Joe Foss
Joseph Jacob "Joe" Foss (
April 17,
1915–
January 1,
2003) was an "
ace" fighter pilot in the
United States Marine Corps, a
1943 recipient of the
Medal of Honor, and the 20th
Governor of South Dakota.
Born of
Norwegian ancestry on a farm near
Sioux Falls,
South Dakota, Foss grew up in a farmhouse without electricity. When he was 12, he visited a local airfield to see
Charles Lindbergh on tour with his aircraft, the
Spirit of St. Louis. Four years later, he and his father paid $1.50 apiece to take their first aircraft ride.
In
1933, upon the death of his father, young Foss took over the running of the family farm, but the crops and stock were destroyed by dust storms over the next two years. He worked at a service station to pay for books and college tuition, and flight lessons. By
1940, armed with a pilot's license and a degree in Business Administration from the
University of South Dakota, he enlisted in the Naval Aviation Cadet program.
World War II flying ace
After being designated a Naval Aviator, Foss served as a flight instructor at
Pensacola, Florida and later attended the Navy School of Photography, at which time he was assigned to
Marine Photographic Squadron 1 (VMD-1) which was stationed at
NAS North Island in
San Diego, California. Eager for combat, he qualified in Grumman
F4F Wildcats while still assigned to VMD-1 and was eventually transferred to Marine Fighting Squadron 121
VMF-121. In October 1942, VMF-121 was deployed to the
South Pacific and became part of the
Cactus Air Force in the
Battle of Guadalcanal with Foss serving as the executive officer. On combat missions he led an eight-plane element that became known as the
Flying Circus. He shot down a
Japanese Zero on
October 13, but his own plane was hit and, with a dead engine and three more Zeros on his tail, he landed at full speed, no flaps and minimal control on the American runway at Guadalcanal, barely missing a grove of
palm trees.
By the time Foss left Guadalcanal in January
1943, his Flying Circus had shot down 72
Japanese aircraft, including 26 credited to him. As America's "ace of aces" he received the
Medal of Honor during a
White House ceremony in
1943, and appeared on the cover of
Life magazine.
Even though all of Foss' 26 victories were gained as a Marine Corps officer, the service continues recognizing
Gregory Boyington as its leading
ace. This is due to Boyington's wartime claims in the
American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers) as well as the Marine Corps, though the documented records prove otherwise. (See Dr. Frank Olynyk,
Stars and Bars: A Tribute to the American Fighter Ace, 1995). Currently, the Marines
credit Boyington with 28 victories: six with the AVG in
China and 22 with the Marine Corps, the last two being unwitnessed. Boyington's total score recognized by the American Fighter Aces Association is 24: 2 with the AVG and 22 claimed with the Marine Corps. Boyington thus ranks behind Foss (26) and Robert M. Hanson (25).
A postwar attempt to film a story of Foss's life, starring
John Wayne, fell through when Foss refused to allow the producers to add a fictitious love story.
Medal of Honor citation
The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR to
CAPTAIN JOSEPH J. FOSS
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS RESERVE
for service as set forth in the following CITATION:
For outstanding heroism and courage above and beyond the call of duty as Executive Officer of a Marine Fighting Squadron, at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. Engaging in almost daily combat with the enemy from October 9 to November 19, 1942, Captain Foss personally shot down twenty-three Japanese planes and damaged others so severely that their destruction was extremely probable. In addition, during this period, he successfully led a large number of escort missions, skillfully covering reconnaissance, bombing and photographic planes as well as surface craft. On January 15, 1943, he added three more enemy planes to his already brilliant successes for a record of aerial combat achievement unsurpassed in this war. Boldly searching out an approaching enemy force on January 25, Captain Foss led his eight F4F Marine planes and four Army P-38s into action and, undaunted by tremendously superior numbers, intercepted and struck with such force that four Japanese fighters were shot down and the bombers were turned back without releasing a single bomb. His remarkable flying skill, inspiring leadership and indomitable fighting spirit were distinctive factors in the defense of strategic American positions on Guadalcanal.
/S/
Franklin D. RooseveltAir National Guard
After the war, Foss capitalized on his name recognition by opening a charter flying service and flight instruction school. He later became a car salesman. He also organized the
South Dakota Air National Guard and commanded the Guard's
175th Fighter Squadron, eventually reaching the rank of
Brigadier General.
Foss served two years in the South Dakota legislature and, beginning in
1955, as
Governor of South Dakota. During his tenure as governor, he accompanied
Tom Brokaw, then a South Dakota
High School student and Governor of South Dakota
Boys State, to
New York City for a joint appearance on a TV
game show. Later, Brokaw would feature Foss prominently in his book about
World War II veterans,
The Greatest Generation. In
1958, Foss unsuccessfully sought a seat in the
U.S. House of Representatives, losing to
George McGovern.
|
Book cover from autobiography, written with Donna Foss. |
After his 1958 election loss, Foss became commissioner of the new
American Football League in
1959. He oversaw the emergence of the league as the genesis of modern professional football, then stepped aside as commissioner in
1966, two months before the NFL agreed to merge with the
AFL.
Foss' many charities included the Easter Seals campaign, Campus Crusade for Christ, and an Arizona program for disadvantaged youths.
Foss hosted
ABC television's
The American Sportsman from
1964 to
1967, and hosted a syndicated program,
The Outsdoorsman: Joe Foss from
1967 to
1974. He also served as President of the
National Rifle Association from
1988 to
1990, and appeared on the cover of
Time Magazine wearing a
Stetson hat and holding a revolver.
In 2000, Foss served as a consultant on the popular computer game 'Combat Flight Simulator 2' by Microsoft.
[ An Interview with Joseph Jacob "Joe" Foss, Microsoft Games Studios. (URL accessed June 13, 2006)]On
January 11 2002, Foss, then in his mid-80s, gained renewed fame when he was stopped at the
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport because he was carrying his Medal of Honor (which has pointed edges), along with a clearly marked dummy-bullet keychain and a small knife (with MOH insignia) on his way to giving a speech to a class at the
United States Military Academy at West Point.
[Cafferty, Jack. "Decorated WWII veteran detained, searched at airport", interview with Joe Foss , CNN.com, February 2002.]The subsequent delay and lack of recognition of the award, together with his age, highlighted the ridiculous and unreasonable lengths to which airport security measures had reached. The story later attained urban-legend status before it was held as true by
snopes.com, a popular "last word" on such claims.
Foss coauthored or was the subject of three books including the wartime
Joe Foss: Flying Marine (with Walter Simmons);
Top Guns (with Matthew Brennan); and
A Proud American by his wife, Donna Wild Foss. Foss also provided the foreword to
Above and Beyond: the Aviation Medals of Honor by
Barrett Tillman.
Joe Foss died on New Year's Day 2003 following a severe stroke three months previously.
[Harriman and Kranz obituary, January 2003.] His name and patriotic activities are perpetuated in the Foss Institute in Scottsdale, Arizona.
*
American Football League players, coaches and contributors*
Brigadier General Joseph Jacob Foss, ANG, Who's Who in Marine Corps History, History Division, United States Marine Corps. Accessed on
2006-03-19. Official Marine Corps biography.
*
Capt Joseph J. Foss, Medal of Honor, 1942, VMA, Guadalcanal, Medal of Honor citation. Accessed on
2006-03-19*
Joseph J. Foss: Brigadier General, United States Marine Corps, Arlington National Cemetery profile. Accessed on
2006-03-20.
*Harriman, Peter and David Kranz.
"S.D. loses legend, American hero", Argus Leader,
January 2,
2003. Foss obituary. Accessed on
2006-03-20.
* Biography.
* Air Force biography.
