Lofton Russell Henderson (May 24, 1903 – June 4, 1942) was a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through ...

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He commanded Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 241 (VMSB-241) at the

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under A ...

and died while leading his squadron in an attack against Japanese aircraft carriers.

Biography

Early years

Lofton Henderson was born on May 24, 1903, in Lorain, Ohio. He attended

Lorain High School Lorain High School is part of Lorain City School District in Lorain, Ohio and was founded in 1876, beginning as a two-year high school course. In 1879, the first graduating class consisted of three members. By 1883, the high school curriculum was ...

and was captain of the football team. He graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...

in 1926 along with

Max Leslie Maxwell Franklin Leslie (24 October 1902 – 26 September 1985) was a naval aviator in the United States Navy during World War II. He is credited with having played a major part in the Battle of Midway. Early life Born in Seattle, Washington, on ...

and

C. Wade McClusky Rear admiral (United States), Rear Admiral Clarence Wade McClusky, Jr., (June 1, 1902 – June 27, 1976) was a United States Navy aviator during World War II and the early Cold War period. He is credited with having played a major part in the Batt ...

Early Marine Corps career

Henderson departed the United States on November 3, 1927 from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

and arrived at

Chingwangtao Qinhuangdao (; ) is a port city on the coast of China in northern Hebei. It is administratively a prefecture-level city, about east of Beijing, on the Bohai Sea, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea. Its population during the 2020 national ...

, China on December 16, 1927. He was assigned as a platoon commander with the 15th Machine Gun and Howitzer Company, 12th Regiment, 3rd Brigade at Tientsin. After passing a flight physical while in China, he received orders to report to Observation Squadron 8 (VO-8M) in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, California. He departed China on July 28, 1928 onboard the

USS Chaumont (AP-5) USS ''Samaritan'' (AH-10) was a hospital ship that served with the US Navy in World War II. Prior to that, she served as a US Navy transport ship under the name USS ''Chaumont'' (AP-5). USS ''Chaumont'', one of twelve 13,400-ton (displacement) H ...

arriving in San Francisco on August 17, 1928. He also served in various Caribbean stations, and on the aircraft carriers ''Langley'' (CV-1), ''Ranger'' (CV-4), and ''Saratoga'' (CV-3).

World War II

On June 4, 1942, as Japanese forces approached

Midway Island Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the Unit ...

in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

, Major Henderson, the commanding officer of VMSB-241, led 16 Marine Corps aircraft in the attack. Henderson split his squadron into two flights, one with SBD Dauntless and one with SB2U Vindicator

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that Dive (aviation), dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the Aerial bomb, bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to ...

s in a glide bombing attack on the aircraft carrier ''Hiryū''. His left wing burst into flames as he began his final approach. Henderson continued the attack and perished as his plane dived toward the enemy carrier. He was posthumously awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

Honors

(posthumously) *

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

(posthumously) * Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal * Yangtze Service Medal * Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal * American Defense Service Medal * Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with star (posthumously) *

World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The Wo ...

(posthumously)

Navy Cross citation

HENDERSON, LOFTON R.
Major, U.S. Marine Corps
Marine Scout-Bombing Squadron 241 (VMSB-241), Marine Aircraft Group 22 (MAG-22), Naval Air Station, Midway
Date of Action: June 4, 1942
Citation:
''The Navy Cross is presented to Lofton R. Henderson, Major, U.S. Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism as Squadron Commander of Marine Scout-Bombing Squadron TWO HUNDRED FORTY-ONE (VMSB- 241), during action against enemy Japanese forces in the Battle of Midway on June 4, 1942. With utter disregard for his own personal safety, Major Henderson, with keen judgment and courageous aggressiveness in the face of strong enemy fighter opposition, led his squadron in an attack which 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 his country.''

Legacy

In August 1942, the partially constructed Japanese airfield on

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

was captured at the outset of a six-month campaign to expel the enemy from both Guadalcanal and nearby and smaller Tulagi. It was named Henderson Field (now Honiara International Airport) in his honor. Another Henderson Field (IATA: MDY, ICAO: PMDY) is today a public airport on Sand Island in Midway Atoll, an unincorporated territory of the United States. The airport is used as an emergency diversion point for ETOPS operations. The airfield provides access to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. It operated until 1993 as Naval Air Facility Midway. The original Henderson Field was on Eastern Island (Midway Atoll). In 1945, the was named after him. The 21st Street Bridge in his hometown of Lorain, Ohio, was renamed the

Lofton Henderson Memorial Bridge Lofton Henderson Memorial Bridge (formerly, 21st Street Bridge) is a cantilever truss bridge that carries Ohio State Route 611 (Henderson Drive) over the Black River in Lorain County, Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the U ...

Citations

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Lofton 1903 births 1942 deaths United States Marine Corps personnel killed in World War II Aviators from Ohio Aviators killed by being shot down Battle of Midway Military personnel from Ohio People from Lorain, Ohio Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) United States Marine Corps officers United States Marine Corps pilots of World War II United States Naval Academy alumni