George C. Roberts

	NAME George Charles Roberts	NICKNAME —	SERVICE NUMBER 379032
	UNIT VMSB-143 Turret Gunner	HOME OF RECORD North Lawrence, NY	NEXT OF KIN Mother, Mrs. Lillian Delosh
	DATE OF BIRTH June 15, 1919 in Fort Covington, NY	ENTERED SERVICE April 13, 1942 in Syracuse, NY	DATE OF LOSS March 14, 1943
	REGION Solomon Islands	CAMPAIGN / AREA Guadalcanal (en route)	CASUALTY TYPE Missing Declared Dead March 15, 1944
CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS Corporal George C. Roberts was an aviation gunner assigned to VMSB-143, an Avenger squadron that fought in the campaign for the Solomon Islands. On 13 March 1944, Roberts boarded one of his squadron’s TBFs for a ferry flight from Espiritu Santo to Guadalcanal. They were joined by a handful of Marine fighters and an Army transport plane which led the group. About an hour out of Espiritu Santo, the formation encountered a massive weather front. The thirteen Avengers flew into the storm – and only eight flew out. The remaining five, including Roberts’ TBF, were never seen again. All nine pilots and aviators were declared dead on 15 March 1944.
INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS —	LAST KNOWN RANK Corporal	STATUS OF REMAINS Missing in action	MEMORIALS Honolulu Memorial

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When the C-47 [leading the formation] punched through the storm, only six TBFs remained on its wing. Two more reached Henderson Field later, but by the end of the day it was evident that five had been lost…. Perhaps several had suffered a chain-reaction collision in the midst of the violent storm. It was a small consolation to the Avenger squadron that instead of the normal crew of three, only gunners had ridden with the pilots aboard four of the missing planes, and one pilot flew solo. But the blow was still tremendous: nine souls were gone, including the executive officer. The cause of their disappearance remains a mystery, for no trace of them has been found.

– Bruce Gamble, The Black Sheep

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