LT. John James Powers

                     (US Navy)

 

It was 80 years ago today that

Lieutenant John James Powers,

a pilot aboard the USS Yorktown,

led his squadron in an attack on the Japanese aircraft carrier

Shokaku during the pivotal

Battle of the Coral Sea. 

 

Powers approached in his

Dauntless dive bomber

18,000 feet, diving through

intense anti aircraft fire and

a squadron of Japanese Zeros.

He descended to just 200 feet

above the carrier's deck,

an insanely dangerous

maneuver.  He waited until

the last secone to release

his bomb, securing a direct hit.

 

The Shokaku was rocked by a massive explosion

and quickly engulfed in flames and debris,

forcing it to withdraw from

the battle. Powers was seen

trying to recover from his

steep dive, but his plane

was destroyed by the explosion

from his bomb.

 

As he approached the carrier,

Powers told his squadron:

"Remember, the folks back

home are counting on us.

I am going to get a direct hit

if I have to lay it on the flight

deck." And he did.

 

For his extraordinary courage

and selflessness,

Powers was posthumously

awarded the *Medal of Honor*

 God Bless this American hero.

 

존 제임스 파워스 중위
(미 해군)

오늘로부터 80년 전, 

USS 요크타운 함장 존 제임스 파워스 중위는

 산호해 해전의 중요한 전투 중 일본 항공모함 쇼카쿠를 공격하기 위해 자신의 편대를 이끌었습니다. 

파워스는 돈틀리스 급강하 폭격기를 타고 18,000피트 상공으로 접근하여 

맹렬한 대공포화와 일본 제로 전투기 편대를 뚫고 급강하했습니다. 

그는 항공모함 갑판 위 불과 60미터 상공까지 강하했는데,

 이는 매우 위험한 기동이었습니다. 

그는 마지막 순간까지 기다렸다가 폭탄을 투하하여 직격탄을 확보했습니다.

쇼카쿠는 엄청난 폭발에 휩싸여 순식간에 화염과 잔해에 휩싸였고, 

결국 전투에서 후퇴해야 했습니다. 

파워스는 급강하에서 회복하려고 애썼지만, 

그의 비행기는 폭탄 폭발로 파괴되었습니다.

항공모함에 접근하면서
파워스는 자신의 비행 중대에 이렇게 말했습니다.
"명심하세요, 고향 사람들이 우리를 믿고 있습니다.
비행갑판에 내려놓아야 한다면
직격탄을 맞을 겁니다." 

그리고 그는 그렇게 했습니다.
그의 비범한 용기와
사심없는 헌신으로
파워스는 사후에 *명예 훈장*을 수여받았습니다.
이 미국 영웅에게 신의 축복이 있기를.

 

 

2025년 5월 15일