World War II Honoree

James 'Jim' G. Daniels III

Branch of Service

U.S. Navy

Hometown

Kansas City, Missouri

Honored By

Helen A. Daniels

Relationship

Wife

SERVED AS AN ENSIGN IN THE U.S. NAVY AS AN AVIATOR ABOARD THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS ENTERPRISE CV-6 'THE BIG E'. PEARL HARBOR SURVIVOR. ON THE EVENING OF DECEMBER 7, 1941, HE WAS PART OF A COMBAT AIR SEARCH COMPRISED OF SIX F4F WILDCAT FIGHTERS TRYING TO FIND THE JAPANESE FLEET THAT ATTACKED PEARL HARBOR. UNABLE TO LOCATE THE JAPANESE FLEET, THESE FIGHTERS WERE DIRECTED TO LAND ON OAHU INSTEAD OF RETURNING TO THE USS ENTERPRISE. THE FIGHTERS WERE MISTAKEN FOR THE ENEMY AND FIVE OF THE SIX FIGHTERS WERE SHOT DOWN BY FRIENDLY FIRE. THREE OF THE PILOTS WERE KILLED INSTANTLY, ONE DIED LATER AND TWO SURVIVED. ENSIGN DANIELS WAS THE ONLY PILOT TO LAND SAFELY AT THE U.S. NAVAL STATION ON FORD ISLAND AT PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII.