Ken Harbaugh tells the stories of service members who have distinguished themselves through an act of valor. These stories feature recipients from the Civil War to present day, including a few who were originally overlooked for the medal.
Colonel William A. Shomo served as a pilot in the pacific theater during World War II. While on a reconnaissance mission, Shomo and his wingman encountered a Japanese bomber convoy and attacked despite being outnumbered 13 to 2. Together they destroyed 10 enemy aircraft, and the remaining three were forced to flee. Shomo earned the Medal of Honor for destroying 7 of those enemies.
Welcome to the Medal of Honor podcast, brought to you in partnership with the National Medal of Honor Museum. I’m Ken Harbaugh. In each episode, we’ll learn about a different service member who has distinguished him or herself through an act of valor.
William Arthur Shomo was born on May 30th, 1918 in Jeannette, Pennsylvania. He briefly worked as a mortician before enlisting in the Aviation Cadet Program at 23 years old. Shomo became a pilot and served in the Pacific Theatre during World War II.
On January 11th, 1944, then Major Shomo was flying a reconnaissance mission with one other pilot near Luzon, an island in the Philippeans. On their way to the objective, Shomo and his wingman spotted a Japanese Betty bomber escorted by 12 fighters flying above them. At this point in his career, Shomo had never faced an enemy aircraft in combat, so he was excited to finally get a crack at it.
Although it was 2 against 13, Shomo immediately ordered an attack on the formation. He flew up and fired, quickly disposing of an enemy fighter. He then turned his sights to another fighter from the left side of the formation. He hit the target, causing it to fall down in flames. The Japanese weren’t going to let this slide. They mounted their own attack on Shomo, so he maneuvered around to the other side of the formation and fired on a third fighter, causing it to explode. He then swooped under the formation and fired at the underside of the bomber, and destroyed it in one burst. As he pulled back up, he saw an enemy fighter flying directly at him. He fired and shot down the oncoming enemy before gaining altitude to dive at the remaining enemies. As he descended he destroyed another enemy, and then dove deeper to only 300ft in pursuit of another. With a short burst, it was sent up in flames.
During this time, Shomo’s wingman destroyed 3 other enemy fighters, meaning only three remained. They fled through cloud cover and escaped.
On April 3rd, 1945, Col William A. Shomo was awarded the Medal of Honor for his spectacular feats against the Japanese formation. In his Medal of Honor citation, it states “destroying seven enemy aircraft in one action is unparalleled in the southwest Pacific area”.
Colonel William A. Shomo served as a pilot in the pacific theater during World War II. While on a reconnaissance mission, Shomo and his wingman encountered a Japanese bomber convoy and attacked despite being outnumbered 13 to 2. Together they destroyed 10 enemy aircraft, and the remaining three were forced to flee. Shomo earned the Medal of Honor for destroying 7 of those enemies.
The Medal of Honor podcast is a production of Evergreen Podcasts.
Nathan Corson is our executive producer and mixing engineer, Declan Rohrs is our associate producer, scriptwriter, and recording engineer, and I’m Ken Harbaugh.
We are proud to support the National Medal of Honor Museum. To learn more, and to support their mission, go to mohmuseum.org. Thanks for listening.
