South Park Township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Archie Mathies Memorial

Photographed by Bradley Owen, November 8, 2024

1. Archie Mathies Memorial

Inscription.
Staff Sergeant
U.S. Army Air Corps

Posthumously awarded Congressional Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry

Born June 3 1918
at Stonehouse Scotland
Killed in action over enemy occupied Europe in the flying fortress Mizpah February 20 1944

Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friend

And these too died that man might live in freedom

William S Batelli • Albert Markiewicz • Eugene Oresti • Harold Simmons • Jasper Fields • Martin J Kellar • John Jacoby
Korea
James C Gilchrist • Walter Hallam • Robert A Kennel • Raymond B Stump • Edward Anetsky • Owen Bell • John Collins • G M Prosser Jr. • Frank M Borchick • Walter P Ozesky • William E Newhouse • Bernard Comis • Milford Charles • Joseph Tobiczyk • Edward L Drexler Jr. • Joseph G Slovak • Eugene Mathias • Edward Dobrowolski • Edward Klimazek • Anthony Swatko Jr.
Vietnam
Ronald J Stilley • William Scott • William E Guseman III.

Erected 1976 by United Mine Workers of America Local 73 and District 5 and Friends and Fellow Employees of Pittsburgh Coal Company.

Topics and series. This

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memorial is listed in this topic list: Military. In addition, it is included in the Medal of Honor Recipients series list. A significant historical date for this entry is February 20, 1944.

Location. 40° 17.211′ N, 80° 1.261′ W. Memorial is in South Park, Pennsylvania, in Allegheny County. It is in South Park Township. It is on Brownsville and Library Road 0.1 miles east of Library Road (Pennsylvania Route 88), on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 4106 Brownsville and Library Road, South Park PA 15129, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in Greater Pittsburgh.

It is also in the American Northeast,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Early Days of the Big Fair

Photographed by Bradley Owen, November 8, 2024

2. Archie Mathies Memorial

(approx. 1.8 miles away); The End of the Big Fair Days (approx. 1.8 miles away); Why is this tower here? (approx. 1.8 miles away); Light Battery "B" (approx. 1.8 miles away); 18th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry (approx. 1.8 miles away); Lieutenant Friend W. Jenkins (approx. 1.8 miles away); 14th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry (approx. 1.8 miles away); Military Order of the Purple Heart (approx. 1.8 miles away).

Regarding Archie Mathies Memorial. Medal of Honor Citation for Archie Mathies:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy in connection with a bombing mission over enemy-occupied Europe on February 20, 1944. The aircraft on which Sgt. Mathies was serving as flight engineer and ball turret gunner was attacked by a squadron of enemy fighters with the result that the co-pilot was killed outright, the pilot wounded and rendered unconscious, the radio operator wounded and the plane severely damaged. Nevertheless, Sgt. Mathies and other members of the crew managed to right the plane and fly it back to their home station, where they contacted the control

Photographed by Bradley Owen, November 8, 2024

3. Archie Mathies Memorial

tower and reported the situation. Sgt. Mathies and the navigator volunteered to attempt to land the plane. Other members of the crew were ordered to jump, leaving Sgt. Mathies and the navigator aboard. After observing the distressed aircraft from another plane, Sgt. Mathies' commanding officer decided the damaged plane could not be landed by the inexperienced crew and ordered them to abandon it and parachute to safety. Demonstrating unsurpassed courage and heroism, Sgt. Mathies and the navigator replied that the pilot was still alive but could not be moved and they would not desert him. They were then told to attempt a landing. After two unsuccessful efforts, the plane crashed into an open field in a third attempt to land. Sgt. Mathies, the navigator, and the wounded pilot were killed.

Credits. This page was last revised on November 13, 2024. It was originally submitted on November 13, 2024, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. This page has been viewed 132 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 13, 2024, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia.