Years of service 1938–42 Battles and wars World War II | Awards Navy Cross Name Osborne Wiseman Rank Lieutenant (junior grade) | |
Born February 20, 1915
Zanesville, Ohio ( 1915-02-20 ) Allegiance United States of America Battles/wars World War II
*Battle of Midway Died June 4, 1942, Midway Atoll, United States Education United States Naval Academy | ||
Service/branch United States Navy | ||
Osborne Beeman Wiseman (20 February 1915 – 4 June 1942) was a naval aviator United States Navy during World War II who was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously for his heroism in the Battle of Midway.
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Biography
Wiseman was born on 20 February 1915 in Zanesville, Ohio. He was appointed to the United States Naval Academy on 22 June 1934, and graduated on 2 June 1938. After sea duty in the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga and the destroyer Roe, Wiseman was transferred to the Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, for flight training. Detached on 17 March 1941, having won his wings, Wiseman joined Bombing Squadron 3 (VB-3), embarked in Saratoga.
After that carrier was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-25 off Oahu on 11 January 1942 and sent to the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, for repairs and alterations, her aviation units were transferred ashore to operate from Ford Island. When Yorktown returned to Pearl Harbor for repair of the damage sustained early in May at the Battle of the Coral Sea, her units were transferred from the ship and replaced by some of Saratoga's old units — Bombing Squadron 3, Torpedo Squadron 3 (VT-3), and Fighting Squadron 3 (VF-3). Wiseman reported on board Yorktown in time to take part in the pivotal Battle of Midway.
On the first day of the carrier action, 4 June, Lt.(j.g.) Wiseman flew two sorties — one against the carrier Soryu that morning and one against Hiryu that afternoon. The latter, by that point, was the last of the four enemy flattops afloat, and the strike in which Wiseman participated proved to be the coup de grâce administered to that ship. Japanese "Zero" fighters, however, swarmed over the Dauntlesses of VB-3 and VB-6, exacting some measure of revenge for the pounding administered to Hiryu. In that melee, Wiseman's plane was shot down. Neither he nor his gunner were seen again.
Having played a major part in turning the tide of the war in the Pacific, Lt.(jg.) Wiseman was awarded the Navy Cross, posthumously, for his heroism and devotion to duty.
Namesake
In 1943, the destroyer escort USS Wiseman was named in honor of Lt.(jg.) Wiseman, sponsored by his widow, Mrs. June Holton.