then Captain Henry T. Elrod's F4F-3 after sinking the Kisragi.
On December 12, he single-handedly attacked a flight of 22 enemy planes and shot down two. He executed several low-altitude bombing and strafing runs on enemy ships; during one of these attacks,
he became the first man to sink a warship, the Japanese destroyer Kisaragi, with small caliber bombs delivered from a fighter aircraft.
When all the U.S. aircraft had been destroyed by hostile fire, he organized remaining troops into a beach defense unit which repulsed repeated Japanese attacks. On December 23, 1941, Captain Elrod was mortally wounded while protecting his men who were carrying ammunition to a gun emplacement.
He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on actions from Dec. 9th and 12th.
The main road leading in to the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School is named after Elrod. The U.S. Navy Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, USS Elrod, is named in his honor. A street within the Marine Corps Air Station, Miramar, California, at San Diego, is named after Elrod.