George H. Gay, Jr.

Infobox Military Person
name=George H. Gay, Jr.
born= birth date|1917|3|8
died= death date and age|1994|10|21|1917|3|8


caption=
nickname=
placeofbirth=Waco, Texas
placeofdeath=Marietta, Georgia
allegiance=United States of America
branch=United States Navy
serviceyears=
rank=Lieutenant Commander
unit=Torpedo Squadron 8
commands=
battles= World War II
*Battle of Midway
awards= Navy Cross Presidential Unit Citation
relations=
laterwork=
Ensign (later Lieutenant Commander) George Henry Gay Jr. (March 8, 1917–October 21, 1994) was a TBD Devastator pilot in United States Navy Torpedo Squadron 8 operating from the USS "Hornet" (CV-8) in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II. Of the 30 VT-8 aircrew that participated in the crucial battle of Midway, Ensign Gay was the "Sole Survivor", which was the title of his autobiography [http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq81-8c.htm] .

Early years

George Henry Gay, Jr. was born on March 8, 1917 in Waco, Texas. He attended school in both Austin and Houston before enrolling at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University)

World War II

Like millions of Americans at the time, Gay chose to sign up for the coming war, leaving college (Texas A&M University) to do so. Wanting to fight the war as a pilot he tried to join the Army Air Corps but was rejected for medical reasons.

Not giving up on his original ambition to fight the war as a pilot he signed up with the United States Navy in early 1941. Gay completed flight training and was commissioned as an Ensign in Sept 1941.

He joined the newly-formed Torpedo Squadron 8 under Lieutenant Commander John Charles Waldron. He and his unit were aboard the "USS Hornet" in April 1942 when Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle launched his raid on Tokyo. One week later, the "Hornet" arrived at Pearl Harbor to join the "USS Enterprise" and become part of Task Force 16 during the Battle of Midway.In the Battle of Midway, Gay's unit found the main Japanese fleet and launched a suicidal attack without being escorted by fighter planes. Gay was the first of his squadron to depart on June 4, 1942. Although he was wounded and his radioman/gunner was dying, Gay finished his bombing run on the Japanese aircraft carrier "Kaga". Rather than banking away from the ship and presenting a larger target, Gay continued in toward the carrier at low level. He then brought his Devastator into a tight turn as he approached the carrier's island, and flew aft over the flight deck's length. It was here that he mentioned the thought of crashing into the Japanese aircraft he saw being serviced on its deck if it seemed like his plane was going down. [http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq81-8c.htm Interview with Lt. Gay] regarding his experiences during Midway and the war in general. From the Naval Historical Center retrieved 02/18/2008] Saying later;quotation|It's when a fellow is just gone and knows it, it is just crash into the ship or crash into the sea, and you have enough control to do a little bit more damage, why you crash into the ship. His plane proved to be in good condition so he decided to make for the "Hornet" instead after clearing the Japanese carrier. Before he could do anything else, five A6M "Zeke"s brought his aircraft down in a hail of machine gun and cannon fire. Floating in the ocean, he hid under his seat cushion during the subsequent dive bombing attacks that sank three of the four Japanese aircraft carriers present. [Joe James Custer (United Press), "Watches Jap Carriers Go By in Flames", Waterloo Daily Courier, 1942-06-09 at 1, available at NewspaperArchive.com.]

After dark Gay felt it was safe to inflate his life raft. He was rescued by a Navy PBY after spending over 30 hours in the water. Of the squadron's thirty pilots and radiomen, Gay was the only survivor. Gay met with Admiral Nimitz and confirmed the destruction of the three carriers.

Following the battle, Gay took part in the Guadalcanal campaign with another squadron, and he later became a navy flight instructor.

He was awarded the Navy Cross and the Presidential Unit Citation for his actions in battle at Midway. He was also later awarded the Air Medal.

Later years

After the war, Gay spent over 30 years as a pilot for TWA. [Obituary, George Gay Jr.; 77, Was Sole Survivor of Midway Attack, New York Times, 1994-10-24.] He often lectured on his Midway experiencesFact|date=September 2007, and authored the book "Sole Survivor" about his wartime experiences. [George Gay, "Sole Survivor," ISBN-10: 0938300083 (1983).] In 1975, he served as a consultant on the set for the movie "Midway", in which Kevin Dobson played Gay. [Obituary.] He attended the decommissioning ceremony of the USS Midway on April 11, 1992.

On October 21, 1994, Gay died of a heart attack at a hospital in Marietta, Georgia. [Obituary.] Following his death, Gay was cremated and his ashes were spread over the Pacific in the same place that his squadron launched its ill-fated attack.Fact|date=October 2007

ee also

References

External links

* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-g/g-gay.htm Naval Historical Center]
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq81-8c.htm Naval Historical Center - Recollections]
* [http://www.radiocrazy.com/shows2/W/WorldNewsToday/004.mp3 Copy of News Report w/ Lt. George Gay]