Kenneth Ambrose Walsh (November 24, 1916 – July 30, 1998) was a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

lieutenant colonel and a

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

recipient who was the fourth ranking USMC fighter ace in

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 opposing ...

with a record of 21 enemy planes destroyed. He also served in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

during the first year of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and retired from the Marine Corps in February 1962.

Early life

Walsh was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. He graduated from Dickinson High School in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1933.

Military career

Walsh enlisted in the Marine Corps on 15 December 1933, at age 17. Following recruit training at

Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island (often abbreviated as MCRD PI) is an military installation located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately south of Beaufort, the community that is typically associated with the installation. ...

, South Carolina, he became an aircraft mechanic and radioman at

Marine Corps Base Quantico Marine Corps Base Quantico (commonly abbreviated MCB Quantico) is a United States Marine Corps installation located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly of southern Prince William County, Virginia, northern Stafford County, and southeas ...

, Virginia. In March 1936, he was transferred, and entered flight training at

NAS Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

in Pensacola, Florida. He was still a private when he received his Wings of Gold as a U.S. Naval Aviator on 26 April 1937, but was promoted to corporal soon thereafter. He flew scout-observation aircraft over the next four years on three aircraft carriers, before assignment to VMF-121 in North Carolina. At the time of the

attack on 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 ...

, he was a master technical sergeant, becoming a Marine Gunner (equivalent to

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

) on 11 May 1942, while serving with

Marine Aircraft Group 12 Marine Aircraft Group 12 (MAG-12) is an active air group of the United States Marine Corps, tasked with providing fighter and assault support aircraft. It is currently part of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (1st MAW), itself an integral part of th ...

1st Marine Aircraft Wing The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing is an aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps that serves as the Aviation Combat Element of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The wing is headquartered at Camp Foster on the island of Okinawa, Japan. A ...

. He was commissioned a second lieutenant the following October and was promoted to first lieutenant in June 1943. He was also one of a handful of Marine aviators qualified as an aircraft carrier

landing signal officer A landing signal officer or landing safety officer (LSO), also informally known as paddles (United States Navy) or batsman (Royal Navy), is a naval aviator specially trained to facilitate the "safe and expeditious recovery" of naval aircraft abo ...

. Assigned to

VMF-124 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 124 (VMFA-124) was a flying squadron in the Marine Forces Reserve based out of Naval Air Station Memphis flying the A-4 Skyhawk. They were part of Marine Aircraft Group 42 and were decommissioned on 19 June 1999. ...

since September 1942, Walsh was one of the most experienced pilots in the Corps' first

Vought F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contract ...

squadron. The unit had arrived at Guadalcanal in February 1943, and was immediately committed to combat. He claimed his first three Japanese planes on 1 April 1943 and two more in his next combat action, 13 May 1943, becoming the first Corsair fighter ace. Walsh brought his score to 20 victories by the end of August 1943, including two combat actions over the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

which earned him the

. He returned to the United States on 15 October 1943. President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

presented Walsh the Medal of Honor on 8 February 1944; he was promoted to temporary captain effective 8 February when he received the award and was promoted to permanent captain on 13 November 1948. Walsh returned to flying combat missions in April 1945, serving with

VMF-122 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 122 (VMFA-122) is a United States Marine Corps fighter attack squadron flying the F-35B Lightning II. The squadron is based out of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, AZ and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Gr ...

, and was awarded his 7th Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism and extraordinary achievement from 28 April to 12 May 1945, in the

Philippine Islands The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

area. He scored his last kill while serving as the Operations Officer of

VMF-222 Marine Fighting Squadron 222 (VMF-222) was a fighter squadron of the United States Marine Corps that was activated and fought during World War II. Known as “The Flying Deuces,” they fell under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 14 (MAG-14) ...

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

on 22 June 1945. He became the Assistant Operations Officer of Marine Aircraft Group 14, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing on Okinawa. He returned to the United States in March 1946. Walsh served in

during the

with VMR-152 (Marine Transport Squadron 152), flying C-54 transports, from 15 July 1950 to late July 1951. He was promoted to major in April 1955 and lieutenant colonel in October 1958.

Retirement and later life

In 1955 Walsh moved his family to the West Floral Park neighborhood of Santa Ana. Walsh retired from the Marine Corps as a lieutenant colonel on 1 February 1962. He was a frequent participant in history seminars and often assisted researchers and historians interested in the Pacific War. Walsh died at age 81 due to a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

. He left a widow, Beulah, and a son, and was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

on 13 August 1998.

Military awards

Walsh's military decorations and awards include:Veteran Tributes
/ref>

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, pilot in Marine Fighting Squadron 124, U.S. Marine Corps.
Place and date: Solomon Islands area, 15 and 30 August 1943.
Entered service at: New York.
Born: 24 November 1916, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Other Navy awards: Distinguished Flying Cross with 5 Gold Stars Citation:

Notes

References

*Barrett Tillman (1979). ''Corsair: The F4U in World War II and Korea''. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis *Frank Olynyk (1995). ''Stars & Bars: A Tribute to the American Fighter Ace 1920–1973''. Grub Street, London

External links

Arlington National Cemetery
* *Mersky, Commander Peter B

''Marines in World War II Commemorative Series'', Marine Corps History and Museums Division, United States Marine Corps, 1993. (Retrieved on 2006-07-15) {{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Kenneth 1916 births 1998 deaths American World War II flying aces Aviators from New York (state) Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Military personnel from Jersey City, New Jersey Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) United States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipients United States Marine Corps colonels United States Marine Corps pilots of World War II United States Naval Aviators William L. Dickinson High School alumni World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War Recipients of the Air Medal