Cornelius N. Nooy

Cornelius N. Nooy
Cornelius N. Nooy
	Cornelius Nooy in his Hellcat, c. July 1945
Nickname(s)	"Connie"
Born	April 15, 1921; Smithtown, New York
Died	March 12, 1958 (aged 36); New York City, New York
Buried	North Branch Reformed Church Cemetery; Somerset County, New Jersey
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1942–1958
Rank	Lieutenant commander
Unit	USS Cabot; USS Belleau Wood
Battles / wars	World War II Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign Operation Hailstone; ; Mariana and Palau Islands campaign Battle of the Philippine Sea; ; Philippines Campaign Battle of Leyte Gulf; ; Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign Battle of Okinawa; ;
Awards	Navy Cross (3); Silver Star (2); Distinguished Flying Cross (2); Air Medal (6); Purple Heart

Cornelius Nicholas Nooy (April 15, 1921 – March 12, 1958) was a United States Navy flying ace of World War II. Nooy ended the war as the highest-scoring fighter pilot operating from a light aircraft carrier (CVL), and tied for fourth-highest-scoring ace in the US Navy (with Patrick D. Fleming and Alexander Vraciu). Nooy served two tours with VF-31's "Flying Meataxers" aboard USS Cabot and USS Belleau Wood. The first of these tours set a record for kills by a CVL fighter squadron.