Lofton R. Henderson

United States Marine Corps aviator

Lofton Russell Henderson (May 24, 1903 – June 4, 1942) was a United States Marine Corps aviator during World War II. He commanded Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 241 (VMSB 241) at the Battle of Midway and died while leading his squadron in an attack against Japanese aircraft carriers.

Lofton Henderson was born on May 24, 1903, in Lorain, Ohio. He attended Lorain High School and was captain of the football team. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1926 along with Howard W. Gilmore, Carlton Hutchins, Max Leslie, and C. Wade McClusky.

Henderson departed the United States on November 3, 1927 from San Francisco, California and arrived at Chingwangtao, China on December 16, 1927. He was assigned as a platoon commander with the 15th Machine Gun and Howitzer Company, 12th Regiment, 3rd Brigade at Tientsin. After passing a flight physical while in China, he received orders to report to Observation Squadron 8 (VO 8M) in San Diego, California. He departed China on July 28, 1928 onboard the USS Chaumont (AP 5) arriving in San Francisco on August 17, 1928. He also served in various Caribbean stations, and on the aircraft carriers Langley (CV 1), Ranger (CV 4), and Saratoga (CV 3).

On June 4, 1942, as Japanese forces approached Midway Island in the Pacific Ocean, Major Henderson, the commanding officer of VMSB 241, led 16 Marine Corps aircraft in the attack. Henderson split his squadron into two flights, one with SBD Dauntless and one with SB2U Vindicator dive bombers in a glide bombing attack on the aircraft carrier Hiryū. His left wing burst into flames as he began his final approach. Henderson continued the attack and perished as his plane dived toward the enemy carrier. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

In August 1942, the partially constructed Japanese airfield on Guadalcanal was captured at the outset of a six month campaign to expel the enemy from both Guadalcanal and nearby and smaller Tulagi. It was named Henderson Field (now Honiara International Airport) in his honor. Another Henderson Field (IATA: MDY, ICAO: PMDY) is today a public airport on Sand Island in Midway Atoll, an unincorporated territory of the United States. The airport is used as an emergency diversion point for ETOPS operations. The airfield provides access to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. It operated until 1993 as Naval Air Facility Midway. The original Henderson Field was on Eastern Island (Midway Atoll). In 1945, the Henderson was named after him. The 21st Street Bridge in his hometown of Lorain, Ohio, was renamed the Lofton Henderson Memorial Bridge.