Robert E. Femoyer, Medal of Honor navigator who saved his squadron

Oct 09 , 2025

Robert E. Femoyer, Medal of Honor navigator who saved his squadron

The air blazed with tracer rounds and death, yet Sergeant Robert E. Femoyer stayed steady behind the radio. With massive wounds threatening to end him, he kept calling in their position, guiding his bomber formation clear. Every breath was borrowed time, every word a promise to his brothers in the sky. This was no man whispering into a handset—this was a warrior defying death to save the mission.

Background & Faith: The Making of a Warrior

Robert E. Femoyer was more than a soldier; he was a son of West Virginia, born in 1921, raised with a strong moral core and a quiet faith that shaped his steadfastness. Before the war, he studied life through the lens of scripture and service. A graduate of West Virginia University, he carried with him the creed of discipline and duty.

His faith was no mere trinket but a backbone. Femoyer’s family spoke often of his resolve, tying it to the verses he clung to through fire and shadow. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13) wasn’t a platitude—it was a lifeline. This spiritual armor would prove as vital as his combat training.

The Battle That Defined Him

February 20, 1944. Europe’s cold grip strangled the skies. Flying as a navigator with the 96th Bomb Squadron, 2nd Bomb Group, in a B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed Dallas Defender, Femoyer faced one of the most lethal missions in the U.S. Eighth Air Force’s bombing campaigns.

Over Merseburg, Germany—a heavily defended target known for its deadly flak and fierce Luftwaffe patrols—the sky erupted. Anti-aircraft shells detonated around the formation. Femoyer’s plane was struck. Shrapnel tore through his side. His lungs, punctured. They say he lost consciousness briefly, but he revived with one mission: keep the radio alive.

Despite severe wounds, Femoyer refused evacuation or medical aid. He remained at his post, transmitting critical navigation corrections and position reports. His transmissions saved not only his bomber crew but the entire group from flying blindly into a German trap.

His voice grew weaker, but not his resolve.

The Dallas Defender made it back to England by inches. Femoyer collapsed only after ensuring the aircrew found safer routes home.

Recognition: Valor Etched in Bronze

For his extraordinary heroism, Femoyer received the Medal of Honor—the nation’s highest military decoration. The citation spells it clear:

“Sergeant Femoyer, though mortally wounded, courageously refused medical aid and continued to transmit vital radio signals, thereby enabling his bomber formation to avoid enemy fire and complete its mission.”

Generals and comrades alike praised his unyielding courage. His navigator’s skill was matched only by his iron will. Brigadier General Clare Hibbs Armstrong recognized that “Femoyer’s actions exemplify the highest traditions of military service.”

His sacrifice echoes beyond ribbons.

Legacy & Lessons: Courage Beyond the Call

Femoyer’s story is a beacon in the darkest storms—faith fused with grit, sacrifice stitched into the skin. His battle scars live in the radios left silent but not forgotten, in the planes that flew home by a thread.

He was a warrior who understood the price of peace—the cost counted in blood and breath.

His example teaches that courage is not the absence of fear, but its conquest. That sometimes, saving others demands the ultimate sacrifice. That faith can carry a man through fire when flesh fails.

“Greater love hath no man than this,” John 15:13 reminds us — to lay down life for one’s friends. Femoyer lived this truth.

Robert E. Femoyer died days after the mission, February 22, 1944. But death did not claim his legacy. His final transmission was a gift to comrades, a whisper of hope on a hellish sky. Veterans understand this language—spoken by those who fight for the brother beside them.

Every generation owes its freedom to such souls.

Remember their sacrifice. Carry their courage. Live a life worthy of their sacrifice.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II 2. West Virginia University Archives, Robert E. Femoyer Papers 3. Eighth Air Force Historical Society, Squadron Histories: 96th Bomb Squadron 4. Medal of Honor citation, Official Military Personnel File