J. Cameron Dustin

Captain J. Cameron Dustin was a veteran Marine fighter pilot with long experience in the Solomon Islands. “Tall, husky, quiet, and good-looking” he was an avid reader, young for his rank, with one probable kill to his credit from a tour with VMF-123. Dustin joined the “Black Sheep” in mid-November 1943.

On 28 December 1943, VMF-214 sent twelve Corsairs to participate in a Rabaul fighter sweep. “Dusty” led the third division of 1Lt. Edwin L. Olander, 1Lt. Bruce J. Matheson, and 2Lt. Harry R. Bartl. The strike leader – an officer from another squadron – led the flight on a low, wide approach which the “Black Sheep” opined put them in a vulnerable position. Sure enough, as they neared Rabaul, an estimated 60 Japanese fighters appeared in the sky with a considerable altitude advantage.

As the enemy planes bore down, Captain Dustin pulled into a hard climb. His division followed faithfully, but Dustin’s trajectory “flew us right up into the sun… until bullets were tearing parts off our planes,” in the words of Lieutenant Olander. Olander and Matheson dove away and were soon embroiled in separate dogfights. They did not see “Dusty” Dustin or “Red” Bartl again; neither pilot returned to base.

One Corsair was seen to make a water landing near Cape Gazelle; this may have been Dustin, Bartl, or 1Lt. Donald J. Moore. It is not known whether the pilot was able to get out of the plane before it sank.