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NAME Frank Leonard Christen |
NICKNAME — |
SERVICE NUMBER O-10199 |
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| UNIT VMSB-132 Pilot |
HOME OF RECORD 238 East 3rd Street, Corning, NY raised Jerseyville, IL |
NEXT OF KIN Wife, Mrs. Ruth Clark Christen |
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| DATE OF BIRTH January 14, 1919 |
ENTERED SERVICE June 12, 1941 |
DATE OF LOSS December 16, 1942 |
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| REGION Solomon Islands |
CAMPAIGN / AREA New Georgia / Munda |
CASUALTY TYPE Missing In Action Declared Dead December 17, 1943 |
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| CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS Second Lieutenant Frank Christen was a Marine dive bomber pilot assigned to VMSB-132, part of the Cactus Air Force based out of Guadalcanal. On 16 December 1942, Christen and his radioman, PFC Glenn Shattuck, participated in a night strike against a Japanese destroyer off New Georgia. Christen dropped flares over the target, and was last seen entering his dive. His section leader returned alone; Christen and Shattuck were reported missing in action, and then declared dead on 17 December 1943. Lieutenant Christen was reported to be a prisoner of war; Japanese documents reveal that he was interrogated at Rabaul. He died while in captivity at an unknown date. |
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| INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart |
LAST KNOWN RANK Second Lieutenant posthumous Captain |
STATUS OF REMAINS Not recovered |
MEMORIALS St. Francis Xavier Cemetery, Jerseyville, IL Manila American Cemetery |
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Biography:
Coming soon. Contact the webmaster for more information about this Marine.
For more about Frank Christen and Glenn Shattuck, see The Lost, Last Letter.
Articles & Records:
