| United States Navy Lieutenant Walter A. Haas (August 31, 1912 – November 11, 1992), United States Naval Reserve, instructing flight students from the cockpit of a Brewster F2A Buffalo fighter, at Miami Naval Air Station. The F2A was then in use as a training aircraft. Lieutenant Haas had recently returned from the war zone. Note that the students are wearing white cap covers and khaki shirts. Haas shot down 6 Japanese aircraft during the Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway. Unlike Nazi German or Japanese pilots, who were kept in combat until they died, American pilots were rotated home to share their knowledge with novice pilots. This contributed to a lower casualty rate average among American aircrew compared to Axis nations. Haas received the Navy Cross twice: The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant, Junior Grade Walter Albert Haas, 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 42 (VF-42), attached to the USS Lexington (CV-2), in action against enemy Japanese forces during the Air Battle of the Coral Sea on May 7-8, 1942. As part of a fighter escort on May 7, in the face of heavy anti-aircraft fire over enemy ships, Lieutenant, Junior Grade, Haas pressed home his attack and shot down 2 enemy fighters, thereby assisting in the successful execution of a mission by our Torpedo Planes. On 8 May, after assisting in the destruction of a Japanese patrol bomber and 1 dive bomber, he again displayed extraordinary daring in an attack on 15 enemy aircraft, following the enemy bombers down in their dive, even into the area of anti-aircraft fire from our own ships, thereby frustrating the success of the enemy attack. In these engagements Lieutenant Junior Grade Haas displayed a high degree of courage, executing his missions with complete disregard for his own safety against heavy odds. His throughout reflects great credit upon himself, and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting a Gold Star in lieu of a 2nd Award of the Navy Cross to Lieutenant, Junior Grade Walter Albert Haas, 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 3 (VF-3), attached to the USS Yorktown (CV-5), during the “Air Battle of Midway,” against enemy Japanese forces on June 4, 1942. Lieutenant, Junior Grade, Haas took off from the USS Yorktown to defend her against aerial torpedo attack by Japanese forces. Due to circumstances which had rendered the fueling of his plane impossible, he faced the hazardous prospect of aerial combat with only a small fraction of his gasoline capacity available. Despite the fact that his plane, shortly after becoming airborne, was severely damaged by anti-aircraft fire directed by our own ships against the attacking enemy, he pressed home such a vigorous assault against a Japanese torpedo plane that it eventually made a wild release of its torpedo. Following up his attack with determined persistence, he shortly afterwards observed the craft crash into the sea. The outstanding courage and determined skill displayed by Lieutenant Junior Grade Haas were at all times inspiring and in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1901.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.53 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 5774 x 4455 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Navy |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | April 11, 1943 |
| Location | |
| City | Miami |
| State or Province | Florida |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | Naval History and Heritage Command |
| Record Number | 80-G-K-830 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database