Damon Jesse Gause (June 17, 1915 – March 9, 1944) was an American military officer who served in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

. He was captured and escaped from

Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entir ...

, then

Corregidor Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically b ...

. He served with the Ninth Air Force and flew with the Hell Hawks.

Early life and education

Gause was born in

Fort Valley, Georgia Fort Valley is a city in and the county seat of Peach County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 8,780. The city is in the Warner Robins metropolitan area and the Macon–Warner Robins combined statisti ...

in 1915, the son of Duff Adolph Gause (1893–1965) and Jescyne W. Gause (1895–1978). The couple had two additional sons, Wilson A. Gause (1923–2006) and John Winston Gause (1925–2005). Gause graduated from the Martin Institute High School. After high school, he attended the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. After one year, Gause left school to join the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

Career

In the

, Gause was assigned to the USCG Cutter ''Argo'' (WPC-100), where his main duty was

radioman Radioman (RM) was a rating for United States Navy and United States Coast Guard enlisted personnel, specializing in communications technology. History of the rating The rating was created originally in 1921. In 1997, under the direction of Chi ...

. He joined the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

to serve in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

after three years of service in the Coast Guard. Following a three-year stint in the Army, he went to work in the

oil field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...

s in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

for the Texaco Oil Company. In 1939, Gause went back to Georgia. He again enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1941 and qualified for

flight training Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a str ...

Kelly Field Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he was piloting. In ...

in Texas. Gause completed the training and earned his wings as an

aircraft pilot 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 ...

and received a commission as

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

. He returned to Georgia, this time at

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

to serve with the

27th Bombardment Group 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

. He trained on

A-24 Banshee A- or a- may refer to: ;A-hyphen * A- (plane), a U.S. military aircraft prefix * Privative a, a prefix expressing negation * Copulative a, a prefix expressing unification ;A-minus * A−, a blood type in the ABO blood group system * A− (grade) ...

dive-bombers.

Operation PLUM

*The Philippines. Gause, 2nd Lieutenant, 17th Squadron, 27th Bombardment Group, in the Philippines. *The Great Escape of Major Gause.

Australia

*Safe Again in Australia.

England

On February 13, 1944, 1st Lieutenant Harold B. Johnston took off from

Gosfield Gosfield is a village in the Braintree district of Essex, England. It is located around two miles west of the town of Halstead. Places of note include the following: *Gosfield Hall: a country house and Grade I listed building, dating back to 154 ...

, England in a

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

for a test flight, and died when his plane crashed only nine days before the first combat mission of the Hell Hawks and the P-47s. The Hell Hawks were part of the

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...

. The combat mission occurred on February 22, 1944, with several groups taking part in an uneventful run to escort bombers. Colonel Lance Call led one group. Another group was led by Major Rockford V. Gray, with Gause as

wingman A wingman (or wingmate) is a pilot or UAV who supports another pilot in a potentially dangerous flying environment. ''Wingman'' was originally the plane flying beside and slightly behind the lead plane in an aircraft formation. According to th ...

. Other groups were led by Major Donald E. Hillman and Major William D. Ritchie. In preparation to support the Allied invasion of Europe, the Hell Hawks moved with the

365th Fighter Group 365th may refer to: *365th Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit *365th Electronic Warfare Group previously 1st Search Attack Group, United States Army Air Forces unit that served during World War II. 365 EWG was a 'paper' des ...

RAF Beaulieu Royal Air Force Beaulieu or more simply RAF Beaulieu is a former Royal Air Force station in the New Forest, Hampshire, England. It was also known as Beaulieu airfield, Beaulieu aerodrome and USAAF Station AAF 408. It is located next to the villa ...

, Hants, England on 5 March 1944. During a test flight on March 9, 1944, Gause was killed when his P-47 crashed near Beaulieu, England.

Personal life

On October 11, 1941, Gause married Lillian Ruth Evans Carter (1921–2014) and the couple had one son Damon Gause Jr. (1943–2006). Gause was buried in the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial at Coton, South Cambridgeshire District, Cambridgeshire, England.

Awards and decorations

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal Asiatic refers to something related to Asia. Asiatic may also refer to: * Asiatic style, a term in ancient stylistic criticism associated with Greek writers of Asia Minor * In the context of Ancient Egypt, beyond the borders of Egypt and the cont ...

* European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal *

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 Wor ...

Accolades and honors

In Georgia, U.S. Highway 129 South, also known as the Major Damon Gause Bypass is named in his honor.Editor. (18 December 1997). Major Damon J. Gause Bypass — Designated. A Resolution by the State Transportation Board of Georgia 1997. Georgia Department of Transportation. Georgia.

Bibliography

*Gause, Damon Rocky (1999). ''The War Journal of Major Damon "Rocky" Gause''. D. L. Gause (Ed.). Hyperion Books. *Osborne, William L. (18 July 2013). ''Voyage into the Wind''. CreateSpace.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gause, Damon Jesse 1915 births 1944 deaths People from Fort Valley, Georgia People from Peach County, Georgia Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in England University of Georgia alumni United States Coast Guard enlisted Texaco people People from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Savannah, Georgia United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II American prisoners of war in World War II Escapees from Japanese detention United States Army Air Forces personnel killed in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Japan American escapees