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NAME Lester Cyril Simkins |
NICKNAME — |
SERVICE NUMBER 406170 |
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| UNIT VMD-154 Gunner |
HOME OF RECORD 6216 Jefferson Avenue, Hammond, IN |
NEXT OF KIN Mother, Mrs. Harriet Simkins |
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| DATE OF BIRTH July 4, 1923 |
ENTERED SERVICE June 10, 1942 |
DATE OF LOSS February 7, 1943 |
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| REGION Vanuatu (New Hebrides) |
CAMPAIGN / AREA Espiritu Santo |
CASUALTY TYPE Killed In Action |
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| CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS PFC Lester C. Simkins was an aerial gunner assigned to VMD-154, a Marine reconnaissance squadron based in the New Hebrides Islands.Just after 0400 hours on 7 February 1943, Simkins’ plane – PB4Y-1 BuNo 31958 – took off from Espiritu Santo for the first leg of a planned photographic mission to Truk. The aircraft barely cleared the coastline before it plunged into the sea 600 yards offshore of the airstrip, sinking into 94 fathoms of water. The entire crew was killed in the incident. None of their remains could be recovered. |
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| INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Purple Heart |
LAST KNOWN RANK Private First Class |
STATUS OF REMAINS Not recovered |
MEMORIALS National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific |
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Biography:
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