World War II Honoree

Richard Gunter 'Dick' Crommelin

Branch of Service

U.S. Navy

Hometown

Montgomery, Alabama

Honored By

Pearl Thomas

A 1938 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. A Naval Aviator assigned to his first squadron in the air group of USS Yorktown (CV-5) he was credited with shooting down two of six Zero fighter planes during the May 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea. He fought in the Battle of Midway and was awarded the Navy Cross with gold star. Later in the war, he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and assigned to command Fighting Squadron 88 (VF-88) embarked in the second USS Yorktown (CV-10). While escorting fighter bombers to Japan, one of his crewman accidentally had a midair collision in bad weather with his Hellcat plane. The 13 foot steel propeller sliced off the tail of his plane and sent it crashing into the Pacific Ocean in the vicinity of the Caroline Islands on July 14, 1945. Posthumously, he was awarded the Legion of Merit and Distinguished Flying Cross in recognition of his combat record. A Perry class guided missile frigate, USS Crommelin (FGG-37) was named in honor of he and his four Naval Academy graduate brothers.