C. Wade McClusky Jr. faced a tough decision on June 4, 1942: turn his low-on-fuel U.S. Navy air squadron around or keep searching for the Japanese fleet headed for Midway. He decided to go on. The dive bombers he led that day in the Battle of Midway helped turn the tide of the war in the Pacific. On Sunday, 75 years to the day of his heroics, a clay model of a planned bronze statue of McClusky is being unveiled in his hometown of Buffalo, New York, as part of a new public memorial dedicated to local war heroes. McClusky, born in Buffalo in 1902, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1926 and earned his pilot’s wings a few years later. For his actions at Midway, McClusky was awarded the Navy Cross. He retired as a rear admiral in 1956.
75 years after Midway, US Navy hero honored in NY hometown
