During the first two days, Lieutenant Powers, flying a dive-bomber
in the face of blasting enemy anti-aircraft fire, demolished one
large enemy gunboat, put another gunboat out of commission,
severely damaged an aircraft tender and a twenty-thousand-ton
transport, and scored a direct hit on an aircraft carrier which
burst into flames and sank soon after.
The official citation then describes the morning of the third day
of battle. As the pilots of his squadron left the ready room to man
their planes, Lieutenant Powers said to them, "Remember, the folks
back home are counting on us. I am going to get a hit if I have to
lay it on their flight deck.
He led his section down to the target from an altitude of 18,000
feet, through a wall of bursting anti-aircraft shells and swarms of
enemy planes. He dived almost to the very deck of the enemy
carrier, and did not release his bomb until he was sure of a direct
hit. He was last seen attempting recovery from his dive at the
extremely low altitude of two hundred feet, amid a terrific barrage
of shell and bomb fragments, and smoke and flame and debris from
the stricken vessel. His own plane was destroyed by the explosion
of his own bomb. But he had made good his promise to "lay it on
their flight deck."
I have received a recommendation from the Secretary of the Navy
that Lieutenant John James Powers of New York City, missing in
action, be awarded the Medal of Honor.
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