Editing Joe Foss (section)

===Guadalcanal Flying Ace===
In October 1942, VMF-121 pilots and aircraft were sent to Guadalcanal as part of [[Guadalcanal Campaign|Operation Watchtower]] to relieve [[VMA-223|VMF-223]], which had been fighting for control of the air over the island since mid-August.<ref>Jackson 1978, p. 128.</ref> On October 9, Foss and his group were catapult launched off the {{USS|Copahee|CVE-12|6}} escort carrier and flew {{convert|350|mi}} north to reach Guadalcanal.<ref>Yenne 2009, p. 100</ref> The air group, code named "Cactus", based at [[Honiara International Airport|Henderson Field]] became known as the [[Cactus Air Force]], and their presence played a pivotal role in the [[Battle of Guadalcanal]].<ref name="Miller p. xi">Miller 1969, p. xi.</ref> Foss soon gained a reputation for aggressive close-in fighter tactics and uncanny gunnery skills.<ref name="Loomis p. 94"/>{{#tag:ref|To preserve the scarce ammunition at Henderson, Foss removed one machine gun from each wing and relied on his "ability to shoot." At least four engagements were broken off when Foss ran out of ammunition.<ref name="Bauer p. 40">Bauer March 1990, p. 40.</ref>|group=Note}} Foss shot down a Japanese [[Mitsubishi Zero|Zero]] on his first combat mission on October 13, but his own F4F Wildcat was shot up as well, and with a dead engine and three more Zeros on his tail, he landed at full speed, with no flaps and minimal control on Henderson Field, barely missing a grove of palm trees.<ref name="Tillman p. 30">Tillman 1995, p. 30.</ref> On 7 November his Wildcat was again hit, and he survived a ditching in the sea off the island of [[Malaita]].<ref>Foss's flight on that memorable day is documented in [[Edward H. Sims]]' book ''Greatest Fighter Missions'', as the third chapter of that compilation.</ref>

[[File:GeigerFoss.jpg|thumb|right|Foss stands with Cactus Air Force commander MajGen [[Roy Geiger]].]]
[[Image:VMF-115 WWII.jpg|thumb|An alternate logo used by the [[VMFA-115|Marine Fighting Squadron 115]] was "... drawn by the [[Walt Disney Studios (Burbank)|Disney Studios]] (...) is exemplary of the squadron itself, and the cigar pays tribute to Major Joe Foss' ever-present '[[Stogies|stogie]]' (...) the name was chosen by popular vote."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Beyond a Dream|last=Brummell|first=Clyde Verlon|publisher=Gann Publishing Co.|year=2005|location=Portland, Oregon|pages=(from inside front cover)|quote=... drawn by the Disney Studios (...) is exemplary of the squadron itself, and the cigar pays tribute to Major Joe Foss' ever-present 'stogie' (...) the name was chosen by popular vote.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/flyingheritage/posts/10154644730418666:0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/13883518665/10154644730418666 |archive-date=2022-02-26 |url-access=limited|title=Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum|website=www.facebook.com|language=en|access-date=2018-11-16}}{{cbignore}}</ref>|alt=|left|200x200px]]As lead pilot in his flight of eight Wildcats, the group soon became known as "Foss's Flying Circus", with two sections Foss nicknamed "Farm Boys" and "City Slickers."<ref name="Loomis p. 94">Loomis 1961, p. 94.</ref> In December 1942, Foss contracted malaria. He was sent to [[Sydney]], Australia for rehabilitation, where he met Australian ace [[Clive Caldwell|Clive "Killer" Caldwell]] and delivered some lectures on operational flying to RAF pilots, newly assigned to the theater.<ref name="Bauer p. 40"/> On January 1, 1943, Foss returned to Guadalcanal, to continue combat operations which lasted until February 9, 1943, although the Japanese attacks had waned from the height of the November 1942 crisis.<ref name="Bauer p. 80">Bauer May 1990, p. 80.</ref> In three months of sustained combat, Foss's Flying Circus had shot down 72 Japanese aircraft, including 26 credited to him.<ref name="Shores p. 61">Shores 1975, p. 61.</ref> Upon matching the record of 26 kills held by America's top World War I ace, [[Eddie Rickenbacker]], Foss was accorded the honor of becoming America's first "ace-of-aces" in World War II.<ref>Gurney 1982, p. 117.</ref> One of the Japanese he shot down was ace [[Kaname Harada]], who became a peace activist and met Foss many years later.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/06/world/asia/kaname-harada-pearl-harbor-fighter-pilot-who-became-pacifist-dies-at-99.html|title = Kaname Harada, Pearl Harbor Fighter Pilot and, Later, a Pacifist, Dies at 99|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 5 May 2016|last1 = Roberts|first1 = Sam|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509223619/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/06/world/asia/kaname-harada-pearl-harbor-fighter-pilot-who-became-pacifist-dies-at-99.html|archive-date=9 May 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

Foss returned to the United States in March 1943. On May 18, 1943, Foss received the [[Medal of Honor]] from President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]].<ref name="Shores p. 61"/> The [[White House]] ceremony was featured in ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazine, with the reluctant Captain Foss appearing on the magazine's cover.<ref>[http://www.life.com/image/51148313 "Joseph Foss – Life Magazine Cover"]{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} ''Life magazine,'' June 7, 1943 via ''life.com.'' Retrieved: August 3, 2011.</ref> He then was asked to participate in a war bond tour that stretched into 1944.<ref name="Bauer p. 80"/>