Hand Signed/Autographed 8x10 photo Capt Joe Foss WWII Flyer/pilot Medal of Honor

Description: Hand Signed/Autographed 8x10 photo Capt Joe Foss WWII Flyer/pilot Medal of Honor recipient (see bio info posted below from Wikipedia). The photo print is hand signed by him in green ink and the impression of the pen is visible through the glass indicating it is original. Please see photographs for additional details and condition information. Happy to combine shipping. Guadalcanal Flying AceIn October 1942, VMF-121 pilots and aircraft were sent to Guadalcanal as part of Operation Watchtower to relieve VMF-223, which had been fighting for control of the air over the island since mid-August.[10] On October 9, Foss and his group were catapult launched off the USS Copahee escort carrier and flew 350 miles (560 km) north to reach Guadalcanal.[11] The air group, code named "Cactus", based at Henderson Field became known as the Cactus Air Force, and their presence played a pivotal role in the Battle of Guadalcanal.[12] Foss soon gained a reputation for aggressive close-in fighter tactics and uncanny gunnery skills.[13][Note 2] Foss shot down a Japanese Zero on his first combat mission on October 13, but his own F4F Wildcat was shot up as well, and with a dead engine and three more Zeros on his tail, he landed at full speed, with no flaps and minimal control on Henderson Field, barely missing a grove of palm trees.[14] On 7 November his Wildcat was again hit, and he survived a ditching in the sea off the island of Malaita.[15] As lead pilot in his flight of eight Wildcats, the group soon became known as "Foss's Flying Circus", with two sections Foss nicknamed "Farm Boys" and "City Slickers."[13] In December 1942, Foss contracted malaria. He was sent to Sydney, Australia for rehabilitation, where he met Australian ace Clive "Killer" Caldwell and delivered some lectures on operational flying to RAF pilots, newly assigned to the theater.[9] On January 1, 1943, Foss returned to Guadalcanal, to continue combat operations which lasted until February 9, 1943, although the Japanese attacks had waned from the height of the November 1942 crisis.[18] In three months of sustained combat, Foss's Flying Circus had shot down 72 Japanese aircraft, including 26 credited to him.[19] Upon matching the record of 26 kills held by America's top World War I ace, Eddie Rickenbacker, Foss was accorded the honor of becoming America's first "ace-of-aces" in World War II.[20] One of the Japanese he shot down was ace Kaname Harada, who became a peace activist and met Foss many years later.[21] Foss returned to the United States in March 1943. On May 18, 1943, Foss received the Medal of Honor from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.[19] The White House ceremony was featured in Life magazine, with the reluctant Captain Foss appearing on the magazine's cover.[22] He then was asked to participate in a war bond tour that stretched into 1944.[18] Return to combat L–R (foreground) Maj. Joe Foss, Maj. Marion Carl and advisor Charles Lindbergh in South Pacific, May 1944In February 1944, Foss returned to the Pacific theater to lead VMF-115, flying the F4U Corsair. VMF-115 was based in the combat zone around Emirau, St. Mathias Group in 1944. It was during this second tour that Foss met and became friends with fellow Marine fighter ace Marion Carl. He also had an opportunity to meet and fly with his boyhood idol, Charles Lindbergh, who was on assignment touring the South Pacific as an aviation consultant. After eight months of operational flying but no opportunities to increase his wartime score, Foss finished his combat service as one of America's top scoring pilots.[23] Foss again contracted malaria, and was sent home to the Klamath Falls, Oregon Rehabilitation Center. [Note 3]In February 1945, he became operations and training officer at the Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara, California.[25][Note 4]

Price: 30 USD

Location: Richland, Washington

End Time: 2024-11-27T13:17:32.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD