Neel E. Kearby
Neel Ernest Kearby | |
---|---|
348th Fighter Group | |
Commands held | 14th Pursuit Squadron 348th Fighter Group |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards | Medal of Honor Silver Star (2) Distinguished Flying Cross (4) Purple Heart Air Medal (5) |
Relations | Virginia Kearby (wife) |
Neel Ernest Kearby (June 5, 1911 – March 5, 1944) was a
Early life
Kearby was born in
Military career
Kearby joined the
World War II
Kearby then served with the
He was transferred in October 1942 to
The 348th used the P-47's flight characteristics to their advantage. They used their turbo supercharged engines to fly at high altitude to the target and dove on the Japanese planes before firing their eight .50-caliber machine guns on the lightly armored enemy aircraft.
Kearby opened his score on September 4, 1943, with a
He flew an aircraft bearing the name "Fiery Ginger". There were several planes with this title in the
Medal of Honor mission
On October 11, 1943, Kearby led four P-47s on a fighter sweep over the Japanese base at Wewak, and ran into 40 Japanese Army fighters. The ensuing combat lasted close to an hour, and when it was over, Kearby had shot down six enemy planes, which included four Nakajima Ki-43s and two Kawasaki Ki-61s.[2]
Two other pilots had downed three Ki-61s between them for a total of nine Japanese fighters shot down without loss. This made Kearby the first P-47 ace of the Pacific Theater of Operations, and set a United States Army Air Forces record for most victories in a single mission.
Upon hearing of this aerial victory, General
The American record for most victories in single mission is nine, set a year later by
Postwar evaluation of Japanese records showed that only two of the nine victories credited on the Medal of Honor mission were valid, although three other Japanese fighters were damaged. However, the two losses were a squadron leader and a wing commander.
Post mission
In November 1943, with 12 victories to his credit, Kearby was transferred to the headquarters of the 5th Air Force Fighter Command. Despite his assignment to administrative duties, Kearby still wanted to be in combat. He flew missions whenever he could, and his victory tally continued to rise. For a time Kearby was in competition with Richard Bong to be the leading Army ace of the Pacific Theater. Like Kearby, Bong was not assigned to a combat unit at the time and flew in addition to his assigned duty of instructor in order to stay in combat.
During early March 1944, fighter pilots Bong and
By March 1944, Kearby had 21 kills to his credit.
Death
On March 5, 1944, Kearby took off on a combat patrol with Captain William D. Dunham and Major Samuel Blair to search for Japanese aircraft. Flying his personal aircraft "Fiery Ginger IV" he proceeded towards the Tadji area. They spotted enemy aircraft over Wewak, and intercepted three Kawasaki Ki-48s of the 208th Sentai approaching Dagua Airfield.
Kearby opened fire on one aircraft, but did not observe it to go down and made a complete circle to attack it again. While performing this maneuver, he was attacked by a
Kearby was observed by local people on the ground to have escaped by parachute and as he descended he became tangled in a tree and died of bullet wounds from the attack.[2] His remains were found in 1947 by a Royal Australian Air Force search team, but they were not identified until two years later. He was buried in Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in July 1949.
Personal life
Kearby was married to Virginia Cochran, née Shoemaker (1919–1989). They had three children; Robert (1939–1974), John (1941–1977) and Kenneth (1942–1974). All of them died in aircraft accidents.[3]
Military awards and honors
Kearby's military decorations and awards include the following:
Army Air Forces Pilot Badge | ||
Medal of Honor | Silver Star with 1 bronze oak leaf cluster |
Distinguished Flying Cross with 3 bronze oak leaf clusters |
Purple Heart | Air Medal with four bronze oak leaf clusters |
American Defense Service Medal |
American Campaign Medal | campaign stars
|
World War II Victory Medal |
Army Presidential Unit Citation |
Medal of Honor citation
The citation for the Medal of Honor, which was awarded by General Douglas MacArthur, describes his combat heroism:
Place and date: Near Wewak, New Guinea, 11 October 1943. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy, Col. Kearby volunteered to lead a flight of 4 fighters to reconnoiter the strongly defended enemy base at Wewak. Having observed enemy installations and reinforcements at 4 airfields, and secured important tactical information, he saw an enemy fighter below him, made a diving attack and shot it down in flames. The small formation then sighted approximately 12 enemy bombers accompanied by 36 fighters. Although his mission had been completed, his fuel was running low, and the numerical odds were 12 to 1, he gave the signal to attack. Diving into the midst of the enemy airplanes he shot down 3 in quick succession. Observing 1 of his comrades with 2 enemy fighters in pursuit, he destroyed both enemy aircraft. The enemy broke off in large numbers to make a multiple attack on his airplane but despite his peril he made one more pass before seeking cloud protection. Coming into the clear, he called his flight together and led them to a friendly base. Col. Kearby brought down 6 enemy aircraft in this action, undertaken with superb daring after his mission was completed.
Legacy
Colonel Kearby was one of two U.S. fighter pilots to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions while flying the P-47. The other was Raymond L. Knight.
In 1959, a building was named for him at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls. The city of Alexandria, Louisiana, named a street for him near England Air Force Base. In 2010, the Texas Historical Commission and the City of Arlington, Texas, unveiled a historical marker and statue at the city's public library.[4]
Aerial victory credits
Chronicle of aerial victories | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | # | Type | Location | Aircraft flown | Unit Assigned |
September 4, 1943 | 1 | Mitsubishi G4M | Hopoi, New Guinea | P-47D Thunderbolt |
348th FG |
September 4, 1943 | 1 | Nakajima Ki-43 |
Hopoi, New Guinea | P-47D | 348th FG |
September 14, 1943 | 1 | Mitsubishi Ki-46 | Malahang, New Guinea | P-47D | 348th FG |
October 11, 1943 | 4 | Nakajima Ki-43 | Wewak, New Guinea | P-47D | 348th FG |
October 11, 1943 | 2 | Kawasaki Ki-61 | Wewak, New Guinea | P-47D | 348th FG |
October 16, 1943 | 1 | Mitsubishi A6M |
Wewak, New Guinea | P-47D | 348th FG |
October 19, 1943 | 2 | Mitsubishi F1M | Wewak, New Guinea | P-47D | 348th FG |
December 3, 1943 | 3 | Nakajima Ki-43 | Wewak, New Guinea | P-47D | 348th FG |
December 22, 1943 | 1 | Nakajima Ki-43 | Wewak, New Guinea | P-47D | 348th FG |
December 23, 1943 | 1 | Kawasaki Ki-61 | Wewak, New Guinea | P-47D | 348th FG |
January 3, 1944 | 1 | Mitsubishi Ki-21 | Wewak, New Guinea | P-47D | 348th FG |
January 3, 1944 | 1 | Nakajima Ki-43 | Wewak, New Guinea | P-47D | 348th FG |
January 9, 1944 | 2 | Kawasaki Ki-61 | Wewak, New Guinea | P-47D | 348th FG |
March 5, 1944 | 1 | Kawasaki Ki-48 | Wewak, New Guinea | P-47D | 348th FG |
- SOURCES: Air Force Historical Study 85: USAF Credits for the Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, World War II
See also
References
- ^ "Veteran Tributes". www.veterantributes.org.
- ^ a b c d "Wings of Valor II – Neel Kearby". www.homeofheroes.com.
- ^ "Colonel". www.ottocarter.com.
- ^ Bridges, Ken. "Texas History Minute: World War II fighter pilot Col. Neel Kearby".
Further reading
- Stanaway, John (1997). Kearby's Thunderbolts: The 348th Fighter Group in World War II. Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7643-0248-0.
External links
- Leatherwood, Art. "Kearby, Neel E." Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
- "Colonel Neel Kearby: Fire and Ice And the Race to Become the First Top Gun". Wings of Valor II. HomeofHeroes.com. Retrieved 2007-04-12.