Vincent Patrick O'Rourke (19 May 192214 July 2011) was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

United States

naval aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...

in the

Pacific theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

and two time recipient of the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's 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 equivalent to the Army ...

, the Navy's second highest award for valor after the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

. After the war, he was

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of a number of aviation units as well as and .

Background and education

Vincent Patrick O'Rourke was born on 19 May 1922 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to Francis and Alice O'Rourke. He grew up in

Forest Hills, Queens Forest Hills is a neighborhood in the central portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is adjacent to Corona to the north, Rego Park and Glendale to the west, Forest Park to the south, Kew Gardens to the southeast and Flushing ...

. In 1940, he began studying

Aeronautical Engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

at the

Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute The New York University Tandon School of Engineering (commonly referred to as Tandon) is the engineering and applied sciences school of New York University. Tandon is the second oldest private engineering and technology school in the United St ...

. In 1954, he received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the

Naval Postgraduate School Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a Naval command with a graduate university mission, operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. The NPS mission is to provide "defense-focused graduate education, including clas ...

. He also received a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree from

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

. He also graduated from the Naval Test Pilot School and the

Armed Forces Staff College The Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), located in Norfolk, Virginia, was established as the Armed Forces Staff College in 1946 and incorporated into the National Defense University in August 1981. It educates and acculturates joint and multinat ...

. He was married to Harriett Julia Sokal (1922–2007) of

Middle Village, Queens Middle Village is a neighborhood in the central section of the Borough (New York City), borough of Queens, New York City, bounded to the north by the Long Island Expressway, to the east by Woodhaven Boulevard, to the south by Cooper Avenue and t ...

for 63 years.

Navy career

O'Rourke enlisted in the Navy 27 July 1942 as an

aviation cadet A flight cadet or is a military or civilian occupational title that is held by someone who is in training to perform aircrew duties in an airplane. The trainee does not need to become a pilot, as flight cadets may also learn to serve as a bombard ...

. He became an

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

in October 1943. He served with VF-74 aboard the Mediterranean theater. On 9 July 1944, while he was landing on ''Kasaan Bay'', his TBM-1C hit the catwalk and severely damaged a wing, but there were no injuries. He served as a pilot with torpedo squadron 47 ( VT-47) on flying a TBM-3 Avenger and was awarded a number of medals for valor including two Navy Cross medals and a Bronze star. LTJG O'Rourke received his first Navy Cross was for his attack on the Japanese fleet at

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

Bay on 19 March 1945. He bombed a large aircraft carrier under heavy anti-aircraft fire and smoke-screening. His second Navy Cross related to his role in the attack on the Japanese cruiser Tone during the 28 July 1945 attack on

Kure is a city in the Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 208,024 in 106,616 households and a population density of 590 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . With a strong industrial and naval heritage, ...

Harbor. O'Rourke flew just over 216 hours on 33 strike missions during VT-47's 18 March 1945 to 15 August 1945 combat deployment aboard ''Bataan''. He served as

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

of fighter squadron

VF-124 Fighter Squadron 124 or VF-124 ''Gunfighters'' was a fleet replacement squadron (FRS) of the United States Navy. Originally established on 16 August 1948 as VF-53, it was redesignated VF-124 at NAS Moffett Field on 11 April 1958 due to a need f ...

and Commanding officer of fighter squadrons VF-96 and

VF-142 VF-142 ''Ghostriders'' was a US Navy fighter squadron established on 24 August 1948 as VF-193, it was redesignated VF-142 on 15 October 1963, and disestablished on 30 April 1995. History Late 1940s to the 1970s Fighter Squadron 193 (VF-193) ...

prior to 1964. In 1964,

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

O'Rourke was executive officer of after serving there as

Air Officer An air officer is an air force officer of the rank of air commodore or higher. Such officers may be termed "officers of air rank". While the term originated in the Royal Air Force, air officers are also to be found in many Commonwealth of Natio ...

. He became a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in December 1964. O'Rourke was commanding officer of from 5 August 1966 to 2 August 1967. O'Rourke was commanding officer of from 26 August 1970 to 10 September 1971. O'Rourke retired to

Coronado, California Coronado (Spanish language, Spanish for "Crowned") is a resort town, resort city in San Diego County, California, United States, across San Diego Bay from downtown San Diego. It was founded in the 1880s and incorporated in 1890. Its population ...

, in July 1974 and was a consultant in the US, Europe and Middle East. He died 14 July 2011 in Coronado. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

, section 55, grave 3495 on 11 October 2012.

Awards

During his career in the Navy, O'Rourke received the

with Gold Star for second award,

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

, Distinguished Flying Cross,

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

with

valor device Valor, valour, or valorous may mean: * Courage, a similar meaning * Virtue ethics, roughly "courage in defense of a noble cause" Entertainment * Valor Kand, a member of the band Christian Death * ''Valor'' (TV series), an American drama series ...

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 establi ...

with 4 Gold Stars for subsequent awards and the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: Singapore *Pingat Jasa Gemilang, or Meritorious Services Me ...

Award citations

The Commander of 1st Carrier Task Force awarded O'Rourke the Navy Cross for actions 19 March 1945 during a raid on Kobe Bay: The Commander of 2nd Carrier Task Force, Pacific awarded O'Rourke the Navy Cross for actions on 28 July 1945 during a raid on Kure Harbor and his role in sinking Japanese cruiser ''Tone''.

Dates of rank

* 1 October 1943 Ensign. * 1 January 1949 Lieutenant. * 1 July 1959 Commander. * 1 December 1964 Captain. * July 1974 Captain, Retired.

Bibliography

* (Masters Thesis)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:ORourke, Vincent P. 1922 births 2011 deaths People from Forest Hills, Queens People from Coronado, California Polytechnic Institute of New York University alumni Purdue University alumni Naval Postgraduate School alumni Joint Forces Staff College alumni United States Naval Test Pilot School alumni United States Naval Aviators Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal United States Navy personnel of World War II Military personnel from California