Swett, James E.
James Elms Swett was born on 15 June 1920 in Seattle, Washington. He relocated to San Mateo, California with his family and attended San Mateo Junior College before enlisting in the U.S. Naval Reserve as a Seaman Second Class in August 1941. After training at Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, Texas, he was designated a Naval Aviator and, in April 1942, commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. That December, following additional training, he was sent to the south Pacific and joined Marine Fighting Squadron Two Hundred Twenty One (VMF-221), which was operating in the Solomon Islands area after the end of the Guadalcanal Campaign. During this time, he was promoted to First Lieutenant.
Leading one of his squadron's divisions on 7 April 1943, Swett intercepted a large force of Japanese planes raiding the Guadalcanal and Tulagi area. Flying through intense fire from both the enemy aircraft and "friendly" anti-aircraft guns, he shot down seven enemy aircraft before running out of ammunition and having to ditch his badly damaged "Wildcat" fighter off Tulagi. For his "extraordinary heroism and personal valor" on this occasion, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Promoted to Captain, Swett provided air support to the Allied offensives in the central Solomons during much of the rest of 1943, destroying several more Japanese planes. He was himself shot down in an aerial battle near New Georgia Island, rescued by local residents and taken, by canoe, to safety.
In December 1943, Swett returned to the United States and was ordered to Naval Air Station, Santa Barbara, California. His squadron served on board USS Bunker Hill during the Iwo Jima and Okinawa operations in February-May 1945. Swett ended World War with credit for downing at least 15 1/2 enemy aircraft. Following the war, he commanded Marine Fighting Squadron One Hundred Forty One (VMF-141) at Naval Air Station, Alameda, California. He remained in the Marine Corps reserve until retiring in 1970 with the rank of Colonel. James E. Swett died on 18 January 2009 and is buried at the Northern California Veterans Cemetery in Igo, California.
