John Henry Schillinger, Jr.
Staff Sergeant John H. Schillinger, Jr., was a Marine aviation gunner who flew with VMTB-233.
He was shot down on a mission to Simpson Harbor, Rabaul, on 30 January 1944.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 356949
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
May 8, 1917
at Hartford, CT
Parents
John Henry Schillinger, Sr.
Mary Frances (Wenzel) Schillinger
Education
Loomis-Chaffee Institute (1934)
John Fitch High School
Occupation & Employer
Hanson-Whitney Machine Company
Service Life
Entered Service
January 6, 1942
at Springfield, MA
Home Of Record
918 Windsor Avenue
Windsor, CT
Next Of Kin
Parents, John & Mary Schillinger
Military Specialty
Turret gunner
Primary Unit
VMTB-233
Campaigns Served
Northern Solomons (two tours)
Individual Decorations
Air Medal
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
On 30 January 1944 took off from Piva Airfield in TBF1-C #24406 (Squadron Number 120), with Captain Paul E. Lamale as pilot and Sergeant Benjamin P. Wikera as radioman. The mission called for bombing and strafing Japanese shipping at Rabaul; reports of an aircraft carrier in Simpson Harbor turned out to be false, so the strike force attacked other targets of opportunity afloat and ashore.
Japanese defense forces put up a screen of anti-aircraft fire from dozens of positions; a battery on North Daughter Mountain was known to be particularly “intense and accurate.” One of these guns hit TBF 120 as it approached the harbor, and Lamale was seen to “peel off suddenly and spin toward the water out of control.” An unknown Marine officer reported:
I flew wing on Lamale in the dive, diverting most of my attention to watching him for signals and trying to stick close to him. At an altitude of 6,000 feet, Paul's plane went out of control. I followed as closely as was possible and saw the plane crash into the mountainside North of the city. Due to the dense jungle, I was unable to see any of the wreckage.
Lamale, Schillinger, and Wikera were posted as missing after the mission, and ultimately declared dead on 13 January 1945.
Burial Information or Disposition
None; remains not recovered
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, John & Mary Schillinger.
Location Of Loss
The Lamale TBF crashed on North Daughter (Toyanumbatir) Mountain.
