George H. Gay Jr.

Ensign (later Lieutenant Commander) George Henry Gay Jr. (March 8, 1917 – October 21, 1994) was a Douglas TBD Devastator pilot in United States Navy (USN) Torpedo Squadron 8 operating from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II. Of the 30 VT-8 aircrew from Hornet that participated in the pivotal Battle of Midway, Ensign Gay was the sole survivor, though the squadron's attack on the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) carriers delayed the launching of a planned strike against the American carriers, enabling other USN planes to sink four of the IJN's seven fleet carriers then in service.