Erwin R. Bleckley

He flew low under fire to bring supplies to isolated troops.

Born in Wichita, Kansas, on 30 December 1894, Bleckley enlisted in the Kansas National Guard on 6 June 1917. After observer training in France, he joined the 50th Aero Squadron on 14 August 1918.

Erwin Russell Bleckley earned a posthumous Medal of Honor near Binarville, France, on 6 October 1918. An Army Air Service second lieutenant, he flew with pilot Harold E. Goettler to deliver supplies to an isolated battalion of the 77th Division in the Argonne Forest. After facing intense fire on their first trip, they returned and flew lower to improve the accuracy of their drops. Ground fire brought down the aircraft and fatally wounded Bleckley. His award honors persistence in aiding soldiers cut off from their own lines.

Medal of Honor citation

Second Lt. Bleckley, with his pilot, 1st Lt. Harold E. Goettler, Air Service, left the airdrome late in the afternoon on their second trip to drop supplies to a battalion of the 77th Division, which had been cut off by the enemy in the Argonne Forest. Having been subjected on the first trip to violent fire from the enemy, they attempted on the second trip to come still lower in order to get the packages even more precisely on the designated spot. In the course of his mission the plane was brought down by enemy rifle and machine-gun fire from the ground, resulting in fatal wounds to 2d Lt. Bleckley, who died before he could be taken to a hospital. In attempting and performing this mission 2d Lt. Bleckley showed the highest possible contempt of personal danger, devotion to duty, courage, and valor.