Joseph Raymond Sarnoski

Mortally wounded he crawled back to defend his bomber again.

Joseph Raymond Sarnoski, a Medal of Honor recipient and U.S. Army Air Forces bombardier, made his final stand above the Solomon Islands on 16 June 1943. With Japanese fighters attacking his B-17 Flying Fortress, he returned to the nose guns despite wounds that would claim his life. His determination helped protect his crewmates and the vital photographs they carried.

Born in Simpson, Pennsylvania, in January 1915, Sarnoski grew up in a large Polish-American family. Family responsibilities and an interest in aviation shaped his early years. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in March 1936 and trained in aircraft armament and bombsight maintenance, developing the technical skills that would underpin his wartime service.

At Langley Field, Virginia, he served as an enlisted bombardier and instructor and married Marie Maddox. He later deployed to the Southwest Pacific with the 65th Bombardment Squadron, 43rd Bombardment Group, part of Fifth Air Force. Operating through Australia and New Guinea, these heavy bomber crews faced long flights, difficult conditions and determined Japanese opposition.

On 12 April 1943, while serving as a master sergeant, Sarnoski distinguished himself as a bombardier during combat over the Rabaul area of New Britain. His gallantry earned the Silver Star, recorded in Headquarters, Fifth Air Force, General Orders No. 123 of 18 June 1943. A battlefield commission in May 1943 made him a second lieutenant, recognizing the experience he brought to combat aviation.

Sarnoski joined Captain Jay Zeamer's crew, remembered as the Eager Beavers. On 16 June 1943, they flew the B-17 known as Old 666 on an unescorted photographic reconnaissance mission around Buka and Bougainville. Their objective was to photograph Japanese installations and obtain mapping information for future Allied operations. Completing the photographic run required the crew to remain exposed to enemy interception.

Approximately twenty Japanese fighters attacked. Sarnoski fought from the nose position and shot down attacking aircraft. Wounded during the engagement, he continued firing. A cannon shell then exploded in the nose, throwing him into the catwalk beneath the cockpit and inflicting mortal injuries. He nevertheless crawled back to his weapons and resumed the fight until he collapsed. His resistance helped the battered bomber complete its mission and escape with its surviving crew.

Sarnoski received the Medal of Honor posthumously under War Department General Orders No. 85, dated 17 December 1943. His widow, Marie, accepted the medal at Richmond Army Air Base on 7 January 1944. Zeamer also received the Medal of Honor for the mission.

Initially buried in New Guinea, Sarnoski was reinterred in 1949 at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. His story endures as an example of courage expressed through duty to others: a bombardier who, with his strength failing, returned to his guns to give his crewmates a chance to live.