Oswald J. Gaynier

Oswald J. Gaynier (1915–1942) was a United States Navy officer who received the Navy Cross posthumously for his actions in combat during World War II.

Biography
Oswald Jopseh Gaynier was born in Monroe, Michigan, on 4 March 1915. He enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve as a seaman second class on 3 October 1940 and was appointed Aviation Cadet on 10 December 1940. Commissioned as an ensign on 3 June 1941, he was assigned to Torpedo Squadron 8 in aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) on 25 August 1941.

During the opening phases of the Battle of Midway on 4 June 1942, Torpedo Squadron 8 launched a courageous attack against Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carriers of the Japanese Striking Force. Lacking fighter protection and beset on all sides by Japanese fighters, the valiant American pilots pressed home the attack in the face of withering antiaircraft fire from a seemingly impenetrable screen of Japanese cruisers and destroyers. All members of the squadron but one were killed during the attack. Ensign Gaynier, piloting a Douglas TBD-1 Devastator torpedo bomber, was one of those who so gallantly sacrificed his life for his country and the American victory that followed.

Awards
For his extraordinary heroism and meritorious devotion to duty at Midway, Ensign Gaynier was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously.

Namesake
The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Gaynier (DE-751), launched in 1944 but never completed, was named for Ensign Gaynier.