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| Annapolis grad, F6F pilot and Navy Cross hero Elbert Heim served on the USS Bennington. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/108691439 |
Elbert Stewart Heim Jr. never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
Elbert was born on April 8, 1920 in Alba, Texas. His parents Elbert Sr. and Ruth were also born in Texas. His father worked as a labor foreman and as a civil engineer. Elbert Jr. was an only child. At some point, the family moved to Bossier City, Louisiana, where Elbert Jr. graduated from Fair Park High School and attended Centenary College.
He entered the U.S. Naval Academy in August 1939 and graduated early in 1941. He then attended flight school at Pensacola Naval Air Station and was commissioned as a Lieutenant (junior grade) in June 1942. Lt. Heim spent much of the next two years flying F4F Wildcat fighter aircraft on anti-submarine missions aboard the escort carrier USS Bogue in the Atlantic, where his actions won him the Navy Cross* and the Distinguished Flying Cross. At some point, Elbert married the former Mary Elizabeth Wales of King George, Virginia.
In 1944 Lt. Heim was transferred to Fighting Squadron 82 (VF-82) aboard the newly commissioned Essex-class carrier USS Bennington. After completing her shakedown in the Atlantic, Bennington transited the Panama Canal in December 1944 bound for San Diego, and then on to Pearl Harbor in January 1945. After several weeks of additional training at Hawaii, Bennington departed on her first combat cruise in February headed for the coast of Japan.
The primary mission of VF-82’s pilots, flying F6F Hellcat fighters, was to escort Bennington’s dive bombers and torpedo planes in the destruction of enemy shipping, aircraft installations and aircraft engine factories in and around Tokyo. Lt. Heim received his second Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions on 19 March 1945 when he shot down two enemy planes that were approaching to attack the USN surface forces. On 27 March 1945, Lt. Heim was flying as part of a group of sixteen VF-82 Hellcats escorting attack aircraft on a mission against Japanese merchant ships at Kakeroma Shima. Lt. Heim’s aircraft was last seen pulling out of a dive during a bombing attack on Japanese ships in the harbor and going into a cloud. He was not seen again and was later declared "missing in action”.
Elbert Stewart Heim is memorialized in Centuries Memorial Park in Shreveport, LA. I was unable to find any information on his widow.
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This profile was written by Bob Fuerst. "I’m a NASA engineer, B-17 Flying Fortress enthusiast, and amateur genealogist so this kind of research is an ideal outlet for me. But more than anything, it’s a way to express my sincere appreciation for The Greatest Generation and the sacrifices that they made, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. They should never be forgotten and I’m grateful to Don for allowing me to play a small part in honoring them."
* Added information from WWII Pacific Air War Facebook group's George Roylston "Awarded the Navy Cross for action on Oct. 4, 1943 wherein he strafed four surfaced U-boats, knocking out the AA positions on three of them." Added information from WWII Pacific Air War Facebook group's
Last year on this date I profiled Raphael Blaske of the 1st Armored Division. You can read about Raphael here.
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