Dean S. Laird

Dean S. "Diz" Laird (born February 7, 1921) is the only U.S. Navy ace to have combat victories in both the Pacific and European theaters of World War II.^[1] He is given credit for 5.75 arial victories.^[2] Laird flew 138 fighter missions during World War II.^[3] Laird is a Distinguished Flying Cross recipient.^[3] He served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.^[4] He is a recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal. (2015)^[5]

Career[]

One week after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on January 2, 1942, Laird drove to San Francisco to enlist.^[4] Laird entered the U.S. Navy cadet program. On August 11, 1942, he became a commissioned officer. In NAS Miami, Florida, on October 21, 1942, he became a Naval Aviator.^[6] Laird shot down 5.75 enemy aircraft in combat and he damaged an additional plane. Two of his kills were German planes: A Ju-88 and a He-115 in October 1943 near Norway. The other kills were Japanese planes so Laird has the distinction of the being only Navy ace to have scored air victories against both Germany and Japan.^[6] He flew F4F Wildcat and then F6Fs and was assigned from November 1942 to March 1943, to the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-4). November 1944 to March 1945 he was assigned to the USS Essex (CV-9).

In December 1944, Laird was almost shot down. His F6F Hellcat was riddled with bullets over the Philippines, but he was able to pilot the plane back to the USS Essex which was 250 miles away.^[3] His landing gear did not work and Laird landed the plane skidding on its bottom across the runway of the aircraft carrier USS Essex.^[7]

He received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions on Feb. 7, 1945. Laird was escorting bomber planes which were attacking heavily defended Japanese aircraft engine factories. He shot down two Japanese planes during that mission near Tokyo, Japan.^[3][8]

When Laird was 93 years old, he was one of 35 Aces to travel to the nation's capital and receive the Congressional Gold Medal recognizing the 1,450 Aces from all of the wars.^[5]

Movie[]

In 1969, Laird was a stunt pilot. In the 20th Century Fox film "Tora! Tora! Tora!", Laird performed many of the stunts which ended up in the movie.^[9] Laird helped choreograph the reenactment of the attack on Pearl Harbor and he was the lead stunt pilot.^[5] He was one of the three main pilots in the movie and he flew approximately 164 hours during the movie production.^[10]

Awards[]

A gold medal awarded in May 2015 in recognition of U.S. fighter aces

• Congressional Gold Medal (2015)^[5][11][12]
• Distinguished Flying Cross^[3][2]
• Audie Murphy award presented by the American Veterans Center^[13]

Affiliations[]

He was a member of the American Fighter Aces Association,^[1] the Distinguished Flying Cross Society^[2] and the Tailhook Association.^[10]

Personal[]

Laird was born in Loomis, California and now lives in Coronado, California.^[7]

See also[]

• List of World War II aces from the United States
• List of World War II flying aces^[2]

References[]

Further reading[]

• Hammel, Eric (2010) [1992]. Aces Against Japan. New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 978-1-890988-08-1. ISBN 0-671-52908-0.
• Hammel, Eric (1998). Aces in Combat: The American Aces Speak. Vol. 5. Pacifica, California: Pacifica Military History. ISBN 0-935553-61-4. ISBN 978-0-935553-61-1.
• Tillman, Barrett (1996). Hellcat Aces of World War 2. London: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-596-9. ISBN 978-1-85532-596-8.
• Tillman, Barrett (1979). Hellcat: The F6F in World War II (1st ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-991-8. ISBN 1-55750-991-3.

Notes[]

External links[]

• Dean Diz Laird
• Commander Laird was recognized as part of the AVC’s Emmy-winning television special American Valor: A Salute to Our Heroes
• Negative Diz, the Pattern is Full