Medal of Honor: Erwin R. Bleckley, World War I, October 6, 1918

Name: Erwin R. Bleckley
Rank: Second Lieutenant
War: World War I
Date of Action: October 6, 1918
Unit: Observer, 50th Aero Squadron, Air Service; attached from 130th Field Artillery
Entered Service At: Wichita, Kansas
Born: Wichita, Kansas

Summary of Action
In the dense Argonne Forest, an isolated American force—the “Lost Battalion” of the 77th Division—was trapped behind enemy lines and running out of supplies. On October 6, 1918, Second Lieutenant Erwin Bleckley, serving as an aerial observer, and his pilot, First Lieutenant Harold E. Goettler, took off for their second attempt to locate and resupply the surrounded troops. Their first flight had drawn intense German ground fire, but they returned undeterred, flying even lower to drop supplies with greater accuracy. As bullets ripped through their aircraft, the two men pressed on, refusing to turn back. On their final run, their DH-4 biplane was struck by machine gun fire and crashed near Binarville. Goettler was killed instantly; Bleckley, mortally wounded, died shortly thereafter. Their courage and devotion ensured the supplies reached the trapped battalion and provided the coordinates needed for their eventual rescue.

Medal of Honor Citation
BLECKLEY, ERWIN R. (Air Mission)
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps, 130th Field Artillery, observer 50th Aero Squadron, Air Service. Place and date: Near Binarville, France, 6 October 1918. Entered service at: Wichita, Kans. Birth: Wichita, Kans. G.O. No.: 56, W.D., 1922. Citation: 2d 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 machinegun 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.