Captain Richard Eugene Fleming (November 2, 1917 – June 5, 1942) was a United States Marine who received the Medal of Honor for his heroism in World War II during the Battle of Midway. Fleming piloted a Vought SB2U Vindicator dive bomber in an attack on the .
Biography
Richard Fleming was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota on November 2, 1917. He attended Saint Thomas Military Academy and graduated in the Class of 1935. During his senior year he was chosen as top student officer. From Saint Thomas, he entered the University of Minnesota and became president of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1939. Soon after graduation, he enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve and applied for flight training. He was sent to the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida, for training and finished at the top of his class in 1940. He was promoted to first lieutenant in April 1942 and to captain a month later.
Captain Fleming's first duty station was the Naval Air Base in San Diego, California. Ten days after the United States entered World War II, he flew from Pearl Harbor to Midway Island. He fought in the Battle of Midway as Flight Officer of Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 241. When squadron commander Lofton Henderson was shot down during the initial attack on a Japanese aircraft carrier, Fleming took command of the unit. The following day, June 5, 1942, Capt. Fleming led the second division of his squadron in a mass dive-bombing assault on the . Leaving the remainder of his formation, he dived to the perilously low altitude of , exposing himself to enemy fire in order to score a hit on the ship. Undeterred by a fateful approach glide, during which his plane was struck and set afire, he grimly pressed home his attack to an altitude of five hundred feet, released his bomb to score a near-miss on the stern of his target, then crashed to the sea in flames.
For "extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the call of duty," Capt. Fleming was posthumously awarded the nation's highest military decoration — the Medal of Honor, while Pfc. Toms received the Distinguished Flying Cross. On November 24, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt presented the Medal of Honor to Capt. Fleming's mother.
In honor
The United States Navy ship, the USS Fleming, DE-32, commissioned on September 18, 1943, was named in honor of Captain Fleming, and a memorial to him was placed at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Captain Fleming's name is listed on the Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Fleming is memorialized each year at his high school alma mater, Saint Thomas Academy. Each year during the Cadet Colonel promotion ceremony, he is remembered by the presentation of the "Fleming Saber", which is given to the Cadet Colonel.
Richard E. Fleming Field is the name for the South St. Paul Municipal Airport.
Medal of Honor citation
Captain Richard E. Fleming was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. military award for valor. Fleming's citation, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt reads:
The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to