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Pilot survived Pearl Harbor to earn numerous awards

A leader recognized for his service as well as his battle heroics, Richard Henry Carmichael survived the attack on Pearl Harbor and a Japanese prisoner of war camp and went on to become an Air Force major general.

Carmichael graduated from West Point in 1936 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant of field artillery. But he wanted to fly and found a way to complete flight training at Randolph Field, Texas, in 1937.

On the night of Dec. 6, 1941, then-Maj. Carmichael took off from Hamilton Field, Calif., in one of 12 B-17 Flying Fortresses scheduled to stop in Hawaii en route to the Philippines.

But when he arrived over Oahu on the morning of Dec. 7, Carmichael and his fellow airmen flew into the middle of the Japanese attack. Carmichael managed to land his B-17 on a 1,200-foot emergency runway. Not all the B-17s were so lucky. His piloting prowess that day earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross.

In early 1942, Carmichael took command of the 19th Bombardment Group and led it on some 25 combat missions against Japanese targets. During a mission Aug. 7, 1942, the group shot down 11 Japanese fighters over Papua New Guinea, and destroyed or damaged 50 bombers on the ground. “Although both his side gunners were killed and his airplane heavily damaged,” Carmichael “continued to press home the attack,” according to the citation of the Distinguished Service Cross he received for his actions that day.

After a brief stint as executive assistant to Gen. Henry “Hap” Arnold, Carmichael returned to flying and took command of the 462nd Bomb Group. On Aug. 20, 1944, while leading the 462nd on the first daylight bombing raid of Japan, Carmichael was shot down and captured. After he was freed in late August 1945, he received his second Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism commanding the 462nd.

Carmichael also received two Silver Stars, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, five Legions of Merit and four Air Medals.

“The gallantry medals certainly prove Carmichael was a hero in the air,” said Harry Bendorf, a retired Air Force brigadier general and expert on medals and decorations.

“But the multiple Legions of Merit indicate he provided consummate service as well.”

But he wasn’t done yet. In 1950, Carmichael took charge of the 98th Bomb Group shortly before the start of the Korean War. He flew nearly 40 combat missions with that unit before returning to the U.S. in 1951.

In May 1953, Carmichael was back in the Pacific as commander of the Far East Air Force Bomber Command. He subsequently served at Air Force headquarters and finally at the Air Command and Staff College before retiring as a major general in January 1961.

He died in 1983.

Fred L. Borch, an Army veteran, is the regimental historian for the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps and the author of “The Silver Star.” His e-mail address is borchfj@aol.com. Robert F. Dorr, an Air Force veteran is co-author of “Hell Hawks,” a history of an American fighter group. His e-mail address is robert.f.dorr@cox.net.