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Ok, folks, this post is a little bit different than most of my post lately. If you look closely at the picture above, you'll see something missing. Very good eyes if you notice no Medal of Honor ribbon on him. Nope, his highest medal was the Distinguished Service Cross. I'll add to this comment a bit later in the post.
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In any case, Major Leaverette was flying P-38's in the Mediterranean Theater in WWII. His mission on this day was to provide Air Cover for a Convoy sailing near Rhodes Greece. He had taken off with 9 airplanes, but two had engine problems and returned to base. He arrived overhead the convoy about noon and noticed that a formation of 25 Ju-87 Stuka dive bombers were approaching. The convoy had already been attacked before their arrival and there were some damaged ships.
Major Leaverette split his formation sending 4 of the aircraft to maintain air cover for the convoy while he attacked the bomber formation;.
In the space of 15 minutes of combat, Major Leaverette shot down 7 Stukas with a probable 8th. This site has an excellent set of drawings showing the flow of the battle. The picture below is just one of many.
Yes, Beans, I've spent a lot of time on that site.
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In any case, he got to paint several Nazi flags on the nose of his Lightning. Yes, Beans, he got an additional kill a couple of days later.
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A kill's a Kill! |
For the mission detailed above, he received the Distinguished Service Cross. In his career, he also received a Distinguished Flying Cross with one oak leave cluster and an Air Medal with 19 oak leaf clusters. Interestingly, another pilot shortly afterward had a very similar mission with similar victories and received the Medal of Honor, more to follow on that one.
I thought that interesting.
Peace out all y'all!
** This guy was a REAL fighter pilot. How do I know. Look at his "official' photograph, look at the marks on the side of his mouth. Those are Oxygen Mask marks. He went to take his official photograph almost immediately after flying a mission wearing his Oxygen mask. Gotta' love him!
juvat
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_L._Leverette
https://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient/recipient-22923/
https://grokipedia.com/page/william_l_leverette
https://warhistory.org/article/william-leverette
Excellent air to air diagram: https://www.ww2wrecks.com/portfolio/dogfight-over-the-aegean-the-leverette-report-illustrated-p-38-lightnings-against-ju-87-stukas-on-9-october-1943/
Picture URL https://acceptance.historynet.com/slaughter-of-the-stukas-ace-in-a-day-p-38-pilot/standing by P-38
https://www.valka.czattachments/35946/2693339_9eb8a548f708f3ce1af26cbbdc562e10.jpg
8 victories https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/PKgAAOSwvNhoCREx/s-l400.jpg
Geez.....using your own props to chew up the rudder of a Stuka? And having less than a full loadout of ammo per gun, first time I read of that practice juvat.
ReplyDeleteNylon,
DeleteOther than my initial flying training in a Cessna 150, every airplane I flew had two engines. I had a couple of emergency when I was very (VERY) glad I had a second engine. Makes it much easier to get back to the base. As to your second, logistics (AKA supplies) is the absolute must in combat. When the bad guys sink supply ships, that's a bad thing. So, running low on ammo but still having bad guy dive bombers in the vicinity of a supply convoy, well, losing a prop is better than losing a ship and her cargo. So...
juvat
"Look at his "official' photograph, look at the marks on the side of his mouth. Those are Oxygen Mask marks. He went to take his official photograph almost immediately after flying a mission wearing his Oxygen mask. Gotta' love him!"
ReplyDeleteThat explains the slightly dazed, deer in the headlights look on his face.
Sometimes I think that the MoH depends as much on the uniti commander as the deeds of the person.
Joe,
DeleteYou could be right, The Wing King met him on shutdown (Most mission details are radioed ahead so the right people or rescue folks can meet them and begin the debrief. I've had that "slightly dazed, deer in the headlights" on my face several times. Not from combat, but practice combat is pretty stressful.
And your last sentence is absolutely the truth. More's the pity!
juvat
Maybe there should be board to examine recommendations for DSC/ NC and Silver Star tk investigate why the action didn't qualify for MoH?
DeleteLike the pilots during Pearl Harbor.
Recommended for MoH but:
"According to the top brass, a soldier could not be awarded the nation's highest military decoration for actions taken without the knowledge and authorization of a commanding officer. Because Welch and Taylor had self-dispatched and taken off to fight the enemy without receiving explicit orders to do so, their actions were technically unauthorized. "
Dollars to doughnuts the brass was injected because those 2 made them look bad and had people scour the regs for a way to deny them.
Joe,
DeleteYou could very well be right, more's the pity. I've known a few of those types as well as the types that were above them and upset about their takeoff and heroism.
juvat
That is interesting, Juvat. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletePolitics seems to be the root of a lot of ills.
THBB,
DeleteMy pleasure, I've learned a lot from putting these histories together. Think I'll keep it up.
And...
You're absolutely, positively right with your last sentence.
juvat
Mr. Leverette, as I knew him as a 10 year old, lived behind our house in Satellite Beach, FL. Really nice grounded guy. didn't make much fuss or greatness over his time in WWII and later, but he didn't hold back if asked.
ReplyDeleteOne of the stranger conversations I had with him is that he hated the issue USAAF flying boots. As they sucked for walking in, didn't keep one's feet warm or cool as needed and just wasn't good kit. And that, somehow, after his squadron moved to Italy, a good cobbler was found and functional boots were made for all.
He could go on and on about the faults and the great things on each model of P-38 he flew.
In his house was a painting of him. Can't find the picture on the interwebs but it was very good.
All his work and he was proudest of his kids and marriage. I learned a lot about being a good husband from him.
Beans,
DeleteWow, to actually KNOW a Fighter Ace, Medal of Honor on not! Wow! Sounds like a great guy, wish I coulda met him!
juvat
That's pretty cool. A friend from Pensacola lived next door to Alan Shepherd as a kid and hung out at his house, but she didn't realize who he was then.
DeleteThat was a Tuna comment.
DeleteI also knew a Major Gant, B-66 pilot during the Vietnam War and SR-71 pilot.
DeleteKnew the Bishop of Micronesia, who, during WWII, was severely tortured by the ImpJaps.
Big people in the space program breezed through our house both at Vandenberg and at Kwajalein. Along with all sorts of military officers up to, I think, 3-Star Generals and Admirals. A few congresscritters, too.
They were... normal people to me growing up.
He may be a Major, but the insignia on his shoulders look like Colonel eagles to me.
ReplyDeleteAnon,
DeleteYeah, the last paragraph in his biography that I used says that he stayed in the Air Force after the war, retiring as an O-6.
juvat