Robert E. Femoyer’s Medal of Honor radio heroism on Lonesome Lady

Oct 22 , 2025

Robert E. Femoyer’s Medal of Honor radio heroism on Lonesome Lady

Robert E. Femoyer’s last breath was spent in the agony of war and the clarity of sacrifice. Mortally wounded, he gripped his radio microphone, bleeding out in a cramped B-17 bomber over Nazi Germany. With every agonized transmission, he bought his crew seconds. Minutes. A chance to get home. That’s what real courage looks like—bleeding live to save others when there’s no room left to run.

The Battle That Defined Him

April 2, 1944. Deep in the hellscape of World War II’s European air war. Femoyer, a 2nd Lieutenant in the 96th Bomb Group, climbed into his seat as co-pilot and radio operator aboard “Lonesome Lady.”

Enemy fighters swarmed like wasps. Flak erupted in deadly bursts. At some point mid-mission, Femoyer was pierced by shrapnel—a fatal wound in his back and abdomen. Every breath burned.

But he didn’t quit.

He radioed vital position reports back to headquarters. With nothing but fading strength and a mind sharpened by faith and training, he kept the crew on course, avoiding traps that meant death. The radio crackled with his voice—steady, controlled, a lifeline.

"I was wounded," he confessed posthumously in the Medal of Honor narrative, “but I knew the vital importance of my reports.”

His comrades heard it. The plane limped back to England. Lives saved, mission accomplished, but he didn’t survive.

Background & Faith

Born August 15, 1919, in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Robert Femoyer was a man forged by purpose before war carved it deeper. He attended West Virginia University and Valley Forge Military Academy, where discipline was hard-won and non-negotiable.

But it was his faith that anchored him in darkness. Femoyer was an active churchman, a man committed to something greater than himself. His battalion chaplain remembered him as “a man of quiet conviction and steady courage.”

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” — Philippians 4:13

That scripture wasn’t just wallpaper. It was the fire in his gut, the reason he kept pushing through pain and hopeless hours.

Fight in the Sky

Radio operators get little glory. They sit in their stations, faceless and isolated, but Femoyer carried a burden heavier than most. His job was communication, navigation, survival. Without him, they were blind.

But wounded? Radioing with bullets in your back? That’s the razor edge.

Enemy fighters tried to down the “Lonesome Lady.” Flak tore through the wings. The pain was excruciating.

Yet he kept speaking—guiding the plane’s ragged flight path by transmitting fix after fix.

His final transmissions came from the cold grip of death. Crew men would later say they heard his voice weaken, then strength return, as if he called on something beyond himself.

He died one hour after the plane landed safely at its base.

Recognition

Medal of Honor. The nation’s highest military decoration. Awarded posthumously on October 19, 1944. Femoyer’s citation speaks straight and raw:

“Lieutenant Femoyer, though wounded, refused morphine that would have made him incapable of performing his duties. He maintained his air radio transmissions despite agonizing pain and darkness closing in upon him.”

Brigadier General Frank A. Armstrong called his actions “nothing short of heroic.”

His sacrifice was not masked by speeches or ceremonies, but etched into every breath his crew survived.

Legacy & Lessons

Robert Femoyer’s story is bitter like the gunpowder haze over battles long past. A reminder that courage isn’t born in moments of glory, but carved in suffering and choice.

He surrendered his life so others might carry theirs forward. His faith and grit made the impossible a momentary miracle.

True heroism is the steadfast refusal to quit while others depend on you.

For veterans bearing their scars today, Femoyer’s blood-bought transmissions whisper this truth: The fight demands everything. But purpose gives us strength.

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” — John 15:13

In a world quick to forget, we look back at Robert Femoyer and vow: sacrifice will not be wasted. Their legacy is our charge—live not for self, but for something far beyond.

Sources

1. U.S. Air Force, Medal of Honor Citation—Robert E. Femoyer 2. Thomas C. Coffey, The War of the Eighth Air Force, Office of Air Force History 3. Ed Ruggero, The Story of the Lonesome Lady, 96th Bomb Group Historical Association