Yale Weston Kaufman
Second Lieutenant Yale W. Kaufman was a Marine pilot who flew with VMSB-232.
He died in a crash offshore of Lunga Point, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on 14 September 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number O-9980
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
November 7, 1918
at Lakewood, OH
Parents
David Kaufman
Alice M. (Gilroy) Kaufman (d. 1943)
Education
Everett High School (1936)
Miami University (1941)
Occupation & Employer
Enlisted from college
Service Life
Entered Service
May 16, 1941 (enlisted)
May 4, 1942 (officer)
Home Of Record
329 Cambridge Avenue
Elyria, OH
Next Of Kin
Wife, Mrs. Marian Ellis Kaufman
Military Specialty
Pilot
Primary Unit
VMSB-232
Campaigns Served
Location
Individual Decorations
Date and Location
Additional Service Details
(only if relevant and short)
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Second Lieutenant Kaufman was a pilot with VMSB-232, a Marine dive-bombing squadron stationed at Henderson Field, Guadalcanal.
On 14 September 1942, Kaufman and his gunner, Private Barry J. Arnold, were assigned to a routine sector search in company with another SBD.* The patrol passed without incident, and the two aircraft were returning to base at about 1800 hours, when Kaufman’s plane suddenly went into a steep glide at an altitude of 200 feet. The bomber hit the water with a great splash about half a mile from Lunga Point and disappeared immediately.
Both airmen were killed in the incident, and neither man’s body was recovered. The cause of the crash was never known for certain, though fellow airmen speculated that Kaufman and Arnold were distracted by planes passing overhead, and crashed before correcting their glide.
* Note: Kaufman’s SBD is alternately reported as Bureau Number 04667 (AviationArchaeology.com) or 03347 (OQMG Form 371).
03347 may have been flown by Second Lieutenant Leland E. Thomas.
Burial Information or Disposition
Remains lost at sea.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of wife, Mrs. Marian Kaufman
Location Of Loss
Kaufman and Arnold crashed at sea about half a mile offshore of Lunga Point.
