History
WWII veteran receives Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal decades after his service
Stars and Stripes
July 28, 2024
Richard E. “Dick” Miralles is presented an Air Medal during a ceremony at the California State Capitol Building in Sacramento, July 25, 2024. (Samantha P Montenegro/U.S. Navy)
Aviation radioman-gunner Richard E. “Dick” Miralles received a Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal last week decades after World War II.
On Thursday at the California State Capitol Building in Sacramento, Miralles received the Air Medal (first through 14th Strike/Flight) and Distinguished Flying Cross (with three gold stars in lieu of fourth) for meritorious achievement in aerial flight during 85 combat missions as an Aviation Radioman 2nd Class from Aug. 16, 1942, to July 25, 1943. He was assigned to Bombing Squadron (VB) 21 of Carrier Air Group (CVG) 11.
Lt. Cmdr. Brantley Harvey, naval aviator and executive officer of Navy Reserve Center Sacramento, presented the medals.
“I accept these for all of those that didn’t make it back,” Miralles said in a news release.
The medals served as an early birthday present for Miralles, who turns 100 on Sunday. He plans to celebrate with his wife, Joy, and friends and family in Sacramento, Calif.
Richard E. “Dick” Miralles poses for a photo wearing his Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal and holding a replica of the Scout Bomber Douglas Dauntless dive-bomber at the California State Capitol Building in Sacramento, July 25, 2024. (Samantha P Montenegro/U.S. Navy)
Miralles joined the Navy at 17 and began his career in the back seat of the Scout Bomber Douglas Dauntless dive-bomber. He survived multiple crash landings, being shot down, torpedoed on USS Honolulu, and even an occasion where he threw out his radio and equipment as a last resort during aerial combat. He concluded his service as ship’s company aboard the escort carrier USS Hoggatt Bay]).
Miralles completed his service in 1945 without receiving the awards he earned in aerial flight.
During a search for fellow members of CVG-11, Miralles connected with the grandson of one of his old shipmates, George Retelas. George Retelas, named after his grandfather, wrote to Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro on Oct. 10, 2023, and helped Miralles finally receive his awards.
“It was a great honor to help him get his awards,” Retelas said. “Mostly, it was an honor to spend time with him. Hearing his stories and the oral history of the service members was such an honor.”
Miralles spent more than 30 years with the California Department of Forestry and authored his memoir, “War and Fire” where he recounts his time in service and in forestry.