Frederick T . Weber Frederick Thomas Weber ( 4 February 1916 – 4 June 1942 ) was a naval aviator in the United States Navy during World War II . Biography . Weber was born on 4 February 1916 at Des Moines , Iowa . He attended college at Knox College in Galesburg , Illinois , in 1933 and 1934 before transferring to Drake University in Des Moines in 1935 . He graduated from the latter school during the summer of 1938 and enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve on 30 August of that year . During the ensuing winter , Seaman 2d Class Weber successfully completed elimination flight training at the Naval Reserve Aviation Base , Kansas City , Kansas ; and , on 27 July 1939 , he was appointed an aviation cadet in the Naval Reserve . After 10 months of training at the Naval Air Station , Pensacola , Fla . , Weber was appointed a naval aviator on 10 May 1940 . A little over a month later , he concluded his training and , on 12 June 1940 , received his commission as an ensign in the Naval Reserve . That same day , he received orders to report for duty with Bombing Squadron 6 ( VB - 6 ) attached to the aircraft carrier " Enterprise " ( CV - 6 ) . " Enterprise " and VB - 6 proved to be Ens . Weber ' s only assignment during his brief naval career . During the remainder of 1940 and for 11 of the 12 months of 1941 , he served with his ship and squadron operating out of San Diego , Calif . , and later out of Pearl Harbor . His duties consisted entirely of training in aerial warfare in preparation for the conflict with Japan expected to erupt at any time . At the end of the first week in December 1941 , he was at sea with " Enterprise " which was returning from Wake Island where she had just delivered Marine Fighting Squadron 211 ( VMF - 211 ) . Foiled in their attempt to locate the Japanese striking force on 7 December , Weber and his colleagues rode their carrier into devastated Pearl Harbor on the 8th . The following morning , they put to sea in " Enterprise " and began defensive patrols of the area to assure that no enemy invasion force was on its way to Hawaii . In January 1942 , Weber ' s ship guarded reinforcement convoys on their way to the southern Pacific . In February , he participated in the carrier raids on Japanese - held islands in the Central Pacific . In April , his ship served as an escort for " Hornet " ( CV - 8 ) during the Halsey – Doolittle bomber raid on Tokyo and returned to Oahu on 25 April . Dispatched too late to join in the Battle of the Coral Sea , his ship returned to Pearl Harbor on 26 May to prepare for what would be an even more important strategic battle — the first real defeat of Japanese naval airpower during the struggle over Midway Island . The Battle of Midway . On 28 May , " Enterprise " steamed out of Pearl Harbor , accompanied by " Hornet " and the cruiser s and destroyer s of Task Force 16 ( TF 16 ) , to lie in ambush north of Midway . Partially repaired , " Yorktown " ( CV - 5 ) followed two days later . On the morning of 4 June , land - based patrol planes from Midway made contact with the advancing Japanese force spearheaded by four of the six carriers that had attacked Pearl Harbor . While Midway defended itself against enemy air attacks and land - based air unsuccessfully tried to pierce the Japanese defenses , Weber and his comrades in VB - 6 took to the air to begin a long grueling search . By 07 : 30 , the entire attack group was aloft and streaking off toward the enemy ' s reported position . Lieutenant Commander Clarence Wade McClusky , the " Enterprise " air group commander ( CAG ) , led the squadron himself as the formation winged on toward Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo ' s Carrier Striking Force . At 09 : 20 , the squadron arrived at the supposed location of the enemy . Gazing down , the aircrewman strained for a glimpse of the threatening carriers but saw only empty seas . At that juncture , the air group commander made a hard decision . His planes had already consumed a great deal of fuel ; and , were they to initiate a search , some would surely fail to return as a result . On the other hand , if they returned for fuel , Midway might fall or , even worse , the enemy might find and sink or severely damage one or more of the U . S . Pacific Fleet ' s three remaining carriers . Therefore , the importance of stopping Nagumo ' s carriers at almost any cost dictated the course of action . The American pilots ignored their fuel gauges and started hunting for the Japanese . At 10 : 05 , Weber and his colleagues were rewarded for their perseverance and determination . On the horizon to the northwest loomed a task force composed of three large carriers and numerous escorts . Initially , some Americans believed that they had inadvertently circled back to their ships , but " pagoda " masts and yellow flight decks of the carriers below quickly dispelled that fear . Though originally intending to attack " Akagi " , the squadron leader , Lt . Dick Best noticed that Scouting 6 ( VS - 6 ) had only near - missed " Kaga " , so he switched targets at the last minute and headed for the latter . Ens . Weber followed his squadron leader in on carrier " Kaga " as the third plane in the first section . The Bombing 6 Action Report states that " . . . at least three 1 , 000 - pound bomb hits were observed on that target and it became a mass of flame and smoke . " Since only the three Bombing 6 planes which participated in the attack on that carrier carried that size bomb , Weber and his two squadron mates all apparently scored direct hits on the target . Hence Weber contributed as much as anyone to the sinking of " Kaga " . Pulling out of his dive , Weber formed on his leader , and the squadron headed home to refuel and rearm . At least one Japanese carrier remained intact , " Hiryū " , whose position far ahead of the other three saved her momentarily . That afternoon , Weber took off from " Enterprise " with a composite attack group made up of the remnants of the several groups decimated earlier . At about 15 : 45 , planes from Scouting 6 and 14 from " Yorktown " ' s Bombing 3 joined with the four operational aircraft remaining to Bombing 6 and sped off in chase of the remaining carrier . Unfortunately , the American fighters still extant had to remain with the carriers as combat air patrol so the attack group was denuded of fighter cover . About an hour later , the American hunters found their quarry . The American planes climbed to and maneuvered their way up - sun of " Hiryū " and her escorts . During the jockeying for position , Japanese fighters jumped the unprotected dive bombers . Before reaching the " push over " point , Ens . Weber ' s plane fell victim to the enemy fighters . He and his aircrewman , Aviation Ordnanceman 3d Class E . L . Hilbert , spiraled into the sea and to their deaths . For his part in sinking " Kaga " and for his supreme sacrifice in assisting his colleagues to sink the remaining enemy carrier , Ens . Weber was promoted retroactively to lieutenant ( junior grade ) and was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously . Namesake . In 1943 , the destroyer escort USS " Weber " ( DE - 675 ) was named in his honor .