In arlington National Cemetery in the United States, a great hero of the Sino-American army in the Battle of Midway, Richard Best, is buried.
Richard Best delivered a fatal blow to Akagi at the Battle of Midway, destroying the large japanese carrier, the Japanese prided itself on, and then he dropped a bomb that hit the Wyvern. Without Best's two decisive hits, the outcome of the Battle of Midway could have been rewritten.
Best graduated with honors from the U.S. Naval Academy as early as 1932, after which he was assigned to serve for two years on the light cruiser USS Richmond. In 1934 he transferred to pensacola naval air station to learn to fly, and in 1935 he became a carrier-based fighter pilot on the aircraft carrier LEXINGTON. In 1938, he served as a flight instructor at pensacola naval air station, and a year later switched to dive bombers. At the end of May 1940, Best was transferred to the 6th Bomber Squadron (VB-6) aboard the aircraft carrier ENTERPRISE. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, Best had been promoted to deputy squadron leader of the 6th Bomber Squadron. Together with the carrier ENTERPRISE, he participated in a series of combat operations of U.S. aircraft carriers in the early stages of the Pacific War, including air raids on the Marshall Islands, bombing of Wake Island, etc., and finally participated in the turning point of the Pacific War as a squadron leader of the 6th Bomber Squadron, the Battle of Midway.
■ Midway Naval Battle Color Drawing, in which the U.S. military sent all four of the most elite aircraft carriers of the Japanese combined fleet to the bottom of the sea at a relatively small cost.
At 10:22 a.m. on June 4, 1942, 31 SBD dive bombers from enterprise and 17 SBD dive bombers from the Yorktown aircraft carrier flew over the four large and medium-sized aircraft carriers of the Japanese Navy's mobile unit and launched an attack, playing the climax of the Battle of Midway. Due to a mismatch in command and coordination, almost all of The 31 SBDs of the Enterprise swooped down toward the Japanese carrier Kaga, and no bombers attacked the Akagi aircraft carrier on the other side. Best noticed this mistake, and he used the onboard radio to recall the other two wingmans, forming a small three-plane formation and dropping bombs on the Akagi!
The bombs dropped by the two wingmans were a little off and did not hit, but the heavy bombs dropped by Best directly hit the elevator near the middle deck of the Akagi carrier, fell into the hangar and exploded. A large number of bombs, torpedoes and aviation fuel piled up in the hangar of the "Akagi" were ignited and exploded, and the fire was out of control, and the entire aircraft carrier suddenly became a burning purgatory. With this bomb alone, Best destroyed the aircraft carrier Akagi! The kaga and Soryu aircraft carriers were also hit by bombs dropped by the rest of the dive bombers, igniting a fire. The Japanese mobile unit only survived the "Flying Dragon" aircraft carrier.
■ The members of the 6th Bomber Squadron took a group photo, and the center of the front row was Best. At the Battle of Midway, Best attacked the aircraft carrier Akagi along with wingman pilots Edwin Kroger (eighth from left in the back row) and Frederick Weber (sixth from right in the back row).
The only remaining Japanese carrier, the "Flying Dragon", did not withdraw from the battlefield, but insisted on sending carrier-based aircraft to launch a counterattack against the US aircraft carrier. At about 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., the U.S. aircraft carrier "Yorktown" was hit by bombs and torpedoes dropped by two waves of Japanese carrier-based aircraft, and suffered heavy damage. At 5 p.m., the pilots of the USS Enterprise and Hornet aircraft carriers used the remnants of the SBD dive bombers to attack the Wyvern again, and Best was one of them. The front elevator of the "Wyvern" aircraft carrier was hit by 4 heavy bombs in a row, including the bomb dropped by Best! The "Flying Dragon" ignited a fire and completely lost its combat effectiveness. And Best also became the first American pilot to successfully hit two enemy aircraft carriers in a naval battle! The Battle of Midway ended with the sinking of four Japanese aircraft carriers and the major victory of the Americans. Best was awarded the Navy Cross and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his outstanding performance in the war.
■ The movie "Decisive Battle of Midway" vividly recreates the fierce naval and air battle 78 years ago, and the heroic feat of Best hitting two Japanese aircraft carriers. Best in the film is played by American actor Ed Scrin.
However, the Battle of Midway was also the highlight of Best's pilot career. As a result of a long flight search during the attack mission on the morning of the naval battle, the oxygen supply system of the Best landline failed, and the tank containing sodium hydroxide was heated, causing corrosive gases to enter Best's oxygen mask, causing him to suffer from inhalation pneumonia, and later diagnosed with tuberculosis. In 1944, Best retired from the Navy, and after retiring he worked for the Douglas Aircraft Company and the Rand Corporation, living an ordinary life. Best died on October 28, 2001 at the age of 91. After Best's death, the U.S. Navy applied for him to be awarded a medal of honor, but unfortunately some leaders did not approve him because he was not qualified.
■ Best's Tomb in Arlington National Cemetery.