Demas T. Craw
Demas Thurlow Craw | |
---|---|
French Morocco | |
Place of burial | Oakwood Cemetery, Traverse City, Michigan |
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/ | United States Army United States Army Air Forces |
Years of service | 1918–1942 |
Rank | Colonel |
Commands held | 19th Pursuit Squadron |
Battles/wars | World War II † Operation Torch |
Awards | Medal of Honor Purple Heart |
Demas Thurlow "Nick" Craw (April 9, 1900 – November 8, 1942) was a United States Army Air Forces officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II. Craw and Maj. Pierpont M. Hamilton were the first Army Air Forces recipients of the Medal in the European-Mediterranean theater of World War II and the only AAF members to be awarded that decoration for valor not involving air combat.[1]
Biography
Craw was born in
In the demobilization of the Army following the Armistice, Craw was discharged on February 15, 1919, but re-enlisted three months later in the infantry at Grand Rapids, Michigan. Assigned as a recruiter, he was promoted to corporal, but continued to pursue a commission. At Camp Zachary Taylor, Kentucky, where he was attached to the 2nd Field Artillery Regiment, Craw undertook a two-month preparatory course in February 1920 for entry into the United States Military Academy. Returning to Grand Rapids afterward, Craw was discharged on May 14 and entered West Point on July 1, 1920.
While attending the Military Academy he received his lifelong nickname of "Nick", shortened from "Nicodemus" (a
Air Corps service
After his eye injury healed, he applied for pilot training with the
In June 1930, Craw was briefly assigned to
In September 1937, Craw was assigned as a student to the
.In October 1940, Craw traveled to
In October, Craw was named air officer for Maj. General
Medal of Honor action
On November 8, 1942, French forces resisted Allied landing operations and Craw undertook the mission with Hamilton. The officers intended to land at a jetty on the Sebou River near French headquarters, but the alerted French defenders began shelling the landing force, and they instead came ashore with the first wave of Goalpost landing craft carrying troops of the 2nd Battalion, 60th Regimental Combat Team.
After disembarking on Green Beach before dawn, and still under hostile fire from shore batteries, the officers commandeered a small truck. They were strafed by French aircraft when it became stuck in a muddy marsh. After the truck was extricated by a detachment of combat engineers, they attempted to continue their mission but were forced to return to the beach when caught in the exchanges of French artillery and naval gunfire from Task Group 34.8 of the United States Navy. When Truscott expressed misgivings about the mission, Craw convinced him to allow them to continue. They located a jeep and enlisted its driver, Pfc. Orris V. Correy, to cross through the French lines. Craw carried unfurled American and French flags, and Hamilton a white flag, in an attempt to safeguard their passage.
At dawn the officers reached the jetty that was to have been their original starting point. After several contacts with French troops to obtain directions, and requesting a guide (which was refused), the jeep proceeded cautiously approximately six miles into Port Lyautey. As they came over a rise on the outskirts near the French headquarters, a hidden machine gun position took them under sustained fire and killed Craw instantly with a burst to the chest. Hamilton and Correy were both captured, but Hamilton eventually completed the mission and arranged the surrender of French forces.[4]
Craw was awarded the Medal of Honor four months later, on March 4, 1943, for his part in the mission. Hamilton was also awarded the Medal of Honor in January, 1943.[5]
Awards and honors
Medal of Honor citation
Colonel Craw's official Medal of Honor citation reads:[6]
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty. On November 8, 1942, near Port Lyautey, French Morocco, Col. Craw volunteered to accompany the leading wave of assault boats to the shore and pass through the enemy lines to locate the French commander with a view to suspending hostilities. This request was first refused as being too dangerous but upon the officer's insistence that he was qualified to undertake and accomplish the mission he was allowed to go. Encountering heavy fire while in the landing boat and unable to dock in the river because of shell fire from shore batteries, Col. Craw, accompanied by 1 officer and 1 soldier, succeeded in landing on the beach at Mehdia Plage under constant low-level strafing from 3 enemy planes. Riding in a bantam truck toward French headquarters, progress of the party was hindered by fire from our own naval guns. Nearing Port Lyautey, Col. Craw was instantly killed by a sustained burst of machinegun fire at pointblank range from a concealed position near the road.
Legacy
The military airfield at Port Lyautey was named Craw Field in 1943. Other entities named in commemoration were:
- Col. Demas T. Craw, U.S. Army Auxiliary Aircraft Repair Ship FS-207 (January 1945);
- Demas T. Craw Army Reserve Center, Traverse City, Michigan;
- Demas T. Craw Army VA Clinic, Traverse City, Michigan;
- Demas T. Craw Squadron, Arnold Air Society, University of Virginia.
See also
References
- This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.
- ^ "Col. Demas Thurlow Craw". Inside AF.mil. 2011. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
- ^ Bowman, Joseph P. (2002). "Demas T. Craw & Pierpont Morgan Hamilton". Hamilton National Genealogical Society. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
- ^ Vicki Craw became a well-known philanthropist in Charlottesville-Albemarle County, Virginia, and was honored following her death in 2003 by a Joint Resolution of the Virginia Assembly.
- ^ Frisbee, John L. (1988). "Valor: A Desperate Venture". AIR FORCE Magazine. 71 (November). Retrieved May 14, 2011.
- ^ "Demas T. Craw & Pierpont Morgan Hamilton". Hamilton National Genealogical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 26, 2011. Retrieved April 11, 2009.
- ^ "Medal of Honor recipients – World War II (A–F)". Medal of Honor citations. United States Army Center of Military History. July 16, 2007. Archived from the original on June 16, 2008. Retrieved February 19, 2008.
External links
- Bowman, Joseph P. (2002). "Demas T. Craw & Pierpont Morgan Hamilton". Hamilton National Genealogical Society. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
- "Col. Demas Thurlow Craw". Inside AF.mil. 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2011.[permanent dead link]
- Howe, George F. (2010). "Chapter VIII Mehdia to Port-Lyautey". US Army in World War II / Northwest Africa: Seizing the Initiative in the West. HyperWar Foundation. Retrieved May 16, 2011.