Administrative Infomartion

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from Robert E. Femoyer Papers must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Robert E. Femoyer Papers, Ms2000-091, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Robert E. Femoyer Papers were donated to Special Collections in 2000.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Robert E. Femoyer Papers was completed in November 2013.

Biographical Note

Robert E. Femoyer was from Huntington, West Virginia. He attended Virginia Tech as a member of the class of 1944, but he enlisted in the Army Air Force and went on active duty starting in 1943. He studied Civil Engineering while at Virginia Tech. He received a Medal of Honor for his service and is the only navigator who was awarded this honor. He received his Medal for service in a "bombing mission over Germany, he was wounded by enemy aircraft fire, which seriously damaged his B-17 bomber...For two and half hours he guided the lone bomber through six changes in course around enemy antiaircraft concentrations...Thirty minutes after landing he died of wounds." There is a building on Virginia Tech's campus named after him, Femoyer Hall. In addition the Medal of Honor, Femoyer was awarded a posthumous Purple Heart.

Sources: Air Force Archives http://www.armyrotc.vt.edu/aboutus/Medal_Honor.html null

Scope and Content

The collection contains information about Robert Femoyer's life, including his World War II Medal of Honor, citations, photographs, correspondence, and clippings. Materials date from the 1930s to 1990. There are notes from Chapter 5 of Lt. Col. John Coulter's book on Virginia Tech Medal of Honor winners, Ut Prosim "Above & Beyond": The Story of Virginia Tech's Medal of Honor Recipients. Documents include military records and a program from Femoyer's memorial. Some items in the collection are photocopies of the originals. Materials in the collection were gathered during the research process for Coulter's book.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in files either by material type (clippings, photographs, and correspondence) or by subject.

Index Terms

Persons:

• Femoyer, Robert E., 1921-1944

Subjects:

• Medal of Honor
• University Archives
• University History
• Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University