Donald "Flash" Gordon

Donald "Flash" Gordon (July 17, 1920 – January 4, 2010) was an American naval aviator and flying ace,[1] having shot down at least seven Japanese aircraft during World War II.[2] He was a fighter pilot in the United States Navy and a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Donald Gordon
Nickname(s)"Flash"
Born(1920-07-17)July 17, 1920
Garland, Kansas
DiedJanuary 4, 2010(2010-01-04) (aged 89)
La Jolla, California
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Navy
Years of service1941–1967
RankCaptain
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsDistinguished Flying Cross (3)
Air Medal (4)
Navy Commendation Medal

Biography

Gordon's first recorded kill was during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. Flying a Grumman F4F Wildcat and out of ammunition he flew straight towards a Nakajima B5N that had just launched a torpedo towards USS Enterprise, forcing it into the ocean. Enterprise, despite being damaged in earlier attacks, was able to dodge the torpedo. On January 30, 1943, again flying a Wildcat and heading the Enterprise fighter group, nicknamed the 'Grim Reapers', Gordon shot down at least two Mitsubishi G4Ms who were heading for Enterprise and the damaged cruiser USS Chicago. Although G4M torpedoes sunk Chicago, only two out of eleven G4Ms survived the encounter with the Grim Reapers, the rest were shot down.[3]

Quotation

I never had a dogfight. I usually got head on or tail on. They never saw us coming. That's the way to fight a war.[3]

gollark: <@251942654173118467> Just create your own email server or whatever!
gollark: With actual security in mind instead of patched on mechanisms for it.
gollark: I really think email needs to be retired and replaced with a simpler setup.
gollark: Ooh, try and make it seem like the person you're asking them to hack is a master h4xx0r running TempleOS. That would be funny.
gollark: Or try and mention Linux somehow...

See also

References
  1. "AG-10 History – Second Tour". cv6.org. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  2. "Donald Gordon (obituary)". Fort Scott Tribune. January 16, 2010.
  3. Battle 360: Bloody Santa Cruz, personal interview, circa 2008.
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