May 07, 1942

On the first day of the Battle of the Coral Sea, Navy Lt. John Powers, flying a Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless dive bomber from the USS Yorktown scores a hit on the Japanese carrier Shoho. The next day, a burst of Japanese gunfire injures both Powers and his radioman/gunner and holes one of the SBD’s fuel tanks. Streaming fire, Powers holds his drop to point-blank range on the Japanese carrier Shokaku. The 1,000 pound bomb sets off a secondary explosion that damages the ship so severely that it later sinks. He crashes in flames just beyond the carrier. Powers is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.