"The admiral is a stupid ass" -- Beginnings -- Naval aviator -- Pearl Harbor -- Tulagi -- Battle of the Coral Sea -- Intermission: Summer of 1942 -- Developments elsewhere -- A phantom goose chase concluded -- The Battle of Santa Cruz -- A battle concluded -- What does victory look like? -- The naval battle for Guadalcanal -- On to Guadalcanal -- From combat to commander -- No easy days: Air Boss on USS Essex -- Grooming -- USS Constellation, "America's flagship" -- Do not pass Captain -- Afterthoughts -- Epilogue -- Appendix 1. Goose chase controversies -- Appendix 2. Mission myths deconstructed -- Appendix 3. Crisis in leadership: Kinkaid's failure -- Appendix 4. Medal of honor MIA -- Appendix 5. Decorations and citations awarded to Swede Vejtasa.
Summary:
"This biography details how Stanley "Swede" Vejtasa became a World War II naval hero. During the Battle of the Coral Sea, Swede flew an SBD Dauntless dive-bomber and helped sink Shoho, the first aircraft carrier lost by Japan in World War II. The next day, in that same Dauntless, he took off from USS Yorktown and out-flew and out-gunned three Japanese Zeros, making him the only dive bomber pilot to be awarded Navy Crosses for both bombing and aerial combat. During the Battle of Santa Cruz, Swede Vejtasa single-handedly downed an unprecedented two Japanese dive bombers and five torpedo bombers and saved the USS Enterprise."--Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.