James Norman Cupp was born in Corning, Iowa, on 28 March 1921. He graduated from high school in Red Oak, Iowa, in 1938.[1] He attended the University of Iowa for two years, taking his Sophomore finals two months early so he could join the Navy V-5 flight training program.[3] In college, Cupp was an avid swimmer and diver.[2] He was also a member of Dolphin Fraternity, a national honorary swimming organization.[4][5]
Cupp was attached to VMF-213, the Hell Hawks, in September 1942 at Marine Corps Air Station Ewa and later flew the Vought F4U Corsair. He had his crew paint Daphne "C", for his wife, on the engine cowling of his Corsair. He arrived at the Solomon Islands for his first combat tour on 3 April 1943.[1][2] Cupp scored his first aerial victory on 15 July 1943 and was an ace three days later. During his tour he was credited with 13 1/2[1] or 13[3] aerial victories based on reports by his wingmen. According to Guttman (2005), he was officially credited with 12 victories.[2][6]
On Sept. 20, 1943, while on dawn patrol with two other squadron pilots, 1st Lt. F.V. Avery and 2nd Lt. J.M. Walley, Captain Cupp was shot down north of Kolombangara by a G4M1 Betty with an improvised gun unexpectedly mounted in its bomb bay; he was severely burned.[2] He spent the next 18 months recovering from second-degree burns of his face, right hand and forearm and third-degree burns of both legs in hospitals, primarily Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland, California, according to the log books of 1st Lt. William C. "Doc" Livingood Sr., M.D., flight surgeon of VMF 213 in 1943. After that, he served as a Naval flight instructor. The war ended before he could return to the Pacific theater.[3]
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Captain James Norman Cupp, United States Marine Corps Reserve, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Division Leader and a Pilot in Marine Fighting Squadron Two Hundred Thirteen (VMF-213), Marine Air Group Eleven (MAG-11), First Marine Aircraft Wing, in aerial combat against enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands Area, on 18 September 1943. While leading his three-fighter division on a patrol over our base on Vella Lavella, Captain Cupp boldly intercepted an overwhelming force of fifteen hostile dive bombers and their fighter escorts threatening our installations. Promptly engaging the enemy, he personally blasted four bombers from the sky and assisted in the shooting down of another. By his superb skill, daring initiative and devotion to duty, Captain Cupp contributed to the success of his squadron and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.[8]
^"Dolphin Fraternity". University of Iowa Hawkeye Yearbook. Student Publications, Inc.: 216 1941. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
^"Swimming Team". University of Iowa Hawkeye Yearbook. Student Publications, Inc.: 160, 210 1942. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
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