Henry Gabriel Sanchez (December 29, 1907 – March 13, 1978) was an Admiral in the United States Navy. 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 ...

, then-LCDR Sanchez commanded VF-72, an

F4F The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft that entered service in 1940 with the United States Navy, and the British Royal Navy where it was initially known as the Martlet. First used by the Bri ...

squadron of 37 aircraft, on board the carrier ''Hornet'' from July to October 1942. His squadron was responsible for shooting down 38 Japanese airplanes during his command tour which included the

Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, fought during 25–27 October 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or Third Battle of Solomon Sea, in Japan as the Battle of the South Pacific ( ''Minamitaiheiyō kaisen''), was the fourt ...

.Guadalcanal: The Carrier Battles by Eric Hammel, Crown Publishers, 1987, ().

References

1907 births 1978 deaths United States Navy pilots of World War II United States Navy officers {{US-navy-bio-stub