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NAME Ellis Ellsworth Matheson |
NICKNAME — |
SERVICE NUMBER O-13680 |
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| UNIT VMSB-143 Pilot |
HOME OF RECORD Fairmount, ND |
NEXT OF KIN Parents, Floyd & Minnie Matheson |
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| DATE OF BIRTH October 20, 1917 in Big Sandy, MT |
ENTERED SERVICE August 4, 1941 (USNR) September 1, 1942 (USMC commission) |
DATE OF LOSS March 21, 1943 |
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| REGION Solomon Islands |
CAMPAIGN / AREA Bougainville |
CASUALTY TYPE Missing In Action Declared Dead March 22, 1945 |
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| CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS Second Lieutenant Ellis E. Matheson was a pilot assigned to VMSB-143, a Marine torpedo bomber squadron operating out of Henderson Field, Guadalcanal. On the night of 21 March 1943, Matheson’s crew was one of forty assigned to sow mines off the coast of Bougainville. The mission was flown in darkness and under strict radio silence. Despite a stretch of bad weather near Guadalcanal, the target area was clear and the mine drop a success. Matheson’s bomber (TBF-1 Bureau Number 06091) was the only aircraft that failed to return from the mission. The entire crew – Matheson, Sergeant Harold G. Gay, and PFC Louis A. Lahr – were reported as missing in action. Their status was changed to “declared dead” on 22 March 1945. |
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| INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart |
LAST KNOWN RANK Second Lieutenant posthumous promotion to Captain |
STATUS OF REMAINS Not recovered. |
MEMORIALS IOOF Cemetery, Lebanon, OR Manila American Cemetery |
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This Marine was my father’s first cousin.