Kenneth Ambrose Walsh (November 24, 1916 – July 30, 1998) was a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

lieutenant colonel and a

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient who was the fourth ranking USMC

fighter ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

with a record of 21 enemy planes destroyed. He also served in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

during the first year of the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

and retired from the Marine Corps in February 1962.

Early life

Walsh was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. He graduated from Dickinson High School in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

, in 1933.

Military career

Walsh enlisted in the Marine Corps on 15 December 1933, at age 17. Following recruit training at

Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island (often abbreviated as MCRD PI) is an military installation located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately south of Beaufort, the community that is typically associated with the installation. ...

, South Carolina, he became an aircraft mechanic and radioman at

Marine Corps Base Quantico Marine Corps Base Quantico (commonly abbreviated MCB Quantico) is a United States Marine Corps installation located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly of southern Prince William County, Virginia, northern Stafford County, and southe ...

, Virginia. In March 1936, he was transferred, and entered flight training at

NAS Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

in Pensacola, Florida. He was still a private when he received his

Wings of Gold A naval aviator is a commissioned officer or warrant officer qualified as a crewed aircraft pilot in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps. United States Coast Guard crewed aircraft pilots are officially designated as "Coast Guard ...

as a U.S. Naval Aviator on 26 April 1937, but was promoted to corporal soon thereafter. He flew scout-observation aircraft over the next four years on three

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

s, before assignment to

VMF-121 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA-121), also known as the "Green Knights", is a United States Marine Corps aircraft squadron operating the F-35 Lightning II, F-35B Lightning II. The squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, ...

in North Carolina. At the time of the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

, he was a master technical sergeant, becoming a Marine Gunner (equivalent to

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a Military rank, rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ...

) on 11 May 1942, while serving with

Marine Aircraft Group 12 Marine Aircraft Group 12 (MAG-12) is an active air group of the United States Marine Corps, tasked with providing fighter and assault support aircraft. It is currently part of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (1st MAW), itself an integral part of th ...

1st Marine Aircraft Wing The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing is an aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps that serves as the Aviation Combat Element of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The wing is headquartered at Camp Foster on the island of Okinawa Island, Okina ...

. He was commissioned a second lieutenant the following October and was promoted to first lieutenant in June 1943. He was also one of a handful of Marine aviators qualified as an aircraft carrier

landing signal officer A landing signal officer or landing safety officer (LSO), also informally known as paddles (United States Navy) or batsman (Royal Navy), is a naval aviator specially trained to facilitate the "safe and expeditious recovery" of naval aircraft ab ...

. Assigned to

VMF-124 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 124 (VMFA-124) was a flying squadron in the Marine Forces Reserve based out of Naval Air Station Memphis flying the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. They were part of Marine Aircraft Group 42 and were decommissioned on 19 Jun ...

since September 1942, Walsh was one of the most experienced pilots in the Corps' first

Vought F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Vought, Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production con ...

squadron. The unit had arrived at

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...

in February 1943, and was immediately committed to combat. He claimed his first three Japanese planes on 1 April 1943 and two more in his next combat action, 13 May 1943, becoming the first Corsair fighter ace. Walsh brought his score to 20 victories by the end of August 1943, including two combat actions over the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

which earned him the

. He returned to the United States on 15 October 1943. President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

presented Walsh the Medal of Honor on 8 February 1944; he was promoted to temporary captain effective 8 February when he received the award and was promoted to permanent captain on 13 November 1948. Walsh returned to flying combat missions in April 1945, serving with

VMF-122 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 122 (VMFA-122) is a United States Marine Corps fighter attack squadron flying the F-35B Lightning II. The squadron is based out of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, AZ and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft G ...

, and was awarded his 7th Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism and extraordinary achievement from 28 April to 12 May 1945, in the

Philippine Islands The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

area. He scored his last kill while serving as the Operations Officer of

VMF-222 Marine Fighting Squadron 222 (VMF-222) was a fighter squadron of the United States Marine Corps that was activated and fought during World War II. Known as "The Flying Deuces," they fell under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 14 (MAG-14) ...

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

on 22 June 1945. He became the Assistant Operations Officer of

Marine Aircraft Group 14 Marine Aircraft Group 14 (MAG-14) is a United States Marine Corps aviation unit based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina that is currently composed of two AV-8B Harrier squadrons, one F-35B squadron, one UAV training squa ...

2nd Marine Aircraft Wing The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (2nd MAW) is the major East Coast of the United States, east coast aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps and is headquartered in Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. The Wing provides the ...

on Okinawa. He returned to the United States in March 1946. Walsh served in

during the

with VMR-152 (Marine Transport Squadron 152), flying

C-54 The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian ...

transports, from 15 July 1950 to late July 1951. He was promoted to major in April 1955 and lieutenant colonel in October 1958.

Retirement and later life

In 1955 Walsh moved his family to the West Floral Park neighborhood of Santa Ana. Walsh retired from the Marine Corps as a lieutenant colonel on 1 February 1962. He was a frequent participant in history seminars and often assisted researchers and historians interested in the Pacific War. Walsh died at age 81 due to a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. He left a widow, Beulah, and a son, and was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

on 13 August 1998.

Military awards

Walsh's military decorations and awards include:Veteran Tributes
/ref>

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, pilot in Marine Fighting Squadron 124, U.S. Marine Corps.
Place and date: Solomon Islands area, 15 and 30 August 1943.
Entered service at: New York.
Born: 24 November 1916, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Other Navy awards: Distinguished Flying Cross with 5 Gold Stars Citation:

Notes

References

*Barrett Tillman (1979). ''Corsair: The F4U in World War II and Korea''. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis *Frank Olynyk (1995). ''Stars & Bars: A Tribute to the American Fighter Ace 1920–1973''. Grub Street, London

External links

Arlington National Cemetery
* *Mersky, Commander Peter B

''Marines in World War II Commemorative Series'', Marine Corps History and Museums Division, United States Marine Corps, 1993. (Retrieved on 2006-07-15) {{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Kenneth 1916 births 1998 deaths American World War II flying aces Aviators from New York (state) Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Military personnel from Jersey City, New Jersey Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) United States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipients United States Marine Corps colonels United States Marine Corps pilots of World War II United States Naval Aviators William L. Dickinson High School alumni World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War Recipients of the Air Medal