George F. Priest

NAME George Franklin Priest				NICKNAME —				MCSN 345512
HOME OF RECORD 1006 King Street, Redwood City, CA				NEXT OF KIN Parents, Fred & Alice Priest
DATE OF BIRTH May 27, 1923		DATE OF ENLISTMENT January 5, 1942					DATE OF LOSS October 10, 1942
REGION Solomons	CAMPAIGN / AREA En route to New Georgia Sound		CASUALTY TYPE MIA / Declared Dead 11 October 1943			UNIT VMSB-141			DUTY Radio / Gunner
CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS Corporal George F. Priest was a radioman/gunner assigned to VMSB-141. Among his squadronmates was his older brother, Corporal Elbert R. Priest – the two enlisted, trained, and campaigned together as part of the “Cactus Air Force” that operated out of Guadalcanal. On 10 October 1942, George and Second Lieutenant Lucius S. Smith III boarded a Dauntless dive bomber (SBD-3 Bureau Number 06511) for an early morning strike against Japanese ships spotted off New Georgia. The plane began running rough on the way to the target; without warning, the engine exploded, knocking Lieutenant Smith unconscious. He came to in the water, escaped the wreckage, and swam several miles to shore. No trace of George Priest was ever found. It was hoped that he, too, had survived the crash, but when a year passed with no signs of life, he was declared dead on 11 October 1943.
INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Purple Heart					LAST KNOWN RANK Corporal
STATUS OF REMAINS Not recovered.					MEMORIALS Golden Gate National Cemetery Manila American Cemetery

Biography:
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Articles and Records:

Record keepers consistently confused the Priest brothers. The muster roll of VMSB-141 had to be amended because a careless clerk swapped the brothers’ dates of disappearance.