Col. Neel E. Kearby
United States Army Air Force, 5th Air Force, 348th Fighter Group (C.O.)
P-47 Thunderbolt Ace Earned The Medal Of Honor

Background
Neel Ernest Kearby was born June 5, 1911 in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Wartime History
During October 1942 Kearby became the Commanding Officer (C. O.) of the 348th Fighter Group (348th FG) in New Guinea. Flying the P-47D Thunderbolt, the group developed new tactics to utilize the fighter's diving speed and other strengths in air combat. On November 28, 1942 promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. On September 23, 1943 promoted to the rank of Colonel. On November 12, 1943 he transfered to 5th Fighter Command (5th FC). On February 8, 1944 became Commanding Officer (C.O.) of 308th Bomber Wing (Heavy).

Assigned Aircraft
Kearby had four P-47D Thunderbolts assigned to him that were all nicknamed "Firey Ginger" including: P-47D "Firey Ginger" 42-8145 pilot Ness MIA October 22, 1944, P-47D "Fiery Ginger II" serial number and fate unknown, P-47D "Fiery Ginger III" 42-75908 transfered to 58th Fighter Group (58th FG) and P-47D "Fiery Ginger IV" 42-22668 flown on Kearby on March 5, 1944 when he went Missing In Action (MIA).

Aerial Victory Claims
Kearby was credited with a a total of 22 aerial victories all while flying the P-47D Thunderbolt. His aerial victory claims include:

Victory	Date	Location	Aircraft	Notes on claim
1	09/04/43	Hopoi	Betty	First aerial victory claim.
2	09/04/43	Hopoi	Oscar	Second aerial victory claim.
3	09/14/43	Malahang	Dinah	Third aerial victory claim.
4	10/11/43	Boram Airfield	Zeke [sic Oscar]	Fourth aerial victory claim.
5	10/11/43	Boram	Zeke [sic Oscar]	Fifth aerial victory claim, became an "ace"
6	10/11/43	Boram	Hap [sic Oscar]	Sixth aerial victory claim.
7	10/11/43	Boram	Hap [sic Oscar]	Seventh aerial victory claim.
8	10/11/43	Boram	Ki-61 Tony	Eighth aerial victory claim.
9	10/11/43	Boram	Ki-61 Tony	Ninth aerial victory claim.
10	10/16/43	Wewak	Zeke	Tenth aerial victory claim.
11	10/19/43	Wewak	F1M2 Pete	Eleventh aerial victory claim.
12	10/19/43	Wewak	F1M2 Pete	Twelfth aerial victory claim.
13	12/03/43	Wewak	Zeke [sic Oscar]	Thirteenth aerial victory claim.
14	12/03/43	Wewak	Zeke [sic Oscar]	Fourteenth aerial victory claim.
15	12/03/43	Wewak	Zeke [sic Oscar]	Fifteenth aerial victory claim.
	12/07/43	Boram Airfield	Ki-61 Tony	Claimed as damaged.
16	12/22/43	Wewak	Zeke [sic Oscar]	Sixteenth aerial victory claim.
17	12/23/43	Dagua Airfield	Ki-61 Tony	Seventeenth aerial victory claim.
18	01/03/44	Wewak	Ki-21 Sally [sic]	Eighteenth aerial victory claim.
19	01/03/44	Wewak	Zeke [sic Oscar]	Nineteenth aerial victory claim.
20	01/09/44	Wewak Harbor	Ki-61 Tony	Twenty aerial victory claim.
21	01/09/44	Wewak Harbor	Ki-61 Tony	Twenty-first aerial victory claim.
	02/27/44	Cape Hoskins	Ki-21 Sally	Claimed as damaged.
22	03/05/44	Wewak	Nell [sic Ki-48 Lily]	Twenty-second aerial victory claim.

Missing In Action
On March 5, 1944 at 4:00pm took off from Saidor Airfield piloting P-47D "Fiery Ginger IV" 42-22668 leading a fighter sweep over Wewak with P-47D pilot Captain "Dinghy" Dunham and P-47D pilot Captain Samuel V. Blair. The weather was scattered clouds. At 5:15pm over Dagua at 22,000' the P-47s spotted a formation of Nells [sic Ki-48 Lilys] flying at roughly 500' in a "V" formation. In fact they were three Type 99 Light Bomber / Ki-48 Lilys from 208th Hiko Sentai (208th Flying Regiment).

When the P-47s reached 1,000' the bombers spotted them and began to descend to the west following the north coast of New Guinea. Intercepting, the P-47s closed to an altitude of 200' and Kearby fired on the lead bomber causing it to pull up on fire then dive into the ground. He was credited with a Nell [sic Ki-48 Lily], his 22nd aerial victory claim. Meanwhile, Captain Dunham fired at a Nell [Ki-48 Lily] on the left and caused it to crash in flames. The third bomber was attacked by Blair and crashed into the ground and exploded.

Next, Kearby fired on another bomber but did not observe it to go down and made a turn to setup for another pass. At 5:20pm, while turning, Kearby was intercepted by a Ki-43 Oscar from 77th Sentai and never seen again. When this aircraft failed to return it was officially listed as Missing In Action (MIA).

In fact, Kearby was damaged gunfire from a Ki-43 Oscar but managed to bail but became tangled in a tree and died of bullet wounds. Damaged, his P-47 crashed into the jungle inland from Dagua.

Awards
Both General Douglas MacArthur and General George Kenney recommended Kearby for the Medal of Honor for his actions on October 11, 1943 mission over Wewak. In early January 1944 when approved, Kearby was bestowed the Medal of Honor by MacArthur. At the time, Kearby had 19 confirmed victories and was tied with Captain Richard I. Bong as the leading American fighter pilots at the time.

Medal of Honor Citation "For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy, Col. Kearby volunteered to lead a flight of 4 fighters to reconnoiter the strongly defended enemy base at Wewak. Having observed enemy installations and reinforcements at 4 airfields, and secured important tactical information, he saw an enemy fighter below him, made a diving attack and shot it down in flames. The small formation then sighted approximately 12 enemy bombers accompanied by 36 fighters. Although his mission had been completed, his fuel was running low, and the numerical odds were 12 to 1, he gave the signal to attack. Diving into the midst of the enemy airplanes he shot down 3 in quick succession. Observing 1 of his comrades with 2 enemy fighters in pursuit, he destroyed both enemy aircraft. The enemy broke off in large numbers to make a multiple attack on his airplane but despite his peril he made one more pass before seeking cloud protection. Coming into the clear, he called his flight together and led them to a friendly base. Col. Kearby brought down 6 enemy aircraft in this action, undertaken with superb daring after his mission was completed."

Recovery of Remains
During 1946, Kearby's remains were recovered. After his remains were identified, he was transported to the United States for permanent burial.

Memorials
Kearby was listed as Missing In Action (MIA) until 1948, then officially declared dead the day of the mission. On June 16, 1949 Kearby was buried at Hillcrest Memorial Park, Dallas Texas at Garden Of Devotion Block 13 Lot 19 Space 7 & 8. He is also memorialized on a plaque for Congressional Medal of Honor recipients at Cape Wom Memorial Park near Wewak.

In 1945, 342nd Fighter Squadron (342nd FS) officer club was dedicated to Neel Kearby with a painting of a P-47D Thunderbolt.

References
FindAGrave - Neel Ernest Kearby (photos, grave photo)
Dear Mom: So We Have A War (1991) by Carl Bong (brother) pages 335 (Letter March 13, 1944)
(Page 335) "Dear Mom , 3/1344... Everything is okay here, although I'm not in very high spirits now. I suppose you have read in the papers about Col. Kearby and Col. Lynch being lost in action. I was with Lynch at the time and it wasn't pretty."
General Kenney Reports (1997) pages 264-265, 273, 276, 292, 310-311, 338, 345, 346, 363-364, 571, 586 (index Kearby)
Stars & Bars (1995) pages 51 (348th FG), 374 (Kearby)
Kearby's Thunderbolts The 348th Fighter Group in World War II (1992) pages 1-2 (Kearby remains recovery), 3-7 (training), 11 (arrival Port Moresby), 11-12 (Aug 1, 1943 mock dogfight with Bong), 16-23, 24 (Medal of Honor), 25 (Oct 1943), 27, 29-30, 33, 35 (interviewed by press), 36, 41, 45-46, 51-54 (March 5, 1944), 61 (artwork combat over Wewak Jan 9, 1944), 90 (officer club dedicated), 105 (aerial victory claims, Kearby), 108 (index Kearby)
Kearby's Thunderbolts The 348th Fighter Group in World War II (1997) mentions Kearby
Mustang and Thunderbolt Aces of the Pacific and CBI (1999) mentions Kearby
MacArthur's Eagles (2005) pages 20 (348th FG), 98-101 (October 11, 1944), 125-128 (March 5, 1944), 342 (index Kearby)
Race of Aces: WWII's Elite Airmen and the Epic Battle to Become the Master of the Sky (2020) pages 233-234, 282-285, 294-297, 302-306, 316-317 (footnote 1) 316-317 (Flying Circus), 477-478 (Kearby recovery of remains and impact on family), 503 (Kearby 293 Personnel File / IDPF), 513-514 (index Kearby)