Bruno Peter Gaido (21 Mar 1916 – 15 June 1942) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

aviation machinist mate first class 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. While flying as a gunner on a

SBD Dauntless The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/dive ...

during 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 Adm ...

, he was shot down and captured by

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

. Gaido, along with pilot Frank O'Flaherty, was tortured and then thrown overboard to drown by the Japanese.

Early life

Bruno Gaido was born Mar 21, 1916, in Staunton,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, the son of John Peter and Clementina Compagnio Gaido, who had immigrated to the United States in 1914 from Italy. His six siblings were Gidorena Irene Chiappa, Mary, Pete, Flora, Florence B., and Dominic Peter Gaido.

Naval career

Gaido enlisted in the Navy on October 11, 1940, as an apprentice seaman. He joined air squadron VS-6, which flew

dive bombers A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact throughou ...

. After what was originally supposed to be a temporary assignment, he joined VS-6 permanently as an aviation machinist. VS-6 was attached to the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

USS ''Enterprise''. On 1 February 1942, following a bombing raid on the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

, the ''Enterprise'' came under attack by five twin-engine Japanese bombers. The lead aircraft, led by Lieutenant Kazuo Nakai, badly damaged by anti-aircraft fire, turned back towards the ''Enterprise'', attempting to ram it. Seeing this, Gaido abandoned his watch post and jumped in a nearby Dauntless parked on the flight deck, and returned fire using the rear-facing 30 caliber machine gun. His fire disabled the aircraft, causing it to narrowly miss the ''Enterprise'', only hitting parked aircraft (including the one Gaido was in) before spiraling into the sea. Upon seeing this act, Vice Admiral

William Halsey William Frederick "Bull" Halsey Jr. (October 30, 1882 – August 16, 1959) was an American United States Navy, Navy admiral during World War II. He is one of four officers to have attained the rank of five-star Fleet admiral (United States), f ...

spot-promoted him to aviation machinist mate first class. Gaido was a

gunner in the

. During the battle, he was captured by the

after his plane was shot down. The Japanese claimed that, under torture, he revealed details about Midway Island's defenses; however, as a carrier machinist he would have had no knowledge of details about the island.

Death

On 15 June 1942, Gaido and his pilot Frank O'Flaherty were weighted and thrown overboard Japanese destroyer Makigumo by the Japanese to drown. In April 1943, he was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions aboard the Enterprise.

In popular culture

Gaido was portrayed by

Nick Jonas Nicholas Jerry Jonas (born September 16, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Jonas began acting on Broadway at the age of seven, and released his debut single in 2002; this caught the attention of Columbia Records, where Jonas ...

in the 2019 film '' Midway''.

Awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaido, Bruno 1916 births 1942 deaths Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) United States Navy personnel killed in World War II Battle of Midway Japanese war crimes People executed by Japan American prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Japan People from Staunton, Illinois Military personnel from Illinois American people of Italian descent