Today marks the anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Midway. I've
covered Midway before, and the
Navy has a good website on Midway, as one would hope and expect. Today at the Castle, our Midway focus is on a warrior whose actions this day and the next in 1942 earned him the Medal of Honor - Richard Fleming, Captain, USMCR.
*FLEMING, RICHARD E.
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Born: 2 November 1917, St. Paul, Minn. Appointed from: Minnesota. Citation: For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty as Flight Officer, Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 241, during action against enemy Japanese forces in the battle of Midway on 4 and 5 June 1942. When his Squadron Commander was shot down during the initial attack upon an enemy aircraft carrier, Capt. Fleming led the remainder of the division with such fearless determination that he dived his own plane to the perilously low altitude of 400 feet before releasing his bomb. Although his craft was riddled by 179 hits in the blistering hail of fire that burst upon him from Japanese fighter guns and antiaircraft batteries, he pulled out with only 2 minor wounds inflicted upon himself. On the night of 4 June, when the squadron commander lost his way and became separated from the others, Capt. Fleming brought his own plane in for a safe landing at its base despite hazardous weather conditions and total darkness. The following day, after less than 4 hours' sleep, he led the second division of his squadron in a coordinated glide-bombing and dive-bombing assault upon a Japanese battleship. Undeterred by a fateful approach glide, during which his ship was struck and set afire, he grimly pressed home his attack to an altitude of 500 feet, released his bomb to score a near miss on the stern of his target, then crashed to the sea in flames. His dauntless perseverance and unyielding devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
An excellent book about Midway has come out in the last few years that takes advantage of new scholarship (well, old scholarship by the Japanese newly discovered by the Americans, more accurately put) that leverages Japanese archives to give a much fuller understanding of what happened at Midway from the Japanese point of view.
Shattered Sword.
Of course, the war spanned several 4ths of June, and unsurprisingly there was another Medal of Honor earned on the 4th - this time in 1944, off the west coast of Africa, where Admiral Dan Gallery directed the
US Navy's first boarding and
capture of a hostile naval vessel at sea since 1815. Then-Captain Gallery didn't lead the boarding party himself, that honor went ot Lieutenant Junior Grade Albert David, who was awarded the Medal of Honor to go with his two Navy Crosses.
*DAVID, ALBERT LEROY
Rank and organization: Lieutenant, Junior Grade, U.S. Navy. Born: 18 July 1902, Maryville, Mo. Accredited to: Missouri. Other Navy award: Navy Cross with gold star. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while attached to the U.S.S. Pillsbury during the capture of an enemy German submarine off French West Africa, 4 June 1944. Taking a vigorous part in the skillfully coordinated attack on the German U-505 which climaxed a prolonged search by the Task Group, Lt. (then Lt. j.g.) David boldly led a party from the Pillsbury in boarding the hostile submarine as it circled erratically at 5 or 6 knots on the surface. Fully aware that the U-boat might momentarily sink or be blown up by exploding demolition and scuttling charges, he braved the added danger of enemy gunfire to plunge through the conning tower hatch and, with his small party, exerted every effort to keep the ship afloat and to assist the succeeding and more fully equipped salvage parties in making the U-505 seaworthy for the long tow across the Atlantic to a U.S. port. By his valiant service during the first successful boarding and capture of an enemy man-o-war on the high seas by the U.S. Navy since 1815, Lt. David contributed materially to the effectiveness of our Battle of the Atlantic and upheld the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
The U505 was prevented from sinking and was towed back to the United States. She is on exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. The Navy Oral History interview with Admiral Gallery is here. Admiral Gallery's *excellent* book on the submarine and her capture is available used at Amazon.
Lieutenant David was a rather elderly Lieutenant Junior Grade, being 42 when the action occurred. And he was clearly a brave man, having *two* Navy Crosses to go with his Medal of Honor.
*Indicates a posthumous award. In the case of Lieutenant David, it was because he died of a heart attack before the award could be made.
Read the complete post at http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2014/06/todays_medal_of_350.html
Posted
Jun 04 2014, 08:16 AM
by
Argghhh! The Home Of Two Of Jonah's Military Guys..