James Gilbert Percy (July 26, 1921 – September 16, 2015) 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 ...

officer. He was a

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

credited with shooting down six Japanese aircraft and was awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

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 ...

Early life

James G. Percy was born on July 26, 1921 in

Ventura County, California Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises the Oxn ...

. He was raised in Northern California, and began attending

New Mexico Military Institute New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) is a public military junior college and high school in Roswell, New Mexico. Founded in 1891, NMMI operates under the auspices of the State of New Mexico, under a dedicated Board of Regents that reports to the G ...

in 1937. Percy graduated from the high school division in 1939 and the junior college division in 1941. In August 1941, Percy was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps and was designated as a Naval aviator.

World War II

Cactus Air Force ace

During World War II,

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

Percy was assigned to Marine Fighting Squadron 112 (VMF-112). VMF-112 arrived at Henderson Field in Guadalcanal on November 2, 1942, making up part of the Cactus Air Force. Lieutenant Percy began to engage in combat missions in F4F Wildcats on November 14, when he participated in overwatch for friendly dive bombers attacking enemy tank forces. He spotted six enemy A6M Zeros approaching the and alerted his flight leader. Percy helped break up the enemy attack, claiming his first kill. On February 1, 1943, five enemy dive bombers and 30 fighters attacked American ships near

Savo Island Savo Island is an island in Solomon Islands in the southwest South Pacific ocean. Administratively, Savo Island is a part of the Central Province of the Solomon Islands. It is about from the capital Honiara. The principal village is Alialia, i ...

, sinking the USS ''De Haven''. Lieutenant Percy led four planes into a group of 10 enemy fighter planes, personally shooting down four. A total of 21 of the enemy aircraft were shot down. Percy was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions during the

Guadalcanal campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in th ...

Shot-down

On June 7, 1943, Lieutenant Percy and his squadron engaged more than 100 Japanese aircraft over the

Russell Islands :''See also Russell Island (disambiguation).'' The Russell Islands are two small islands ( Pavuvu and Mbanika), as well as several islets, of volcanic origin, in the Central Province of Solomon Islands. They are located approximately northwest o ...

. Percy was flying the new

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 contracts ...

and shot down one Zero, his sixth and final kill of the war, and damaged another one. Shortly after making his sixth kill, Percy was wounded by enemy fire and the starboard wing of his aircraft was shot off. Percy managed to bail out of his plane at a speed of 350 knots. Percy's parachute failed to deploy properly, trailing above him as he fell about 2,000 feet into the ocean. He hit the water feet first, spraining both of his ankles and breaking his pelvis. After miraculously surviving the fall, Percy swam for three hours to the nearest shore. Percy would spend the next year in the hospital before returning to duty.

Later career and life

In the years after World War II, Percy became an experienced Marine helicopter pilot in the early 1950s. Major Percy deployed to

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 ...

, where he served as the operations officer for a Marine helicopter transport squadron from December 1952 to June 1953. In 1955, while serving as the commanding officer of Marine Experimental Helicopter Squadron 1 (HMX-1),

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 ...

Percy was named the first Presidential helicopter pilot. Percy retired from the Marines in 1961 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He died on September 16, 2015 and was buried in

Eagle Point National Cemetery Eagle Point National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located just east of Eagle Point, Oregon, Eagle Point, Jackson County, Oregon, Jackson County, Oregon and about northeast of Medford, Oregon, Medford. Administered by the United ...

Eagle Point, Oregon Eagle Point is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, Jackson County, Oregon, United States. The population was 8,469 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, up from 4,798 at the 2000 census. As of 2018, the estimated population was 9,408. Histo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Percy, James Gilbert 1921 births 2015 deaths United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War American World War II flying aces Aviators from California Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal Shot-down aviators United States Marine Corps officers United States Marine Corps pilots of World War II United States Naval Aviators