Charles Holcombe Stout, Sr.
Technical Sergeant Charles H. Stout was a radar operator aboard a Ventura night fighter with VMF(N)-531 in the Solomon Islands.
He was reported missing in action during an intercept mission on 3-4 December 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 384691
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered.
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
July 24, 1914
at Pittsburgh, PA
Parents
Chester Arthur Stout
Jessie Mary (Gibson) Stout
Education
Mount Lebanon High School
Carnegie Technical School
Occupation & Employer
Salesman
Joseph Horne Company
Service Life
Entered Service
April 6, 1942
at Pittsburgh, PA
Home Of Record
843 La Schall Street
Pittsburgh, PA
Next Of Kin
Wife, Mrs. Cecile Murphy Stout
Military Specialty
Aviator
Radar operator
Primary Unit
VMF(N)-531
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands (one tour)
Individual Decorations
Air Medal
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
Officially credited with two aerial victories.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Staff Sergeant Charles Stout operated the radar set aboard a PV-1 Ventura night fighter with VMF(N)-531. His crew – which included Captain Duane R. Jenkins (pilot) and Sergeant Thomas J. Glennon (turret gunner) – were credited with scoring the squadron’s first kill when they splashed a “Betty” bomber on 13 November 1943.
On the night of 3 December 1943, the Jenkins crew departed from Barakoma in PV-1(N) #29857 to patrol over a task group heading for Torokina, Bougainville. Japanese planes found the ships at 2000 hours, and the Ventura vectored in to intercept. The details of the fight were lost in the darkness, but played out on radar screens:
At 2211 a plane was seen shot down in flames by another plane seven miles east of the formation. The PV-1 night fighter was the only friendly plane in the area. Afterwards, the plane still flying showed friendly, and flew east for about one minute, where it was lost.
Dane Base at Torokina Point followed the night fighter chasing [a] bogey and saw the blips merge. Nothing further was heard from the PV-1, and the plane did not return to base.
Jenkins, Stout, and Glennon were officially credited with a second kill – but were never seen again. Exactly what caused their loss is not known.
Burial Information or Disposition
No remains were ever found. All three Marines were reported missing after the mission, and officially declared dead as of 5 December 1944.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of wife, Mrs. Cecile Stout.
Charles H. Stout Junior was born on 24 November 1943 – Thanksgiving Day – and never met his father.
Location Of Loss
Stout’s Ventura was last seen at an unknown location south of Bougainville.
