Arthur L. Kemp, Sergeant, 508th Bombardment Squadron,
351st Bombardment Group (H), Army Air Forces, United States Army. For extraordinary achievement while serving as a Tail Gunner of a B-17 airplane on a number of combat bombardment missions over Germany and German occupied countries from 21 June 1944 to 11 December 1944. Sergeant Kemp is credited with flying 35 combat missions and two kills of enemy aircraft. On 28 July 1944, Sergeant Kemp served as tail gunner on a mission over Merseburg, Germany targeting an Oil Factory.
His aircraft was attacked by a Focke-Wulf 190 piloted by a German ace previously credited with 24 air victories. During the encounter, the B-17 turret gunner was killed. As the German ace lined up to shoot down the American B-17 from behind, Sergeant Kemp, who had been decoying that his guns were disabled, shot the Focke-Wulf out of the sky, saving the B-17.
The courage, coolness and skill displayed by Sergeant Kemp on this and other occasions, reflect the highest credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States. Sergeant Kemp grew up in Port Jefferson, Ohio and entered the service from Columbus, Ohio.