Hometown: San Angelo, TX
Branch: U.S. Army (Air Forces)
Unit: 359th Bombardment Squadron, 303rd Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force
Military Honors: Medal of Honor, Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart
Date of Sacrifice: May 14, 1943 - KIA over Vegesack, Germany 
Age: 21
Conflict: World War II, 1939-1945

Jack was born on September 25, 1921. His father Rhude was a car dealer. Along with his mother Avis (Canon), older brother Mark and younger brother Harrell, the family lived in San Angelo, in central Texas.

After graduating from San Angelo High School, Jack enrolled at San Angelo Business College before deciding to enlist in the U.S. Army in June of 1940. He was assigned to the 1st Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

After a few months at Fort Sill, Jack discovered that his older brother Mark—who also enlisted in the Army—had transferred to the Army Air Corps. The Army established the Air Service in 1918, the last year of World War I (1914-1918). The Air Service became the Army Air Corps in 1926, the Army Air Forces in 1941, and a new independent branch of the military, the United States Air Force, in 1947.

In early 1941, Jack followed Mark’s lead and transferred to the Air Corps, beginning as an aviation cadet at Goodfellow Field near his hometown of San Angelo. The two brothers later trained as bombardiers.

Jack trained at Ellington Field in Texas, and Victorville Army Airfield in California. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant on July 4, 1942—seven months after the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and the United States’ entry into World War II (1939-1945).

Before being sent to WWII’s European Theater, Lt. Jack Mathis served with bombardier groups at Salt Lake City, Utah, Alamogordo, New Mexico, and Biggs Field in Texas.

Mathis was sent to England in September 1942 with the 359th Bombardment Squadron, 303rd Bombardment Group, of the 8th Air Force. His squadron was based at RAF (Royal Air Force) Base Molesworth, 70 miles north of London. Older brother Mark was sent to the North African campaign.

Jack and his crew flew a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber, christened “The Duchess.” As a bombardier, Jack had “the best seat in the house,” in the plexiglass nose of the aircraft.

In early 1943, the Allies made a priority of destroying German U-boat submarine production. A strategy of daytime bombing raids increased bombing accuracy—simply because the targets were clearly visible. The strategy came with countervailing risk: the attacking planes were also more visible to enemy defenders.

According to the Department of Defense, “In mid-March, Mark was transferred from the North Africa campaign to a unit in England. Upon arrival, he got to stop by Jack’s base to see him the night before a raid on the submarine marshalling yards at Vegesack, Germany. Jack, now a 1st lieutenant, was the lead bombardier for the 100-plane mission.”

Mark wanted to join Jack’s crew on the raid, but it couldn’t be arranged.

Seven bombers carried a mix of 1,000-pound bombs and M44 high explosives on March 18, 1943. At 24,000 over the Vegesack submarine marshalling yards, Jack found the target through his bombsight. His accuracy would determine the success of the mission. As the lead bombardier, if his aim was off target the bombers that followed would also be off.

German anti-aircraft fire began just as the American formation approached the bomb release point. First Lieutenant Jack Mathis’ actions on that day would earn him the nation’s highest military award: the Congressional Medal of Honor. His citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy over Vegesack, Germany on 18 March 1943. First Lt. Mathis, as leading bombardier of his squadron, flying through intense and accurate antiaircraft fire, [he] was just starting his bomb run, upon which the entire squadron depended upon for accurate bombing, when he was hit by the enemy antiaircraft fire. His right arm was shattered above the elbow, a large wound was torn in his side and abdomen, and he was knocked from his bombsight to the rear of the bombardier’s compartment. Realizing that the success of the mission depended upon him, 1st Lt. Mathis, by sheer determination and willpower, though mortally wounded, dragged himself back to his sights, released his bombs, then died at his post of duty. As the result of this action the airplanes of his bombardment squadron placed their bombs directly upon the assigned target for a perfect attack against the enemy. First Lt. Mathis’ undaunted bravery has been a great inspiration to the officers and men of his unit.

“Reconnaissance photographs later revealed that seven submarines and two-thirds of the shipyard had been destroyed,” says the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. The successful mission—made possible by the determination of 1LT Jack Mathis—turned out to be one of the most devastating raids of the war in Europe.

A September 1943 account in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that instead of hearing the celebratory “bombs away!” from Mathis as they had on other missions, the crew only heard a faint “bombs…” before the intercom went silent. Jack Mathis died on top of his equipment, using the last of his strength to close the bomb bay doors.

Despite heavy damage, the Duchess returned to base. 1LT Mathis was 21 years old when he was lost on his 14th mission. He was the only crewmember of the Duchess to die during its 59 missions in World War II.

Older brother Mark transferred and took Jack’s place, completing the Duchess’ tour in Europe. Mark was later assigned to a different B-17, which was shot down over the North Sea near Kiel, Germany on May 14, 1943. Mark was lost just two months after his younger brother, Jack. Mark’s body was never recovered.

Jack was laid to rest near his hometown. To honor the Mathis brothers’ service and sacrifice, the San Angelo Regional Airport was renamed “Mathis Field” in 1988.

Sources
National WWII Museum: Jack W. Mathis’ Medal of Honor
Congressional Medal of Honor Society: Jack Warren Mathis
U.S. Department of Defense: Medal of Honor Monday: Army Air Corps 1st Lt. Jack Mathis
National Museum of the United States Air Force: A Test of Courage: 1st Lt. Jack W. Mathis
Air Force Historical Support Division: Mathis—1st Lt Jack W Mathis
HonorStates.org: Jack Warren Mathis
Burial Site: Find a Grave