Dan Espen wrote:

It was the Medal of Honor given him by Franklin Roosevelt for
downing 23 Japanese aircraft during the battle of Guadacanal.

At the time of the medal, 26.


But he got the medal for twenty-three. The remaining three were a coda a few
months later.

--- begin quote
"CAPTAIN JOSEPH J. FOSS
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS RESERVE

for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

For outstanding heroism and courage above and beyond the call of duty as
Executive Officer of a Marine Fighting Squadron, at Guadalcanal, Solomon
Islands. Engaging in almost daily combat with the enemy from October 9 to
November 19, 1942, Captain Foss personally shot down 23 Japanese aircraft
and damaged others so severely that their destruction was extremely
probable...

--- end quote



When told he could go ahead and board his plane if he discarded this
potential weapon ("In the pot, pops"), he is reported to have said:
"You have done ****ed with the wrong Marine, sonny!"

According to RELIABLE sources, he was allowed to board with his medal.
I doubt he used that bad language attributed to him.

You can quote me as a reliable source. I heard him repeat the story on the
Tonight Show with Jay Leno.