Never Call Me A Hero

In Never Call Me a Hero, Captain Dusty Kleiss (ret.), a U.S. Navy SBD Dauntless dive bomber pilot, tells his story for the first time ever. Kleiss is notable for being the only pilot from either fleet on that battle-scarred day of legend, June 4-7, 1942, to land hits on three different enemy ships. On the first day of that engagement, Kleiss planted bombs on two Japanese carriers--Kaga and Hiryu--sinking both, and later, on June 6, he scored a direct hit on a Japanese cruiser, the Mikuma. In his 1967 book Incredible Victory, Walter Lord asserted that the margins of U.S. victory at Midway were so thin that individual participants could rightfully say that their actions turned the tide. Given the amount of destruction inflicted upon the Japanese that day, Kleiss may have been the most important pilot in the air. It is no stretch to say that without him, the Battle of Midway may not have been won, altering the course of the conflict and history itself; for according the U.S. Navy’s historians: “The Battle of Midway was far more than an epic WWII clash somewhere far away at sea. It was an American victory that forever changed the course of world history. This is the battle that turned the tide of the war.”

But this is not only the memoir of one man; it is the history of this battle and its legacy. In only five minutes, forty-eight American dive bomber pilots and their gunners destroyed the pride of the Japanese carrier fleet and exacted retribution on the carrier force that had attacked Pearl Harbor. Never Call Me a Hero is also a story about humility and pushing limits. Throughout his life, Kleiss had always looked toward the heavens for spiritual guidance, and to serve his country. Throughout his life, this humble man considered himself blessed with incredible luck and did his job without complaint. Whenever others referred to his actions as “heroic,” he quickly corrected them “I’m no hero. Never call me a hero.”

“"Without histrionics or bravado, Dusty Kleiss gives us a fascinating personal account of this seminal naval battle, and a great read as well. Never Call Me a Hero lets you feel what it was like to fight in the Pacific, and to grow up in Depression-era Middle America, too."”

"Never Call Me a Hero is a rare and precious gift from a significant warrior to his posterity. Published posthumously, Dusty Kleiss's stirring memoir contradicts his own title: Kleiss willingly accepted the risks that defined his heroism, and changed the course of the Second World War." -- BARRETT TILLMAN, author of Enterprise: America's Fightingest Ship and On Wave and Wing: The 100-Year Quest to Perfect the Aircraft Carrier

"Lieutenant Kleiss is one of history's ultimate unsung heroes. In this remarkable memoir, the decorated dive-bomber pilot tells a war story for the ages. Dusty Kleiss's name should be known to every American-adult and schoolchild alike. This book will teach you something on every page." -- JAMES D. HORNFISCHER, author of The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors and The Fleet at Flood Tide

"Laced with humor, 'Dusty' Kleiss's memoir is an honest, riveting account of a brave pilot's life. Never Call Me a Hero is equally a vivid and unforgettable first-hand view into America's greatest victory at sea." -- DAN HAMPTON (USAF, Ret.), recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and bestselling author of Viper Pilot and Lords of the Sky

"A real treasure. ...It is hard to conceive that a better first-person book on the first six months of America's war in the Pacific will surface. ... An instant classic, a front-row seat on a Pacific war journey that is action-packed throughout." -- STEPHEN L. MOORE, Dallas Morning News

"Inspiring. ... America produced men like Dusty Kleiss in their millions when they were needed, ordinary men who presented themselves when called, put on uniforms, and did extraordinary things. ... [Kleiss was] a great American and a hero, whether or not he fancied the honorific." -- American Spectator

"Incredible. ... A standout autobiography for anyone interested in bravery, courage, and first-person accounts of military heroics during World War II." -- Library Journal (starred review)

"Masterful. ... Dusty Kleiss was and remains in a class by himself. ... Much more than a vivid remembrance of his heroic role." -- Naval History

"Without histrionics or bravado, Dusty Kleiss gives us a fascinating personal account of this seminal naval battle, and a great read as well. Never Call Me a Hero lets you feel what it was like to fight in the Pacific, and to grow up in Depression-era Middle America, too." -- JONATHAN PARSHALL, co-author, Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway

"A riveting narrative about the Battle of Midway. ... A saga of life in the midst of a war." -- Daily Press

"[Kleiss] helped to turn the tide of the war. ... Conveys the personal nature of war and honors his fellow flyers who lost their lives." -- Seapower Magazine

"Anyone interested in naval aviation or the Battle of Midway should read this book." -- Journal of America's Military Past

Norman Jack "Dusty" Kleiss (1916-2016) grew up in Coffeyville, Kansas, during the Great Depression, before attending the United States Naval Academy, from which he graduated in 1938. A carrier-based pilot of Scouting Squadron Six attached to USS Enterprise, he was awarded the Navy Cross and Distinguished Flying Cross. Captain Kleiss (USN, Ret.) was married to his wife, Jean, for more than sixty years before her passing in 2006.Timothy J. Orr is an associate professor of military history at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. He is author and editor of Last to Leave the Field and Cities at War.Laura Lawfer Orr is the deputy education director at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, the U.S. Navy's official museum in Norfolk.

THE LAST MIDWAY DIVE-BOMBER PILOT DELIVERS A GRIPPING AND UNFORGETTABLE EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF HIS DECISIVE ROLE--INCLUDING FATALLY STRIKING THREE JAPANESE SHIPS--IN THE AMERICAN VICTORY THAT CHANGED HISTORY 75 YEARS AGO. On the morning of June 4, 1942, high above the tiny Pacific atoll of Midway Island, Lt. (j.g.) "Dusty" Kleiss burst out of the clouds and piloted his SBD Dauntless into a near-vertical dive aimed at the heart of Japan's Imperial Navy, which six months earlier had ruthlessly struck Pearl Harbor. The greatest naval battle in history raged below, its outcome unclear as the U.S. desperately searched for its first major victory of the Second World War. Then, in a matter of seconds, Dusty Kleiss's daring 20,000-foot dive helped forever alter the war's trajectory. By battle's end, the humble young sailor from Kansas was the only pilot from either fleet to land hits on three different enemy ships, all of which sank. Now his extraordinary memoir, Never Call Me a Hero, tells the Navy Cross recipient's full story for the first time, offering an unprecedentedly intimate look at "the decisive contest for control of the Pacific in World War II" (New York Times)--and one man's essential role in helping secure its outcome.

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