John L. Jerstad
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John Louis Jerstad was a United States Army Air Forces officer who was posthumously awarded the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. He received the medal for his actions as a B-24 pilot during a raid on Ploieşti, Romania, in World War II.
Roy Grinnell's painting Fire over Ploesti depicts Jerstad's badly damaged bomber over the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania
John L. Jerstad, U.S. Air Force Photo
Jerstad's grave at Ardennes American Cemetery
Operation Tidal Wave
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Operation Tidal Wave was an air attack by bombers of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) based in Libya on nine oil refineries around Ploiești, Romania on 1 August 1943, during World War II. It was a strategic bombing mission and part of the "oil campaign" to deny petroleum-based fuel to the Axis powers. The mission resulted in "no curtailment of overall product output".
A B-24 Liberator called Sandman during a bomb run over the Ploiești Astra Română refinery during Operation Tidal Wave
Approximate route of flight to Ploiești on August 1, 1943
The attack on the Astra Română refinery
Flames from the distillation plant of Steaua Română after the raid