I was selected to fly my twenty second mission with the crew that would lead the 467th Bomb Group on March 20, 1945. The primary target was to be hit only if it was visible. When we made our approach, we found the target area covered by clouds. We then headed for the secondary target. It was the oil refinery at Hemrningstadt. We had six 500 pound bombs aboard. The instructions were to bomb visually using the Norden bombsight. We barely had bombs away when the clouds covered the target. A squadron from another Bomb Group had the same assignment, and they followed us to the primary target, but they were unable to drop their bombs because of the cloud cover. The cloud cover again prevented them from dropping their bombs as they approached the secondary target (Heinmmgstadt).

Our Group returned via the North Sea flying into a stiff headwind. We had a ground speed of ninety knots. The squadron leader of the other Bomb Group (who was flying to the rear, and off to our left) began a heroic bomb run on Helgoland (a Nazi submarine base). The lead aircraft of that squadron was hit by flak at the start of their bomb run. All of the bombs landed in the North Sea short of the target. The pilot must have given the order to salvo the bomb load. The lead B-24 that was struck by flak was now out of control and descended rapidly. The other B-24 Liberators in the squadron having observed the smoke streamer, and the bombs being released at the same time from the lead aircraft, dropped their bomb load. The defenders of the Nazi submarine base did not fire another shot. It was possible that their guns could have shot every B-24 that was on that
bomb run out of the sky. The reason they did not fire another shot may have been that they did not want a retaliatory raid from the Eighth Air Force. The total time of the flight mission was five hours and twenty five minutes.

General Orders #103 was issued on March 21, 1945, for the third Air Medal.