Harvey Edmund Arnold
PFC Harvey E. Arnold served as a radioman and gunner with VMSB-133, a Marine dive-bomber squadron.
He died in a training accident near Johnston Island on 17 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 498656
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
4 February 1925
at Griggsville, IL
Parents
LaVerne M. Arnold
(Father’s name unknown)
Education
(details unknown)
Occupation / Employer
(Details unknown)
Service Life
Entered Service
18 November 1942
at Chicago, IL
Home Of Record
2339 Geneva Terrace, Chicago, IL
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. LaVerne M. Arnold
Military Specialty
Radioman / Gunner
Primary Unit
VMSB-133
Campaigns Served
—
Individual Decorations
—
Additional Service Details
On date of loss, was aboard SBD-4 #10502
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
On the afternoon of 17 November 1943, pilots from VMSB-133 were engaged in a routine training flight. One Dauntless, flown by 1Lt. Steve Barto and PFC Harvey E. Arnold, made a practice dive on a target approximately five miles from Johnston Island. The plane failed to recover from the dive, and plowed straight into the sea. Other planes from the flight circled the area until crash boats and rescue aircraft arrived.
Searchers found wreckage from the downed Dauntless, but saw no sign of Barto or Arnold. Neither Marine was seen to escape the plane, and both were presumed killed in the accident. Neither man’s body was recovered from the scene.
Burial Information or Disposition
Lost in plane crash at sea.
