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William Paul Kirby

Second Lieutenant William P. Kirby served aboard the cruiser USS Vincennes (CA-44) during the Solomon Islands campaign.
He was lost at sea in the battle of Savo Island, off Guadalcanal, on 9 August 1942.

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

Branch

Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number O-9045

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

Current Status

Lost At Sea

Pursuit Category

Based on circumstances of loss, this individual is considered permanently non-recoverable.

Capsule History

Pre-War Life

Birth

July 16, 1916
at Valley, ID

Parents

David Henry Kirby (d. 1938)
Gertrude Lucretia (Moore) Kirby

Education

Cascade High School
Boise Junior College

Occupation & Employer

Boise Payette Lumber Company

*Note: Civilian records spell the family name as "Kerby."

Service Life

Entered Service

May 14, 1941 (enlisted)
April 4, 1942 (officer)

Home Of Record

Emmett, ID

Next Of Kin

Mother, Mrs. Gertrude M. Kirby

Military Specialty

Pilot

Primary Unit

VMO-251
attached to USS Vincennes

Campaigns Served

Guadalcanal / Savo Island

Individual Decorations

Purple Heart

Additional Service Details

Loss And Burial

Circumstances Of Loss
William Kirby (also known by his middle name, Paul) joined the Navy as an aviation cadet in mid-1941. He earned his Marine Corps commission and pilot’s wings at Corpus Christi in the spring of 1942, and was soon on his way to the Pacific as a member of Marine Observation Squadron (VMO) 251. Kirby’s introduction to the tropics was serving as the squadron’s assistant communication officer and flying from a small airfield on Espiritu Santo.
 
In late July 1942, Kirby and 2Lt. Carl I Schuessler were detached for temporary duty aboard USS Vincennes. The cruiser was supporting the upcoming invasion of the Solomon Islands, and needed additional pilots and observers for her Curtiss SOC Seagull floatplanes. Kirby, Schuessler, and 2Lt. Jay C. Griffith, Jr. spent several busy days catapulting off the Vincennes and reporting their findings back to the fire direction crew.

The first two days of Operation WATCHTOWER – the invasion of Guadalcanal – were exhausting, but there was little for the scout planes to do at night. Kirby was probably fast asleep when the general quarters alarm sounded early on the morning of 9 August. Bright searchlights stabbed out of the darkness and illuminated Vincennes. The cruiser let loose a salvo, but was almost immediately bracketed by Japanese shells. In just fifteen minutes, she suffered at least 85 hits from large and medium caliber shells, and at least one torpedo strike. Without power, aflame from stem to stern, Vincennes drifted to a stop and began to list.

Kirby’s battle station – the seaplane hangar – was an inferno. It is not known exactly how he met his fate; a friend of Lieutenant Griffith’s recalled that a plane with two men aboard was preparing for launch when hit by a shell, but whether Kirby was aboard or not is a matter of speculation.

Gunfire damage report for USS Vincennes, 1942.

Captain Frederick Riefkohl passed the word to abandon ship at 0230; ten minutes later, Vincennes slipped beneath the waves. Of nearly 900 crew, 332 men – among them Second Lieutenant Kirby – died in the battle for Savo Island.

Burial Information or Disposition

Remains lost at sea; ship considered to be final resting place.

Memorials

Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
Alpha Cemetery, Alpha, Idaho (as William Paul Kerby)

VMO-251 named their airstrip “Kirby-Schuessler Field” in honor of their first combat casualties. It is better known as “Turtle Bay Airfield” or “Fighter Field 1.”

The wreck of the Vincennes was discovered by RV Petrel in 2015.

Next Of Kin Address

Address of mother, Mrs. Gertrude Kirby.

Location Of Loss

The Vincennes sank in Iron Bottom Sound at approximately 0240 hours.

Related Profiles

USS Vincennes Marines lost at Savo Island
Officers Temporarily Attached for Flight Duty
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