Lee Jay Curl
Sergeant Lee J. Curl was a Marine aviator with VMB-413.
His aircraft went down in bad weather between Canton Island and Tutuila, Samoa, 22 January 1944.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 370059
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
Due to circumstances of loss, this individual is considered permanently non-recoverable.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
August 25, 1915
at Speers, PA
Parents
Samuel Richard Curl
Nettie Annetta (Hillman) Curl (d. 1920)
Education
High school graduate
Occupation & Employer
Armature winder
Pittsburgh Steel Company
Service Life
Entered Service
February 10, 1942
at Pittsburgh, PA
Home Of Record
20 Carson Street
Speers, PA
Next Of Kin
Father, Mr. Samuel Curl
Military Specialty
Flight engineer
Primary Unit
VMB-413
Campaigns Served
—
Individual Decorations
—
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
In December 1943, the newly-formed medium bomber squadron VMB-413 received deployment orders to the South Pacific. To reach their advanced base (and avoid Japanese-held islands in the Central Pacific) the squadron flew from Oahu to Palmyra Island, then to Canton Island, Tutuila (Samoa) and finally Espiritu Santo.
On 22 January 1944, the squadron departed from Canton Island for the 800-mile journey to Tutuila. “We encountered very heavy rains and a very large [weather] front,” recalled veteran Jim Merriman. “It wasn’t possible to fly over or around it, so the airplanes separated and our plane flew under it. One plane did not make it, and we searched for that about a week, but never found any signs of it.”
The missing plane was PBJ1-D #35131, piloted by First Lieutenant Stanley M. Duvall. The entire crew was posted as missing, and ultimately declared dead on 23 January 1945.
Burial Information or Disposition
None; remains not recovered.
Memorials
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
(note: Curl is the only member of the crew memorialized in Manila; the others are on the Tablets of the Missing, Honolulu Memorial)
Belle Vernon Cemetery, North Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania
Next Of Kin Address
Address of father, Mr. Samuel Curl.
Location Of Loss
Last reported position of PBJ1-D #35131, “about 15 miles southeast of Fakaofu [sic] Island, Samoan Islands.”
