Jay Zeamer Jr.
Jay Zeamer Jr. | |
---|---|
Born | Carlisle, Pennsylvania, US | July 25, 1918
Died | March 22, 2007 Boothbay Harbor, Maine, US | (aged 88)
Buried | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Army Air Forces |
Years of service | 1939–1945 |
Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
Unit | 65th Bomb Squadron, 43rd Bomb Group Fifth Air Force |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards |
Jay Zeamer Jr. (July 25, 1918 – March 22, 2007) was a pilot of the
Early life
Born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Zeamer grew up in Orange, New Jersey, the son of a women's club leader and sales representative for (later vice-president of) a global leather exporter.[1][2] He spent many summers at Boothbay Harbor, Maine, where he enjoyed rowing a homemade boat in the harbor.
Zeamer became an
He attended a year of junior college at Culver after graduation, taking on a more rigorous curriculum and attending summer school, allowing him to enter the
Interested in aviation since childhood, in 1938 Zeamer had joined the M.I.T. flying club based in nearby Norwood. Within a year he was licensed himself with a hundred solo hours in his logbook; he also served as manager of the club. In October 1939, Zeamer applied for the Army Air Corps flight training program and was accepted in December.[9] His entrance to the program was deferred until after his graduation from M.I.T. in June 1940 with a B.S. in
Military service
USAAF
In March 1941, he received his wings and a commission in the
With the arrival of his old group, the 43rd, in Australia flying the new "F" model
Around the end of 1942, Zeamer began putting together his own crew, beginning with Sarnoski and squadron navigator Charles "Rocky" Stone. Popular accounts of the crew and its formation refer to them as "screw-offs," "renegades," and "misfits," but are not borne out by the actual record and are either fiction or gross exaggeration.[
In May 1943, Zeamer was made squadron executive officer, and took on the upgrading of a B-17E, #41-2666, recently acquired from the
Medal of Honor
The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to:
ZEAMER, JAY JR. (Air Mission)
Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Army Air Corps. Place and date: Over Buka area, Solomon Islands, June 16, 1943. Entered service at: Machias, Maine. Birth: Carlisle, Pa. G.O. No.: 1, January 4, 1944.
Citation:
- On 16 June 1943, Major Zeamer (then Captain) volunteered as pilot of a bomber on a very important photographic mapping mission covering the formidably defended area in the vicinity of Buka, Solomon Islands. While photographing the Buka airdrome, his aircrew observed about 20 enemy fighters on the field, many of them taking off. Despite the certainty of a dangerous attack by this strong force, Major Zeamer proceeded with his mapping run, even after the enemy attack began. In the ensuing engagement, Major Zeamer sustained canon and machine gun wounds in both arms and legs, one leg being broken. Despite his injuries, he maneuvered the damaged B-17 so skillfully that his gunners were able to fight off the enemy during a running fight which lasted 40 minutes. The aircrew destroyed at least 5 Japanese aircraft, of which Major Zeamer himself shot down one. Although very weak from loss of blood, he refused medical aid until the enemy had broken combat. He then turned over his controls, but continued to exercise command despite lapses into unconsciousness, and directed the flight to a base 580 miles away. In this voluntary action, Major Zeamer, with superb skill, resolution, and courage, accomplished a mission of great value to the Army Air Force.
In April 1943, Zeamer and the crew had been approached about a solo, 1,200-mile (1,900 km) round-trip photo-mapping mission of the western coast of Bougainville, with emphasis on Empress Augusta Bay where any marine landings would be made. Such maps were considered vital to a future invasion of the island in support of coalescing plans for the reduction of Rabaul. It was presented as a volunteer mission because extended mapping runs would require straight and level flight runs of up to 22 minutes deep through hostile territory.
The necessary weather for such a run proved elusive for two months, until mid-June. When the 8th PRS was unable to get the necessary photos on June 15, Zeamer was contacted again. At 04:00 the next morning, 16 June 1943, after intense preparations in the days before, the crew headed for Bougainville. Twice already, once the night before and once as the aircraft was taxiing for take-off, they were ordered by V Bomber Command to do a photo recon of the Japanese airstrip on Buka, a small island off the northern tip of Bougainville. Zeamer rejected the idea both times as too dangerous, almost guaranteeing interception by enemy fighters while in sustained level flight for the mapping operation.
Arriving too early at Bougainville to start the aerial mapping, Zeamer put the question to his aircrew of whether to pass the time flying over the ocean or perform the Buka recon. After they voted for the recon, Zeamer flew northeast in a loop to come back over Buka on their way into the mapping run. Photos taken that day reportedly showed twenty-one Japanese fighters taxiing or taking off to intercept. With approximately a minute left in the mapping run, "Old 666" faced a coordinated attack by eight A6M3 Model 22 Zero fighters from 251 Kōkūtai, as well as an unidentified twin-engined fighter. The ensuing attack mortally wounded bombardier Sarnoski, who struggled back to his machine gun to drive off a second Zero after being blown back from his position by a 20 mm cannon shell from the first Zero. A total of four 20 mm shells destroyed the pilot's side of the instrument panel and broke Zeamer's left leg above and below the knee, leaving a large hole in his left thigh. He was also hit by shrapnel in both arms and his right leg, with a gash in his right wrist. Three others were also wounded, including the navigator and top turret gunner, who responded to a resulting oxygen fire by putting it out with rags and their bare hands.
Due to the loss of oxygen and to escape their attackers, Zeamer dived the B-17 violently from 25,000 feet (7,600 m) to approximately 10,000 feet (3,000 m), estimating the altitude by an increase in engine
After the engagement, an assessment revealed that the B-17's
Colonel Merian C. Cooper, chief of staff to the deputy commander of the Fifth Air Force, Major General Ennis Whitehead, recommended Zeamer be awarded the Medal of Honor, to which Fifth Air Force commander General George Kenney concurred. Zeamer received the award from Chief of the Army Air Forces General Henry H. Arnold on January 16, 1944, at the Pentagon.
Sarnoski was also awarded the Medal of Honor, marking only the third time in U.S. history that two members of the same crew received the Medal of Honor for a single mission.[
Promotions and discharge
Zeamer was promoted to
Later life
He returned to MIT and obtained a master's degree in
. Zeamer moved to Boothbay Harbor, Maine, in 1968, where he enjoyed rowing in the harbor, as he had done in his childhood. He retired in 1975.Zeamer married in 1949, and with his wife Barbara raised five daughters: Marcia, Jacque, Jayne, Susan, and Sandra. Barbara Zeamer stated that he rarely talked about his wartime experiences or the medal. "I think he didn't feel he deserved it. He was so close to his bombardier [Sarnoski] and he felt terrible about his being killed".
Zeamer died in a
Awards and decorations
Army Air Forces Pilot Badge | ||
Medal of Honor | Silver Star with bronze oak leaf cluster |
Distinguished Flying Cross with bronze oak leaf cluster |
Purple Heart | Air Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster |
American Defense Service Medal |
American Campaign Medal with service star |
campaign star
|
World War II Victory Medal |
Army Presidential Unit Citation |
Legacy
Zeamer's Medal of Honor mission was featured on
There is a "Lt. Col. Jay Zeamer Squadron" in the
The
In 2011, Zeamer was selected as the
See also
Notes
- ^ "Obituary for Margery Herman Zeamer". zeamerseagerbeavers.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ^ "Obituary for Jay Zeamer Sr". zeamerseagerbeavers.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ^ "E-mail from NESA regarding Zeamer Eagle Scout". zeamerseagerbeavers.com. Clint Hayes. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ^ "Jay Zeamer CMA ROTC record". zeamerseagerbeavers.com. Public Domain. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ^ "Jay Zeamer Culver yearbook bio". zeamerseagerbeavers.com. Clint Hayes. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ^ "Zeamer M.I.T. record". zeamerseagerbeavers.com. Public Domain. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
- ^ "1939 – Zeamer commission to 2nd Lt". zeamerseagerbeavers.com. Public Domain. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
- ^ "1939 – Zeamer Affidavit for Flying Cadet Appt". zeamerseagerbeavers.com. Public Domain. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
- ^ "1939 – Zeamer flying cadet application page 1". zeamerseagerbeavers.com. Public Domain. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
- ^ "1942 – Jay Zeamer reports to 403rd/43rd". zeamerseagerbeavers.com. Public Domain. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
- ^ "Capt. Jay Zeamer, Official Flight Log". Pacific Air War Archive. Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. Archived from the original on 25 August 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ^ "Good "Old 666", the Cursed Bomber that No One Wanted to Fly took on 17 Japanese Fighters Alone and Lived to Tell About It". www.warhistoryonline.com. March 12, 2016.
- ^ "Aerospace World: Jay Zeamer, Jr., MOH". AIR FORCE Magazine. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2007.
- ^ "Burial Detail: Zeamer, Jay (Section 34, Grave 809-4)". ANC Explorer. Arlington National Cemetery. (Official website).
- The History Channel. January 19, 2007.
- ^ "Stories, Listed by Author". The FictionMags Index. Phil Stephensen-Payne. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
- ^ "43rd AW Dedicates HQ Building to MOH Recipients". Pope Air Force Base. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-09-10.
References
- "Zeamer's Eager Beavers: The Incredible True Story". Retrieved September 5, 2016.
- "Home of the Heroes Jay Zeamer page". Retrieved September 29, 2010.
- ""Valor: Battle over Bougainville" Air Force Magazine, December 1985". Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ""Dogfights: Episode 12 – Long Odds", The History Channel". Archived from the original on April 23, 2008. Retrieved September 29, 2010.