Stephen ‘Salty’ Saltzman

STEPHEN ‘Salty’ SALTZMAN shot down the first Japanese plane at Pearl Harbor. In a 1974 article in the Sarasota Journal, Saltzman describes the morning of December 7, 1941.

I ran outside with a rifle and emptied five rounds at the front of a plane straffing toward us. If he hadn’t had to pull up to miss a high wire he would probably have hit us.

Saltzman had time to reload and fire again at the plane which was only 100 feet away. The pilot was hit and the plane crashed.
“Our regional commander claimed it was the first plane brought down in World War II,” said Saltzman, who received the Silver Star.

The Silver Star was presented to Stephen G. Saltzman, Second Lieutenant (Coast Artillery), U.S. Army, for gallantry in action while serving with the Coast Artillery Regiment at Wahiawa, Territory of Hawaii, during the Japanese aerial attack on 7 December 1941, where he brought down a Japanese airplane with his automatic rifle. Along with Staff Sergeant Lowell V. Klatz, Second Lieutenant Saltzman voluntarily and on his own initiative without regard for his own safety, left the shelter of the Command Post in the face of heavy fire from enemy planes. He coolly waited in an exposed position until one of the enemy planes approached within 100 yards, and then delivered armed automatic rifle fire at one of the two enemy planes. His fire, combined with that of Sergeant Klatz, caused the plane to crash, resulting in the destruction of the ship and crew. The cool determination and disregard for his personal safety displayed was an inspiration to members of his regiment.

Second Lieutenant Saltzman was in the 98th Coastal Artillery during Pearl Harbor. He later joined the Air Force to become a fighter pilot. He flew 22 missions before being injured over the French and Belgian border. He managed to fly back to the south of England with one hand and earned a Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions.