"For conspicuous gallantry in action against the enemy above and beyond
the call of duty while serving as a radio operator-air gunner on a heavy
bombardment aircraft in a mission over Bremen, Germany, on 20 December
1943. After bombing the target, the aircraft in which T/Sgt. Vosler was
serving was severely damaged by antiaircraft fire, forced out of
formation, and immediately subjected to repeated vicious attacks by
enemy fighters. Early in the engagement a 20-mm. cannon shell exploded
in the radio compartment, painfully wounding T/Sgt. Vosler in the legs
and thighs. At about the same time a direct hit on the tail of the ship
seriously wounded the tail gunner and rendered the tail guns
inoperative. Realizing the great need for firepower in protecting the
vulnerable tail of the ship, T/Sgt. Vosler, with grim determination,
kept up a steady stream of deadly fire. Shortly thereafter another
20-mm. enemy shell exploded, wounding T/Sgt. Vosler in the chest and
about the face. Pieces of metal lodged in both eyes, impairing his
vision to such an extent that he could only distinguish blurred shapes.
Displaying remarkable tenacity and courage, he kept firing his guns and
declined to take first-aid treatment. The radio equipment had been
rendered inoperative during the battle, and when the pilot announced
that he would have to ditch, although unable to see and working entirely
by touch, T/Sgt. Vosler finally got the set operating and sent out
distress signals despite several lapses into unconsciousness. When the
ship ditched, T/Sgt. Vosler managed to get out on the wing by himself
and hold the wounded tail gunner from slipping off until the other
crewmembers could help them into the dinghy. T/Sgt. Vosler's actions on
this occasion were an inspiration to all serving with him. The
extraordinary courage, coolness, and skill he displayed in the face of
great odds, when handicapped by injuries that would have incapacitated
the average crewmember, were outstanding."
From T/Sgt. Vosler's Medal of Honor citation, awarded on September 6, 1944.
May you be at peace,
Brian
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