Kirby Cowan, a deceased individual, was born in Harrison, AR. He joined the Army Air Corps in 1942. His medallion is being accepted tonight by his widow. At the age of 20, Cowan was assigned as a radio operator and gunner on the B-17 with the 339th Bomb Squadron, 96th Bomb Group, 8th US Air Force. On his 16th bombing mission, his plane was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire, and he bailed out safely. However, he made contact with someone he believed to be a member of the French resistance, who turned out to be a Gestapo double agent. This agent received 10,000 francs for each allied airman handed over. The German Foreign Office classified the 167 captured airmen not as POWs but branded them as terrorists.

Cowan was held in four German prison camps, including Buchenwald, where many executions took place. Prisoners were informed they would be hung by piano wire. Documentary filmmaker Mike Dorsey chronicled this story in his 2011 film "The Lost Airmen of Buchenwald." Members of the German Luftwaffe eventually intervened, fearing Allied retaliation if mistreatment became public. The prisoners were transferred from Buchenwald to a camp run by the German Air Force just ten days before their scheduled execution. In 1945, Cowan returned to the United States and was discharged as a Tech Sergeant in September of that year with a 100% disability rating. He received the Purple Heart, three Air Medals, and the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon with two battle stars.