Neel Kirby MOH

 

 

 

Col Neel Kirby

Source 

 OK, this is another Medal of Honor recipient, Neel Kirby. We've been reading about Bomber crews lately and that's also an extreme exhibition of courage. However, this time the hero was a fighter pilot and did combat in WWII in the Pacific.  In addition, he's a Texan born and raised.  The only down tic in his record is he attended one of the University of Texas campuses.  Boo!    A&M or Tech, Yay!  Ahh Well!  He joined the Army Air Corps in 1937 and earned his wings at Randolph AFB and Kelly AFB both in the San Antonio area.  So...He's a Texan! 

When WWII broke out, he was in command of a fighter squadron (called Pursuit Squadrons at the time) to protect the Panama Canal using P-39 Airacobras.  Not an overly good aircraft, better ones would be coming soon.  In October 1942 he took command of the 348th fighter group and trained them to fly the P-47 Thunderbolt.

The group was deployed to Australia and then further deployed to New Guinea where they started fighting the Japanese.

 

Source

 

 

On October 11 1943, Col Kirby lead a 4 ship of P-47 and overflew Wewak Airfield on the north side of New Guinea.  Some 40 Japanese fighters were airborne.  He and his flight engaged the fighters.  The video below will describe some of their tactics.  He and his wingmen used  their advantage against the Japanese disadvantage.  He was higher than the Japanese could fly.  His flight would dive from above, shooting from above ,then pull up and climb out and do it again.   Kearby himself shot down 6 aircraft on this flight, making him an Ace.  In all a total of 9 Japanese were shot down in this engagement.  General George Kenney recommended Col Kirby for the Medal of Honor.

 

On March 5, 1944 he is on a Combat Air Patrol (AKA looking for bad guy aircraft and shooting them down).  He has 21 Japanese airplanes that he had shot down on his record.  Again they're in the vicinity of the Japanese held airfield at Wewak.  He spots 3 Japanese fighter and attacks them.  Shooting at one he doesn't get enough hits to bring it down, so reattacks.  On doing so, other Japanese fighters attack him and shot him down. According to the local population, he successfully bailed out, got tangled up in his parachute in a tree and died from bullet wounds from the attack.

His remains were recovered and identified in 1947 and were transferred to the United States and he was reburied at Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in 1949.

Source

 

Rest in Peace, Warrior! 

 

 

Source 

A gift from the Citizens of Arlington TX

 

Victory	Date	Location	Aircraft	Notes on claim
1	09/04/43	Hopoi	Betty	First aerial victory claim.
2	09/04/43	Hopoi	Oscar	Second aerial victory claim.
3	09/14/43	Malahang	Dinah	Third aerial victory claim.
4	10/11/43	Boram Airfield	Zeke [sic Oscar]	Fourth aerial victory claim.
5	10/11/43	Boram	Zeke [sic Oscar]	Fifth aerial victory claim, became an "ace"
6	10/11/43	Boram	Hap [sic Oscar]	Sixth aerial victory claim.
7	10/11/43	Boram	Hap [sic Oscar]	Seventh aerial victory claim.
8	10/11/43	Boram	Ki-61 Tony	Eighth aerial victory claim.
9	10/11/43	Boram	Ki-61 Tony	Ninth aerial victory claim.
10	10/16/43	Wewak	Zeke	Tenth aerial victory claim.
11	10/19/43	Wewak	F1M2 Pete	Eleventh aerial victory claim.
12	10/19/43	Wewak	F1M2 Pete	Twelfth aerial victory claim.
13	12/03/43	Wewak	Zeke [sic Oscar]	Thirteenth aerial victory claim.
14	12/03/43	Wewak	Zeke [sic Oscar]	Fourteenth aerial victory claim.
15	12/03/43	Wewak	Zeke [sic Oscar]	Fifteenth aerial victory claim.
	12/07/43	Boram Airfield	Ki-61 Tony	Claimed as damaged.
16	12/22/43	Wewak	Zeke [sic Oscar]	Sixteenth aerial victory claim.
17	12/23/43	Dagua Airfield	Ki-61 Tony	Seventeenth aerial victory claim.
18	01/03/44	Wewak	Ki-21 Sally [sic]	Eighteenth aerial victory claim.
19	01/03/44	Wewak	Zeke [sic Oscar]	Nineteenth aerial victory claim.
20	01/09/44	Wewak Harbor	Ki-61 Tony	Twenty aerial victory claim.
21	01/09/44	Wewak Harbor	Ki-61 Tony	Twenty-first aerial victory claim.
	02/27/44	Cape Hoskins	Ki-21 Sally	Claimed as damaged.
22	03/05/44	Wewak	Nell [sic Ki-48 Lily]	Twenty-second aerial victory claim.

 

P-47 from LtCol Kirby's Group

Source 

 Col Kirby's Citation

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 

 

Sources 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neel_E._Kearby 

https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196209/col-neel-e-kearby-pacific-thunderbolt-ace/ 

Pics  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9805/neel-ernest-kearby#view-photo=25749823

Aerial Victories https://pacificwrecks.com/people/veterans/kearby/index.html 

https://youtu.be/ySUNs2wJ-rE?si=-_5IkAwBidgqHpbb 

Home town celebration. https://www.arlingtontx.gov/News-Articles/2025/November/A-Look-Back-Remembering-Local-Medal-of-Honor-Recipient-Neel-Kearby