Charles Arthur Gotchling, Jr.
Technical Sergeant Charles A. Gotchling, Jr. was a Marine aviator with VMSB-236.
His Dauntless dive bomber was shot down over Ballale, Solomon Islands, on 1 December 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 367401
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered.
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
February 6, 1921
at Detroit, MI
Parents
Charles Arthur Gotchling, Sr.
Esther Othellia (Johnson) Gotchling
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Apprentice (as of 1940)
Automobile factory
Service Life
Entered Service
February 16, 1942
at Detroit, MI
Home Of Record
532 Avon Road
Rochester, MI
Next Of Kin
Parents, Charles & Esther Gotchling
Military Specialty
Aviation radioman/gunner
Primary Unit
VMSB-236
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands (two tours)
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
(only if relevant and short)
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
On 1 December 1943, five Marine and Navy dive-bomber squadrons launched a heavy raid on targets in the northern Solomon Islands. A total of 48 SBD “Dauntless” aircraft were assigned to the flight: among them was SBD-5 Bureau Number 35976 (callsign A-11) from VMSB-236. First Lieutenant Earle B. Whiteley was at the stick, with TSgt. Charles A. Gotchling, Jr. manning the radio and the rear guns.
The primary target, Chabai, was socked in by bad weather, so the raid diverted to Kara Airfield and Ballale, one of the Shortland Islands south of Bougainville. These installations, while virtually unusable by the Japanese, were well-defended: Japanese anti-aircraft gunners hit two VMSB-236 planes over Ballale. Four parachutes were seen to open; three men landed in the water, while a fourth – either Whiteley or Gotchling – drifted down onto the Ballale runway itself.
Four days later, a DUMBO rescue plane picked up Major Earl P. Paris, Jr., and TSgt. Alden E. Christiansen from Thomas Island, about ten miles from Ballale. No trace of Whiteley or Gotchling was ever found.
Burial Information or Disposition
Whiteley and Gotchling were listed as missing after the Ballale strike. There was some hope that the man who landed on the airfield might have been captured, but neither aviator was ever reported as a prisoner of war, and it is possible that he was summarily executed by the Japanese garrison.
Both Marines were declared dead on 11 January 1946.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, Charles & Esther Gotchling.
Location Of Loss
Whiteley and Gotchling were shot down while attacking Ballale airfield.
