Lieutenant Colonel Robert "Rosie" Rosenthal was a highly decorated pilot in the Eighth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces in World War II, receiving sixteen awards including the Distinguished Service Cross for "extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against the enemy," the Silver Star for "gallantry in action," the Distinguished Flying Cross for "heroism or extraordinary achievement during aerial flight," the Air Medal and the Purple Heart, as well as the Distinguished Flying Cross from Great Britain and the Croix de Guerre from France. Intelligence Officer Marvin Bowman is quoted describing Rosenthal as "one of the great figures of the Air Force; a shy, modest, and patriotic gentleman of truly amazing courage and achievement." Rosenthal was a graduate of Brooklyn College and Brooklyn Law School, and had been working at a law firm in Manhattan when the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor. He enlisted in the United States Army on December 8, 1941 and requested to be trained for combat. 

June 11th, 1917 in Brooklyn  /  Died:   Apr 20th, 2007