Edward Walton Ayres
Second Lieutenant E. Walton Ayres was a Marine pilot who flew with VMSB-141.
He was reported missing in action at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on 2 October 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number O-10175
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
July 29, 1919
at Newark, NJ
Parents
Harry Aitken Ayres
Myra Cooper (Walton) Ayres (d. 1922)
Education
Montclair High School (1938)
Louisiana State University (ex-1942)
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Walton was married to Beulah Pittman from 1939 – 1941. Their son, Bradford, was born in 1940.
Service Life
Entered Service
May 22, 1941 (enlisted)
April 28, 1942 (commission)
Home Of Record
6343 Government Street
Baton Rouge, LA
Next Of Kin
Wife, Mrs. Jo B. Ayres
Military Specialty
Pilot
Primary Unit
VMSB-141
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands / Guadalcanal
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Second Lieutenant Walton Ayres, a Marine scout bomber pilot, served with VMSB-141 in the Solomon Islands. After two months of duty at Espiritu Santo, Ayers was transferred to the squadron’s forward echelon operating out of Guadalcanal. He arrived at Henderson Field on 30 September 1942, and flew his first combat patrol the following day.
On 2 October 1942, Ayres and PFC Sven E. R. Nelson were assigned to a routine sector search over the Russell Islands. They were joined by Lt. (j.g.) Herbert H. Perritte and ARM2c Irvin E. Newsome, Jr., of VS-71. Over the Russells, Japanese pilots of the Tainan kokutai forced the Americans to scurry for cloud cover and retreat back towards Guadalcanal. They were almost within sight of safety when, over Savo Island, ten Zeros of the 6th kokutai ambushed the two Dauntless bombers. Both American planes were shot down; none of the aircrew were seen alive again.
Walton Ayres was reported as missing in action and carried in such status for more than three years. No trace of pilot, gunner, or SBD-3 03311 was ever found. Ayres and Nelson were ultimately declared dead on 5 December 1945.
*Note: In First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign, John B. Lundstrum describes a dogfight on 2 October between the Japanese 6th Air Group and a lone Dauntless flying and anti-submarine patrol. PO1c Ema Tomokazu claimed a bomber shot down in this encounter; Lundstrom implies that 1Lt. Joseph M. Waterman, Jr. was the unfortunate American pilot. While the MAG-23 war diary notes that a Zero attacked Waterman on 2 October, he was on a different mission and returned safely. PO1c Tomokazu’s victims may have been Ayres and Nelson
Burial Information or Disposition
None; remains not recovered.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of wife, Mrs. Josephine “Jo” Ayres.
Location Of Loss
Ayres and Nelson were shot down in the vicinity of Savo Island.
