Glen Dale Young

Corporal Glen Young was a veteran Marine dive bomber crewman who flew numerous missions in the Solomon Islands. By December of 1943, the squadron had been pulled back out of the combat zone and were stationed at Bauer Field, Efate – with the flight echelon eagerly anticipating holiday rest and recreation in Sydney, Australia.

On 16 December, a group of pilots and gunners gathered by their planes for a routine night navigation hop over the Russell Islands. Corporal Young and Captain Donald G. Ryan climbed into SBD-5 “Dauntless” BuNo 10816 and took off from Bauer Field at 1830. The weather took a turn for the worse, and an hour after departure all planes were ordered to “pancake” back at base. Ground crews hustled to clear a herd of cattle from the airstrip as the bombers circled overhead; one Dauntless ground-looped on landing, and the rest were advised to head to nearby Quoin Hill.

All aircraft eventually returned to Bauer Field – except one. Ryan and Young were missing; messages to nearby fields and Espiritu Santo returned no results. The squadron flew repeated search missions over land and sea, but all returned empty handed.