SAN ANTONIO--On October 2, surviving family members of Bobby Joe Younger, a
WWII bombardier killed in action in 1944, were presented with Younger's
military awards posthumously received from the Department of the Army.
Younger, the youngest of three brothers and two sisters, graduated from
McKinney High School in McKinney, Texas, enrolled at Texas A&M and then
enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force in June 1944. The United States Army Air
Forces (USAAF or AAF), was the premier aerial warfare service for the Army
during, and immediately after, World War II. At the time of his enlistment,
Younger's two eldest brothers and father were already in the service,
supporting the war effort.
Younger was quickly promoted to staff sergeant while assigned as a
bombardier in his first duty assignment. Within five months of his
enlistment, at the tender age of 19, Younger would be killed in action
November 2, 1944 while serving as the bombardier of a B-17 Flying Fortress
when it was shot down over Germany.
On Younger's 13th mission with the 91st Bomber Group, Eighth Army Air Force,
his plane, with a crew of nine, was critically damaged. Witnesses reported
seeing the B-17 burst into flames and plummet toward the ground, crashing
just southwest of the town of Barby. Three of the nine crewmembers survived
and were captured; the rest were presumed missing.
In 1951, the American Graves Registration Command concluded that the
remaining unaccounted for crewmembers perished in the crash. The exact
location of their remains were unknown until three of the crew, Tech. Sgt.
John F. Brady, Staff Sgt. Robert O. Shoemaker and Younger, were able to be
recovered, and individually identified through DNA analysis, forensic
identification and circumstantial evidence in 2017. The recovered remains
that could not be individually identified represented the entire long-lost
crew to include Tech. Sgt. Allen A. Chandler and 1st Lt. John H. Liekhus.
The crew was honored with a joint ceremony and full military honors at
Arlington National Cemetery on June 27, 2018.
Major General Patrick D. Sargent, an aviator and the commanding general of
the U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School, Health Readiness Center
of Excellence (AMEDDC&S HRCoE) hosted the awards ceremony at Fort Sam
Houston, Texas in the Hall of Honor within the headquarters building.
Sargent said, "I can tell you that, from just the brief time that I spent
with the family, it is a great honor for us here at the Army Medical
Department Center and School, Health Readiness Center of Excellence to be a
part of such a great ceremony."
Flanked by Medal of Honor Recipients on one side and a Warrior Memorial on
the other, Sargent continued "It is appropriate that we are standing in the
presence of such greatness and I will tell you that this story of this young
man who gave his last full measure for, as the wall says, 'uncommon valor
beyond the call of duty' is impactful."
In addition to a good conduct, campaign medals and the Air Medal with oak
leaf cluster for serving honorably in sustained bomber combat operations
over Germany and German occupied countries, Sargent presented the family
with the Purple Heart on behalf of the Secretary of the Army, for Younger's
wounds received in action resulting in his death. The awards were presented
exactly one month short of the 74th anniversary of the combat mission in
which Younger lost his life.
Three of Younger's nephews, John F. Younger, Jr., Charles M. Younger and
Bubba Brice, along with several other family members, were present to accept
the awards on the entire family's behalf. They spoke of the pain that their
family endured not knowing if Younger had lived or died in the crash. Many
in the family wrote letters and did research to find answers over the years;
Younger's father and at least one of the sisters even traveled to Germany
looking for their lost loved one.
Brice, son of the sister who was closest to Younger in age, recalled how
surprised and emotional he felt when he got the call that the recovery
operation, which began in 2015, had finally been successful. He wept at the
thought of how happy his mother, the other siblings and Younger's parents
would have been to know that he was finally coming home.
Brice said, "After all of those years, you all never gave up. We are so
blessed that you brought closure to us. We are all just so happy and we
can't thank you enough."
In addition to the veteran's marker that now stands in the crew's honor at
Arlington National Cemetery bearing the name 'Bobby J. Younger' and various
other tributes in McKinney, the final commemoration of this life of service
will take place at Ridgeview Memorial Park in Allen, Texas. Younger's
remains will finally be laid to rest between his mother and father, as his
family had hoped all of these years.
Though Younger's name is permanently inscribed in the "Courts of the
Missing" Memorial at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific,
according to the American Battle Monuments Commission, he is now listed as
"recovered." The Department of Defense will place a rosette next to his
name on the Honolulu memorial when Younger is ultimately at rest in a known
gravesite. Younger's family said they take solace in knowing that while he
is gone and everyone mourns for the loss, that he was never, ever forgotten.
Sargent said, "It is a testament that over 70 years later, we are able to
come together in this way, to honor this hero and his family. This is truly
our mantra, to never leave a fallen comrade."
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