Cornelius Thomas Wood

On 10 February 1944, 1Lt. Paul C. Wells and Staff Sergeant Wood flew their Dauntless dive bomber (SBD-5 #28570) in a heavy strike on Vanukanau Airfield near Rabaul. Although the bombers achieved their goal – “the bombing seemed to do maximum destruction to the airfield” reported another squadron – they paid for their success with Wells and Wood. After releasing its bomb, the Dauntless “was last seen in a smoking dive headed for a ridge just southeast of airfield,” according to a Marine Corps casualty report. The aircraft never pulled out of its initial dive, suggesting that the pilot was unconscious or dead, and Wood unable to escape the falling bomber.

Officially, Wells and Wood were posted as missing in action – as the USMC casualty report continues, “The plane referred to as having been seen to crash & burn was not definitely identified, as additional aircraft were missing the same night.” However, neither man was ever seen or heard from again, and both were declared dead on 17 January 1946.