James B. McGovern Jr.

{{Infobox military person

|name= James B. McGovern Jr.

|image= Earthquake mcgoon2.jpg

|image_size=

|alt=

|caption=

|nickname= "Earthquake McGoon"

|birth_date= {{birth date|1922|2|4}}

|birth_place= Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States

|death_date= {{death date and age|1954|5|6|1922|2|4}}

|death_place= Northern Laos

|placeofburial= Arlington National Cemetery

|allegiance= United States

|branch= United States Army Air Forces

|serviceyears= 1942–1954

|rank= Captain

|unit=

|commands=

|battles= World War II
First Indochina War

|awards= Purple Heart
Knight of the Legion of Honour (France)

|relations=

|laterwork=

}}

James Bernard McGovern Jr. (February 4, 1922 – May 6, 1954){{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/earthquake-mcgoons-final-flight.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805091122/https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/earthquake-mcgoons-final-flight.html|archivedate=August 5, 2009|title=A Look Back ... Earthquake McGoon's Final Flight |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |date=July 16, 2009 |accessdate=October 10, 2012}} was a World War II fighter pilot and later an aviator with the Central Intelligence Agency. He and co-pilot Wallace Buford were the only Americans to die in combat in the First Indochina War. At the time, they were officially employees of Civil Air Transport.

Early life and education

He was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey. After graduating from high school in 1940, he went to work for the Wright Aircraft Engineering Company in Paterson, New Jersey.

Career

=World War II=

McGovern enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps in May 1942. He served in China in 1944 as part of the 14th Air Force's 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 23rd Fighter Group.{{cite web |url=http://www.118trs.com/squadron-roster |title=Squadron Roster |publisher=118trs.com |accessdate=October 10, 2012}}. The CIA claims he was a member of the 75th Fighter Squadron, 23rd Fighter Group. The 118th was known for its "Black Lightning" markings on its P-51s that have been carried forward to the C-21s that they fly today as the 118th Airlift Squadron. During this time, he was credited with shooting down four Japanese Zero fighters, and destroying another five on the ground.{{Cite web |url=http://www.air-america.org/newspaper_articles/Earthquake_McGoon.shtml |title=Remains of 'Earthquake McGoon' sought after 48 years |access-date=2007-05-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131025084041/http://www.air-america.org/newspaper_articles/Earthquake_McGoon.shtml |archive-date=2013-10-25 |url-status=dead }}

The nickname "Earthquake McGoon" was given to McGovern in World War II because the first four letters of his last name, and, like the namesake character in the Li'l Abner comic strip, he was a big man at about {{convert|6|ft|m}} and {{convert|260|lb|kg}} (considered large for a fighter pilot).

=Prisoner of Chinese Communists=

On December 5, 1949 a plane he was piloting crash landed in Guangxi province. The plane was flying from Hong Kong to Kunming. Its automatic direction finder failed. Additional technical trouble caused a forced landing 180 miles west of Nanning. McGovern and the other passengers were captured by Chinese guerrilla fighters. On January 4, 1950 they reached Nanning and were told they were prisoners.{{cite news |last= Associated Press|date= 9 March 1950 |title= M'Govern, Prisoner Loses 50 Pounds: Chinese Radio Man Escapes from Reds, Reports Communist Food Has Affected Elizabeth Pilot.|location= Hong Kong}} He was later released in May 1950.

=Dien Bien Phu=

On May 6, 1954, his C-119 Flying Boxcar cargo plane was hit twice by ground fire, first in the port engine, then in the horizontal stabilizer, while parachuting a howitzer to the besieged French garrison at Dien Bien Phu during the First Indochina War.{{cite web |url=http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/CAT-149_McGoon.htm |title=The Shootdown of "Earthquake McGoon" |publisher=Check-Six.com}} He managed to fly {{convert|75|mi|km}}, but just short of a landing strip in Laos, a wingtip clipped a tree. Moments before impact, McGovern was heard to say over his radio, "Looks like this is it, son."Fall, Bernard. "Hell in a Very Small Place: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu." Da Capo Press, 1966, p. 373-374. McGovern, his co-pilot Wallace Buford, and two French crewmen were killed. Two others were thrown clear; one later died of their injuries. The day after, the garrison at Dien Bien Phu surrendered.

McGovern's skeletal remains were discovered in an unmarked grave in northern Laos in 2002. They were identified in September 2006 by laboratory experts at the U.S. military's Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command.{{Cite web |url=http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/news/2007/McGovern.pdf |title=CIA Pilot missing in action from Vietnam is identified |access-date=2010-01-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301023826/http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/news/2007/McGovern.pdf |archive-date=2009-03-01 |url-status=dead }} He was interred in Arlington National Cemetery on May 24, 2007.

Legacy

On February 24, 2005, James McGovern was posthumously awarded (along with Buford and six other surviving pilots) the Legion of Honour with the rank of knight (chevalier) by the President of France Jacques Chirac for their actions in supplying Dien Bien Phu during the 57-day siege.{{cite web |url=http://www.air-america.org/newspaper_articles/France_Award.pdf |title=French-American Relations |publisher=Embassy of France in the US |date=February 24, 2005 |access-date=January 13, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061108035147/http://air-america.org/newspaper_articles/France_Award.pdf |archive-date=November 8, 2006 |url-status=dead }}

References

External links

[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0610230147oct23,1,4018341.story?track=rss Vietnam MIA `McGoon' coming home for burial]
[http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/CAT-149_McGoon.htm The Shootdown of Earthquake McGoon]
[http://www.facesfromthewall.com/civilians/CV1954.html James 'Earthquake McGoon' McGovern Jr. Memorial]
[http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=6466 McGovern's two victory credits]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20070427115008/http://www.air-america.org/News/CAT_Pilots_Receive_French_Award.shtml CAT Pilots to be honored by France]
[http://www.103rdfighterwing.com/ History of 103rd Airlift Wing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926133812/http://www.103rdfighterwing.com/ |date=2023-09-26 }}
[http://www.google.ca/imgres?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=HCR&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=892&bih=725&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=IIYJT0e-9naZAM:&imgrefurl=http://deniskitchen.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc%3FScreen%3DCTGY%26Category_Code%3Dbios.mcgoon&docid=kvFyZQcly7stCM&imgurl=http://deniskitchen.com/docs/bios/bio.mcgoon.jpg&w=359&h=399&ei=xv11UMa3Aor1iQLKmoCoAg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=4&sig=115753331627017030002&page=1&tbnh=179&tbnw=161&start=0&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:71&tx=80&ty=82 Image of the cartoon Earthquake McGoon]

Category:1922 births

Category:1954 deaths

Category:American military personnel killed in action

Category:Aviators killed by being shot down

Category:Aviators from New Jersey

Category:Assassinated CIA agents

Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery

Category:Knights of the Legion of Honour

Category:Military personnel from Elizabeth, New Jersey

Category:Military personnel killed in the Cold War

Category:People of the First Indochina War

Category:United States Army officers