Leonard Hillman Whittington
Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army

On 4 June 1942, Second Lieutenant Leonard Hillman Whittington was serving as Co-Pilot on a B-26 Mitchell Bomber of the 18th Reconnaissance Squadron, 22nd Bombardment Group (Medium), Far East Air Force (Detached), U.S. Army Air Forces.

On that day, 2LT Whittington’s unit was in aerial action against Japanese forces during during a torpedo-bombing mission against the Japanese Navy near Midway Island during the Battle of Midway. The success of the mission was dependent entirely upon the skill, courageousness and unfaltering devotion to duty of the crew members of the airplanes participating, who unhesitatingly entered into the attack at great personal risk to their lives in the face of concentrated gunfire from the Japanese Naval forces and fighter planes. During this, the first torpedo attack ever carried out by the Army Air Forces, the airplane on which 2LT Whittington was co-pilot, was lost in action. 2LT Whittington’s flying skills, courageous actions and extraordinary heroism that day earned him, at the cost of his life, the U.S. Army's second highest award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross.

Medals, Awards and Badges

Distinguished Service Cross
Purple Heart
Air Medal
American Defense Service Medal
American Campaign Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
Army Air Force Pilot Badge

Distinguished Service Cross Citation

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Second Lieutenant (Air Corps) Leonard Hillman Whittington (ASN: 0-427074), United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Co-Pilot on a B-26 Medium Bomber of the 18th Reconnaissance Squadron, 22d Bombardment Group (M), FAR EAST Air Force (Detached), in aerial action against enemy surface forces on 4 June 1942, during an engagement near Midway Island. Lieutenant Whittington displayed extraordinary heroism during a torpedo-bombing mission against the Japanese Navy. The success of the mission was dependent entirely upon the skill, courageousness and unfaltering devotion to duty of the crew members of the airplanes participating, who unhesitatingly entered into the attack at great personal risk tot heir own lives in the face of concentrated gunfire of the Japanese Naval forces and fighter planes. During this, the first torpedo attack ever carried out by the Army Air Forces, the airplane on which Lieutenant Whittington was co-pilot, was lost. The personal courage and zealous devotion to duty displayed by Second Lieutenant Whittington on this occasion, at the cost of his life, have upheld the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Far East Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces.

Headquarters, Hawaiian Department, U.S. Army, General Orders No. 117 (1942)

Memorialization

The remains of Second Lieutenant Leonard Hillman Whittington have never been recovered. He is memorialized by having his name inscribed on Court 5 of the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial in Honolulu, Honolulu County, HI.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56135325/leonard-hillman-whittington