Paul Saunders Rutledge
Second Lieutenant Paul S. “King Kong” Rutledge was a Marine pilot with VMF-121.
He was reported missing after a combat mission out of Guadalcanal on 14 October 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number O-10184
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
August 27, 1918
at Seattle, WA
Parents
Paul Saunders Rutledge (Sr.)
Edna Gertrude (Cook) Rutledge
later Mrs. Edna Bolman
Education
Roosevelt High School (1936)
University of Washington (1940)
Occupation & Employer
Student
Service Life
Entered Service
May 19, 1941 (enlisted)
May 27, 1942 (commission)
Home Of Record
6016 36th Avenue NE
Seattle, WA
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Edna G. Bolman
Military Specialty
Pilot
Assistant Gunnery Officer
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands / Guadalcanal
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Second Lieutenant Paul “King Kong” Rutledge, a fighter pilot assigned to VMF-121, arrived at Guadalcanal’s Henderson Field on 6 October 1942.
On 14 October, after a sleepless night under the guns of a pair of Japanese battleships, the Cactus Air Force went out looking for revenge. They attacked a force of enemy destroyers and transports south of Santa Isabel Island that evening, bombing and strafing in the face of heavy antiaircraft fire.
“King Kong” fell victim to enemy action during the attack; none of his buddies saw his Wildcat (F4F-4 #5081) go down. He was declared missing in action, and a presumptive finding of death was issued on 19 February 1945. Rutledge also received a posthumous promotion to the rank of captain.
Later that day [14 October] I led a raid on six troop transports which the Japs were trying to sneak in north of Santa Ysabel, accompanied by warships. We went through heavy anti-aircraft fire to strafe the decks, which were packed with standing soldiers. It was a slaughter— the slugs from my .50-caliber guns must have killed scores. I wish some of the boys we lost at Pearl Harbor could have been there to see it.
One of our men failed to come back. He was Lieutenant Paul S. (King Kong) Rutledge, of Seattle, Washington, a city that gave us many fine flyers. He was a big, easygoing fellow. We never heard what happened to him.
The War Diary for Marine Air Group 23 reports that Rutledge was shot down during a mid-day dogfight over Henderson Field, along with Second Lieutenant Koller C. Brandon. Reasons for this discrepancy are not definitively known.
Burial Information or Disposition
None; aircraft failed to return.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Edna Bolman.
Location Of Loss
Rutledge was last seen in action on a strike “just east of Santa Isabel Island’s southeast tip at 1715.”
