THE BEST DIVE BOMBER

In the age of industrial warfare, individual combatants seldom make a difference in a battle’s outcome. Richard H. Best was an exception. But he spent a decade en route to his rendezvous with destiny at the Battle of Midway.

Appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy from his native New Jersey, Best graduated in the class of 1932. Enamored of aviation, Ensign Best served the obligatory two years at sea before beginning flight training in Pensacola, Fla. An excellent student, he pinned on his golden wings in December 1935.

Best’s Pensacola grades earned him the