William F. Orr

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to William F. Orr, Captain (Air Corps), U.S. Army Air Forces, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Commander of a B-29 Very Heavy Bomber in the 61st Bombardment Squadron, 39th Bombardment Group (VH), TWENTIETH Air Force, while participating in a bombing mission on 1 June 1945, while flying from a base in the Marianas on a daylight strike against the industrial city of Osaka, Japan. On that date, the formation was attacked viciously by fighters and anti-aircraft fire and just before bombs away, a barrage struck Captain Orr’s plane, scoring a direct hit in the nacelle of number two engine. Despite this damage, he released his bombs squarely on the target. Shortly after land’s end, the propeller of the malfunctioning number three engine, turning at high speed, broke from the engine and struck the fuselage with great force. A gaping hole was torn in the airplane, placing it in imminent danger of breaking up in mid-air. Working from the right side of the aircraft, Captain Orr and his pilot were able to bring the stricken B-29 under some measure of control and to maintain flight through some five hundred miles of turbulent frontal weather on instruments in a right-wing low, nose-down attitude. The B-29 was in perilous condition, with the loss of number three and four engines, the flak hit in the number two engine, damage to the flight controls, and the hole in the fuselage. Whenever Captain Orr attempted to pull back on the control column the whole airplane would bend. After flying for several hours in this extremely dangerous condition, they broke out of the overcast and sighted a small uninhabited island. Rather than risk a ditching with his aircraft in its damaged state, Captain Orr ordered his crew to bail out. He remained with the airplane and continued to circle the area with only one engine to make certain that all had left the B-29 and that when it crashed, it would not strike any of the men in the water. Only after he assured himself of their safety did he parachute to the water, where he was picked up by rescue facilities. Captain Orr’s intrepidity, magnificent airmanship, and gallant leadership reflect great credit upon himself, the 20th Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces.