TCU honors war hero Carswell Friday

A great war hero is getting some local recognition.

Maj. Horace S. Carswell Jr. will posthumously receive TCU’s Founders Award on Friday. The Fort Worth native and Texas Christian University graduate served as a bomber pilot during World War II and became one of the school’s most decorated alumni veterans.

In 1944, Carswell encountered a Japanese convoy of naval vessels and successfully destroyed at least one cruiser during a one-plane strike. Although he ultimately died in the battle, his piloting allowed eight of his crew members to parachute out before the plane crash-landed near China.

He also earned the two highest military recognitions for this service, the Medal of Honor and the Distinguished Service Cross, along with the Purple Heart, the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base used to be called Carswell Air Force Base, but little else bears his name locally.

Good on TCU for giving Carswell the Founders Award and educating students about this hero.

This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 6:59 PM with the headline "TCU honors war hero Carswell Friday."