At 6-foot-4, he was a naturally gifted athlete and played baseball and football at Michigan, and is one of only two Major League Baseball players killed in action during World War II.



In 1941, Gedeon transferred to the Army Air Corps. He earned his pilot's wings and a commission as a second lieutenant at Williams Field near Phoenix in May 1942, and trained with the 21st Bomb Group at MacDill Field in Tampa.



Flight training was always a hazardous time and almost claimed the 25-year-old’s life on August 9, 1942. Gedeon was the navigator in a North American B-25 Mitchell medium-sized bomber that crashed on take off and burst into flames at Raleigh, North Carolina. Despite suffering three broken ribs, he managed to free himself and crawl from the wreckage, then realized a crewmate – Corporal Barrat was still inside. Without a moment’s hesitation, Gedeon went back inside the burning plane and pulled Barrat to safety. Gedeon was promoted to first lieutenant and awarded the Soldiers' Medal for his heroics in a ceremony at MacDill Field.



In July 1943, Gedeon began training on Martin B-26 Marauders at Ardmore Army Air Field in Oklahoma. By the following month he was flying combat simulations and high altitude bombing practice in preparation for overseas duty with the 394th Bomb Group.



In February 1944, Captain Gedeon arrived at Boreham Airfield in England with the 586th Bomb Squadron of the 394th Bomb Group. “Gedeon was the Operations Officer for the 586th,” recalls James Taaffe, his co-pilot at the time. “He had a delightful sense of humor and was a super gentleman.”



See more at : http://www.baseballinwartime.com/player_biographies/gedeon_elmer.htm