Guy Harmon Kemper

First Lieutenant Guy H. Kemper was a Marine fighter pilot with VMF-216.
He failed to return from an escort mission to Rabaul on 19 December 1943.

Branch

Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number O-21940

Current Status

Remains not recovered

Pursuit Category

The DPAA has not publicized this information.

Capsule History

An authoritative biography of this Marine may be found at "Remembering Guy H. Kemper."

Pre-War Life

Birth

June 12, 1921
at Cisco, TX

Parents

William Oliver “W. O.” Kemper
Maude (Judia) Kemper

Education

Abilene High School (1938)
McMurry College (1942)

Occupation & Employer

College student

Service Life

Entered Service

April 14, 1943 (commission)

Home Of Record

324 Sycamore Street
Abilene, TX

Next Of Kin

Mother, Mrs. Maude Kemper

Military Specialty

Pilot

Primary Unit

VMF-216

Campaigns Served

Solomon Islands

Individual Decorations

Purple Heart

Additional Service Details

—

Loss And Burial

Circumstances Of Loss

First Lieutenant Guy Kemper was a Marine Corps fighter pilot who flew with VMF-216 during the campaign for the northern Solomon Islands.

On 19 December 1943, VMF-216 was assigned an escort mission to accompany USAAF B-24 Liberators on a Rabaul strike. Two divisions – including Captain Lawrence M. “Cloudy” Faulkner‘s formation with 1Lt. Kemper, 1Lt. Robert M. Marshall, and 1Lt. Thomas W. Hancock – took off from Torokina and rendezvoused with the bombers at 1130 hours. When one of the lead division’s planes developed engine trouble, Lt. Hancock replaced him, leaving Faulkner with only two wingmen.

The strike was successful, and the formation heading home when Faulkner’s division broke off to engage a handful of Japanese planes. Suddenly, a force of 20-30 A6M-32 “Hamp” fighters appeared out of the sun and ambushed the three Corsairs. In the ensuing dogfight, Lieutenant Marshall saw Faulkner’s plane go down, with Kemper (in F4U-A1 17845) flying in tight circles to keep away the Japanese. Moments later, Marshall was wounded in the head, but managed to escape into a cloud and fly his wrecked plane back to Torokina. Faulkner and Kemper did not return.

Lieutenant Robert Marshall, only survivor of Faulkner's division on 19 December, inspects his Corsair and receives medical treatment.

Burial Information or Disposition

Captain Faulkner and Lieutenant Kemper were both reported as missing after the mission. Area searches failed to turn up any trace of their whereabouts, and both men were eventually declared dead on 11 January 1946.