Nathan Green Gordon – Medal of Honor
Nathan Green Gordon – Medal of Honor
While serving as a Navy pilot in the Pacific during WWII, Nathan Green Gordon rescued 15 downed airmen under enemy fire. Nathan went on to serve over 20 years as lieutenant governor of his home state.
Nathan Green Gordon, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for rescuing 15 fellow airmen during World War II and later served 20 years as lieutenant governor, has died at the age of 92. Nathan had been suffering from pneumonia and passed away Monday night.Gordon was piloting a Navy Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat in February, 1944 when he was ordered to search for downed pilots after a raid on a Japanese position along the Bismarck Sea near Papua, New Guinea.
Under fire, Gordon piloted the unwieldy aircraft to three separate water landings in rough seas, picking up nine men. On the way back, he learned of a life raft in the water and landed the already overloaded plane yet again, pulling six more airmen aboard while again under heavy enemy fire.
According to an article from tha Associated Press;
“He just did not want to leave anyone there because if they had been captured, they would have faced almost certain death,” said Stephan McAteer, executive director of the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History in Little Rock.In a 2002 interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Gordon said some of the survivors needed medical treatment, “but I think everybody got over it all right. When I went back during the flight to check, our crew was feeding them. They said it was the best food they’d had in a long time.”
Gordon never thought he’d be nominated for the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military honor. His superiors cited his “exceptional daring, personal valor and incomparable airmanship under most perilous conditions.”
On his return to Arkansas, friends persuaded him to run for office and he wound up serving as lieutenant governor from 1947 to 1967, under four governors.
According to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s Web site, there were just 101 living recipients as of Aug. 23, including 27 from World War II.
America will miss Nathan Green Gordon. He was truly one of our finest treasures. Nathan was definitely a credit to the Navy, the United States and all Americans.
We offer our thanks for a job well done. Thank you Nathan.
American Valor salutes you!
Tags: American Valor, medal of honor, military tribute, Nathan Green Gordon
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March 15th, 2009 at 2:26 am
Who are you and what did you have in mind?
December 22nd, 2009 at 4:09 pm
I really like your writing style, its not generic and extremly long and tedious like a lot of blog posts I read, you get to the point and I really enjoy reading your articles! Oh, and merry Christmas!