Page 96 - South Mississippi Living - November, 2015

GOLDEN YEARS congressional gratitude
CALL
OF DUTY
Fighter Ace Jerry O’Keefe receives Congressional Medal of Honor
story by Ed Lepoma photos courtesy of Jerry O’Keefe
ABOVE: Jerry O’Keefe accepts the Medal Of Honor in Ocean Springs during a ceremony that included a Marine Corps Honor Guard.
The nation celebrates Veteran’s Day this month, and one of the most decorated heroes of World War II lives right here
on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Prior to the nationwide celebration, the U.S. Congress directed the government to design a special Congressional Medal to honor the remaining fighter aces from the Greatest Generation. One of those special medals was presented to Jeremiah “Jerry” O’Keefe, who lives in Biloxi.
President Obama invited O’Keefe and other aces to the White House for a special presentation, but the 91-year- old patriarch opted to stay here as
his family was celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Home at ceremonies in Ocean Springs. So, Congressman Steven Palazzo sent an aide and a Marine Corps Honor Guard to officially make the presentation to O’Keefe.
Palazzo aide T.J. Moran noted that only 1,477 fighter pilots out of 60,000 have been recognized as aces. “Today, there are only 77 living fighter aces and one of those brave men stands here among us,” he said.
He presented the medal to O’Keefe, along with a framed American flag that was flown over the nation’s capitol and a framed proclamation which was read into the Congressional Record noting the longevity of the O’Keefe family business and the company’s generous contributions to the arts, education and
sports along the Gulf Coast.
The medal is the highest civilian
award given by Congress. Each gold medal is unique to the recipient
and the one presented to O’Keefe is reserved only for service members who have achieved the title of ace through the destruction of five or more enemy aircraft in aerial combat.
O’Keefe was a 21-year-old Marine Lieutenant stationed on the recently captured Japanese island of Okinawa when he started out Easter Sunday, April 22, 1945, volunteering to assist the Chaplin with morning services. By the time the sun would set that fateful day, the young aviator would come face-to-face with the enemy for the first time and shoot down five Japanese dive bombers to earn the title of ace.
O’Keefe’s Marine Fighter Squadron, VMF-323, was nicknamed the Death Rattlers and broke up a huge force
of 80 Kamikazes heading toward American ships that day. By the end
of the war, he was tied for first place among the squadron’s dozen aces with seven Rising Sun flags on the side of his Corsair aircraft.
O’Keefe is humbled and honored by the award. The medal will join the Navy Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal displayed at
his home. He said he still keeps in touch with his war buddies. “Up until three years ago, we would meet every year,” he said. “The last time we were together, I chartered a bus and we all went to visit the World War II Museum in New Orleans. Now, it’s harder for some of them to travel,” he said.
96 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • November 2015
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