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Hellcat and Corsair pilot and WW2 Ace passed away Wednesday, April 6th. He was a volunteer on the USS Yorktown, and a heck of a nice guy.
On August 12, 1942, he joined the V-5 Navy cadet program in Pensacola. He was awarded his wings and was commissioned as an Ensign. During World War II, he was a member of the VF-23 and VF-27 squadrons and was stationed aboard the USS Princeton and the USS Independence. Flying his F6F Hellcat, he shot down six and a half planes which earned him the title of Ace pilot. While aboard the Princeton, the aircraft carrier was hit by a lone Kamikaze and sunk. For his service, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with two gold stars and the Air Medal with three gold stars. He was recalled into active duty in 1951 and served two years flying his Corsair off the USS Tarawa protecting the Mediterranean during the Korean War. Les continued to serve his country in the Naval Reserves during which time he served as skipper of a S2F anti-sub squadron. He retired as Commander in 1966. ( From the Charleston, SC, Post & Courier April 7, 2011)
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If God had intended airplane engines to have horizontally-opposed cylinders, Pratt & Whitney would have built them that way.
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