Duane Russell Jenkins
Captain Duane R. Jenkins flew 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 O-12723
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered.
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
October 4, 1919
at Sibley, IA
Parents
Claude Henry Jenkins
Cleo Evalyn (Palmer) Jenkins
Education
Worthington Junior College (1941)
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
June 11, 1941 (enlisted)
August 13, 1942 (commission)
Home Of Record
Round Lake, MN
Next Of Kin
Father, Mr. Claude Jenkins
Military Specialty
Pilot
Primary Unit
VMF(N)-531
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands (one tour)
Individual Decorations
Distinguished Flying Cross
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
Officially credited with two aerial victories.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Captain Duane Jenkins flew a PV-1 Ventura night fighter with VMF(N)-531. His crew – which included Staff Sergeant Charles H. Stout, Sr. (radar operator) 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, 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 father, Mr. Claude Jenkins.
Location Of Loss
Jenkins’ Ventura was last seen at an unknown location south of Bougainville.
