Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Second Lieutenant (Pilot Officer)

Unit:

93rd Squadron, 439th Troop Carrier Group, 50th Troop Carrier Wing, IX Troop Carrier Command, Ninth Air Force U.S.A.A.F.

2nd Lieutenant Marvin Muir was flying the lead plane in a flight of the 439th Troop Carrier Group USAAF during mission Albany, the parachute combat assault at night by the U.S. 101st Airborne Division on 6 June 1944 as part of the American airborne landings in Normandy. His Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota was hit by enemy fire and bursted into flames only two and a half minutes away from the drop area. Although forced to leave the formation, he stuck to his post, battling the controls to accomplish his mission effectively and to drop his paratroopers in the assigned DZ. In a vain effort, he tried to crash-land the flaming plane hoping to save the trapped crew. The plane crashed at Sainte Mere Eglise. For holding his burning aircraft under control until the paratroopers aboard could exit, sacrificing himself and his crew he was posthumously awarded the DSC.

Posthumously awarded. Citation unavailable.