flak

B-26B serial 41-31787 "City of Sherman" (lower right) of the 456th Bomb Sq, 323rd BG.

grace!

are we able to ... or have we lost this kind of courage?

This is the USS Enterprise (CV-6) on October 26, 1942, during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.
See:
www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-e/cv6-a.htm

Photo #: 80-G-20989 Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, October 1942 U.S. Navy ships firing at attacking Japanese carrier aircraft during the battle, 26 October 1942. USS Enterprise (CV-6) is at left, with at least two enemy planes visible overhead. In the right center is USS South Dakota, firing her starboard 5"/38 secondary battery, as marked by the bright flash amidships. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 129KB; 740 x 615 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. Thanks, TVL1970!

Swede is somewhere up there, tangling with a flight of Vals by himself and destroying five in a matter of less than a minute. At the time, they called this "The USS Enterprise vs the Imperial Japanese Navy" because she was the only carrier we had operating in the Pacific at the time - the rest were sunk or out of action.