Nathan Green Gordon
Nathan Green Gordon | |
---|---|
Preceded by | James L. Shaver |
Succeeded by | Maurice Britt |
Personal details | |
Born | Morrilton, Arkansas, U.S. | September 4, 1916
Died | September 8, 2008 (aged 92) Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Profession | Lawyer |
Awards | Medal of Honor Distinguished Flying Cross (2) Air Medal (6) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States of America |
Branch/service | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1941–1945 |
Rank | Lieutenant |
Unit | VP-34 "Black Cats" |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Nathan Green Gordon (September 4, 1916 – September 8, 2008) was an American lawyer, politician, and decorated
Biography
Gordon was born in
Gordon practiced law in his hometown of Morrilton before joining the Navy in May 1941. After qualifying as a naval aviator, he was sent to the
By February 15, 1944, he was a
After the war, Gordon formed a business partnership with his brother, Edward Gordon, Jr., and returned to the practice of law in Morrilton.
Gordon did not seek reelection in 1966, with
The Arkansas Aviation Historical Society selected Gordon in 1980 as one of five initial inductees in the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame.
Medal of Honor mission
On February 15, the
Gordon's
After taking off, Gordon was directed twice to pick up nine men of two B-25s that had ditched, forced to shut down one or both engines to effect the rescues, while two other B-25s strafed the Japanese gun positions to suppress their fire. After the PBY started back to base and its fighter escorts had departed, low on fuel, one of the B-25s spotted two rafts and called back the rescue aircraft. Despite heavy seas and a damaged aircraft, Lt.(j.g.) Gordon executed another landing only 600 yards from shore, overflying Japanese gun positions at low level to land, and picked up an additional six airmen. His final takeoff with 24 men aboard was with a dangerously overloaded aircraft, but he managed to keep the Catalina's nose up until he reached flying speed without nosing over in the rough seas.
Gordon received the Medal of Honor in September 1944, and his crew of eight each received the Silver Star.
Medal of Honor citation
Lieutenant Gordon's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
For extraordinary heroism above and beyond the call of duty as commander of a Catalina patrol plane in rescuing personnel of the U.S. Army 5th Air Force shot down in combat over Kavieng Harbor in the Bismarck Sea, February 15, 1944. On air alert in the vicinity of Vitu Islands, Lt. (then Lt. j.g.) Gordon unhesitatingly responded to a report of the crash and flew boldly into the harbor, defying close-range fire from enemy shore guns to make 3 separate landings in full view of the Japanese and pick up 9 men, several of them injured. With his cumbersome flying boat dangerously overloaded, he made a brilliant takeoff despite heavy swells and almost total absence of wind and set a course for base, only to receive the report of another group stranded in a rubber life raft 600 yards from the enemy shore. Promptly turning back, he again risked his life to set his plane down under direct fire of the heaviest defenses of Kavieng and take aboard 6 more survivors, coolly making his fourth dexterous takeoff with 15 rescued officers and men. By his exceptional daring, personal valor, and incomparable airmanship under most perilous conditions, Lieutenant Gordon prevented certain death or capture of our airmen by the Japanese.[4]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Nathan Green Gordon (1916-2008)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
- ^ a b c d "About The Office". Arkansas Lieutenant Governors Office. 2007. Archived from the original on August 27, 2007. Retrieved December 14, 2007.
- ^ a b c "Nathan Gordon Papers". University of Arkansas Libraries. Retrieved December 14, 2007.
- ^ a b c "Medal of Honor recipients – World War II (G–L)". Medal of Honor citations. United States Army Center of Military History. July 16, 2007. Retrieved August 22, 2007.
External links
- "Pacific Wrecks.com: "Nathan G. Gordon, PBY pilot and Medal of Honor"". Archived from the original on July 24, 2010. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
- ""Black Cat Rescue", artwork of rescue mission by Nicholas Trudgian". Retrieved October 4, 2010.
- ""Flight Out of Hell" By Steven D. Smith". Retrieved December 5, 2017.
- Arkansas Lieutenant Governors Office