Captain N.J. "Dusty" Kleiss


Captain Kleiss served aboard the USS Enterprise during the battle of Midway. He was a dive bomber pilot in an SBD Dauntless and held the rank of LT(jg) at the time. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his efforts at Midway. I met him in the Minneapolis airport, and he was kind enough to send me the materials that appear on this website, as well as giving me permission to share it with others on the web.

Captain Kleiss sent me a letter that accompanied the documents and he began: "Like the last leaf at the end of autumn, I am the last man still living of our 18 pilots of the squadron." I feel priveleged to have met Captain Kleiss, and hope others will share my admiration and thanks for what he did.

The Battle of Midway
Personnel Problems
Carrier Take-offs and Landings
Friends
Miscellany