High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Norman Francis Vandivier (March 10, 1916 June 4, 1942) was a United States Navy aviator during World War II. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for action during the Battle of Midway.Norman Vandivier was born on March 10, 1916 in Edwards, Mississippi. He entered the Indiana National Guard in 1935 and was promoted to corporal before he completed his enlistment on July 1, 1938. He enlisted in the Navy on July 6, 1939 at Grosse Ile, Michigan, for aviation training and was enrolled as a seaman second class. On October 20, Vandivier took the oath of office as an aviation cadet in the United States Naval Reserve and soon began pilot training at Pensacola, Florida.