William Abercrombie Ensign William Warner Abercrombie , USN ( 24 July 1914 – 4 June 1942 ) was a United States Navy officer and Naval Aviator during World War II , who received the Navy Cross posthumously for his actions at the Battle of Midway . Biography . Born in Medford , Oregon , Abercrombie enlisted in the Naval Reserve as a seaman 2nd class at Kansas City , Kansas , on 27 August 1940 . After undergoing elimination flight training at the Naval Reserve Aviation Base , Kansas City , from 16 September to 5 October , Abercrombie received an honorable discharge the day before Christmas , 1940 , to accept an appointment as an aviation cadet , USNR , on 27 December . Three days later , the fledgling flyer arrived at the Naval Air Station ( NAS ) , Pensacola , to begin his formal flight training . Abercrombie underwent further instruction at Naval Air Station Miami , before he won his wings on 10 July 1941 . Shortly thereafter , after receiving his ensign ' s stripe on 4 August 1941 , he arrived at NAS , Norfolk , for temporary duty . There he joined Torpedo Squadron 8 ( or VT - 8 ) , established at NAS , Norfolk , on 2 September 1941 under the command of Lieutenant Commander John C . Waldron . Comprising part of the air group of the aircraft carrier " Hornet " ( CV - 8 ) , VT - 1 trained under its veteran commanding officer during the waning weeks of peace . The squadron remained as one unit until February 1942 , two months after the Japanese attack on the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor that threw the United States into global war , when it was divided into two groups — one that remained ship - based under Waldron , one that traveled to the Grumman aircraft plant on Long Island to take delivery of new aircraft . Abercrombie — nicknamed " Abbie " by his squadron - mates — remained with the former . " Torpedo 8 " operated from " Hornet " as the ship sailed from the Atlantic to the Pacific , via the Panama Canal , from February to March . " Hornet " carried the 16 North American B - 25 bomber s used in the Doolittle raid toward the Japanese homeland in the spring of 1942 . VT - S ' s Douglas TBD - 1 Devastator torpedo planes remained below on the hangar deck , sharing that space with " Hornet ' s " dive and scout bombers and fighters — all available deck space on the flight deck being occupied by the planes that would bomb Tokyo and other Japanese cities . Only after Doolittle ' s men had departed for Japan did " Hornet " have the ability to launch her planes in her own defense . Later that spring , VT - 8 traveled with the ship as she proceeded toward the South Pacific in the company of near - sister " Enterprise " ( CV - 6 ) , arriving too late to participate in the Battle of the Coral Sea ( 4 to 8 May 1942 ) that began the reversal of Japanese fortunes . Thus after months of training and patrols , the squadron had yet to carry out a torpedo attack on enemy ships . Late in May , however , after American cryptanalyst s had determined that the Japanese intended to attack Midway Island , " Hornet " and " Enterprise " , together with their screening ships , proceeded to that key atoll , joined later by " Yorktown " ( CV - 5 ) and her screen . On the morning of 4 June 1942 , Lt . Commander John C . Waldron led 15 TBD - l ' s , one of them piloted by Abercrombie , launched from " Hornet ' s " flight deck . He located the Japanese carrier force and knowing full well that his planes had used up too much fuel to return safely to the ship , led them in on their torpedo runs . " Torpedo 8 " pressed home a desperate and gallant attack in the face of Zero fighters and heavy antiaircraft fire , but suffered grievously . All 15 planes were shot down . Of thirty men , only Ensign George H . Gay , Jr . , USNR , survived . For his part , Ensign Abercrombie posthumously received a Navy Cross and a share of VT - 8 ' s Presidential Unit Citation . Namesake . The destroyer escort USS " Abercrombie " ( DE - 343 ) was named in his honor .