VF-31 was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Cabot in September, and began flying F6F Hellcats in combat operations in January 1944.
[1] On the morning of March 30, Lieutenant Wirth was separated from his division during a combat mission over Palau and joined up with planes from another carrier.
[1] Later in the evening of that same day, Lieutenant Wirth rejoined his division during a second combat mission and shot down three Judy dive bombers.
If Lieutenant Wirth was given credit for his two earlier kills, it would have made him one of the few American "aces in a day" during World War II.
[1] VF-31 rotated out of combat in October, and Lieutenant Wirth reported to Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California, in December.