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Medal of Honor, Captain Darrell Robbins Lindsey, United States Army Air Corps

MEDAL OF HONOR

LINDSEY, DARRELL R. (Air Mission)

Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army Air Corps.

Place and date: L’Isle Adam railroad bridge over the Seine in occupied France, 9 August 1944.

Entered service at: Storm Lake, lowa. Birth: Jefferson, lowa.

G.O. No: 43, 30 May 1945.

Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor

Citation: On 9 August 1944, Capt. Lindsey led a formation of 30 B-26 medium bombers in a hazardous mission to destroy the strategic enemy held L’lsle Adam railroad bridge over the Seine in occupied France. With most of the bridges over the Seine destroyed, the heavily fortified L’Isle Adam bridge was of inestimable value to the enemy in moving troops, supplies, and equipment to Paris. Capt. Lindsey was fully aware of the fierce resistance that would be encountered. Shortly after reaching enemy territory the formation was buffeted with heavy and accurate antiaircraft fire. By skillful evasive action, Capt. Lindsey was able to elude much of the enemy flak, but just before entering the bombing run his B-26 was peppered with holes. During the bombing run the enemy fire was even more intense, and Capt. Lindsey’s right engine received a direct hit and burst into flames. Despite the fact that his ship was hurled out of formation by the violence of the concussion, Capt. Lindsey brilliantly maneuvered back into the lead position without disrupting the flight. Fully aware that the gasoline tanks might explode at any moment, Capt. Lindsey gallantly elected to continue the perilous bombing run. With fire streaming from his right engine and his right wing half enveloped in flames, he led his formation over the target upon which the bombs were dropped with telling effect. Immediately after the objective was attacked, Capt. Lindsey gave the order for the crew to parachute from the doomed aircraft. With magnificent coolness and superb pilotage, and without regard for his own life, he held the swiftly descending airplane in a steady glide until the members of the crew could jump to safety. With the right wing completely enveloped in flames and an explosion of the gasoline tank imminent, Capt. Lindsey still remained unperturbed. The last man to leave the stricken plane was the bombardier, who offered to lower the wheels so that Capt. Lindsey might escape from the nose. Realizing that this might throw the aircraft into an uncontrollable spin and jeopardize the bombardier’s chances to escape, Capt. Lindsey refused the offer. Immediately after the bombardier had bailed out, and before Capt. Lindsey was able to follow, the right gasoline tank exploded. The aircraft sheathed in fire, went into a steep dive and was seen to explode as it crashed. All who are living today from this plane owe their lives to the fact that Capt. Lindsey remained cool and showed supreme courage in this emergency.

Strike photo, L’Isle-Adam Railroad Bridge, 9 August 1944. (U.S. Air Force)

Darrell Robbins Lindsey was born 30 December 1919 at Jefferson, Iowa. He was the second of two sons of Jesse Lyle Lindsey, a civil engineer, and Grace Alice Puffer Lindsey. Darrell Lindsey grew up in Iowa, where he attended Fort Dodge High School, graduating in 1938. He then studied at Buena Vista College at Storm Lake, before transferring to Drake University in Des Moines.

Aviation Cadet Darrell Robbins Lindsey, circa 1942.

Immediately following the United States’ entry into World War II, 16 January 1942, Lindsey enlisted as an aviation cadet in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He trained as a pilot and on graduating from flight school, was commissioned as a second lieutenant, 27 August 1942.

Lieutenant and Mrs. Darrell R. Lindsey, circa 1942.

Following his commissioning, Lieutenant Lindsey married Miss Evelyn Scott of Storm Lake, Iowa.

Lieutenant Lindsey next trained as a bombardier at Kirtland Field, New Mexico. He was promoted to first lieutenant and was assigned to a Martin B-26 Marauder operational training unit, the 314th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), at MacDill Army Airfield, near Tampa, Florida. He was promoted to captain in December 1943.

Captain Lindsey was assigned to the 585th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 394th Bombardment Group (Medium), as a B-26 aircraft commander and flight leader. The unit deployed to Europe in February 1944. The 585th was initially stationed at RAF Boreham (AAF-161) in Essex, but in July 1944, moved to RAF Holmsley South (AAF-455), Hampshire, England.

The bombing mission against the L’Isle-Adam Railroad Bridge on 9 August 1944 was Captain Lindsey’s 46th combat mission. Army Air Corps records indicate that at the time of his death, he had flown a total of 1,497:00 hours. 143 hours were in combat.

Captain Lindsey’s remains were buried at an unknown location. In 1959, a cenotaph memorializing Captain Lindsey was placed at Jefferson Cemetery, Jefferson, Iowa.

The Medal of Honor was presented to Captain Lindsey’s widow, Mrs. Evelyn Scott Lindsey, 9 August 1945, by Major General Robert B. Williams, commanding Second Air Force. In November 1946, Lindsey Air Station at Wiesbaden, Germany, was named in his honor.

In addition to the Medal of Honor, Captain Lindsey was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with eight oak leaf clusters (nine awards), and the Purple Heart.

Martin B-26B-55-MA Marauder 42-96153 of the 397th Bombardment Group (Medium), at Peronne Advanced Landing Ground (A-72), France, January 1945. This is the same type as the B-26 flown by Captain Darrell R. Lindsey, 9 August 1944. (U.S. Air Force)

Captain Lindsey’s B-26 was a Glenn L. Martin Company B-26B-55-MA Marauder, serial number 42-96101, built at Baltimore, Maryland. It carried the squadron identification markings 4T N on its fuselage.

The Martin B-26 first flew 25 November 1940. The B-26 was a twin-engine medium bomber designed with high speed as a primary objective. Production of the new airplane was considered so urgent that there were no prototypes. All aircraft were production models.

Martin B-26B-55-MA Marauder 42-96142, 596th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 397th Bombardment Group (Medium). This is the same type aircraft flown by Captain Lindsey in the attack against the L’Isle-Adam Railroad Bridge. (U.S. Air Force)

The B-26B was 58 feet, 3 inches (17.755 meters) long with a wingspan of 71 feet, 0 inches (21.641 meters) and overall height of 21 feet, 6 inches (6.533 meters). It had an empty weight of 24,000 pounds (10,886 kilograms) and gross weight of 37,000 pounds (16,783 kilograms).

The B-26B-55-MA was powered by two air-cooled, supercharged, 2,804.461-cubic-inch-displacement (45.956 liter), Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp 2SB-G (R-2800-43) two-row, 18-cylinder radial engines with a compression ratio of 6.65:1. The R-2800-43 had a Normal Power rating of 1,600 horsepower at 2,400 r.p.m. to 5,700 feet (1,737 meters), 1,450 horsepower at 2,400 r.p.m. at 13,000 feet (3,962 meters). Its Takeoff Power rating was 2,000 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m. The Military Power rating was the same as Takeoff Power up to 2,700 feet (823 meters), and 1,600 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m. to 13,500 feet (4,115 meters). They turned 13 foot, 6 inch (4.115 meter) diameter four-bladed Curtiss Electric propellers through a 2:1 gear reduction. The R-2800-43 was 6 feet, 3.72 inches (1.923 meters) long, 4 feet, 4.50 inches (1.334 meters) in diameter, and weighed 2,300 pounds (1,043 kilograms). All R-2800-43 engines were built by the Ford Motor Company.

The B-26B had a maximum speed of 270 miles per hour (435 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, and 282 miles per hour (454 kilometers per hour) at 15,000 feet (4,572 meters). The airplane’s service ceiling was 21,700 feet (6,614 meters). It’s maximum ferry range was 2,850 miles (4,587 kilometers).

The B-26B was armed with 11 air-cooled Browning AN-M2 .50-caliber machine guns. One was at the nose on a flexible mount, two fixed guns were on each side of the fuselage in “blister packs,” there were two flexible guns in the waist. A power-operated dorsal gun turret had two, as did the tail turret.

A maximum of four 2,000 pound (907 kilograms) bombs could be carried in the bomb bay.

Martin B-26F-1-MA of the 397th Bomb Group in flight at bomb release. (U.S. Air Force)

When the B-26 entered service, it quickly gained a reputation as a dangerous airplane and was called “the widowmaker.” The airplane had relatively short wings with a small area for its size. This required that landing approaches be flown at much higher speeds than was normal practice. With one engine out, airspeed was even more critical. Some changes were made, such as a slight increase on wingspan and the size of the vertical fin and rudder, and an emphasis was made on airspeed control during training. The Marauder had the lowest rate of combat losses of any American bomber.

The Glenn L. Martin Co. produced 5,288 Marauders between 1941–1945. It served in the Pacific, Mediterranean and European combat areas. When it was removed from service at the end of World War II, the “B-26” designation was reassigned to the Douglas A-26 Invader, a light twin-engine bomber.

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes

10 July 1942

Douglas XA-26 first flight, 10 July 1942. (Boeing Historical Archives/Wikipedia)

10 July 1942: At the Douglas Aircraft Company El Segundo Division, located at the southeast section of Los Angeles Municipal Airport (now, LAX), company engineering test pilot Benjamin Odell Howard took the prototype Douglas XA-26-DE light bomber, serial number 41-19504,¹ for its first flight.

Douglas XA-26 prototype in flight. (Douglas Aircraft Company/SDASM)

The XA-26 was twin-engine mid-wing monoplane with retractable tricycle landing gear. Douglas had proposed the design to the U.S. Army Air Corps as a replacement for three different airplanes: The Douglas A-20, the North American Aviation B-25 Mitchell, and the Martin B-26 Marauder. It was to be operated by a pilot, navigator/bombardier and a gunner.

Douglas XA-26.

The prototype was 51 feet, 2 inches (15.596 meters) long, with a wingspan of 70 feet, 0 inches (21.336 meters) and overall height of 18 feet, 6 inches (5.639 meters). Its empty weight was 21,150 pounds. It was powered by two air-cooled, supercharged, Pratt & Whitney R-2800–27 (Double Wasp 2SB-G), with a normal power rating of 1,600 horsepower at 2,400 r.p.m. to 5,700 feet (1,737 meters) and 1,450 horsepower to 13,000 feet (3,962 meters); and 2,000 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m., for military and takeoff power. The engines drove three-bladed propellers through a 2:1 gear reduction. The R-2800-27 was 6 feet, 3.72 inches (1.923 meters) long, 4 feet, 4.50 inches (1.334 meters) in diameter and weighed 2,300 pounds (1,043 kilograms).

Douglas XA-26 (Douglas Aircraft Company/SDASM)

The XA-26’s maximum speed was 322 knots (370 miles per hour/595 kilometers per hour) at 17,000 feet (5,182meters) and it had a service ceiling of 31,300 feet (9,540 meters).

Douglas XA-26 light bomber prototype, 42-19504. (Douglas Aircraft Company)

A second prototype, designated XA-26A was developed as an night fighter. It carried air-intercept radar in the nose and armament in a pod under the fuselage. The third prototype, the XA-26B, was a ground attack aircraft. Like the XA-26A, it had a solid nose, but was armed with a fixed 75-millimeter cannon in the nose, and forward-firing Browning .50-caliber machine guns. When ordered into production, the XA-26 became the A-26C Invader, while the ground attack design was assigned A-26B.

Douglas XA-26A night fighter prototype, 42-19505, photographed 6 July 1943. Note the weapons pod beneath the fuselage. (Douglas Aircraft Company/SDASM)
Douglas XA-26B ground attack prototype, 42-19588, photographed 14 May 1943. (Douglas Aircraft Company E.S. 31578/Boeing Historical Archives)
Douglas XA-26 42-19504, photographed 29 April 1943. (Douglas Aircraft Company/SDASM)

Benjamin Odell Howard was born 4 February 1904 at Palestine, Texas. He was the third of four children of Sam T. Howard, a real estate agent, and Fanie Howard.

Ben O. Howard, 1924 (The Savitar)

Ben Howard graduated from the University of Missouri at Columbia in 1924 with a degree in engineering. While there he was a member of the Kappa Sigma (ΚΣ) fraternity and the Reserve Officers Club.

On 10 Dec 1932, Howard married Miss Olive Maxine Schoen at Independence, Missouri.

In 1933, they lived in Kansas City, Missouri. He was employed as a pilot for United Air Lines Inc.

In 1935, Ben Howard won the Bendix Trophy Race flying Mister Mulligan, a Howard DGA-6. His time was 8 hours, 33 minutes, 16.3 seconds, for an average speed of 238.70 miles per hour.

Mister Mulligan, the Howard DGC-6, NR273Y. (SDASM)

On his 1940 Selective Service (conscription, or draft) card, Howard was described as having a dark complexion, black hair and brown eyes. He was 5 feet, 11 inches (180 centimeters) tall, and weighed 165 pounds (75 kilograms).

After a lengthy illness, Benjamin Odell Howard died at his home in Brentwood, California, 4 December 1970.

¹ Every source checked by TDiA identifies the prototype XA-26 as “41-19504.” Photographs of the XA-26, XA-26A and XA-26B clearly show the 1942 serial numbers 219504, 219505 and 219588 (42-19504, 42-19505 and 42-19588).

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

25–29 November 1945

Colonel Joseph Randall Holzapple, commanding officer, 319th Bombardment Group, Light, at Okinawa, 1945.

25–29 November 1945: Colonel Joseph Randall (“Randy”) Holzapple, U.S. Army Air Force, commanding officer of the 319th Bombardment Group, Light, departed Savannah, Georgia, as the pilot of a Douglas A-26C Invader twin-engine light attack bomber. His co-pilot on this flight was Lieutenant Colonel Charles R. Meyers. The navigator was Lieutenant Otto H. Schumaker and Corporal Howard J. Walden was the airplane’s radio operator.

The A-26 headed west, and kept heading west. 90 hours, 54 minutes later, Colonel Holzapple and his crew arrived at Washington National Airport, Washington, D.C. They had flown completely around the world, covering 24,859 miles (40,007 kilometers). The flight time was 96 hours, 50 minutes.

The A-26C Invader was built by Douglas Aircraft Company at its Long Beach, California and Tulsa, Oklahoma plants. It was 51 feet, 3 inches (15.621 meters) long with a wingspan of 70 feet, 0 inches (21.336 meters) and overall height of 18 feet, 6 inches (5.639 meters). It was designed to be flown by a single pilot, with a navigator/bombardier and a gunner. The A-26C weighed 22,690 pounds (10,292 kilograms) empty an had a maximum takeoff weight of 37,740 pounds (17,119 kilograms).

Power was supplied by two air-cooled, supercharged 2,804.4-cubic-inch-displacement (45.956 liter) Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp 2SB-G (R-2800-27) two-row, 18-cylinder radial engines with a compression ratio of 6.65:1. The R-2800-27 had a Normal Power rating of 1,600 horsepower at 2,400 r.p.m. at 5,700 feet (1,737 meters), 1,450 horsepower at 2,400 r.p.m. at 13,000 feet (3,962 meters), and 2,000 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m for takeoff. War Emergency Power was 2,370 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m. at Sea level. The engines turned three-bladed propellers with a diameter of 12 feet, 7 inches (3.835 meters) through a 2:1 gear reduction. The R-2800-27 was 6 feet, 3.72 inches (1.923 meters) long, 4 feet, 4.50 inches (1.334 meters) in diameter and weighed 2,300 pounds (1,043 kilograms).

The A-26 was a fast airplane for its time. It had a maximum speed of 323 knots (372 miles per hour/598 kilometers per hour) at 10,000 feet (3,048 meters). The service ceiling was 20,450 feet ( meters) and its range was 1,510 nautical miles (1,738 statute miles/2,797 kilometers) carrying a 4,000 pound (1,814 kilogram) bomb load.

Armament varied. The attack bomber could carry as much as 4,000 pounds (1,814 kilograms) of bombs in the bomb bay and 2,000 pounds (907 kilograms) on underwing hardpoints. Two Browning AN/M2 .50-caliber machine guns were mounted in upper and lower remotely-operated power turrets for defense, and as many as 14 forward-facing fixed .50-caliber machine guns were installed, with eight in the nose and three in each wing.

This Douglas A-26C-20-DT Invader, 43-22494, at the Pima Air And Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona, is marked as an aircraft of the 319th Bombardment Group, Light, at Okinawa, 1945. (Pima Air and Space Museum)
This Douglas A-26C-20-DT Invader, 43-22494, at the Pima Air And Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona, is marked as an aircraft of the 319th Bombardment Group, Light, at Okinawa, 1945. (Pima Air and Space Museum)
Randall Holzapple (The 1932 Crest)

Joseph Randall Holzapple was born 7 September 1914 at Peoria, Illinois. He was the fourth of five children of Nathaniel A. Holzapple, a blacksmith, and Annetta Ritchie. He attended Pekin Junior High School, then Peoria High School, where he was a member of the French Club, Science and Math Club, and Drama Club. In his high school yearbook, Holzapple was called “refined” and “handsome.” He graduated in 1932.

In 1938, Randy Holzapple graduated from Bradley Polytechnic Institute, also in Peoria, with a bachelor of science degree in business administration. He then worked as an insurance salesman.

Joseph R. Holzapple enlisted as an aviation cadet in the Air Corps, United States Army, 31 December 1940. At the time, he was 5 feet, 8 inches (1.68 meters) tall and weighed 146 pounds (66 kilograms). He completed his flight training and on 16 August 1941, was commissioned a second lieutenant, Air Reserve.

On 25 March 1942, 2nd Lieutenant Bradley was appointed to the rank of 1st lieutenant, Army of the United States (Air Corps). Six months later, 11 September 1942, he was promoted to captain, A.U.S. (A.C.).

Captain Holzapple was assigned as operations officer of the 319th Bombardment Group (Medium), Eighth Air Force, in England. The group was equipped with the twin-engine Martin B-26 Marauder medium bomber. Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa, began on 8 November 1942, and the 319th deployed to Saint-Leu Airfield, northeast of Oran, Algeria, as an element of XII Bomber Command.

The wartime military often brought rapid advancement to qualified officers, and Holzapple was promoted to the rank of major, A.U.S. (A.C.), 5 February 1943. He took command of the 319th Group 13 August 1943, then in Tunisia. Major Holzapple was promoted to lieutenant colonel, A.U.S. (A.C.), on 13 September 1943. He was advanced to colonel, A.U.S. (A.C.), on 1 August 1944.

Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Randall Holzapple in the cockpit of a Martin B-26B-15-MA Marauder, 41-31753, circa 1943–44. (American Air Museum in Britain UPL 32425)

In November 1944, the 319th transitioned to the North American Aviation B-25 Mitchell medium bomber, but the group was returned to the continental United States in January 1945. It was then equipped with the Douglas A-26 Invader and redesignated the 319th Bombardment Group (Light).

On 1 March 1945, Colonel Holzapple married Miss Lois M. Miller in a ceremony at the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Peoria. They would have two daughters, Nancy and Lynn.

The 319th redeployed to Okinawa in July 1945. It was was the first unit to be transferred from Europe to the Pacific as a complete unit.

This Douglas A-26C-30-DT Invader, 44-35281, was assigned to the 319th Bombardment Group at Naha, Okinawa, 1945. (U.S. Air Force)

Colonel Holzapple flew 91 combat missions in North Africa and the Mediterannean, and another 8 over Japan and China. For his service during World War II, he was awarded  teh Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross with one oak leaf cluster (a second award), and the Air Medal with 17 oak leaf clusters (18 awards). He was also awarded the British Empire’s Distinguished Flying Cross and the Croix de Guerre by France.

Colonel Holzapple remained on active duty following the war. While he continued to hold his wartime rank, his permanent rank in the Air Corps, United States Army, was advanced to 1st lieutenant, on 5 July 1946, with date of rank from 7 September 1942.

Holzapple was assigned to a number of staff positions, before being sent to the Armed Forces Staff College, 1949–50. He was next assigned to the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, the military agency responsible for maintenance, storage, security, handling and testing of nuclear weapons. In 1954, Colonel Holzaple was appointed assistant chief of staff for Operational Readiness at the Air Research and Development Command headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland. He also attended the National War College.

In 1955 Colonel Holzapple was assiged as commanding offier of the 47th Bombardment Wing, then based at RAF Sculthorpe, near Fakenham, Norfolk, England. The group was equipped with the North American Aviation B-45 Tornado four-engine jet bomber, and the Douglas B-26 Invader. ¹

From England, Holzapple went to Germany as deputy chief of staff for operations at Headquarters, United States Air Forces in Europe. Promoted to brigadier general, in 1958 he was appointed chief of staff, USAFE.

Brigadier General Holzapple returned to the weapons systems management with ARDC at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

From 1969–1971, General Holzapple served as Commander in Chief, United States Air Forces Europe, based at Wiesbaden, Germany.

General Holzapple retired from the U.S. Air Force 1 September 1971.

General Holzapple collapsed and died while playing squash at The Pentagon Athletic Center, Arlington, Virginia, 14 November 1973. He was 59 years old. He was buried at the Arlington National Cemetery.

General Joseph Randall Holzapple, United States Air Force.

¹ The Martin B-26 Marauder was withdrawn from service following World War II. Most of them were scrapped. In 1948, The Douglas A-26B and A-26C Invader light bombers were then designated B-26A and B-26B.

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes