John Smith (flying ace)

John Lucian Smith (December 26, 1914 – June 9, 1972) was an American

While on temporary duty in Washington after his return from the Pacific, he was presented the Medal of Honor by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 24, 1943.^[4]

After several months' duty in Washington, he served as

For his services in the Philippines during the period November 1944 to June 1945, he was awarded the Legion of Merit for exceedingly meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service as executive officer for Marine Aircraft Group 32 in extensive support of ground and surface forces in the liberation of Luzon, Zamboanga Peninsula, the Sulu Archipelago, and Mindanao.

After his return to the United States in June 1945, he served at the Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida, until December 1945, and then was transferred to Quantico, Virginia, to serve as station operations officer. After his duty there and after performing various duties at

Colonel Smith retired from the Marine Corps on September 1, 1960, after which he worked in the defense industry until his suicide on June 9, 1972, in Encino, Los Angeles, California.^[5] He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.^[6]

Awards and decorations

A complete list of Smith's medals and decorations includes: the Medal of Honor; the Legion of Merit with Combat "V;" the Distinguished Flying Cross; the Bronze Star with Combat "V;" the Air Medal with three Gold Stars, indicative of four awards; the Navy Presidential Unit Citation; the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon with one bronze star; the American Defense Service Medal with Base clasp; the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one silver star, indicative of five bronze stars; the American Campaign Medal; the World War II Victory Medal; the Navy Occupation Service Medal with European clasp; the National Defense Service Medal; Distinguished Service Order; the Korean Service Medal with one bronze star; the United Nations Service Medal; the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one bronze star; the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation; and the Korean Presidential Unit Citation.

Smith was featured on the cover of the 7 December 1942 issue of Life Magazine.^[2]

Medal of Honor citation

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to

for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

For conspicuous gallantry and heroic achievement in aerial combat above and beyond the call of duty as Commanding Officer of Marine Fighting Squadron TWO TWENTY-THREE, during operations against enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands Area, August – September, 1942. Repeatedly risking his life in aggressive and daring attacks, Major Smith led his squadron against a determined force, greatly superior in numbers, personally shooting down sixteen Japanese planes between August 21 and September 15, 1942. In spite of the limited combat experience of many of the pilots of this squadron, they achieved the notable record of a total of eighty-three enemy aircraft destroyed in this period, mainly attributable to the thorough training under Major Smith and to his intrepid and inspiring leadership. His bold tactics and indomitable fighting spirit and the valiant and zealous fortitude of the men of his command not only rendered the enemy's attacks ineffective and costly to them but contributed to the security of our advance base. His loyal and courageous devotion to duty sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

/S/ FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

See also

• Cactus Air Force – VMF-223, with Smith in command, was a part of the Cactus Air Force based out of Henderson Field on Guadalcanal.

References

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.

• "Colonel John Lucian Smith, USMC, Who's Who in Marine Corps History, History Division, United States Marine Corps. Retrieved on 2006-07-15". Archived from the original on February 14, 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
• "Maj John L. Smith, Medal of Honor, 1942, Marine Fighting Squadron 223, Solomon Islands, Medal of Honor citation. Retrieved on 2006-07-15". Archived from the original on July 13, 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2010.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Lucian Smith.

• "John L. Smith – Guadalcanal Ace". USMC Aces of World War Two. AcePilots.com. Retrieved 2006-07-15.