80 Years After Surviving His Final B-25 Mission in WWII, Quentin Stambaugh Got His Purple Heart 

Almost exactly 80 years to the day after narrowly surviving a harrowing B-25 mission in World War II’s Pacific theater, 101-year-old retired Tech. Sgt. Quentin Stambaugh, was awarded the Purple Heart and Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster on August 15, 2025. The long-overdue Purple Heart was presented by AFA President & CEO, Lt. Gen. Burt Field, USAF (Ret.), who once commanded the 5th Air Force in Japan—the very unit Stambaugh served in during the war.

In the final seven months of World War II, Stambaugh flew 39 combat missions as a radioman and tail gunner on B-25 bombers with the 498th Bomb Squadron in the Pacific theater. He recalls several near-death experiences during these missions, but it was his very last sortie on August 10, 1945—just a few short weeks before the war’s end— that would change his life forever. 

Stambaugh’s squadron was making a run to bomb a Japanese convoy in the South China sea when his plane and another B-25 made a low-altitude skip-bombing attack. But when the other B-25 dropped its load a moment too early, Stambaugh’s aircraft was caught in a geyser caused by the explosion. The blast threw him against the canopy, blinded him with water, and wounded his face. 

For a moment, Stambaugh remembers thinking the plane was going down. When he realized the pilot had somehow steadied the plane and was trying to lift, he scrambled back to his post at the tail gun. Still bleeding and still disoriented, Stambaugh fended off the pursuing Japanese “Zero” fighters until his crew brought their battered bomber back to base. 

“It was a war we don’t want to talk much about,” Stambaugh said quietly. “Some of us lived through it, some didn’t—mostly didn’t. We had so many losses.” 

Although his wounds and aerial valor merited official recognition, a variety of logistical mishaps—including missing paperwork and the loss of his records in the 1973 St. Louis archives fire—meant Stambaugh would spend 80 long years with a story and a wound, but no medals. That changed this month, thanks to the persistence of fellow veterans and advocates, including Lt. Col. Dave Olafson, USAF (Ret.), Tara Wenzel, David Sample, and Dan Matthews, whose research helped the U.S. Army secure the long overdue decorations honoring Stambaugh’s heroic actions in the final days of World War II.  

“It’s really fitting that we’re doing it today, because today is the anniversary of V-J Day—victory in the Far East,” Field remarked at the opening of the Purple Heart ceremony in Spring Grove, Pa., where Stambaugh lives not far from his childhood home. Field also remarked that as the former commander of the 5th Air Force in Japan, he was privileged to be able to connect his personal service to Stambaugh’s—which in turn demonstrates the Air & Space Forces Association’s mission to remember and respect our enduring heritage. 

The ceremony drew a crowd of veterans, local leaders, and community members who came to celebrate an Airman whose service embodies the grit and sacrifice of the “Greatest Generation.” 

“When I look at this gathering today, I can’t ask for anything else,” Stambaugh said. “I appreciate this so much.” 

Among the guests was Sgt. Harold “Bud” Pressel Jr., a World War II veteran who earned his long-overdue medal for combat in the European Theater earlier this year. Invited to take part in the day’s events, Pressel’s presence was a highlight, and Field later sat down with both him and Stambaugh to capture and share their stories and wisdom with future generations of Airmen. (Watch Pressel’s interview here.)

“When I started into the Air Force, people would talk about [standing] on the shoulders of giants. That’s the giant on whose shoulders we stand,” Field told the assembly, pointing to Stambaugh. “When you celebrate our heritage, it makes you wise… That’s one of the reasons we still cling to this.” 

View the full ceremony video here.