Elbert Scott McCuskey

Elbert Scott McCuskey (1915–1997) was a World War II US Navy fighter ace. He participated in the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway, for which he was awarded two Navy Crosses, one for each battle. By the end of the war, he was credited with aerial victories.

Early career McCuskey was born on 9 February 1915 in Little Rock, Arkansas. He grew up in the Little Rock area and in Stuttgart, Arkansas. They were married on June 7, 1943, in Stuttgart, Arkansas; due to McCuskey's celebrity as a fighter ace, a story about the wedding was filed by the Associated Press and carried in a number of newspapers around the country. He received a master's degree in economics from Georgetown University, a doctorate in economics from Nova University, and a law degree from the University of Alabama (but never practiced law). McCuskey subsequently married his wife Patty and they raised a son and a daughter. The service for him included a naval aircraft flyover, an honor typically reserved for those who die while on active military duty but here given because he was one of the Navy's most highly decorated aviators.