Distinguished Fly Cross

AN EIGHTH AIR FORCE STATION, England - "For extraordinary achievement while serving as lead bombardier of Eighth Air Force formations on heavy bombardment missions against the enemy," First Lieutenant Richard H. Douglas, 21, Jamaica Plain, B-17 Flying Fortress bombardier, has recently been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Douglas, 7 Lamartine Place, Jamaica Plain, Lieutenant Douglas was a student at Northeastern university before entering the AAF, August 30, 1942. He won his wings April 1, 1944.

According to Lieutenant Douglas' citation, he has "led combat formations in destroying vital enemy installations at Wessel, Chemnitz, and Weimar, Germany."

Other targets for his bombs have included railroad yards at Cologne and Düsseldorf and oil refineries at Dresden and Leipzig.

He has also participated in numerous sorties against tactical targets on the western front and has aligned the cross hairs of bombsight on industrial installations in the heart of Berlin, goal of the Russian Army's drive into the Reich.

Lieutenant Douglas' DFC citation concluded, "The outstanding bombing results obtained from his exceptional skill reflect the highest credit upon himself and the Army Air Forces."

The Massachusetts Air men is a member of the 486th bomb group commanded by Colonel Glendon P Overing, Orange, Massachusetts. The 486th is a unit of the Eighth Air Force's 3rd Air Division, the division cited by the President for its England-Africa shuttle bombing attack on the Messerschmitt factories at Regensburg, Germany.

Back | Top | Next