Changes

Kearby opened his score on September 4, 1943 with a G4M “Betty” bomber and a [[Nakajima Ki-43|Ki-43]] “Oscar”, and followed this up ten days later by shooting down another twin-engined bomber, a Ki-46 “Dinah”.  On September 23, he was promoted to full colonel, but October 11 turned out to be Kearby’s biggest day ever.  Kearby led 4 P-47s on a fighter sweep over the Japanese base at Wewak, [[New Guinea]], and ran into 40 Japanese Army fighters.  The ensuing combat lasted close to an hour, and when it was over, Colonel Kearby had shot down six fighters (four Oscars and two Ki-61 “Tonys”).  Two other pilots had downed three Tonys between them for a total of nine Japanese fighters splashed without so much as a scratch on any of the Thunderbolts.  This made Kearby the first P-47 ace of the Pacific Theater, and set a record for most victories in a single mission (This record would be broken a year later by Navy ace [[David McCampbell]]).  Upon hearing of this one-sided victory, General George Kenney, head of American Army air forces in the Pacific, recommended Neel Kearby for the Congressional Medal of Honor, which was presented to him by General [[Douglas MacArthur]] himself in January of 1944.  It was the first time in World War II that the MOH had been awarded to an Army Air Corps fighter pilot.

Kearby opened his score on September 4, 1943 with a G4M “Betty” bomber and a [[Nakajima Ki-43|Ki-43]] “Oscar”, and followed this up ten days later by shooting down another twin-engined bomber, a Ki-46 “Dinah”.  On September 23, he was promoted to full colonel, but October 11 turned out to be Kearby’s biggest day ever.  Kearby led 4 P-47s on a fighter sweep over the Japanese base at Wewak, [[New Guinea]], and ran into 40 Japanese Army fighters.  The ensuing combat lasted close to an hour, and when it was over, Colonel Kearby had shot down six fighters (four Oscars and two Ki-61 “Tonys”).  Two other pilots had downed three Tonys between them for a total of nine Japanese fighters splashed without so much as a scratch on any of the Thunderbolts.  This made Kearby the first P-47 ace of the Pacific Theater, and set a record for most victories in a single mission (This record would be broken a year later by Navy ace [[David McCampbell]]).  Upon hearing of this one-sided victory, General George Kenney, head of American Army air forces in the Pacific, recommended Neel Kearby for the Congressional Medal of Honor, which was presented to him by General [[Douglas MacArthur]] himself in January of 1944.  It was the first time in World War II that the MOH had been awarded to an Army Air Corps fighter pilot.

By this time, Kearby had become one of the top scoring pilots in the theater, having downed a Ki-21 bomber and a [[Mitsubishi Zero|Zero]] on January 3 for his 18th and 19th victories.  He was kicked upstairs to desk duty at Fighter Command Headquarters for the theater, partly to keep him out of combat.  Kenney was well aware of the good publicity of the exploits of a top-scoring ace, but he was equally aware of the bad publicity if that ace got himself killed.  Kearby was highly unsatisfied with his new duty, and took every opportunity to fly again.  Kenney allowed this, but kept him restricted to two combat flights per week or less (emphasis on the “or less”) and further told him that if he scored a kill on one of these flights, he was to immediately break off and leave the action.  Kearby scored a double on January 9, raising his score to 21 and tying him for the lead with P-38 pilot [[Richard Bong]].  The magic number was 26 victories, the score of the top American ace of [[World War I]], Eddie Rickenbacker.  The first Army Air Corps pilot to break the record would assure his place in the history books.  On February 15, Bong scored his 22nd victory, a Tony, making Kearby even more eager to return to the fight.  On March 5, Bong scored again, and 24 hours later, Kearby was in the air.

By this time, Kearby had become one of the top scoring pilots in the theater, having downed a Ki-21 bomber and a [[Mitsubishi Zero|Zero]] on January 3 for his 18th and 19th victories.  He was kicked upstairs to desk duty at Fighter Command Headquarters for the theater, partly to keep him out of combat.  Kenney was well aware of the good publicity of the exploits of a top-scoring ace, but he was equally aware of the bad publicity if that ace got himself killed.  Kearby was highly unsatisfied with his new duty, and took every opportunity to fly again.  Kenney allowed this, but kept him restricted to two combat flights per week or less (emphasis on the “or less”) and further told him that if he scored a kill on one of these flights, he was to immediately break off and leave the action.  Kearby scored a double on January 9, raising his score to 21 and tying him for the lead with P-38 pilot [[Richard Bong]].  The magic number was 26 victories, the score of the top American ace of [[World War I]], Eddie Rickenbacker.  The first Army Air Corps pilot to break the record would assure his place in the history books.  On February 15, Bong scored his 22nd victory, a Tony, making Kearby even more eager to return to the fight.  On March 5, Bong scored again, and 24 hours later, Kearby was in the air.