Douglas Nelson Blodgett
PFC Douglas N. Blodgett was a Marine aviation radioman serving with Training Squadron 9 at Naval Air Station, Jacksonville.
He was killed in an airplane crash offshore of Mayport, Florida, on 16 April 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 420071
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
CONUS Loss
Because this individual died within the limits of the continental United States, they are not tracked by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
June 11, 1922
at Newport, NH
Parents
Clarence Arthur Blodgett
Estella Elizabeth (Nelson) Blodgett
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
July 16, 1942
at Boston, MA
Home Of Record
Sunapee, NH
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Estelle E. Blodgett
Military Specialty
Aviation radioman/gunner
Primary Unit
Training Squadron 9
NAS Jacksonville
Campaigns Served
None
Individual Decorations
—
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC Douglas Blodgett, a Marine aviator from New Hampshire, trained as a radioman and gunner at Naval Air Station, Jacksonville. After qualifying in his new role, he was assigned temporary duty at Cecil Field, Florida.
On 16 April 1943, Blodgett boarded an aircraft piloted by Lieutenant Commander Archibald Greenlee, US Navy. The two fliers departed for a routine exercise, but never returned to base. Their aircraft was reported overdue, then missing, by NAS Jacksonville. It took several days to obtain more information, but eventually both men were confirmed as dead. The bodies were not recovered.
Blodgett’s Marine Corps casualty card states that he lost his life “at about 0940 16 April 1943, from airplane accident at sea about 20 miles [due east] from entrance to St. John’s River, near Mayport, Florida.”
Burial Information or Disposition
Crashed at sea; remains not recovered.
Memorials
None known.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Estella Blodgett.
Location Of Loss
Approximate location of the crash, 20 miles east of St. John’s River mouth.
