"True American Hero" Alex Vraciu '41 Dies at Age 96

February 3, 2015

"Alex led a remarkable life and he should go down in history as a great Hoosier and a true American hero," says Ray Boomhower of Alex Vraciu, a fighter pilot in World War II and 1941 graduate of DePauw University, who died January 29 in California at age 96.  Boomhower, who authored the 2010 book, Fighter Pilot: The World War II Career of Alex Vraciu, is quoted in an Indianapolis Star article today.

"After graduating from DePauw University in 1941, he joined the Navy where he earned his wings," Dawn Mitchell writes of Vraciu. "He flew Hellcats in the Pacific and was a terror for the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. Vraciu spent five months as a wingman to Medal of Honor recipient Ed 'Butch' O'Hare. Vraciu's greatest mission came June 19, 1944 in what became known as the 'Marianas Turkey Shoot'. Vraciu engaged an attacking Japanese air squadron 25 miles west of the USS Lexington and shot down 6 Japanese dive bombers in just eight minutes with only 360 rounds of ammunition."

The piece notes, "Alex Vraciu ended World War II as the Navy's fourth-ranking flying ace with 19 enemy aircraft shot down in flight and 21 destroyed on the ground."

According to Boomhower, "Throughout our talks he was straightforward, never embellishing what had happened to him, and always giving credit to those who had trained him, including his mentor, Medal of Honor recipient Butch O'Hare, who died during the war."

Access the story at IndyStar.com.

Also available is this previous summary, and an article from 1944.

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