This comic book recounts the heroic destiny of an aviator who became a US Navy legend in the span of one day, on June 4, 1942, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Often overshadowed in Europe by the aviators who contributed to the success of the Normandy landings, Richard Halsey Best is nonetheless a hero on the other side of the Atlantic! Born in the United States in 1910, this exceptional pilot, instructor, and member of a dive-bomber unit at the start of World War II, made a name for himself thanks to his achievements against the Imperial Japanese Army. As early as May 1940, he became an aviation lieutenant on the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, but the United States had not yet entered the war. The Japanese Air Force’s attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, changed everything.
What happened next? February 1st of the following year marked the first air combat, followed by numerous raids on Japanese ships between late winter and early spring. Early June 1942 saw the start of the so-called Battle of Midway, three days of violent fighting in which the US Navy ultimately prevailed. June 4 was a record-breaking day for Halsey Best. He dropped a bomb on deck to sink the aircraft carrier Akagi and took part in the attacks on Hiryu and Kaga, two other aircraft carriers that sank to the ocean’s depths that day. The rest of the war was less heroic for the young pilot. He suffered from tuberculosis (and lived until 2001), but his story was well deserving of its very own comic book. And now that’s been accomplished!
Comic book. “Richard Halsey Best”. Author, Antonio Gil. Éditions Clair de Lune. Collection Envergure. ISBN: 2353259898
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