June 16, 1943

2nd Lt. Joseph R. Sarnoski volunteers as a bombardier on a Consolidated B-24 Liberator crew for an important photographic mission covering the heavily defended Buka area in the Solomon Islands. When the mission is nearly completed, approximately 20 enemy fighter pilots intercept the aircraft. At the nose guns, Sarnoski fights off the first attackers, allowing the pilot to finish the plotted course. When a frontal attack extensively damages the airplane and seriously injures five of the crew, he continues firing and shoots down two enemy airplanes, despite his own injuries. A 20 mm shell bursts in the nose, knocking him into the catwalk under the cockpit. He crawls back to his post and continues firing until he collapses on his guns and dies. Sarnoski is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.