Name: Donald Jack Gott
Rank: First Lieutenant
Organization: U.S. Army Air Corps
Unit: 729th Bombardment Squadron, 452d Bombardment Group
Place and Date: Saarbrücken, Germany – 9 November 1944
Entered Service At: Arnett, Oklahoma
Born: June 3, 1923 – Arnett, Oklahoma
Departed: Killed in Action – 9 November 1944
Accredited to: Oklahoma
Summary of Action
Over the flak-ridden skies of Saarbrücken, the B-17 Flying Fortress piloted by First Lieutenant Donald J. Gott was ripped apart by enemy antiaircraft fire. Three engines burned out, flames licked the tail, and the cockpit filled with smoke and fuel. Inside, one man lay mortally wounded, another maimed and bleeding out. The bomber was seconds from destruction.
With his interphone dead and his crew panicking, Gott and his co-pilot made a fateful choice: they would not abandon their wounded. Holding the crippled bomber steady, they completed their bomb run on target, then turned alone toward friendly lines—knowing the aircraft might explode at any moment.
Once over Allied territory, Gott ordered the crew to bail out, refusing to leave the controls. He and his co-pilot stayed behind, guiding the burning B-17 into a desperate attempt at a crash landing. At barely one hundred feet, the plane erupted, crashing and exploding again on impact—killing both men instantly but saving the rest of the crew.
Gott’s calm courage and devotion to his men in his final moments stand among the most selfless acts in aviation history.
Medal of Honor Citation
Place and date: Saarbrücken, Germany, 9 November 1944.
Entered service at: Arnett, Okla.
Born: 3 June 1923, Arnett, Okla.
G.O. No.: 38, 16 May 1945.
Citation:
On a bombing run upon the marshaling yards at Saarbrücken a B-17 aircraft piloted by 1st Lt. Gott was seriously damaged by antiaircraft 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, 1st Lt. 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. 1st Lt. 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, 1st Lt. Gott had the copilot personally inform all crewmembers to bail out. The copilot chose to remain with 1st Lt. 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 3 crewmembers were instantly killed. 1st Lt. 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.
