The Terrible Story Of U.S. Army Air Forces airman Henry Eugene “Red” Erwin, Sr., of Adamsville, Honoring Him For His Services During WWII.
The Terrible Story Of U.S. Army Air Forces airman Henry Eugene “Red” Erwin, Sr., of Adamsville, Honoring Him For His Services During WWII.
U.S. Army Air Forces airman Henry Eugene “Red” Erwin, Sr., of Adamsville, Alabama, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary actions in World War II on April 12, 1945, near Koriyama, Japan.
Erwin joined the Army Reserve in 1942 and was called to active duty as an aviation cadet in the Army Air Forces in early 1943.
He earned the Medal of Honor as a staff sergeant and radio operator aboard a B-29 Superfortress in the Asia-Pacific theater. During a 1945 bombing mission over Koriyama, Japan, a white phosphorous bomb prematurely ignited in his aircraft and seriously wounded him.
As smoke filled the plane, he picked up the burning device and carried it through the aircraft to the cockpit, where he tossed it out a window. Although he suffered severe burns, he successfully saved his plane and all crew members aboard by disposing of the incendiary/smoke-generating bomb.
White phosphorous is known to cause extremely terrible wounds, as the burning chemical cannot be extinguished if oxygen is present and will continue to burn through flex until it consumes itself or is extracted.
When Erwin first arrived at Iwo Jima for medical treatment, the medical personnel did not believe he would survive.
However, Erwin survived his burns. After 30 months and 41 surgeries, his eyesight was restored, and he regained the use of one arm.
He was given a disability discharge as a master sergeant in October 1947. He then served as a benefits counselor at the Veterans’ Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, for 37 years.
In 1997, the United States Air Force created the Henry E. Erwin Outstanding Enlisted Aircrew Member of the Year Award, presented annually to an airman, noncommissioned officer, and senior noncommissioned officer in the flight engineering, loadmaster, air surveillance, and related career fields. Erwin died at his home in January 2002 at the age of 80.
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