Texas A and M University - Aggieland Yearbook (College Station, TX)

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Aim MEDAL OF HOAIOR mBmmmmBnBunmaMmMMM amagB aMBma H x amn amHmBUBBBgsmmisHmmBBamsBU IS lost coveted of the five awards the 7 [avy is authorized to present to 7 [aval and Marine Corps personnel in recog ' nition of heroic action or distinguished service is the 7 [avy Medal of Honor. This medal, li e its counterpart in the Army is by law presented in the name of Congress. The first recognition of a Tfaval victory was by Com gress on October 16, 1787, when it was resolved “That a medal of gold be strucfi and presented to the Chevalier John Paul Jones in commemoration of the valour and brilliant services of that officer in the command of a squadron of French and American ships under the flag of the United States off the coast of Great Britain in the late warT In 1915, the award was authorized for officers of the FJavy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. In the Act of February 4, 1919, provision was made for a new medal. This medal, lifie the first, is worn at the nec as a pendant, but in contrast to the older medal which is suspended direct from the ribbon band worn around the nec , the new medal is suspended direct from the band by means of its ribbon. i i m i e m d

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I ■1 wm. Lieutenant Commander O’Hare was born in St. Louis, Missouri, March 13, 1914. In June, 1937, he graduated from the United States Naval Academy, and was commissioned En¬ sign. In 1939, he reported to the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida, for aviation instruction. Upon completion of the course there, he was designated Naval Aviator and assigned to duty with fighting squadrons, U. S. Fleet. He was advanced thirty numbers in his permanent rank of Lieutenant (junior grade) and advanced to the rank of Lieutenant Commander (temporary) for meritorious conduct. He was presented the Navy Congressional Medal of Honor by the President of the Unite d States with the following citation: “For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in aerial combat, at grave ris of his life above and beyond the call of duty, as section leader and pilot of Fighting Squadron Three, when on February 20, 1942, having lost the assistance of his teammates, he interposed his plane between his ship and an advancing enemy formation of nine attaching twimengined heavy bombers. ’Without hesitation, alone and unaided, he repeatedly attached this enemy formation at close range in the face of their intense combined machine gun and cannon fire, and despite this cor centrated opposition, he, by his gallant and courageous ac oti his extremely skillful marfismanship, making the most of every shot of his limited amount of ammunition, shot down five enemy bombers and severely damaged a sixth before they reached the bomb release point. “As a result of his gallant action, one of the most daring, if not the most daring single action in the history of combat aviation, he undoubtedly saved his carrier from serious damage.”

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. . . symbolic tribute to every Aggie’s memory of Aggieland.