Wwii Navy Ace Dies At Age 86

David McCampbell, the Navy’s all-time leading ace with 34 aerial victories during World War II, died at the age of 86.

McCampbell, who was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Roosevelt at the end of the war, retired to Hypoluxo. He died Sunday at the nearby Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center.

“He was the ace of aces,” said Jim Gregory of Lake Clarke Shores, a fellow World War II veteran who led the campaign to have a $157 million terminal at Palm Beach International Airport named after him in 1988.

McCampbell’s 34 victories made him the nation’s fourth-leading ace of all time behind three Air Force pilots: Maj. Richard I. Bong, 40 kills; Maj. Thomas McGuire, 38, and Col. Francis S. Gabreski, 34.5. Victories are divided if more than one pilot is credited with shooting down a plane.