Henry red'' erwin

Henry erwin movie
Henry Erwin joined the Enlisted Reserve Corps as a private on July 27, 1942, at Birmingham, Ala. He tried pilot training but failed and then went to radio and.
Henry Eugene Erwin was born 8 May 1921, at Docena, a small mining village in Jefferson County, Alabama.

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MEDAL OF HONOR

STAFF SERGEANT HENRY EUGENE ERWIN (Air Mission)

Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army Air Corps, 52d Bombardment Squadron, 29th Bombardment Group, 20th Air Force.

Place and date: Koriyama, Japan, 12 April 1945.

Entered service at: Bessemer, Ala.

Born: 8 May 1921, Adamsville, Ala.

G.O. No.: 44, 6 June 1945.

Citation: He was the radio operator of a B-29 airplane leading a group formation to attack Koriyama, Japan. He was charged with the additional duty of dropping phosphoresce smoke bombs to aid in assembling the group when the launching point was reached. Upon entering the assembly area, aircraft fire and enemy fighter opposition was encountered. Among the phosphoresce bombs launched by S/Sergeant. Erwin, 1 proved faulty, exploding in the launching chute, and shot back into the interior of the aircraft, striking him in the face. The burning phosphoresce obliterated his nose and completely blinded him. Smoke filled the plane, obscuring the vision of the pilot. S/Sergeant. Erwin realized that the aircraft and crew would be lost if the burning

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Henry "Red" Erwin Alabama native Henry Erwin Sr. (1921-2002) earned the Medal of Honor in World War II for his actions saving the crew of his bomber that resulted in extremely painful and severe burns that disfigured him for life. Not expected to live owing to the severity of his injuries, Erwin's medal award was expedited by the high command. Erwin did survive and became a Veterans Affairs benefits counselor in Birmingham, Jefferson County, serving in that position for many years.

Erwin was born in the small hardscrabble mining town of Adamsville, Jefferson County, on May 8, 1921. The eldest child in a large family, he was raised in impoverished circumstances. His father, who is unnamed in biographical accounts, was a coal miner who died when Erwin was age 10. He then took a job in the local coal mine commissary to help his mother, Pearl Landers Erwin, support the large family. Erwin later attended high school for two years but dropped out, joining the New DealCivilian Conservation Corps program that was instituted during the Great Depression to put young men like Erwin to work.

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Henry E. Erwin

US Army Air Forces NCO and Medal of Honor recipient

Henry E. Erwin

Birth name	Henry Eugene Erwin Sr.
Nickname(s)	Red
Born	(1921-05-08)May 8, 1921 Adamsville, Alabama, US
Died	January 16, 2002(2002-01-16) (aged 80) Birmingham, Alabama, US
Place of burial	Elmwood Cemetery (Birmingham, Alabama)
Allegiance	United States of America
Service / branch	United States Army Air Forces
Years of service	1942–1947
Rank	Master Sergeant
Unit	52nd Bombardment Squadron, 29th Bombardment Group, 20th Air Force
Battles / wars	World War II
Awards	Medal of Honor Purple Heart Air Medal (2)

Henry Eugene Erwin Sr. (May 8, 1921 – January 16, 2002) was a United States Army Air Forces airman and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II. He earned the award as a staff sergeant and radio operator aboard a B-29 Superfortress in the Asia-Pacific theater. During a 1945 bombing mission over Koriyama, Japan, a white phosphorus bomb prematurely ignited in h