Demas T. Craw

Demas Thurlow Nick Craw was a United States Army Air Forces officer and a recipient of the United States militarys highest decorationthe Medal of Honorfor his actions in World War II. Craw and Maj. Pierpont M. Hamilton were the first Army Air Forces recipients of the Medal in the EuropeanMediterranean theater of World War II and the only AAF members to be awarded that decoration for valor not involving air combat.

Craw was born in Long Lake Township, Michigan, to Mark Craw, a game warden, and his wife Clara. He was twin brother to Theron Craw, who died in a hunting accident in 1927. A younger sister, Jane, became a registered nurse and served in the Army Nurse Corps during World War II. The twins attended Traverse City public schools, but dropped out of Traverse City Central High School during World War I to enlist in the United States Army on April 18, 1918, at Columbus Barracks, Ohio. Craw was sent to Camp Stanley, Texas, for training with the 12th Cavalry, then transferred to Columbus, New Mexico, on the border with Mexico. He was promoted to private first class in November 1918 and sent to Machine Gun School at Camp Hancock, Georgia. There he applied for and was selected to attend the Central Officers Training School at Camp Gordon, Georgia.

Source: Wikipedia