Captain William "Kenny" K. Giroux
U.S. Army Air Force, 5th Air Force, 8th Fighter Group, 36th Fighter Squadron
P-38 Lightning pilot & double ace
Background
William "Kenny" K. Giroux. Enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as an aviation cadet and underwent flight training and earned his wings and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant with serial number O-737057.
Wartime History
Assigned to the 5th Air Force (5th AF), 8th Fighter Group (8th FG), 36th Fighter Squadron (36th FS) "The Flying Fiends" as a P-38 Lightning pilot. By early 1944, promoted to the rank of 1st Lieutenant. By the middle of 1944 promoted to the rank of Captain.
On December 26, 1944 took off from Hill Field on Mindoro piloting P-38L Lightning to attack the Japanese warships in the Mindoro Strait west of Mindoro. The weather was rain squalls from 1,500' to solid overcast at 5,000'. Due to the darkness and clouds, the formation nearly passed over the warships before they realized the enemy was below them and turned sharply to avoid expected anti-aircraft fire, but none was observed initially. For about 45 minutes, the P-38s made strafing runs on three warships and experienced anti-aircraft fire including tracers then turned back for Mindoro. On the return flight, Giroux found his right engine's coolant shutters were jammed shut and unable to be opened. Expecting the engine to overheat, he bailed out off western Mindoro and landed near shore.
Aerial victory claims
Giroux was officially credited with ten aerial victories, all flying the P-38 Lightning in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA).
| Victory |
Date |
Location |
Aircraft |
Notes on claim |
| 1 |
03/15/44 |
|
|
First aerial victory claim. |
| 2 |
07/27/44 |
|
|
Second aerial victory claim. |
| 3 |
11/02/44 |
|
|
Third aerial victory claim. |
| 4 |
11/02/44 |
|
|
Fourth aerial victory claim. |
| 5 |
11/02/44 |
|
|
Fifth aerial victory claim, became an ace. |
| 6 |
11/04/44 |
|
|
Sixth aerial victory claim. |
| 7 |
11/04/44 |
|
|
Seventh aerial victory claim. |
| 8 |
11/04/44 |
|
|
Eighth aerial victory claim. |
| 9 |
11/06/44 |
|
|
Ninth aerial victory claim. |
| 10 |
11/15/44 |
|
|
Tenth aerial victory claim became a "double ace". |
 Aircraft Assigned
P-38J 44-23255 assigned to Giroux
References
USAF Historical Study No. 85 USAF Credits For The Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, World War II [PDF] Alphabetical: Giroux, William K. page 72 (PDF page 79)
P-38 Lightning Aces of the Pacific and CBI (1997) by John Stanaway page 89 (ace list,
Giroux 10)
|
