General Orders No. 38 (May 16, 1945)
AGE ON THE DAY OF THE EVENT: 20
CITATION:
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to First Lieutenant (Air Corps) Donald Joseph Gott (ASN: 0-763996), United States Army Air Forces, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the 729th Bombardment Squadron, 452nd Bombardment Group (H), Eighth Air Force in action over Saarbrucken, Germany, on 9 November 1944. On a bombing run upon the marshaling yards at Saarbrucken, a B-17 aircraft piloted by First Lieutenant Gott was seriously damaged by anti-aircraft fire. Three of the aircraft’s engines were damaged beyond control and on fire; dangerous flames from the No. 4 engine were leaping back as far as the tail assembly. Flares in the cockpit were ignited, and a fire raged therein, which was further increased by free-flowing fluid from damaged hydraulic lines. The interphone system was rendered useless. In addition to these serious mechanical difficulties, the engineer was wounded in the leg, and the radio operator’s arm was severed below the elbow. Suffering from intense pain, despite the application of a tourniquet, the radio operator fell unconscious. Faced with the imminent explosion of his aircraft and death to his entire crew, mere seconds before bombs away on the target, First Lieutenant Gott and his copilot conferred. Something had to be done immediately to save the life of the wounded radio operator. The lack of a static line and the thought that his unconscious body striking the ground in unknown territory would not bring immediate medical attention forced a quick decision. First Lieutenant Gott and his copilot decided to fly the flaming aircraft to friendly territory and then attempt to crash land. Bombs were released on the target, and the crippled aircraft proceeded alone to Allied-controlled territory. When that had been reached, First Lieutenant Gott had the copilot personally inform all crewmembers to bail out. The copilot chose to remain with 1st Lieutenant Gott in order to assist in landing the bomber. With only one normally functioning engine and with the danger of explosion much greater, the aircraft banked into an open field, and when it was at an altitude of 100 feet, it exploded, crashed, exploded again, and then disintegrated. All three crewmembers were instantly killed. First Lieutenant Gott’s loyalty to his crew, his determination to accomplish the task set forth to him, and his deed of knowingly performing what may have been his last service to his country was an example of valor at its highest.
Presentation Date and Details: June 18, 1945, to his mother, Mrs. Joseph Gott, by Major General Robert B. Williams, at Fargo High School, Fargo, Oklahoma
From The Daily Oklahoman June 8, 1945. Contributed by Carolyn Krumanocker, Library Technician, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
FARGO, June 17. – The nation’s highest award, the Congressional Medal of Honor, was awarded Sunday posthumously in Fargo to Lieutenant Donald J. Gott, Ellis County bomber pilot who died trying to save the lives of injured crewmen during a raid on Saarbrucken, Germany, last November 9.
The medal was presented to Mrs. Joseph Gott, mother of the 21-year-old Lieutenant, here by Major General Robert B. Williams, Commanding General of the Second Air Force, in a simple but impressive ceremony in the Fargo High School auditorium where four years ago, her son had stood as valedictorian of his graduating class.
Friends and neighbors crowded the school auditorium to witness the presentation, the first ceremony of its kind ever held in Oklahoma.
“One who has never flown down the enemy flak alley or met enemy fighters cannot conceive of sustained courage, day after day, of our fliers such as Lieutenant Gott,” General Williams said. “He truly lived up to the tradition of the air forces – mission complete.”
And, as he prepared to lace the beribboned medal about the neck of Mrs. Gott, the Second Air Force Commander, himself, a veteran of the European air war, remarked, “I consider it a great honor to have been selected by General H.H. Arnold, Army Air Forces Commander, to represent the President of the United States in paying this tribute to Lieutenant Gott.”
As the audience which overflowed the auditorium stood reverently, Captain John E. Jordan, Catholic Chaplain from Will Rogers Field, prayed, and a Will Rogers field bugler sounded Taps; many eyes were moist in memory of the farm youth who chose to fly his crippled B-17 bomber back from enemy territory in an attempt to make a crash landing that possibly would have saved the life of a badly wounded radio operator.
“We are here today to pay tribute to a gallant flier,” Chaplain Jordan said. “Lieutenant Gott rose above the call of duty so conspicuously that our nation has bestowed upon him its highest honor.”
The Ellis County youth, flying his 28th mission over German territory, was piloting a bomber over the Saarbrucken marshaling yards when enemy fire disabled three of the four motors, a citation by President Truman said.
The craft was damaged beyond control and was on fire. The engineer was wounded in the leg, and the radio operator’s arm was severed below the elbow.
Knowing that the wounded radioman could not be parachuted to safety, Lieutenant Gott and the co-pilot decided to fly the flaming aircraft to friendly territory and attempt to crash land. Other crew members bailed out. Then, with their goal in sight, the plane exploded, crashed, and burned. The pilot, co-pilot, and radio operator were killed.
With the mother on the auditorium stage was the flier’s father, Joseph Gott, Ellis County farmer of the Harmon community, his brother, O.J. Gott, Los Angeles aircraft plant mechanic, and two sisters, Mrs. Lucille Compton of Arnett, and Miss Hazel Gott of Los Angeles.
It was a proud day for Fargo, a farming community that has felt the war deeply, and at the same time, it was a sad one. Donald, popular as a student and a leader in his classes, was a favorite here.
After the presentation, other grey-haired mothers came to press Mrs. Gott’s hand briefly.
“I pray every night that no more of our sons will have to go,” one said.
After the ceremony, the parents and other relatives drove to the Woodward Army Airfield, where they inspected the B-17 bomber, which brought General Williams here from Colorado Springs. The visit to the field was at the request of Mrs. Gott, who was eager for others to see the big bomber, similar to the one Donald piloted.
The plane, an overseas veteran with patched flak holes along the fuselage, was piloted by General Williams on a trip here.
Taking off from the Woodward Field, the general wagged his wings at the crowd.
“Donald always said he would do that if he flew over our place,” Mrs. Gott said. “But I told him not to.”
The Gotts and their children will go to Oklahoma City next Tuesday for a second ceremony at Tinker Field. There, they will receive the Air Medal and oak-leaf clusters awarded posthumously to their son.
They will be guests at a luncheon at noon Tuesday at Will Rogers Field, with Colonel John E. Bodle, commanding officers, as their host.
Colonel and Lieutenant William M. Silbert, public relations officer at Will Rogers Field, arranged the ceremony here Sunday.
Crew Members of the Lady Jeanette, #42-97904
1st Lt Donald J. Gott, Pilot, Oklahoma, Medal of Honor, Air Medal, Purple Heart; KIA
2nd Lt William E. Metzger Jr., Copilot, Ohio, Air Medal, Purple Heart, Medal of Honor; KIA
2nd Lt Joseph F. Harms, Bombardier, New York, Air Medal, Purple Heart
2nd Lt John A. Harland, Navigator, Illinois, Air Medal, Purple Heart
TSgt Russell W. Gustafson, Flight Engineer, New York, Air Medal, Purple Heart
TSgt Robert A. Dunlap, Radio Operator, California, Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart; KIA
SSgt James O. Fross, Belly Gunner, Texas, Air Medal, Purple Heart
SSgt William R. Robbins, Gunner, Massachusetts, Air Medal
SSgt Herman B. Krimminger, Tail Gunner, North Carolina, Air Medal, Purple Heart; KIA
From “Air Support for Operation Madison” in Airman Magazine, 1961, Vol 5. Used with permission.
Two young men who were destined to fly side by side to immortality were among the new class of cadets reporting to preflight school at Santa Ana, California, on March 23, 1943.
From opposite sides of the nation, the two had traversed completely different paths to their initial meeting, and from this point forward, they would do likewise until once more united on an explosive ride to a common death.
The dual story of Donald Joseph Gott and William Edward Metzger, Jr., properly begins in the fall of 1942. On September 21, Don Gott, a native of Oklahoma, was sworn into the Enlisted Reserve Corps in the grade of Private and alerted to await his call for cadet training.
Exactly two weeks later, Bill Metzger was inducted from his native state of Ohio. Shortly after being assigned to the 83rd Ordnance Battalion at Camp Young, California, he, too, applied for cadet training.
Both men were called to begin their pursuit of wings and commission the following March. However, they were not destined to finish even this first phase of training together. By June, Cadet Gott had completed his first training phase and moved on to primary school in Glendale, Arizona. Illness, meanwhile, forced Cadet Metzger to remain behind, and it was not until July that he proceeded to primary at Twentynine Palms, California.
On January 7, 1944, Donald J. Gott was awarded pilot wings and was commissioned a second lieutenant upon graduation from advanced two-engine school in Stockton, California.
In the meantime, William E. Metzger, Jr., also continued with his training and finally graduated from the advanced school at Douglas Field, Arizona, on March 11, 1944. He, too, received pilot wings but was awarded the grade of flight officer rather than a commission.
Two weeks later, Lieutenant Gott completed another course and graduated with honors from B-17 transition school at Hobbs Field, New Mexico. Their diverging paths were now destined to take them even further apart when, late in July, Lieutenant Don Gott departed for England. While he underwent combat crew replacement training, Flight Officer Bill Metzger was being shuttled between several assignments within the Zone of the Interior (ZI).
On August 17, 1944, however, their paths, now widely separated, once more began to bend toward a meeting. On that date, Lieutenant Gott was assigned to the 729th Bombardment Squadron, 452nd Bomb Group.
Within days, he began his combat career, piling up mission after mission. Early in October, he passed the 20-mission mark, was promoted to First Lieutenant, and rightly laid claim to the title of veteran combat pilot. Having reached such a respected plateau in mid-October, he was selected to transition to a new arrival to his crew. The new copilot was Lieutenant William Metzger (he had been promoted in August.)
During the next two weeks, Metzger learned the ins and outs of combat at the side of his former preflight buddy and began to fit neatly into an already tightly knit group.
While this drama of limited scope was unfolding, one of much wider consequences was taking place on the battlefields of Continental Europe.
Allied ground forces had pushed deeper and deeper into Festung Europa (Fortress Europe) since D-Day and were now poised for the final drive into Germany proper. Early the second week in September, American forces penetrated the German wall at Aachen. By mid-October, Allied forces presented a solid front of advancing troops that threatened, at any moment, to erupt into a tidal wave that would inundate Hitler’s Germany.
Allied commanders began to concentrate on support for these troops in the all-important breaching of the Rhine River. Among the coordinated efforts against this immediate goal was Operation Madison.
Launched from the Aachen area on November 8, 1944, the plan called for General George Patton’s tank forces to exert pressure on both the southern and northern flanks of the Metz salient. South of Metz, the XIIth Corps was to begin its drive northeastward toward the Rhine to establish a bridgehead in the Darmstadt area and, concurrently, north of Metz, the XXth Corps was to strike toward the Saar basin and the Mainz-Frankfurt area.
Major aerial support was to be flown to protect this two-pronged attack. In addition to P-38s, 51s, and 47s and the B-25s of the 9th Air Force, the B-17s and 24s of the 8th were also assigned a major role in this mission. Their primary aim was to attack east of the point of the drive “to neutralize enemy troops, destroy their defensive fortresses, and wipe out bridges, supply dumps, and similar installations.”
On the morning of November 9, the second day of the drive, 1,295 B-17s and 24s attacked targets in the battle zone. Among them was the B-17 Flying Fortress piloted by Lieutenants Gott and Metzger.
Their immediate objective was Thionville, but since visual bombing proved to be impossible in this area, 308 of the Forts were diverted to secondary targets in the marshaling yards at Saarbrucken.
Identical citations, contained in General Order 38, published on May 16, 1945, contain a graphic description of the action which involved the Gott-Metzger B17.
On a bombing run upon the marshaling yards at Saarbrucken, a B-17 aircraft piloted by Lieutenant Gott was seriously damaged by anti-aircraft fire. Three of the aircraft’s engines were damaged beyond control and on fire; dangerous flames from the No. 4 engine were leaping back as far as the tail assembly. Flares in the cockpit were ignited, and a fire raged therein, which was further increased by free-flowing fluid from damaged hydraulic lines. The interphone system was rendered useless. In addition to these serious mechanical difficulties, the engineer was wounded in the leg, and the radio operator’s arm was severed below the elbow. Suffering from intense pain, despite the application of a tourniquet, the radio operator fell unconscious. Faced with the imminent explosion of his aircraft and death to his entire crew, mere seconds before bombs away on target, Lieutenant Gott and his copilot (Lieutenant Metzger) conferred. Something had to be done immediately to save the life of the wounded radio operator. The lack of a static line and the thought that his unconscious body striking the ground in unknown territory would not bring immediate medical attention forced a quick decision. Lieutenant Gott and his co-pilot decided to fly the flaming aircraft to friendly territory and then attempt to crash land. Bombs were released on the target, and the crippled aircraft proceeded alone to Allied-controlled territory. When that had been reached, Lieutenant Gott had the copilot personally inform all crew members to bail out. The copilot chose to remain with Lieutenant Gott in order to assist in landing the bomber. With only one normally functioning engine and with the danger of explosion much greater, the aircraft banked into an open field, and when it was at an altitude of 100 feet, it exploded, crashed, exploded again, and then disintegrated. All three crew members were instantly killed. Lieutenant Gott’s loyalty to his crew, his determination to accomplish the task set forth to him, and his deed of knowingly performing what may have been his last service to his country was an example of valor at its highest.
This dual award, the most recent in Air Force annals, marked the fourth multiple presentation of the Medal of Honor to Air Force personnel in WW II and the fifth in USAF history. It brought the roll of Medal of Honor recipients to a total of 38, all but five of which had been awarded since the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor.
Memorialized by “1st Lt Donald J. Gott Memorial Highway”, Ellis County, Oklahoma. Specifically on U.S. Highway 60 / Oklahoma State Highway 51, between Arnett and Harmon in Ellis County, in northwestern Oklahoma.
From the Ellis County (OK) Capital August 27, 1948
RE-BURIAL OF LT. GOTT MONDAY MORNING AT 11
Remains of the late 1st Lieutenant Donald J. Gott, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph E. Gott, Arnett, Oklahoma, who was killed on November 9, 1944, in Metz, France, and was the first Oklahoman to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously, will arrive in Woodward, Friday, August 27th, 1948 at 6:55 p.m. by Santa Fe.
Donald was born at the family home eight miles east of Arnett, Oklahoma, on June 3, 1923. He attended grade school at Kennebeck School near his home, but attended high school at Fargo, where he graduated as valedictorian of his class in 1941 and received a medal for being an all-around boy student.
In March 1943, while working in a defense plant in Bridgeport, Connecticut, he volunteered for active duty with the U.S. Air Corps and, within six months, was called for training. He took his Army primary Flight Training course at Thunderbird Field No. 1 at Glendale, Arizona; his Pilot School Basic at the West Coast training center, Gardner Field, California; and advanced Pilot School training at Stockton Field, California, where he received his wings and commission. He received his four-engine pilot training course at Hobbs, New Mexico. In July 1944, he flew overseas and joined the 8th Air Force and was awarded the Air Medal and three Oak Leaf clusters. In October, he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant and made squadron leader and expected to complete his missions in time to be home for Christmas. On November 9, 1944, when he was on his 28th mission and was returning from a bombing run at the marshaling yards in Saarbrucken, Germany, his B-17 was seriously damaged from antiaircraft fire and exploded and crashed as he attempted a landing, killing him instantly.
Besides his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph E. Gott, Arnett, Oklahoma, he is survived by two sisters, Mrs. Hazel Peil, Fair Oaks, California; Mrs. Lucille Compton, Arnett, Oklahoma; and one brother, O.J. Gott, Los Angeles, California; and five nephews and two nieces.
Requiem Mass will be Monday, August 30th, 1948, at 9:30 a.m. in the St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Woodward by Father Joseph McGurk. Burial will be in the family plot in Fairmont Cemetery, Harmon, Oklahoma, at 11:00 a.m. Monday, with Oca J. Collar Post No. 313 of the American Legion at Arnett in charge of military rites at the grave. The body will lie in state in the Stetcher Mortuary in Woodward from train time until Sunday morning when he will be taken to his home for the day.
More of Lt Gott’s remains were recovered in 2002 and were scattered at this gravesite in Harmon Cemetery, 59499 South County Road 193, Arnett, Oklahoma. Photo courtesy of FindAGrave.com.
END