Allan Sublett Harrison III
First Lieutenant Allan S. Harrison III was a Marine pilot with VMF-212.
He was reported missing in action after a mission to Vunapope, Papua New Guinea, 11 February 1944.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number O-21213
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
March 6, 1924
at Houston, TX
Parents
Allan Sublett Harrison II
Cora Mae (Griffin) Harrison
Education
Stephen F. Austin High School (1941)
University of Houston (ex-1945)
Occupation & Employer
College student
Service Life
Entered Service
August 13, 1942 (enlisted)
March 31, 1943 (officer)
Home Of Record
2437 Lidstone Street
Houston, TX
Next Of Kin
Parents, Allan & Cora Harrison
Military Specialty
Pilot
Primary Unit
VMF-212
Campaigns Served
Northern Solomons
Individual Decorations
Distinguished Flying Cross
Air Medal
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
Lieutenant Harrison is credited with four confirmed kills, plus one probable.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Lieutenant Allan Harrison earned his wings and Marine Corps commission at NATC Corpus Christi in the spring of 1943. He had just turned nineteen years old, and was one of the youngest Marine fighter pilots to deploy to a combat squadron. Harrison joined VMF-212 in October 1943, and over the course of ten combat missions racked up four confimed aerial victories plus one “probable” – just shy of ace status.
On 11 February 1944 – his eleventh mission – Harrison took off from Piva to provide fighter cover for an SBD Dauntless strike against targets at Tobera Airfield near Rabaul. Finding the target under cloud cover, the strike diverted to a supply depot at Vunapope. Twenty Japanese fighters challenged the attacking force, but the bombers scored solid hits and VMF-212 claimed two sure kills and three probables.
Harrison’s Corsair (F4U-1A #55908) was last seen at 1055 hours, streaking through the sky above Bitagalip with a Zero on its tail. When the pilot failed to return to Piva, the squadron’s war diary sadly noted “he must be considered missing in action.” Harrison was ultimately declared dead on 17 January 1946.
Burial Information or Disposition
None; remains not recovered.
In 1983, the late Brian Bennett located the wreck of Corsair 55908 near Warangoi, about twelve miles southwest of Vunapope. Stenciled serial numbers and a painted squadron number “3” confirmed the plane’s identity. Recovery teams visited the site in 1984 and 2008; during that time, the wreck was partially scrapped with some pieces ending up in a local museum.
The 2008 expedition recovered fragments of bone, a molar, and two machine guns whose serial number matched Harrison’s Corsair. The Boston Globe reported that “On May 14, the suspected remains of Lieutenant Allan S. Harrison III and Captain Marion R. McCown were placed in a specially designed transfer cases and carried into a small chapel at the headquarters of the Papua New Guinea Defense Force, in the island nation’s capital city of Port Moresby.”
Marion McCown was positively identified in 2008. Allan Harrison’s case has not yet been resolved.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, Allan & Cora Harrison.
Location Of Loss
Lieutenant Harrison was last seen in combat near Vunapope, Papua New Guinea.
