Lofton R. Henderson

Lofton R. Henderson (May 24, 1903 – June 4, 1942)was a marine aviator in the United States Marine Corpsduring World War II. He was the Commanding Officerof Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 241 (VMSB-241)at the Battle of Midway and is recognized as the first Ma-rine Aviator to die during that battle while leading hissquadron to attack the Japanese carrier forces.

1 Biography

Lofton Henderson was born on May 24, 1903 in Lorain,Ohio.He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in1926. Prior toWorldWar II, he served in China, and var-ious Caribbean stations, and on aircraft carriers Langley(CV-1), Ranger (CV-4), and Saratoga (CV-3).Major Henderson was posthumously awarded the NavyCross for his heroism at the historic Battle of Midway,one of the decisive battles of history. While leading 16Marine Corps SBD-2s in a glide bombing attack on theaircraft carrierHiryū, his left wing burst into flames as hebegan his final approach. Henderson continued the attackand perished as his plane dived toward the enemy carrier.

2 Honors

2.1 Navy Cross citation

HENDERSON, LOFTON R.Major, U.S. Marine CorpsMarine Scout-Bombing Squadron 241 (VMSB-241),Marine Aircraft Group 22 (MAG-22), Naval Air Station,MidwayDate of Action: June 4, 1942Citation:The Navy Cross is presented to Lofton R. Hender-son, Major, U.S. Marine Corps, for extraordinary hero-ism as Squadron Commander of Marine Scout-BombingSquadron TWO HUNDRED FORTY-ONE (VMSB- 241),during action against enemy Japanese forces in the Battleof Midway on June 4, 1942. With utter disregard for hisown personal safety, Major Henderson, with keen judg-ment and courageous aggressiveness in the face of strongenemy fighter opposition, led his squadron in an attackwhich contributed materially to the defeat of the enemy.He was subsequently reported as missing in action. It is

believed he gallantly gave up his life in the service of hiscountry.

In addition to the Navy Cross, Major Henderson was alsoeligible for the following awards -

• Purple Heart (posthumously)

• Combat Action Ribbon (posthumously)

• Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal

• Yangtze Service Medal

• Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal

• American Defense Service Medal

• Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with star (posthu-mously)

• World War Two Victory Medal (posthumously)

2.2 Other

In August 1942, the partially constructed Japanese air-field on Guadalcanal was captured at the outset of a six-month campaign to expel the enemy from both Guadal-canal and its sister island Tulagi. It was namedHendersonField (now Honiara International Airport) in his honor.In 1945, the Gearing class destroyer USS Henderson(DD-785) was named after him.The 21st Street Bridge in his hometown of Lorain, Ohiowas renamed the Lofton Henderson Memorial Bridge.

3 See also

4 References

This article incorporates text from the public do-main Dictionary of American Naval FightingShips.

• “Navy Cross Awards to members of the U.S.Marines in World War II”. homeofheroes.com.Archived from the original on 2006-08-29. Re-trieved 2006-07-15..

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2 5 EXTERNAL LINKS

5 External links• Hough, LtCol Frank O., USMCR; Ludwig, Maj.Verle E., USMC and Henry I. Shaw, Jr. “Chapter4: Midway Versus the Japanese, 4–5 June 1942”.U.S Marine Corps in World War II, Volume I: PearlHarbor to Guadalcanal. pp. 221–225. Retrieved2006-07-15. Cite uses deprecated parameter |coau-thors= (help)

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