Royal Flush landed back in England with two engines dead, the intercom and the oxygen system non-functional, and with a large ragged hole in the right wing.

On September 10, 1944, Rosenthal's B-17G Terrible Termite (s/n 42-97770), flying on a mission to bomb Nuremberg, was hit by flak and crash-landed around Reims in German-occupied France.

Suffering from a broken arm and nose, he was pulled from the cockpit unconscious by Free French, flown back to England, and woke up at a hospital in Oxford.

Rosenthal was assigned to a desk job at wing headquarters, but he managed to return to the 100th Bomb Group and take command of his old squadron, the 418th.

[11] Army Presidential Unit Citation For extraordinary heroism in action against the enemy on February 3, 1945, while serving as Air Commander of a Heavy Bombardment Divisions formation attacking the Templehof Marshalling Yards, Berlin, Germany.

Completely disregarding his personal safety and in spite of the imminent danger of explosion, he continued to lead his formation over the target.

The extraordinary heroism, skillful airmanship, and intense determination to complete his assigned mission displayed by Lt. Col. Rosenthal on this occasion are in keeping with the highest tradition of the Armed Forces of the United States.

[13] Robert Rosenthal married Phillis Heller (1918–2011), whom he met on the ocean voyage to Germany, who served as a WAVE, and was also another lawyer on the prosecutorial staff for the trials, in Nuremberg, and they had 3 children (Peggy, Steve & Dan); he died on April 20, 2007, at age 89 in White Plains, New York.