Got the last touches done on my 1/72 scale F4F-3 Wildcat as flown by Butch O’Hare when on February 20, 1942, became the Navy’s first flying ace by single-handedly attacked a formation of nine heavy bombers approaching his aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Lexington (CV-2). 
Even though he had a limited amount of ammunition, he managed to shoot down or damage several enemy bombers. On April 21, 1942, he became the first naval recipient of the Medal of Honor in World War II.
The Lexington behind him is my May 1942 version and not accurate to February of that year. At that time it still had its 8″ turrets and was wearing a Measure 12 camouflage, consisting of Sea Blue, Ocean Gray, and a tiny bit of Haze Gray, and looked something like the photo below. It lost its turrets and changed camouflage schemes during a March 1942 refit at Pearl Harbor.
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I am so proud to be an American. I was 16 years old at the time of the end of ww11. But I can still vividly remember the US Navy,75 years ago. I am 88 years old and spent 4 years in the US Air Force, and served in the occupation of Japan, as a Base Photographer Haneeda AF Base. 1948-1952