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Contact Info
Home Town St. Paul, Minn
Last Address McLean, VA
Date of Passing Jan 19, 2012
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Captain Warren Andrew Skon, USN Ret. Navy ace pilot in WWII,
Awarded the Navy Cross,
4 Distinguished Flying Crosses
and 8 Combat Air Medals
Capt. Skon was a highly decorated pilot who took part in several major air-combat operations during his two years as a naval aviator in the Pacific. He participated in the Navy's first nighttime fighter actions from an aircraft carrier and was awarded the Navy Cross, the Navy's highest award for wartime valor.
He was credited with shooting down seven Japanese airplanes during the war, making him an ace. (An ace is a pilot who downs at least five enemy aircraft.) Andy Skon was a pilot assigned to VF-2, one of the highest scoring Hellcat units of WWII. They called themselves the "Red Rippers" Andy scored all his victories in 1944 downing four Zeke's, two Val's, and a Tony, during the only cruise of VF-2 on the Hornet.
In 1943, when he was assigned to the USS Enterprise, Capt. Skon was the wingman to Edward H. "Butch" O'Hare, who was the Navy's first flying ace and who received the Medal of Honor in 1942.
On the night of Nov. 26, 1943, a formation of Japanese torpedo bombers was detected flying toward the Enterprise and other ships in what the Navy called Task Force 58 near the Gilbert Islands. O'Hare, Capt. Skon and other pilots scrambled into action to confront the enemy planes, downing several in the Navy's first nighttime airborne firefight.
Capt. Skon (then an ensign) was awarded the Navy Cross for his role in intercepting the enemy airplanes and repelling the attack. No ships in the U.S. group were seriously damaged.
The Navy Cross citation praised Capt. Skon's "outstanding courage, daring airmanship and devotion to duty" and said his "fighting spirit in the face of great peril was largely responsible for saving the carrier task group from serious damage."
The award was bittersweet, however, because in the midst of the battle, O'Hare was shot down and lost at sea. Neither he nor his plane was ever found.
The last person O'Hare spoke to, by radio, was Capt. Skon. As they were converging on a plane, Capt. Skon later told an Associated Press reporter, "Butch said, 'You take the side you want!' I said, 'I'll take the port.'
" 'Roger,' he said, and that was the last word he said.
"Then I saw tracers around his plane. I saw it sheer off and drop quickly below us."
O'Hare, for whom Chicago's O'Hare International Airport was later named, was one of the few Medal of Honor recipients to return to action and later die in battle.
Capt. Skon was later assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Hornet in the Pacific. Flying a F6F Hellcat, he shot down three Japanese planes, including two dive bombers, within a nine-day period in June 1944 that later became known as the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.”
He downed two Japanese fighter planes on July 3, 1944, and two more on Sept. 21, for a total of seven. He damaged four other aircraft in aerial combat and, although it could not be confirmed, was believed to have shot down an eighth plane.
After the war, Capt. Skon was a Navy flight instructor and commanding officer of Navy fighter groups. He managed a Defense Department project in connection with the White House Communications Agency from 1967 to 1970. When he retired from the military in 1973, he was the Navy’s assistant inspector general.
In addition to the Navy Cross, Capt. Skon’s decorations included four awards of the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Meritorious Service Medal and eight Air Medals.
Other Comments:
NAVY CROSS Awarded for actions during World War II
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Ensign Warren Andrew Skon, United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Fighter Plane in Fighting Squadron TWO (VF-2), attached to the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE (CV-6), and deployed over Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands, in action against enemy Japanese forces on 26 November 1943. When warnings were received of the approach of a large force of Japanese torpedo bombers, Ensign Skon volunteered to join a fighter section of aircraft from his carrier, the first time such a mission had been attempted at night, in order to intercept the attackers. He rendered valiant service in breaking up that phase of the attack and succeeded in dispersing the enemy aircraft. His fighting spirit in the face of great peril was largely responsible for saving the carrier task group from serious damage. Ensign Skon's outstanding courage, daring airmanship and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Action Date: November 26, 1943
Service: Navy Rank:
Ensign Company: Fighting Squadron 2 (VF-2)
Division: U.S.S. Enterprise (CV-6)
PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION to the U.S.S. HORNET and her attached Air Groups participating in the following operations: March 29 to May 1, 1944, Palau, Hollandia, Truk; June 11 to August 5, 1944, Marianas, Bonins, Yap; September 6 to 24, 1944, Philippines, Palau: AG-2 (VF-2, VB-2, VT-2, Part of VFN-76). October 10 to November 22, 1944, Ryukyus, Formosa, Philippines, Luzon; December 14 to 16, 1944, Luzon; January 3 to 22, 1945, Philippines, Formosa, China Sea Ryukyus: AG-11 (VF-11 VB-11 VT-11). February 16 to June 10, 1945, Japan, Bonins, Ryukyus: AG-17 (F-17, VBF-17, VB-17 VT-17).
for service as set forth in the following CITATION:
"For extraordinary heroism in action against enemy Japanese forces in the air, ashore and afloat in the Pacific War Area from March 29, 1944, to June 10, 1945. Operating continuously in the most forward areas, the USS HORNET and their air groups struck crushing blows toward annihilating Japanese fighting power; they provided air cover for our amphibious forces; they fiercely countered the enemy's aerial attacks and destroyed his planes; and they inflicted terrific losses on the Japanese in Fleet and merchant marine units sunk or damaged. Daring and dependable in combat, the HORNET with her gallant officers and men rendered loyal ser- vice in achieving the ultimate defeat of the Japanese Empire"
For the President,
signed by the Secretary of the Navy
1960-1962, Naval War College
FromYear 1960
ToYear 1962
College Naval War College
Major He also completed courses at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I.
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Naval War College Details
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Last Updated:Nov 8, 2012
Personal Memories
Other Memories Warren Andrew Skon was born Oct. 29, 1919, in St. Paul, Minn., and attended the University of Minnesota for two years before entering a Navy flight training program in 1942. He received a bachelor's degree in political science from George Washington University in 1966 and a master's degree in international affairs, also from GWU, in 1968. He also completed courses at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I.
