After dropping a ton of bombs against the rail yards at Thielt, Belgium, seven US Marine Corps deHavilland DH-4s are attacked by a dozen German fighters. Cpl. Robert Guy Robinson, a rear gunner, downs a Fokker D.VII, but is severely wounded and his gun jams. After clearing the gun, Robinson and his pilot, 2d Lt. Ralph Talbot rejoin the fight. Robinson sustains a dozen more wounds while Talbot uses the aircraft’s forward gun to down a Fokker and a Pfalz. He then dives, heads toward Allied lines at barely 50 feet, and lands near a field hospital just over the Belgian lines where doctors save Robinson’s life. They are later awarded the Medal of Honor, the only Marines so honored in World War I.
Airmen basic rarely go on to become four-star generals, but one who did retired last week after a 42 year career that saw him rise from a lowly slick-sleeve to the head of one of the Air Force’s most important major commands.