JUNE 16, 2025 – Over the skies of the South Pacific, Army Air Corps 2nd Lt. Joseph Raymond Sarnoski gave his life to keep his aircrew safe during a dangerous World War II reconnaissance mission. That aircrew became one of the most decorated in history, and Sarnoski posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions.
Sarnoski was born Jan. 30, 1915, in Simpson, Pennsylvania, to Josephine and John Sarnoski, who left coal mining behind to become a farmer. As the second of 17 children, Sarnoski had to help his father on the farm, but he also enjoyed baseball, hunting, fishing, singing and playing the accordion.
On March 9, 1936, Sarnoski enlisted in the Army. His first duty station was in Langley, Virginia, where he met and married his wife, Marie Maddox. After training in bomb sight maintenance, Sarnoski became a B-17 Flying Fortress bombardier.
In 1941, he was assigned to the 43rd Bombardment Group’s 65th Bombardment Squadron to serve as a bombardier and bombing instructor. Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor catapulted the U.S. into World War II, his unit deployed for two years to Australia and New Guinea. During that time, Sarnoski earned a Silver Star.
In May 1943, Sarnoski received a battlefield commission before volunteering as a bombardier for an aircrew called the “Eager Beavers.” Led by Army Air Corps Capt. Jay Zeamer, the unit was known for volunteering for the most dangerous of missions.
On June 16, 1943, Sarnoski’s crew volunteered for an unscheduled mission to map the Buka area of Bougainville in the Solomon Islands archipelago, which was heavily defended by the Japanese. The team flew in “Old 666,” a B-17 they had salvaged and fitted with 19 machine guns, according to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
The dangerous mission required the crew to fly unescorted about 1,200 miles roundtrip to photograph Japanese installations on the island in preparation for Allied landings in the fall.
The Eager Beavers were nearly finished with their mission when they saw about 20 enemy fighters take off to intercept them. They could have turned around and immediately fled the area, but they chose to finish the mission instead.
Positioned at the machine guns in the front of the aircraft, Sarnoski fought off the first of the attackers, making it possible for Zeamer to finish their plotted course. Soon after, Japanese gunfire cut the bomber’s oxygen line. So, Zeamer dropped the plane to 18,000 feet so the gunners could breathe while continuing to fire back.
Army records show that when a coordinated frontal attack by five enemy fighters extensively damaged the bomber and seriously injured five crew members, a wounded Sarnoski still managed to shoot down two enemy aircraft. Zeamer destroyed another one using a front gun fired remotely by a switch on the flight control column.
When a 20mm shell burst in the nose of the bomber, Sarnoski was knocked into the catwalk under the cockpit. He suffered a devastating wound to his stomach, but through the pain, he crawled back to his post. Air Force historians reported that he shouted, “I’m OK. Don’t worry about me,” before continuing to fire until he collapsed on his guns and died. Without his relentless fighting spirit, the team may not have been able to return from their vitally important mission, his Medal of Honor citation read.
Meanwhile, the crew still had to get out of the crosshairs and find somewhere safe to land.
Zeamer — who also suffered serious injuries, including wounds that paralyzed his legs — managed to evade other enemy aircraft until the Japanese finally broke off the engagement after approximately 40 minutes. The pilot lost a lot of blood and was in and out of consciousness, but his fellow crewmates helped keep the ship afloat. Zeamer’s co-pilot, Army Air Corps 1st Lt. Johnny Britton, managed to make an emergency landing at an Allied airstrip in New Guinea.
According to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, the embattled B-17 had nearly 200 machine gun holes and five ruptures from cannons. Its flaps and brakes were also inoperable.
Sarnoski and Zeamer, who survived the ordeal, received Medals of Honor for their heroics that day. The rest of the aircrew received Distinguished Service Crosses.
Sarnoski’s Medal of Honor was presented to his widow, Jan. 7, 1944, during a ceremony at Richmond Army Air Base in Richmond, Virginia, according to a 1943 article in the Scranton Times-Tribune.
Sarnoski was initially buried in New Guinea, but his remains were reburied in 1949 at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
Sarnoski is a well-known name in military circles. There’s a Sarnoski Avenue on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, as well as a street named for him on Joint Base San Antonio, Texas.
By Katie Lange, DOD News