Lorain High School - Scimitar Yearbook (Lorain, OH)

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ix my WMM lla fbie in My plane --' ..- . Major ,fofton 19 2?'142CC40 V i f ' A . V f, :rj A Aff fn ' 'W A gl,g4'3f - 4-,rjkz i 0. '91 LORAIN HIGH p, SCHOOL 1, 1922 I U UNITED STATES I4 NAVAL ACADEMY ,, 1926 'J ,k A HERO'S DEATH , 1 AT MIDWAY ix Iune 4, 1942 ,-.1 3. 41..- -.,- fsfi 15,--, ' ' -..Q -Y 4 211- .Q- --'N '.4-Q...-f.. '-is 14155: 2 Ti ,f-'- - ,.. 'ti ,ti Q1 Y Y., 'Y ' Y-1.-G v v 4-1 Q I 111, xanax- ,. A 61 .,.,-- ...,N.:-:: 4 Qfi.- ' -- , N .,.,..:-LL-7.1 l- if ....- ..- 1 ,W ' 4,-' 4-f'-' ,.-Q.- ' 1 , X-1 1 -- .,,L. .,.,, , , In - AA, L, ....-...... keg' . ,, ., ,un 45.1-11 1- X Nr 4,-,. ,-.... l 1511-5 1-gg-Rang' .-N -5.-.- 1 ' - v ,-.., if X gn... -Q Q-5 -fs- vunsag, api, -sv-

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'7fze14 'le Jfcune GN August 30, 1942, our Ernie came home . . . Only a day, but Lorain showed HER Admiral what SHE could do . . . khaki jeeps . . . air raid wardens . . . military bands . . . coast guardsmen . . . sailors . . . marines . . . soldiers . . . addresses . . . salutes . . . red, white, and blue . . . screeching horns . . . blaring sirens . . . cheering crowds . . . jammed streets . . . a great man . . . grieving parents visited . . . consoled . . . a true friend . . . a kindly neighbor. A little boy spoke for us all . . . 'fHi, Ernie. Congressman Harter and Superintend- ent Bunn chatted with the Admiral. The Admiral and Governor Bricker saluted the colors. -Phutox by Ralph Dixler, Lomm Iuuwlal ff!! He humbly con soled the Sosnoskis. Commander Racey extended greetings as Mayor VanWag- nen and Lieuten- ant - Commander Stack looked on. He dedicated the memorial shaft with Wfilliam Kratt, Gen. Chairman.

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M . . My Hermit Un! HE DID . . . On the fourth of june, 1942, Major Lofton R. Henderson and his small group of Marine Corps aviators took to the skies over Mid- way to defend the island from an attacking Japanese invasion force . . Major Henderson and his greatly outnumbered group of scout bombers spot- ted the Japanese fleet and launched the attack . . . His plane . . . the leader was hit . . . immediately it burst into flames . . . He deliberately maneuvered his light bomber . . . plunged into the smokestack of an enemy carrier . . . He knew what he was doing . . . It cost him his life . . . but the destruction of the carrier was assured . . . His act of heroism spurred our forces on to that historic sea and air victory . . . That day the sun set . . . A Japanese sun, too, was setting . . . Control of the Pacific was in American hands. In honor of Lofty's supreme sacrifice the United States Navy changed the name of the airfield on Midway from which he launched that epic at- tack . . . Later at Guadalcanal the fighting leathernecksn defending that island also named the blood-soaked airfield there . . . Henderson Field . . in memory of the man who delivered THEIR Answer to Tojo. The whole world knows OUR Lofton Henderson . . . The supreme Sacrifice for Victory . . . was not too great for Lofty . . . His spirit . . . fighting spirit . . . lives on iniLorain High School today. lbkfufay . . . aqencfetfon 7i'efcf . . . guadafcanaf A l I l I f 5 J