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Namesake
Demas T. Craw was born in Long Lake Township Michigan, served briefly in World War 1, was discharged and then entered the U.S. Military Academy in
1920.
He applied for pilot training with the Air Service in 1926 and joined the 1st Pursuit Group at Selfridge Field, Michigan. He transferred his commission to the Air
Corps on March 21, 1928, and was promoted to first lieutenant on January 3, 1930.
In October, 1942, Colonel Craw was named air officer for Maj. General Lucian K. Truscott, commanding one of the sub-task forces, Force Goalpost, of Operation Torch,
an amphibious invasion of North Africa. He sailed with the invasion force from Virginia and while en route, volunteered to assist another Army Air Forces officer, Maj.
Pierpont M. Hamilton, Truscott's intelligence officer, in delivering a message to the local French commander near Port Lyautey, French Morocco, to broker a cease fire,
should French forces resist. As their jeep approached the French headquarters, Craw was instantly killed by a burst of machine gun fire from a hidden position. Hamilton and his driver were
captured, but eventually completed the mission and arranged the surrender of French forces.
Craw and Maj. Pierpont M. Hamilton were the first Army Air Forces recipients of the Medal of Honor in the European-Mediterranean theater of World War II and the only AAF
members to be awarded that decoration for valor not involving air combat. |
Tommy Trampp |
Humanitarian Service
Medal of Honor Citation for Col. Demas T. Craw USA
