Melvin J. Norton
Melvin J. Norton graduated from Andrew Lewis High School in 1940. He was active in the Future Farmer of America and the Aviation Club. He was also a member of the Student Council and participated in both basketball and softball.
After graduation from Andrew Lewis High School, Melvin joined the Army Air Corp. He successfully completed pilot training and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant. In due course, he was assigned to the 51st. Fighter Group, 26th Fighter Squadron of the 14th Air Force based in China under the command of General Clare Chennault of Flying Tiger fame.
Lt. Norton’s unit was engaged in bombing raids on Japanese military installations in southeast Asia, including targets in French Indochina where the Vichy French government was cooperating with the Japanese in an effort to avoid occupation at wars end. This included a policy whereby Allied military personnel captured by the Vichy militia would be surrendered to the Japanese military.
On March 5, 1944, Lt. Norton’s unit participated in a bombing mission on Japanese targets in Indochina and shortly after dropping a 500 pound bomb, his P-40 was hit and downed by Vichy antiaircraft fire. However, he was able to bail out and parachute successfully to earth. Aware of the Vichy policy and knowing that the Japanese, in violation of the Geneva Convention, often mistreated and killed prisoners of war, he elected not to surrender. His alternative was to make contact with the underground and, with their assistance, return to his unit in China. Armed only with a 45 cal. automatic, the Lieutenant avoided capture and engaged in several fire fights over the next six days. In a wooded area near the village of Ban Nuc, he was finally surrounded and, still refusing to surrender, fired the last of his ammunition before the militia moved in.
The officer in charge of the militia reported the Lt. Norton was killed during this last fire fight. However, this conflicted with an underground report to the 14th Air Force stating he had been captured alive and turned over to the Japanese, in whose hands, he was tortured and killed. Upon receiving this information, General Chennault was understandable enraged and bombing reprisals began directly against French targets including the residence of an important Vichy official. So it was that in the wake of Lt. Norton’s death, strong measures were applied that brought about a change in Vichy French policy whereby American as well as other Allied flyers would no longer be turned over to the Japanese military.
In making the supreme sacrifice for his country, this young fighter pilot played a key roll in bringing about a change in policy that no doubt resulted in saving the lives of many American and Allied military personnel. In recognition of that supreme sacrifice, Lieutenant Melvin J. Norton was inducted in 1998 into the Salem Alumni Hall of Fame established by the Salem Educational Foundation and Alumni Association.
