Heros of world war 2

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR to MAJOR GREGORY BOYINGTON UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS RESERVE for service as set forth in the following CITATION

For extraordinary heroism above and beyond the call of duty as Commanding Officer of Marine Fighting Squadron TWO FOURTEEN in action against enemy Japanese forces in Central Solomons Area from 12 sept 1943 to  3 jan 1944. Consistently outnumbered throughout successive hazardous flights over heavily defended hostile territory, Major Boyington struck at the enemy with daring and courageous persistence, leading his squadron into combat with devastating results to Japanese shipping, shore installations and aerial forces. Resolute in his efforts to inflict crippling damage on the enemy, Major Boyington led a formation of twenty-four fighters over Kahili on 17 October  and, persistently circling the airdrome where sixty hostile aircraft were grounded, boldly challenged the Japanese to send up planes. Under his brilliant command, our fighters shot down twenty enemy craft in the ensuing action without the loss of a single ship. A superb airman and determined fighter against overwhelming odds, Major Boyington personally destroyed 26 of the many Japanese planes shot down by his squadron and by his forceful leadership developed the combat readiness in his command which was a distinctive factor in the Allied aerial achievements in this vitally strategic area.

/S/FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

Boyington won the Congressional Medal of Honor in World War II, when as a Marine pilot he was credited with downing 28 Japanese aircraft. For three months in 1943-44 he led Marine Fighting Squadron #214, the so-called "Black Sheep Squadron," in the Solomon Islands. During that time the squadron was credited with 97 confirmed kills of enemy aircraft. In January 1944 Boyington was shot down and captured by the Japanese and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner

 

 

 

Francis(Gabby). Gabreski, achieved 31 victories over Europe in World War II before he was imprisoned in a German stalag. In Korea 5 years later, he was credited with  another 6 1/2 airplanes. He attended Notre Dame University where he learned to fly before joining the Army Air Corps. After graduating from flying school at Maxwell Field, Alabama, he was stationed at Wheeler Field, Hawaii, where he had his first taste of combat during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Shortly thereafter, he was assigned to England where he flew 20 Spitfire sorties as a liaison officer with a Polish squadron in the Royal Air Force. When American men and supplies began to arrive in England, Gabreski transitioned to the P-47 with the 61st Fighter Squadron and began scoring victories. His determination and aggressiveness were well known, he became famous for holding fire until he was sure of hitting an enemy aircraft. He went on to accumulate 31 victories, the best by any other American in Europe. Under his leadership, his squadron also became the first American unit to achieve 100 victories. In July 1944  he was captured following a crash behind German lines.

 Major, U.S. Army Air Corps. Place and date: Over Borneo and Leyte, 10 October to 15 November 1944. Entered service at: Poplar, Wis. Birth: Poplar, Wis. G.O. No.: 90, 8 December 1944. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty in the Southwest Pacific area from 10 October to 15 November 1944. Though assigned to duty as gunnery instructor and neither required nor expected to perform combat duty, Maj. Bong voluntarily and at his own urgent request engaged in repeated combat missions, including unusually hazardous sorties over Balikpapan, Borneo, and in the Leyte area of the Philippines. His aggressiveness and daring resulted in his shooting down 8 enemy aiplanes