Fallen hero lost in Horned Frog history
It was October 1944, Japan’s surrender was nearly a year away.
The eight-man crew manned the B-24 Liberator that was sent on a night mission to the South China Sea to destroy a Japanese convoy of 12 ships escorted by two destroyers.
Major Horace Carswell Jr. flew the B-24 Liberator of the 308th Bombardment Group. It was his second mission.
Military accounts tell of a surprise attack by the 308th Bombardment Group. The Japanese convoy failed to return fire as the eight-man crew dropped six bombs from 600 feet, damaging one of the destroyers.
The plane circled the area for about 35 minutes before returning for a second run.
Three more bombs were released — a large tanker took two direct hits.
But, unlike the first time, the Japanese were ready. They responded with artillery fire, striking the aircraft multiple times.
Two engines were destroyed, the hydraulic system was disabled and the fuel tank was punctured. The co-pilot was wounded.
The plane was going down.
Carswell regained control of the 36,000-pound bomber a few feet above the water.
He began climbing slowly toward the Chinese coast.
When the third engine failed, Carswell told the crew to bail out. Carswell refused to leave his wounded co-pilot on board.
He attempted to make a crash landing; the bomber struck the side of a mountain and burned—both men died.
Maj. Horace Carswell is one of the 473 World War II veterans to be awarded a Medal of Honor. Texas A&M, where he went for a single semester, has a memorial with a copy of his Medal of Honor. The former Air Force base in Fort Worth was named in his honor, some long-time residents still call the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, “Carswell.”
But the former athlete who played football for Dutch Meyer seems to have lost his place in Horned Frog history.
An American flag flies over PNC Park during a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
An American flag flies over PNC Park during a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
“He always considered himself a Horned Frog. He said so in the field,” said Dr. Miguel Leatham, a senior instructor in anthropology, who has been gathering an oral history on Carswell and the base since 2007.
When he was overseas, Carswell would frequently mention his alma mater in letters to his friends, “he’d say things like ‘Frogs never quit’ and he’d make comments about being from Fort Worth,” Leatham said.
Horned Frog beginnings
An only child, Horace Carswell Jr. grew up in north Fort Worth. He attended North Side High School. Friends called him ‘Stump’ because of his athletic build.
In the fall of 1934, he enrolled in Texas A&M. But after failing to make the football team, he transferred to TCU.
He played both football and baseball while earning a degree in physical education. He graduated in the spring of 1939, months before Germany invaded Poland and triggered World War II.
Carswell joined the United States Army Air Corps March 26, 1940. He hadn’t been a stellar student, but he excelled in the military.
Image of North Side High School, where Maj. Horace Carswell attended located in Fort Worth.
Image of North Side High School, where Maj. Horace Carswell attended located in Fort Worth.
He was sent to Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for pilot training, then became a flying instructor at both Randolph Field in San Antonio and Goodfellow Field in San Angelo, Texas. Carswell was recognized as a daring, competent flyer who quickly gained a reputation during training.
The U.S. entered the war in December 1941 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Carswell, a skilled pilot, quickly rose through the ranks. He became flight commander, squadron commander, group commander. In April 1944 he was promoted to major.
Carswell had three months of combat experience when he and his crew flew their ill-fated mission over the South China Sea.
On their previous mission, the B-24 Liberator crew sank two warships during a night mission over the South China Sea.
Carswell commanded the respect of his crews and was considered one of the best airmen of the war.
A war hero remembered
Carswell was mourned by his widow, Virginia Adaline Ede, whom he met at TCU and married in 1941. The couple had a young son, Robert Ede Carswell.
Maj. Carswell’s remains were moved from China to Hawaii before being interred at Rose Hill Cemetery in Fort Worth. In 1986, Carswell’s remains were buried at Carswell Air Force Base - he was the only military veteran to be buried at an Air Force base.
The base was named in his honor in 1948. During military realignment in 1993, the base was converted to a joint reserve base. Carswell’s remains were moved to Carswell Memorial Park, which is located in the Oakwood Cemetery, along with his parents' remains.
“He’d want to be remembered, first and foremost, as a Fort Worth native and as a Horned Frog,” Leatham said.
Despite his heroism and the renaming of the air force base in his honor, TCU did little to commemorate him for decades. The Honored Frog Annual magazine never mentioned him.
“I think my speech in 2014 probably was the first time anyone had ever given a speech about him,” Leatham said.
A tribute to Carswell hangs on the walls of TCU’s Veteran Affairs building located in Javis Hall, the piece is a hand-crafted tapestry by Maureen Kenney, associate director of professional development.
The tapestry was created for the Doss Heritage and Culture Center in Weatherford, Texas. Kenney said she offered to create the tapestry to honor’s TCU’s most decorated graduate after she read an article about Carswell that included reflections from Leatham.
“Seeing these images in new artistic medium hopefully gets viewers to pause and reflect, and maybe even find the stories from WWII in their own families,” Kenney said.
With no known relatives in Fort Worth, Carswell’s legacy lives on through places like the National Medal of Honor Museum.
The museum, which opened in March, holds a tribute to the fallen Frog.
His son, now deceased, often emphasized how proud his father was of his Fort Worth and TCU roots.
Tapestry created by Maureen Kenney, associate director of professional development, which is displayed on the second floor of Javis Hall in Veteran Affairs. Photo by Paris Goodman
Tapestry created by Maureen Kenney, associate director of professional development, which is displayed on the second floor of Javis Hall in Veteran Affairs. Photo by Paris Goodman
“There’s a way here, specifically with TCU, that we can honor the fallen heroes through him,” Leatham said. “I think it's an important piece of the story, continuing the story that he will be commemorated as a Frog, as a fallen Frog.”
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