The Terrible Story Of Captain Richard Eugene Fleming Of Saint Richard, And Honoring Him For His Heroic Actions During WWII.
The Terrible Story Of Captain Richard Eugene Fleming Of Saint Richard, And Honoring Him For His Heroic Actions During WWII.
U.S. Marine Corps Captain Richard Eugene Fleming of Saint Paul, Minnesota, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during the Battle of Midway on June 5, 1942.
Fleming tomk Saint Thomas Military Academy and graduated in the Class of 1935. From Saint Thomas, he attended the University of Minnesota and became president of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
He graduated in 1939 and enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve soon after. He was sent to the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida, for flight training and finished at the top of his class in 1940. He was promoted to first lieutenant in April 1942 and to captain a month later.
He fought in the Battle of Midway as a Flight Officer of Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 241. He led the second division of his squadron in a mass dive-bombing assault on the Mikuma.
Leaving the remainder of his formation, he dived to the perilously low altitude of 400 feet, exposing himself to enemy fire to score a hit on the ship.
Undeterred by a fateful approach glide, during which his plane was struck and set afire, he grimly pressed home his attack to an altitude of 500 feet, released his bomb to score a near-miss on the stern of his target, then crashed to the sea in flames.
For his actions on June 5, 1942, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on November 24th, 1942..
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