Medal of Honor: Harold Ernest Goettler, World War I, October 6, 1918

Name: Harold Ernest Goettler
Rank: First Lieutenant (Pilot)
War: World War I
Date of Action: October 6, 1918
Unit: 50th Aero Squadron, U.S. Army Air Service
Entered Service At: Chicago, Illinois
Born: July 21, 1890, Chicago, Illinois

Summary of Action
As the “Lost Battalion” of the 77th Division lay trapped in the Argonne Forest, surrounded and desperate, First Lieutenant Harold Goettler and his observer, Second Lieutenant Erwin R. Bleckley, volunteered to locate and resupply them from the air. On their first flight, enemy fire tore through their plane, but the crew returned to base only long enough to reload before taking off again. Determined to reach the isolated Americans, they descended even lower through withering machine gun and rifle fire, seeking the precise clearing where the surrounded soldiers were fighting for their lives. On their final pass, their DH-4 aircraft was riddled with bullets and crashed near Binarville. Goettler was killed instantly; Bleckley died shortly afterward. Their courage and sacrifice ensured vital supplies and intelligence reached the trapped men, contributing directly to the battalion’s survival.

Medal of Honor Citation
GOETTLER, HAROLD ERNEST (Air Mission)
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, pilot, U.S. Army Air Corps, 50th Aero Squadron, Air Service. Place and date: Near Binarville, France, 6 October 1918. Entered service at: Chicago, Ill. Born: 21 July 1890, Chicago, Ill. G.O. No.: 56, W.D., 1922. Citation: 1st Lt. Goettler, with his observer, 2d Lt. Erwin R. Bleckley, 130th Field Artillery, 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 this mission the plane was brought down by enemy rifle and machinegun fire from the ground, resulting in the instant death of 1st Lt. Goettler. In attempting and performing this mission 1st Lt. Goettler showed the highest possible contempt of personal danger, devotion to duty, courage and valor.