|image =#REDIRECT [[ Image:USS Oswald A. Powers .jpg|200px]] ▼
{{Infobox Military Person
|name = Oswald Aaron Powers
|born = {{birth date|1915|11|25}}
|died = {{death date and age|1942|6|4|1915|11|25}}
|placeofbirth = [[Marine City, Michigan|Marine City]], [[Michigan]]
|placeofdeath = [[Pacific Ocean]], near [[Midway Atoll]]
|placeofburial=
|placeofburial_label= Place of burial
▲|image = [[Image:Oswald A. Powers.jpg|200px]]
|caption = Oswald A. Powers at [[Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay]], [[Territory of Hawaii]], on [[29 May]] [[1942]], one week before his death in action during the [[Battle of Midway]]
|nickname =
|allegiance = [[United States|United States of America]]
|serviceyears = 1940–1942
|rank = [[Ensign (rank)|Ensign]]
|branch = [[United States Navy]]
|commands =
|unit =
|battles = [[Battle of Midway]], [[World War II]]
|awards = [[Navy Cross]]
}}
{{otheruses4|the United States Navy officer and Navy Cross recipient|the United States Navy destroyer escort|USS Oswald A. Powers (DE-542)}}
'''Oswald A. Powers''' (1915-1942) was a [[United States Navy]] [[Commissioned officer|officer]] who received the [[Navy Cross]] posthumously for his actions in combat during [[World War II]].
==Naval career==
Oswald Aaron Powers was born in [[Marine City, Michigan|Marine City]], [[Michigan]], on [[25 November]] [[1915]]. He enlisted in the [[United States Naval Reserve]] as a [[seaman]] 2nd class, V-5, [[USNR]], on [[6 November]] [[1940]] at the [[United States Naval Reserve Aviation Base Grosse Ile]] at [[Grosse Ile, Michigan|Grosse Ile]], Michigan, and was placed on inactive duty that same day. Reporting for elimination flight training at Grosse Isle on [[15 November]] [[1940]], he satisfactorily completed that instruction on [[14 December]] [[1940]], and was retained on active duty. Appointed [[aviation cadet]], USNR, on [[5 February]] [[1941]], to rank from [[1 February]] [[1941]], he was transferred to [[Naval Air Station Pensacola]] at [[Pensacola, Florida|Pensacola]], [[Florida]], on [[6 February]] [[1941]], and was issued a good discharge as a seaman 2nd class on [[9 February]] [[1941]] to accept his appointment as aviation cadet.
Reporting to Naval Air Station Pensacola on [[10 February]] [[1941]], Powers accepted his appointment and executed the oath of office the same day. Detached on [[15 July]] [[1941]] and transferred to [[Naval Air Station Miami]] at [[Miami, Florida|Miami]], Florida, for "further active duty undergoing training,"<ref>This quote, from the ''Dictionary of American Fighting Ships'' (at http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/o4/oswald_a_powers.htm) is unattributed.</ref> Powers was appointed a "[[naval aviator]] (heavier than air)" on [[12 August]] [[1941]]. Released from "active duty involving training"<ref>This quote, from the ''Dictionary of American Fighting Ships'' (at http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/o4/oswald_a_powers.htm) is unattributed.</ref> on [[5 September]] [[1941]], he reported to Naval Air Station Miami that same day, the same day he also accepted his appointment and executed the oath of office as [[Ensign (rank)|ensign]], A-V(N), USNR. Five days later, on [[10 September]] [[1941]], Ensign Powers was detached from NAS Miami and was transferred to the [[Advanced Carrier Training Group]], [[United States Pacific Fleet]], at [[Naval Air Station San Diego]] in [[San Diego, California|San Diego]], [[California]], reporting for "active duty involving flying under training"<ref>This quote, from the ''Dictionary of American Fighting Ships'' (at http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/o4/oswald_a_powers.htm) is unattributed.</ref> on [[3 October]] [[1941]]. Detached from Naval Air Station San Diego on [[4 November]] [[1943]], he reported to [[Torpedo Squadron 3|Torpedo Squadron 3 (VT-3)]], based aboard the [[aircraft carrier]] [[USS Saratoga (CV-3)|USS ''Saratoga'' (CV-3)]], on [[5 November]] [[1941]].
After a [[Japan]]ese [[submarine]] [[torpedo]]ed ''Saratoga'' on [[11 January]] [[1942]] and her subsequent departure for repairs at [[Puget Sound Navy Yard]] in [[Bremerton, Washington|Bremerton]], [[Washington (U.S. state)|Washington]], VT-3 was based ashore, first at [[Naval Air Station Pearl Harbor]] on [[Ford Island]] in [[Pearl Harbor]], [[Territory of Hawaii]], standing alert duty for island defense, then at [[Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay]] at [[Kaneohe Bay]], Hawaii, whence the squadron trained and continued to stand alerts.
On [[30 May]] [[1942]], assigned to the air group of aircraft carrier [[USS Yorktown (CV-5)|USS ''Yorktown'' (CV-5)]], replacing [[Torpedo Squadron 5|Torpedo Squadron 5 (VT-5)]] aboard ''Yorktown'', VT-3 flew aboard as ''Yorktown'' departed Pearl Harbor to participate in what would become known as the [[Battle of Midway]]. On [[4 June]] [[1942]], ''Yorktown'' launched VT-3 and [[Bombing Squadron 3|Bombing Squadron 3 (VB-3)]], covered by [[fighter]]s from [[Fighting Squadron 3|Fighting Squadron 3 (VF-3)]], to attack the Japanese aircraft carrier force in concert with a strike from aircraft carriers [[USS Enterprise (CV-6)|USS ''Enterprise'' (CV-6)]] and [[USS Hornet (CV-8)|USS ''Hornet'' (CV-8)]]. Circumstances, however, dictated that only the ''Yorktown'' Air Group attacked as a unit, with VT-3 the last of the three American carrier torpedo squadrons to execute brave low-level attacks against the Japanese carriers. Japanese [[Mitsubishi A6M|Mitsubishi A6M2]] Type 00 carrier fighters, however, overwhelmed the six-plane VF-3 covering element, and, in concert with heavy [[antiaircraft]] fire from the Japanese carriers and their screening ships, shot down ten of the twelve VT-3's [[Douglas Aircraft Company|Douglas]] [[TBD Devastator|TBD-1 Devastator]] [[torpedo bomber]]s participating in the raid. Ensign Powers and his radio gunner, Seaman 2nd Class Joseph E. Mandeville, perished in the attack.
Powers was awarded the [[Navy Cross]] posthumously for his "self-sacrificing gallantry and fortitude...in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service..."<ref>This quote, from the ''Dictionary of American Fighting Ships'' (at http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/o4/oswald_a_powers.htm) is unattributed.</ref>
==Commemoration==
The U.S. Navy [[destroyer escort]] [[USS Oswald A. Powers (DE-542)|USS ''Oswald A. Powers'' (DE-452)]], [[ship naming and launching|launched]] in 1943 but never completed, was named for Ensign Powers.
{{portal|United States Navy|United States Department of the Navy Seal.svg}}
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/o4/oswald_a_powers.htm}}
{{Persondata
|NAME= Powers, Oswald A.
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[United States Navy]] [[Navy Cross]] recipient
|DATE OF BIRTH= November 25, 1915
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Marine City, Michigan]]
|DATE OF DEATH= June 4, 1942
|PLACE OF DEATH= [[Pacific Ocean]] near [[Midway Atoll]]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, Oswald A.}}
[[Category:Navy Cross recipients]]
[[Category:United States Navy officers]]
[[Category:American military personnel killed in World War II]]
[[Category:1915 births]]
[[Category:1942 deaths]]
[[Category:People from St. Clair County, Michigan]]
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