Raymond L Knight

Personal

Vocation

United States Army Air Forces officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration — the Medal of Honor — for his actions in World War II. Knight joined the Army Air Forces from Houston, Texas in October 1942, and by 24 April 1945 was a first lieutenant piloting a P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft. On that day and the following day, in the northern Po Valley, Italy, he repeatedly volunteered to lead attacks on enemy air bases and exposed his aircraft to intense hostile fire in low-altitude reconnaissance and strafing missions. During a mission on 25 April, his airplane was badly damaged by anti-aircraft fire. Knowing that his unit was short on aircraft, he decided against parachuting to safety and instead attempted to fly the Thunderbolt back to his home airbase, but crashed in the Apennine Mountains and was killed. For these actions, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor five months later, on 24 September 1945. Link to Wikipedia biography