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NAME Ernest Allen Powell |
NICKNAME — |
SERVICE NUMBER O-10969 |
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| UNIT VMF-122 Pilot |
HOME OF RECORD 212 East Parkway North Memphis, TN |
NEXT OF KIN Wife, Mrs. Ethel Williams Powell |
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| DATE OF BIRTH August 14, 1918 at Memphis, TN |
ENTERED SERVICE June 13, 1941 (enlisted) June 15, 1942 (commissioned) |
DATE OF LOSS July 18, 1943 |
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| REGION Solomon Islands |
CAMPAIGN / AREA Bougainville / Kahili |
CASUALTY TYPE Missing In Action Declared Dead July 19, 1945 |
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| CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS First Lieutenant Ernest A. Powell was a pilot assigned to VMF-122, a Marine fighter squadron based out of Guadalcanal in the summer of 1943. He was one of the squadron’s confirmed aces, and once shot down four aircraft in a single mission. Three days after his incredible feat, on 18 July 1943, Lieutenant Powell was assigned to an escort mission shepherding B-24s to Kahili, Bougainville. When Japanese fighters arrived to intercept, Powell flipped his Corsair (F4U-1 02430) on its back to execute a “split-S” maneuver. He was last seen diving straight down from an altitude of 24,000 feet. Powell did not rejoin the formation after the fight, and never returned to base. He was carried as missing in action for two years, but was ultimately declared dead on 19 July 1945. The Navy Cross and a promotion to Captain were awarded posthumously. |
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| INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Navy Cross, Purple Heart |
LAST KNOWN RANK First Lieutenant posthumous Captain |
STATUS OF REMAINS Missing In Action |
MEMORIALS Manila American Cemetery |
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Biography:
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