John Pershing Sanders
Captain John P. Sanders was a Marine fighter pilot assigned to VMF-321.
He was killed in a mid-air collision near Morehead City, North Carolina, on 26 July 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number O-10562
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
CONUS Loss
Because this individual died within the limits of the continental United States, they are not tracked by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
July 13, 1919
at New Bern, NC
Parents
Samuel Rountree Sanders, Sr.
Mamie (Redd) Sanders
Education
John Marshall High School (1936)
University of Richmond – Law (1940)
University of Richmond – BA (1941)
Occupation & Employer
Attorney
(Own Practice)
Service Life
Entered Service
June 4, 1941 (Navy)
June 9, 1942 (Commission)
Home Of Record
Chester, VA
Next Of Kin
Wife, Mrs. Frances R. Sanders
Military Specialty
Pilot
Communications Officer
Primary Unit
VMF-321
Campaigns Served
None
Individual Decorations
—
Additional Service Details
Prior to joining VMF-321, Sanders flew with VMS-3 out of MCAS St. Thomas along with Robert Ludovici.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Captain John Sanders, an experienced Marine aviator, served as a pilot and communications officer for VMF-321, a fighter squadron training at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in the summer of 1943.
On 26 July 1943, a group of Marine pilots took off from Cherry Point for a scheduled gunnery flight. The routine practice turned tragic shortly after 0700 when two of the fighters collided in a horrific head-on collision. Wreckage fell into Onslow Bay, with no sign of survivors. The two pilots – Captain Sanders and Major Joseph E. Leising – were reported killed in the accident.
Burial Information or Disposition
Crashed at sea; remains not recovered.
Memorials
None known.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of wife, Mrs. Frances Richardson Sanders.
Location Of Loss
Approximate location of the crash, “15 miles south of Morehead City, NC.”
