- Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 April 2017 02:59
By Michael P. Mauer
Over the skies of Europe fighting against fascism, a young American airman sat cramped between two deafening .50 caliber machine guns. sending streams of lead toward a swarming array of high-speed Messerschmitts, Focke-Wulfs and Heinkels.
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| Pictured from left to right around his induction plaque are three of Walters’ children: Jill Lester, Jeff Walters and Jan Rakas. |
He knew his bomber – Chug-A-Lug Lulu – would need to be flown straight and level to have any chance of dropping its heavy bomb load on target.
He also understood that a good bombing run would give the enemy an easy target - him. And he bravely went through more than a dozen of these missions and proved himself a hero.
Former West Mifflin Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 914 Life Member Joseph J. Walters has been inducted into the Joseph A. Dugan Jr. Hall of Valor at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum in Pittsburgh. A winner of the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions as a ball turret gunner on a B-17 bomber during World War II, Walters – along with 12 other local heroes - was enshrined during a ceremony March 26.
“We are very excited to be honoring Joe in this way,” said Janet Rakas, Walters’ daughter and one of 15 family members who gathered in
Pittsburgh for the ceremony. “It makes us all feel very proud to have such a great person in our family.”
Members of VFW Post 914 were also present for the event.
"As a group of combat veterans, we've all done something that sets us apart," said Gary Ruston, a Navy veteran and quartermaster of VFW Post 914 West Mifflin. "But Tech. Sgt. Walters' bravery during World War II that is recognized here today is truly a great accomplishment. We're all privileged to have known him and I'm proud to be at the ceremony honoring him."
Awarded for heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight, the DFC is one of the top valor medals conferred by the United States. Walters received his decoration for actions during 15 bombing missions where he shot down enemy fighter aircraft and warded off attacks by several others.
In all, he was personally credited with destroying three hostile fighter planes.
“Sergeant Walters displayed courage and presence of mind when he encountered experiences involving great personal danger and vital decisions under hazardous conditions,” reads Walters’ DFC citation. “The courage, coolness and skill displayed by Sergeant Walters on all these occasions reflect highest credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States.”
Walters other awards and decorations include four awards of the Air Medal, a Purple Heart Medal, the European-African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the Word War II Victory Medal, the American Campaign Medal and the Army Good Conduct Medal. All of his valor and combat medals were awarded during a six month span in 1943.
Not all of Walters’ valor was displayed during air combat. Following a mission over Schweinfurt, Germany in August 1943, Walters’ bomber was shot down and he was forced to parachute over enemy controlled territory.
Leaping from the crippled aircraft into a strong slipstream with his parachute barely harnessed, Walters lost consciousness as he drifted down into occupied Belgium. When he came to, he found he had landed in an apple tree. With the help of Allied resistance forces, he was able to make his way safely back to England, and then the United States.
Following the World War II, he built a business and raised a family in West Mifflin. He lived there until he died in September 2016 at the age of 103.
According to West Mifflin Mayor Chris Kelly, the borough is happy to have had the honor of being Walters' home for many decades.
“He had a long life at 103 years, and lived most of it in peace and comfort,” said Kelly. “Because of the brave actions and sacrifices made by Tech. Sgt. Walters and the men and women of the armed forces, we all have been able to live in freedom.”
The induction ceremony at Soldiers and Sailors was followed by a dinner reception in the Grand Ballroom.
Walters is not the first from the West Mifflin veterans’ organization to be sponsored for induction into the Hall of Valor. In 2011, VFW Post 914 nominated Vincent Hoover, who was awarded a Silver Star for his actions during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
For more information about VFW Post 914, visit its website at http://traa.weebly.com/vfw-post-914.html, its Facebook page, or contact Commander Jake Bradich at 412-464-9838.
Former West Mifflin Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 914 Life Member Joseph J. Walters was inducted into the Joseph A. Dugan Jr. Hall of Valor at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum in Pittsburgh on March 26.
