| Lieutenant Commander John S. Thach (April 19, 1905 – April 15, 1981), United States Navy, Commanding Officer, Fighting Squadron 3 (VF-3), in the cockpit of a Grumman F4F Wildcat fighter plane. Note victory markings painted below the cockpit. Photo by Chief Petty Officer Harold S. “Jabo” Fawcett (January 13, 1917 – June 5, 1999), a United States Navy photographer from Taylor County West Virginia. Fawcett photographed the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Some of the photographs he took that day are world famous. Unfortunately, the photographs were frequently published without being identified as his. He spent the rest of World War II in the South Pacific. Flying home in December 1943, his transport seaplane made an emergency landing on the water, and 6 days passed before the crew was rescued. In 1946, he photographed the atomic test explosions at Bikini Atoll. For years, Fawcett participated in Memorial Day and other veterans ceremonies as a Pearl Harbor survivor. He was a 1935 GHS graduate, enlisted in the Navy in 1936, and retired in 1955 as a chief photographers mate. Returning to Taylor County in 1973, he presented programs about his military experiences to schoolchildren. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1865.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.47 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 5664 x 4446 |
| Photographer | Harold S. “Jabo” Fawcett |
| Photographer Title | United States Navy |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | April 10, 1942 |
| Location | |
| City | Oahu |
| State or Province | Hawaii |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | Naval History and Heritage Command |
| Record Number | 80-G-10613 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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