On This Day In Alabama History: Fighter Pilot Declared Killed In Action
By Graydon Rust Alabama 200
March 28, 1945
Fighter pilot Charles Crommelin went missing over the sea near Okinawa and was declared killed in action. One of five brothers to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy, Crommelin rose to fame flying F6F Hellcat fighter planes in some of World War II’s most significant air battles in the Pacific. Video footage of Crommelin landing his aircraft after sustaining severe damage and severe wounds in November 1943 was featured in the propaganda film “Fighting Lady.” He received a Distinguished Flying Cross and the Navy Cross for his heroism and is memorialized at the WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument in Honolulu, Hawaii. He and his brothers were also inducted into the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame and the Alabama Military Hall of Honor.
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