Sgt. Monte White's Silver Star

On the sixteenth anniversary of his death, we revisit the heroism of Sgt. Monte B. White.

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The highest honor given to a participant in the Linz mission of 25 April 1945 was the Silver Star, awarded to Sgt. Monte B. White of the 485th Bomb Group. The Silver Star is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. This distinction was in addition to the Purple Heart, which White was awarded for his flak wound in the shoulder over Linz, as well as four Bronze Stars, the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, and a Presidential Unit Citation.

Though White's Silver Star citation is transcribed in the appendix of Bombing Hitler's Hometown, I thought I would post the original. (Note that the citation incorrectly states that White was a member of the 454th Bomb Group.)

And now an excerpt from Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) 13995, which detailed the loss of the aircraft based on observations of other airmen in the formation who saw the plane go down and, once the crew men were recovered, what they witnessed during the events. This particular testimonial is from Sgt. Leon R. Wilkins, one of the waist gunners. His quote, "Rest (of us) were just scared," appears in Bombing Hitler's Hometown (page 91).

Monte White was born on 11 October 1924 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. After the war, he attended Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, graduating in 1951. He and his wife Sheril moved to Texas in the late 1960s, and Monte bought and ran multiple car dealerships in the Dallas area.

Monte White passed away in 2006 at age 81. Click here to read his obituary. Thank you, sir, for your service.