Henry Bernard Hamilton
Marine Gunner Henry B. “Tex” Hamilton was a Marine pilot who flew with VMF-212.
He was shot down over Guadalcanal on 22 October 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number O-12186
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
May 28, 1908
at Bremond, TX
Parents
Napoleon Bonaparte “Pole” Hamilton (d. 1941)
Mary (Hudson) Hamilton
Education
High school graduate
details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Professional Marine aviator
Service Life
Entered Service
March 29, 1929 (enlisted)
July 7, 1942 (officer)
Home Of Record
1915 McKee Street
San Diego, CA
Next Of Kin
Wife, Mrs Dorothy Freeman Hamilton
Military Specialty
Pilot
Primary Unit
VMF-212
Campaigns Served
Second Nicaraguan Campaign (1931-1932)
Solomon Islands / Guadalcanal
Individual Decorations
Navy Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
Hamilton was a certified ace, with 7 confirmed aerial victories. He was the only non-commissioned USMC ace of the war.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Henry “Tex” Hamilton, a veteran aviator with service dating back to Nicaragua in the early 1930s, flew as a fighter pilot with VMF-212 in the south Pacific. He was one of eight “Hell Hound” pilots assigned for Special Temporary Aviation Duty (STAD) with VMF-223, part of the “Cactus Air Force” on Guadalcanal. Hamilton arrived at Henderson Field on 20 August 1942 and began flying combat missions almost immediately. On 24 August he shot down two Zero fighters; on the 26th, he added two bombers to his score. His STAD tour ended the next day; Hamilton returned to his squadron at Efate one kill away from becoming an ace. His breathtaking prowess earned a recommendation for the Distinguished Flying Cross and a promotion to Marine Gunner (to rank from 7 July.)
Hamilton earned a reputation as an easygoing comrade, a highly skilled flyer, and an all-around favorite of the “Hell Hounds.” As journalist Max Brand reported:
He was a big fellow, and he didn't say much, but when he spoke up, he was the sort of man everybody listened to. I think the Colonel [Harold W. Bauer, commander of VMF-212] had special confidence in him. He was the first man to land on the Efate airstrip, and he was first in a lot of other ways. Because he had come up through the ranks, the ground force had a special affection for him. He was their hero. They felt that on an equal basis he could outfly and outshoot anybody except Bauer. The ground crew had its own way of judging the pilots, and perhaps they were right.... They appreciated the easy style of Hamilton. His landings were so smooth that you didn't have to ask who was handling the plane.
On 16 October, VMF-212 arrived on Guadalcanal as a full squadron. Just two days later, “Tex” achieved his ace status – and then some, downing a bomber and two fighters for a total of seven victories. Gunner Hamilton thus became the first (and only) enlisted Marine ace of World War II. He was recommended for the Navy Cross, joining the ranks of highly-decorated Cactus pilots.
Unfortunately, Hamilton would not live to wear either decoration. At 1245 on 21 October 1942, seven Japanese bombers appeared over Henderson Field, with 20 fighters hovering above. Nineteen Wildcats, including Hamilton’s BuNo 5045, intercepted the marauders. The war diary of Marine Air Group 23 claimed six Zeros and one bomber destroyed, but also noted the loss of two pilots. Technical Sergeant Emmett L. Anderson failed to return, but an eyewitness saw “Tex” Hamilton in the sky.
...I had the whole sky to myself except for one American parachute dropping slowly through the air. The man under it was Tex Hamilton, hanging helplessly in the shrouds – perhaps already killed by gunfire as he did not wave to me as I repeatedly passed by him. Anyway, I covered him all the way down and marked the spot in the jungle where he landed. I circled after he disappeared, but I got no signals from him, and then I had to come home, short on gas.
Captain Joe Foss later clarified that Drury knew the man was American by his distinctive yellow life jacket. “We never heard anything more of him,” he told author Walter Simmons in 1943. “Tex was a handy veteran who had been flying since 1936 and made more money than the young lieutenants, in spite of his rank.”
Historian John Lundstrom attributes Hamilton’s fate to PO1c Ōta Toshio of the Tainan air group – one of Japan’s leading aces of the war. Ōta was shot down in turn by 1Lt. Drury of VMF-212.
Tex Hamilton was posted as missing after the mission, and ultimately declared dead on 19 February 1945. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer.
Burial Information or Disposition
None; remains never recovered.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of wife, Mrs. Dorothy Hamilton.
The Hamiltons had a son, Jerome, born in 1941.
Location Of Loss
Hamilton was shot down while defending Henderson Field.
