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Murderous Manny” Segal by Avi Heiligman
Forgotten Her es
Soon after the Wright brothers flew on their famous first flight in 1903, the military came calling, looking to add planes to their arsenal.
The first U.S. Marine Corps pilot took to the air in 1912 after being trained by the navy. By 1914, the Marines wanted to separate their aviation wing from the navy, and they did this by establishing their own aviation school. Marines flew with some success during World War I and sent eight squadrons into battle. By the outbreak of World War II, the Marine Corps air arm consisted of over 230 planes. This number would grow rapidly during the war as they were heavily relied upon during many of the battles against the Japanese. One of the highest scoring pilots in the Marines was a Jewish officer who flew with one of the most storied squadrons in the Corps.
Harold Segal was born in Chicago in 1920. His family moved first to Boston and then to New York. In 1941, he enlisted in the Navy but he realized that flying was for him and soon entered flight school for the Marines. He received his wings in October 1942 and was commissioned as lieutenant. By May of the next year, Segal was transferred to the veteran Marine Fighting Squadron VMF-221.
The Navy mostly flew off aircraft carriers, and the Army Air Corps flew off land bases with the exception of Doolittle’s Raid in April 1942. The Marines, in contrast, were trained to fly off of carriers and land bases. In the vast spaces of the Pacific Campaign, this was called upon time and again. VMF-221 was formed in the month prior to World War II and within three weeks of the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor had sent fourteen Brewster Buffalo fighter planes to Midway Island. They remained stationed there for several months and had received seven more Buffalos and seven Wildcat fighters. The planes weren’t in the best of shape but managed to shoot down a Japanese flying boat in March 1942.
On June 4, 1942, the Marines stationed at Midway were given an alert that a large formation of Japanese planes was headed their way. In addition to the fighters, there was a Marine bomber squadron, but it would be up to VMF-221 under Major Floyd Parks to handle the 36 Japanese Zero fighters in addition to the enemy bombers coming from four aircraft carriers. The American planes, especially the outdated Brewster Buffalos, did not
By Avi Heiligman
stand a chance. Only two planes from VMF-221 were airworthy by the end of the battle. Parks and thirteen other airmen had been killed in battle, although they managed to knock down several Japanese planes. This action part of the Battle of Midway heavily favored the Japanese aircraft five to one. However, the Japanese were not aware of the planes coming from the American carriers. In total, all four Japanese carriers were sunk and the battle in the Pacific was slowly turning in the American’s favor.
As they prepared for their next assignment in the Solomon Islands, the decimated VMF-221 desperately needed reinforcements. In May 1943, the squadron had the new F4U Corsair fighter bombers and had Harold Segal assigned to their ranks. Segal was given his nickname “Murderous Manny” after downing two Japanese planes, a bomber and a Zero fighter, off of Rendova and Munda Islands on June 30.
On July 11, Segal was flying as wingman for Captain James Swett. In April 1943, Swett had the distinction of becoming an ace, shooting down five enemy aircraft, in his very first mission. He was shot down and rescued and later received the Medal of Honor for this action. Now flying with Segal off the coast of New Georgia near the Kula Gulf, they saw a formation of Japanese Mitsubishi AM6 Zeros and Mitsubishi GM4 Betty Bombers. The pair attacked and Swett shot down two bombers and fighter. Segal shot down three Zeros and later reported, “I caught the top Zero first. He blew up like matchwood. The second Zero never knew what hit
him. My dive practically carried me into his cockpit – he hit the sea…”
Segal shot down a third Zero before his Corsair, named Ruthie after his mother, took too much punishment and could no longer remain airborne. He made a sea landing and sustained facial injuries. Swett also was shot down, and they both spent the next day waiting to be rescued. Swett was eventually rescued by indigenous fishermen in a canoe while Segal was picked up by an American destroyer. Both returned to the squadron. This eventful mission made Segal an ace for shooting down his fifth enemy plane.
Over the next several months, Segal racked up five more kills to become a double ace. Two of these came when he was escorting a photographic mission but his plane was badly damaged in the melee. He was able to nurse his plane back to base where he landed safely. In November, he rotated home.
Segal wanted to return to the front lines and was assigned to VMF-211. In January 1944, he shot down two Mitsubishi A6M3 “Hamp” fighters (a version of the Zero). A few days later, his plane went down due an oil leak off Torokina, Bougainville, and he was rescued. Segal now had twelve enemy planes to his credit and became one of the highest scoring aces in the Marine Corps.
In March 1944, Segal returned to New York as a hero, and hundreds of people came out to greet him. He returned to the Pacific the next year and primarily flew ground support missions. Promoted to captain, he finished the war having been awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses and an Air Medal.
Only a few military units are remembered for generations for their service. Information on VMF221 is scarce despite scoring 185 air-to-air victories – the second-most of any Marine squadron. Nine of their pilots had the distinction of being called an ace. A lot of pilots have hair-raising experiences, and Segal said his survival was because of “G-d sitting beside me.” All of these men and their ground crews that kept the planes of the squadron airborne are Forgotten Heroes.
Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.
