Michael James Herrick

Michael James Herrick was born at Hastings, New Zealand, on 5 May 1921 and joined the RAF before the war. NZ History records that, while still only 18, he flew Blenheim night fighters with No. 25 Squadron during the Battle of Britain and shot down three enemy bombers in September 1940. He later commanded No. 15 Squadron RNZAF in the Pacific, receiving a Bar to the DFC, and returned to Britain in 1944. Aviation Safety Network records his final aircraft as Mosquito FB Mk VI NS913 of No. 305 Polish Squadron, shot down on 16 June 1944 during operations over Denmark. CWGC identifies him as Squadron Leader 33566, aged 23, buried at Frederikshavn Cemetery. Biographical sources credit him as a New Zealand ace with the DFC and Bar and a posthumous United States Air Medal. His brothers also served, adding to a family history of wartime loss. These records tie the same name to the same service number, award trail and casualty date, reducing the risk of confusing him with another airman of similar name.