Biography
Childhood
Born Archibald Collins Hamilton, June 3, 1918, in Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire,Military career
Archibald Mathies enlisted in the Regular Army on December 30, 1940, at Pittsburgh, Penn. He was attached to Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, 8th Pursuit Wing, and later assigned to the 36th Air Base Group, Maxwell Field, Alabama. On March 5, 1941, he was transferred to the 31st School Squadron, Jefferson Barracks, Mo., where he remained until March 24, 1941. He then was attached to the 36th School Squadron, Chanute Field, Illinois, where he attended the Airplane Mechanic School, from which he graduated on October 1, 1941. He departed Chanute Field and proceeded to Mitchel Field, New York, where he served with the 1st Air Support Command and later the 33d Pursuit Group. He was transferred as a member of the 33d Pursuit Group to Morris Field, North Carolina, on December 4, 1941. On February 6, 1943, he was attached to the Army Air Forces Flexible Gunnery School at Tyndall Field, Florida, and completed the course in aerial gunnery on March 22, 1943. He then returned to Morris Field and served with the 1st Air Service Command until April 12, 1943, when he was assigned to the 73d Observation Group at Godman Field, Kentucky. On April 14, 1943, he joined the 91st Observation squadron (redesignated 91st Reconnaissance Squadron) at Godman Field. From July 25 to September 7, 1943, he was attached to the 28th Bombardment Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group, at Pyote, Texas, and from September 15 to November 22, 1943, he served with the 796th Bombardment Squadron at Alexandria, La. He departed the United States on December 8, 1943, and arrived in England on December 16. Upon his arrival, he was assigned to the 8th Air Force Replacement Depot Casual Pool and was subsequently attached to the 1st Replacement and Training Squadron until January 18, 1944. On January 19, 1944, he was assigned to the 510th Bomb Squadron, 351st Bomb Group, based atMedal of Honor mission
On his second combat mission, on February 20, 1944, Sergeant Mathies participated in an attack onMedal of Honor citation
Citation:For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy in connection with a bombing mission over enemy-occupied Europe on February 20, 1944. The aircraft on which Sgt. Mathies was serving as flight engineer andball turret A ball turret was a spherical-shaped, altazimuth mount gun turret, fitted to some American-built aircraft during World War II. The name arose from the turret's spherical housing. It was a manned turret, as distinct from remote-controlled turrets ...gunner was attacked by asquadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...of enemy fighters with the result that the co-pilot was killed outright, thepilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...wounded and rendered unconscious, theradio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...operator wounded and the plane severely damaged. Nevertheless, Sgt. Mathies and other members of the crew managed to right the plane and fly it back to their home station, where they contacted thecontrol tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...and reported the situation. Sgt. Mathies and thenavigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...volunteered to attempt to land the plane. Other members of the crew were ordered to jump, leaving Sgt. Mathies and the navigator aboard. After observing the distressed aircraft from another plane, Sgt. Mathies' commanding officer decided the damaged plane could not be landed by the inexperienced crew and ordered them to abandon it and parachute to safety. Demonstrating unsurpassed courage and heroism, Sgt. Mathies and the navigator replied that the pilot was still alive but could not be moved and they would not desert him. They were then told to attempt a landing. After two unsuccessful efforts, the plane crashed into an open field in a third attempt to land. Sgt. Mathies, the navigator, and the wounded pilot were killed.
See also
* List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War IINotes
References
* Freeman, Roger A. ''The Mighty Eighth'' (1993 edition), (p. 270).External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathies, Archibald 1918 births 1944 deaths Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in England United States Army Air Forces Medal of Honor recipients United States Air Force Medal of Honor recipients People from Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire United States Army Air Forces personnel killed in World War II Scottish-born Medal of Honor recipients British emigrants to the United States United States Army Air Forces non-commissioned officers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1944 World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor