The National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation (NMOHMF), in partnership with the National Naval Aviation Museum (NNAM) in Pensacola, Florida, and the Air Zoo Aerospace & Science Center in Kalamazoo,
During the opening chapters of World War II in the Pacific Theater, Navy and Marine Corps aviators were thrust into some of the most perilous and challenging air actions in American history. Flying the Grumman F4F Wildcat fighter, eight different American fighter aces would go on to earn the Medal of Honor – our nation’s highest decoration for military combat. No other fixed-wing, single-engined aircraft has more Medal of Honor actions associated with it than the Wildcat.
Date of Action: October 1942-January 1943 Squadron: Marine Fighting Squadron 121 (VMF-121) Location: Over and Near Guadalcanal Island Joe Foss was a United States Marine Corps pilot and one of the
Date of Action: April 7, 1943 Squadron: Marine Fighting Squadron 221 (VMF-221) Location: Near Guadalcanal Island James “Zeke” Swett, was commissioned as a Marine Corps second lieutenant on April 16,
Date of Action: January 31, 1943 Squadron: Marine Fighting Squadron 112 (VMF-112) Location: Near Kolombangara Island Commissioned in April of 1942, Jefferson De Blanc had only 290 hours of flying
Date of Action: October 16, 1942 Squadron: Marine Fighting Squadron 212 (VMF-212) Location: Near Guadalcanal Island Harold “Joe” Bauer graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1930 and earned
Date of Action: February 20, 1942 Squadron: Fighting Squadron 3 (VF-3), USS Lexington (CV-2) Location: Near New Britain Island Edward O’Hare grew up in an affluent family in St. Louis,
Date of Action: September-October 1942 Squadron: Marine Fighting Squadron 224 (VMF-224) Location: Near Guadalcanal Island He shouldn’t have even been at Guadalcanal. Robert “Bob” Galer was originally slated to be
Date of Action: August-October 1942 Squadron: Marine Fighting Squadron 223 (VMF-223) Location: Guadalcanal Island John Smith from Lexington, Oklahoma wanted to be an accountant. In 1936 he graduated from the University
Date of Action: December 8-23, 1941 Squadron: Marine Fighting Squadron 211 (VMF-211) Location: Wake Island Raised outside of Thomasville, Georgia, Henry Talmadge Elrod grew up to be a young man
Through education, leadership, and inspiring spaces for learning and reflection, the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation preserves and expands the impact of the 3,517 awarded Medal of Honor recipients and the more than 40 million Americans who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces since the Civil War.