Lance Edward Massey
Lance Edward "Lem" Massey (September 20, 1909 – June 4, 1942) was a U.S. Navy pilot during World War II.
Lance Edward Massey | |
|---|---|
 Lt Cdr Massey at NAS Ford Island on 24 May 1942. The victory flag marking on his TBD Devastator represents a Japanese ship he sank at Kwajalein during the Marshalls-Gilberts raids. | |
| Born | September 20, 1909 Syracuse, New York, United States |
| Died | June 4, 1942 (aged 32) |
| Service/ | United States Navy |
| Rank | Lieutenant Commander |
| Commands held | Torpedo Squadron 3 (VT-3) |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | |
He was a native of Syracuse, New York, and was the only child of Walter Griffith Massey and Florence Lance Massey. Growing up in Watertown, New York, he attended two years of high school in Watertown, and then entered Severn School in Severna Park, Maryland, in 1925. After graduating from Severn in 1926, he was accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy when he was sixteen.
After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1930, he was given his commission as an ensign, and he was ordered to the battleship USS Texas (BB-35). After serving for a year aboard the USS Texas he entered flight training in Pensacola Naval Air Station in 1931 and won his Naval Aviator wings in January 1932. He was assigned to Scouting Squadron 3 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-2) for the next three years. He subsequently served a two-year tour at Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida as a flight instructor. While at Pensacola, he married Marjorie Drake Kelsey, the widow of Lieutenant (j.g.) James Kelsey, a 1931 graduate of the US Naval Academy. In June 1937, Lieutenant (jg) Massey reported to Observation Squadron 3 aboard the battleship USS New Mexico (BB-40), whose home port was Long Beach, California. In August 1937, he was promoted to lieutenant. In January 1940, Observation Squadron Three was transferred to the USS Idaho (BB-42), where he stayed until July 1940, when he was sent to Naval Air Station, Pensacola. In October 1941, he was reassigned to the USS Enterprise (CV-6) as the Executive Officer of Torpedo Squadron 6 (VT-6), the post he held at the time the United States was attacked by Japan in December 1941.
He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander in January 1942. His sole combat mission from Enterprise occurred on February 1, 1942, during the Marshalls-Gilberts raids, when he led VT-6's Second Division in the first airborne torpedo attack in U.S. Naval history. His nine TBD torpedo bombers attacked Japanese shipping at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, with Massey personally sinking the 18,000-ton Japanese transport Bordeaux Maru. For this action, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Midway
On April 14, 1942, he took command of Torpedo Squadron Three (VT-3), a Saratoga squadron then based at Kaneohe Naval Air Station. On May 27, 1942, VT-3 was transferred to USS Yorktown following the Battle of the Coral Sea, replacing that ship's own Torpedo Squadron 5 (VT-5). The USS Yorktown sailed with VT-3 for Midway Island and entered battle on June 4, 1942. During this crucial encounter, Massey was killed while leading his squadron in a low-level attack against the Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū. Despite being escorted by six F4F Wildcat fighters led by Lieutenant Commander John Thach,[2] ten out of VT-3's twelve TBD's were lost. For his heroism in pursuing the attack on Hiryu, Massey was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.[3]
In memory of his actions at the Battle of Midway, the U.S. Navy christened the destroyer USS Massey (DD-778) on August 19, 1944, with his widow Marjorie Massey christening the ship. In addition to his widow, he was survived by two sons, Lance Bradford Massey and Walter Drake Massey, both whom graduated from the Severn School. Lance B. Massey graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958 and retired as a Commander in 1984.
References
- Lance Edward Massey, NY State Senate, 28 May 2010, retrieved 13 Mar 2016
- Flying into a Beehive: Fighting Three at Midway, U.S. Naval Institute, June 2007, retrieved 20 Apr 2016
- Valor awards for Lance Edward Massey, Military Times Hall of Valor, retrieved 20 Apr 2016