Dean S. Laird

CDR Dean S.“Diz” Laird (February 7, 1921) from Loomis, California is the only U.S. Navy Ace to have combat victories in both the Pacific and European theaters of World War II.[1] He is given credit for 5.75 arial victories.[2] Laird flew 138 fighter missions during World War II.[3] Laird is a Distinguished Flying Cross recipient.[3] He served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.[4] He is a recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal. (2015)[5]

CDR Dean S. Laird
Birth nameDean Samuel Laird
Nickname(s)"Diz"
Born (1921-02-07) February 7, 1921
Loomis, California
Allegiance United States
Service/branchUnited States Navy
Years of service1942 to 1971
RankCommander
UnitVF-4
VF-200
Commands heldVF-213
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsDistinguished Flying Cross

Career

One week after the Japanese attack on Pear Harbor On January 2, 1942, Laird drove to San Francisco to enlist.[4] Laird entered the U.S. Navy cadet program. On August 11, 1942, he became a commissioned officer. In NAS Miami, Florida, on October 21, 1942, he became a Naval Aviator.[6] Laird shot down 5.75 enemy aircraft in combat and he damaged an additional plane. Two of his kills were German planes: A Ju-88 and a He-115 in October 1943 near Norway. The other kills were Japanese planes so Laird has the distinction of the being only Navy ace to have scored air victories against both Germany and Japan.[6] He flew F4F Wildcat and then F6Fs and was assigned from November 1942 to March 1943, to the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-4). November 1944 to March 1945 he was assigned to the USS Essex (CV-9).

In December 1944 Laird was almost shot down. His F6F Hellcat was riddled with bullets over the Philippines, but he was able to pilot the plane back to the USS Essex which was 250 miles away.[3] His landing gear did not work and Laird landed the plane skidding on its bottom across the runway of the aircraft carrier USS Essex.[7]

He received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions on Feb. 7, 1945. Laird was escorting bomber planes which were attacking heavily defended Japanese aircraft engine factories. He shot down two Japanese planes during that mission near Tokyo, Japan.[3][8]

When Laird was 93 years old, he was one of 35 Aces to travel to the nation's capital and receive the Congressional Gold Medal recognizing the 1,450 Aces from all of the wars.[5]

Movie

In 1969 Laird was a stunt pilot. In the 20th Century Fox film "Tora Tora Tora" Laird performed many of the stunts which ended up in the movie.[9] Laird helped choreograph the reenactment of the attack on Pearl Harbor and he was the lead stunt pilot.[5] He was one of the three main pilots in the movie and he flew approximately 164 hours during the movie production.[10]

Awards
A gold medal awarded in May 2015 in recognition of U.S. fighter aces

Affiliations

He was a member of the American Fighter Aces Association,[1] the Distinguished Flying Cross Society[2] and the Tailhook Association.[10]

Personal

Laird was born in Loomis, California and now lives in Coronado, California.[7]

gollark: Scroll goal: to arrange dragons such that they can calculate whether a given Turing machine will halt or not.
gollark: DramaCave! Collect, breed and trade dramas!
gollark: I mean, it might *not* be days, but I imagine it should be quite simple.
gollark: "I don't want to only breed on certain days! It's too haaaaaard to check!"
gollark: If people had to *check the day* to breed stuff of a certain colour, it would be *horrifying*.

See also

References
  1. "The Last American Aces". Air and Space magazine. August 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  2. Carlson, Mark. "An Ace in the Hole: "Diz" Laird". historynet. HistoryNet. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  3. "Walnut Creek: World War II fighter pilots describe exhilaration of flying". MediaNews Group Inc. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  4. Brinkley, Leslie (23 October 2018). "Local 97-year-old ace pilot getting national Audie Murphy award". ABC, Inc. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  5. Achelis, Scott; Laird Achelis, Andrea (3 February 2016). "Coronado's "Avenue Of The Heroes" - Commander Dean "Diz" Laird, USN Retired". Coronado Eagle & Journal. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  6. "Dean S. Laird". veterantributes. Veteran Tributes. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  7. Rowe, Peter; Wilkens, John (27 October 2012). "WWII pilot defeated German and Japanese foes". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  8. "Dean Samuel Laird". Military Times. Sightline Media Group. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  9. Bayas, Paolo (9 July 2016). "Legendary Ace Flies His 100th Aircraft in "the Birthplace of Naval Aviation"". Official Website of the United States Navy. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  10. "Dean S. Laird, CDR, USN (Ret.) "Diz"" (PDF). epnaao. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  11. 113th Congress. "H.R.685 - American Fighter Aces Congressional Gold Medal Act". Congress.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  12. Vogt, Tom (8 February 2016). "Off Beat: WWII pilot one of the faces of America's fighter aces". The Columbian. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  13. "American Valor: A Salute to Our Heroes" (PDF). 2018 AVC Conference Program. American Veterans Center. October 2018. Retrieved 10 Aug 2020.

Further reading
  • Hammel, Eric (2010) [1992]. Aces Against Japan. New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 9781890988081. ISBN 0671529080.
  • Hammel, Eric (1998). Aces in Combat: The American Aces Speak. 5. Pacifica, California: Pacifica Military History. ISBN 0935553614. ISBN 978-0935553611.
  • Tillman, Barrett (1996). Hellcat Aces of World War 2. London: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1855325969. ISBN 9781855325968.
  • Tillman, Barrett (1979). Hellcat: The F6F in World War II (1st ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1557509918. ISBN 1557509913.

Notes


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