Leon Robert "Philo" Vance, Jr. was born on 11 August 1916 in Enid, Garfield County, Oklahoma. He was the son of Leon Robert Vance and Edna Josephine Hannipin Vance.
On June 5, 1944, Lieutenant Colonel Leon Vance was the command pilot of the 489th BG but flew on the 44th BG’s B-24 'Missouri Sue' for his second mission in the ETO. The plane was severely damaged by flak, Vance’s right foot was shot off, but he was so intent on getting the rest of the crew off the plane, that he didn’t notice it until he was in the channel. With all engines out he stayed with the plane thinking there was still one crew member on board (there was not) and he ended up ditching in the English channel. A Medal of Honor was awarded for his astonishing valor and bravery. After recuperation in England, he was evacuated to the states in TWA C-54A 42-107470 on July 1, 1944, when the plane disappeared with 17 people aboard. It was never recovered.
LtC Vance is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, United Kingdom. He is also memorialized on the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., and has a cenotaph in the Waukomis Cemetery, Oklahoma.
Medal of Honor Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty on 5 June 1944, when he led a Heavy Bombardment Group, in an attack against defended enemy coastal positions in the vicinity of Wimereaux, France. Approaching the target, his aircraft was hit repeatedly by antiaircraft fire which seriously crippled the ship, killed the pilot, and wounded several members of the crew, including Lt. Col. Vance, whose right foot was practically severed. In spite of his injury, and with 3 engines lost to the flak, he led his formation over the target, bombing it successfully. After applying a tourniquet to his leg with the aid of the radar operator, Lt. Col. Vance, realizing that the ship was approaching a stall altitude with the 1 remaining engine failing, struggled to a semi-upright position beside the copilot and took over control of the ship. Cutting the power and feathering the last engine he put the aircraft in glide sufficiently steep to maintain his airspeed. Gradually losing altitude, he at last reached the English coast, whereupon he ordered all members of the crew to bail out as he knew they would all safely make land. But he received a message over the interphone system which led him to believe 1 of the crewmembers was unable to jump due to injuries; so he made the decision to ditch the ship in the channel, thereby giving this man a chance for life. To add further to the danger of ditching the ship in his crippled condition, there was a 500-pound bomb hung up in the bomb bay. Unable to climb into the seat vacated by the copilot, since his foot, hanging on to his leg by a few tendons, had become lodged behind the copilot’s seat, he nevertheless made a successful ditching while lying on the floor using only aileron and elevators for control and the side window of the cockpit for visual reference. On coming to rest in the water the aircraft commenced to sink rapidly with Lt. Col. Vance pinned in the cockpit by the upper turret which had crashed in during the landing. As it was settling beneath the waves an explosion occurred which threw Lt. Col. Vance clear of the wreckage. After clinging to a piece of floating wreckage until he could muster enough strength to inflate his life vest he began searching for the crewmember whom he believed to be aboard. Failing to find anyone he began swimming and was found approximately 50 minutes later by an Air-Sea Rescue craft. By his extraordinary flying skill and gallant leadership, despite his grave injury, Lt. Col. Vance led his formation to a successful bombing of the assigned target and returned the crew to a point where they could bail out with safety. His gallant and valorous decision to ditch the aircraft in order to give the crewmember he believed to be aboard a chance for life exemplifies the highest traditions of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Source of information: www.mightyeighth.org, www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov