Armond Hector DeLalio (17 July 1917 – 5 January 1952) was a highly decorated United States Marine Corps

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. He was awarded the Navy Cross during World War II and later became the first Marine aviator to be designated as a helicopter pilot.

Early life and career

Armond H. DeLalio was born on 17 July 1917, in Plainview, New York. DeLalio grew up on a farm and often spent his free time watching planes take off from Republic Airfield in East Farmingdale, New York. He entered the

Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps The Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) program is a college-based, commissioned officer training program of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Origins A pilot Naval Reserve unit was established in September 192 ...

while he was studying aeronautical engineering in college. DeLalio entered the Marine Corps and completed aviation training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.

World War II

DeLalio was assigned to

Marine Corps Air Station Ewa Marine Corps Air Station Ewa (MCAS Ewa) was a United States Marine Corps air station that was located west of Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The base was hit during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and later served as the hub for all Mar ...

in Hawaii, and was there when the Japanese

attacked Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

on 7 December 1941. After the attack, DeLalio earned a commendation flying a plane to Midway and was assigned to Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 241, Marine Aircraft Group 22, where he was made the third section leader. VMSB-241_pilots_at_Midway_May_1942

During the Battle of Midway on 4 June 1942,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

DeLalio attacked the Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū with his Douglas SBD-2 Dauntless dive bomber. He dove as low as 400 feet despite heavy enemy fire which damaged his plane before he released his bomb. His squadron leader,

Lofton R. Henderson Lofton Russell Henderson (May 24, 1903 – June 4, 1942) was a United States Marine Corps aviator during World War II. He commanded Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 241 (VMSB-241) at the Battle of Midway and died while leading his squadron in a ...

, was killed during this action. DeLalio was able to return to his base despite inclement weather. Early the next day, DeLalio participated in a dive bombing attack on a Japanese heavy cruiser. For his actions during the battle, DeLalio was awarded the Navy Cross in November. Following the battle, DeLalio was assigned to the Pentagon where he oversaw the development of helicopters. In 1944, he began flying Navy helicopters at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. From April to June 1945,

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

DeLalio was the commanding officer of Marine Fighting Squadron 351 (VMF-351) during the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

Post-war career

On 8 August 1946, DeLalio became the first Marine to be certified as a helicopter pilot. He was the 16th

Naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

to become a certified helicopter pilot. On 5 January 1952, DeLalio test flew a

Sikorsky HRS The Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw (company model number S-55) was a multi-purpose helicopter used by the United States Army and United States Air Force. It was also license-built by Westland Aircraft as the Westland Whirlwind in the United King ...

fitted with a rocket-assisted takeoff pod at

Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland Naval Air Station Patuxent River , also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station located in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River. It is home to Headquarters, Naval Ai ...

. The pod malfunctioned and the helicopter caught fire before it crashed from an altitude of . Both DeLalio and a Navy pilot, Lieutenant Commander Edward A. Arnold, were killed. DeLalio was survived by his wife and three children and was buried in Long Island National Cemetery.

Posthumous honors

A road at Patuxent River was named for DeLalio. In 1965, an

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, was named in his honor. In 2018, a new elementary school was constructed and named for DeLalio, and the old school was subsequently demolished.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:DeLalio, Armond H. 1917 births 1952 deaths United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II Accidental deaths in Maryland American test pilots Aviators from New York (state) Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Burials at Long Island National Cemetery Military personnel from New York (state) People from Plainview, New York Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) United States Marine Corps officers United States Marine Corps pilots of World War II United States Naval Aviators Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1952 Victims of flight test accidents