Donald D. Pucket
Donald Dale Pucket (December 15, 1915 – July 9, 1944) was a United States Army Air Forces officer who received the Medal of Honor for his World War II actions. He joined the Army from Boulder, Colorado in 1942 and served as a first lieutenant piloting B-24 bombers with the 343rd Bombardment Squadron, 98th Bombardment Group.
On July 9, 1944, during a raid over Ploiești, Romania, his plane was badly damaged by anti-aircraft fire. He ordered his crew to bail out, but three men were too frightened to jump. Pucket stayed aboard, tried to regain control, and opened jammed bomb-bay doors to vent gas. With the plane still losing altitude and unable to reach safety, he urged the crew to abandon ship. Three crew members did not evacuate, and the flaming bomber crashed into a mountainside, killing everyone on board. Pucket was 28 years old and was buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in Saint Louis, Missouri.
He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on June 23, 1945, for his selfless leadership and sacrifice to save his crew. The citation notes his calm leadership, aid to injured crew members, and ultimate refusal to abandon the three men, even at the cost of his own life.
Earlier in the war, on June 26, 1944, he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for helping his damaged formation return safely from deep in enemy territory after a companion plane was shot down. He also received three Air Medals and the Purple Heart, and by that time had completed 29 missions.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 13:21 (CET).