Lt. Alex Vraciu USN

Vraciu enlisted in 1941 and was commissioned as a Naval Reserve ensign in August 1942, and promoted at the end of March 1943. He received orders to report to Fighting Squadron 3 (VF-3) commanded by Lieutenant Commander Edward "Butch" O'Hare, who chose Vraciu as his wingman and gave him valuable advice regarding air combat tactics.

Vraciu's first air-to air combat took place over Wake Island in October 1943, flying from the light aircraft carrier USS Independence. He scored his first victory on October 5, 1943, when he and O'Hare encountered an enemy formation. O'Hare flew below the clouds to find a Japanese Zero and Vraciu lost sight of him. Vraciu followed a second Zero to Wake Island, where it landed, and strafed the Zero on the ground. Vraciu also destroyed his first Mitsubishi Betty bomber while it was parked on the runway. During a mission in the Gilbert Islands on November 20, 1943, he downed another Betty.
On January 29, 1944, Vraciu shot down three Betty bombers, bringing his total number of downed enemy planes to five, achieving status as an ace. On February 17 he shot down four Japanese fighters over Truk Atoll. With nine victories, he became and remained VF-6's leading ace of the war. When the USS Intrepid returned to Pearl Harbor for repairs in February 1944, Vraciu had an opportunity to rotate back to the United States, but he preferred to stay in the Pacific and requested additional combat duty. He joined VF-16 aboard the USS Lexington on February 27, 1944.

Vraciu's most successful day as an aviator occurred on June 19, 1944, during the First Battle of the Philippine Sea, also known as the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot." Despite a malfunctioning supercharger, he intercepted a formation of Japanese dive bombers and destroyed six in a period of eight minutes. After Vraciu landed, the ordnancemen on Lexington discovered that he had used only 360 rounds of ammunition. On June 20, 1944, while escorting bombers in an attack on the Japanese Mobile Fleet (Kido Butai), Vraciu downed his nineteenth plane, making him the leading U.S. Navy ace, although he held that title for only four months. Vraciu was nominated
for the Medal of Honor for his actions at the First Battle of the Philippine Sea; however, when the nomination reached the desk of Admiral George D. Murray at Pacific Fleet Headquarters in Hawaii, it was downgraded to a Navy Cross. Vraciu returned to the United States on leave in August 1944, and was promoted to lieutenant upon his return to San Diego, California.

Vraciu returned to combat in the Pacific in late 1944, flying Grumman F6F Hellcats in VF-20. On December 14, 1944, after two missions with VF-20, his plane was downed by anti-aircraft fire during a mission over the Philippines. Vraciu parachuted from his plane, landing in the Tarlac province of Luzon. He was rescued by Filipino resistance fighters, who appointed him a brevet major in command of a guerrilla unit. After spending five weeks with the guerrilla fighters, Vraciu rejoined American military forces and returned to the USS Lexington. He spent the last few months of the war serving at the Naval Air Test Center in Patuxent, Maryland.
Vraciu ended the war as the U.S. Navy's fourth highest ranking ace, credited with downing a total of nineteen enemy aircraft and destroying twenty-one on the ground.