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NAME Richard Paul Chenard |
NICKNAME Dick |
SERVICE NUMBER 377571 |
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UNIT VMD-154 Radioman |
HOME OF RECORD 73 Mountain Road, Biddeford, ME |
NEXT OF KIN Mother, Mrs. Annie Chenard |
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DATE OF BIRTH August 28, 1922 |
ENTERED SERVICE March 17, 1942 |
DATE OF LOSS February 7, 1943 |
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REGION Vanuatu (New Hebrides) |
CAMPAIGN / AREA Espiritu Santo |
CASUALTY TYPE Killed In Action |
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CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS Corporal Richard P. Chenard was an aviation radioman assigned to VMD-154, a Marine reconnaissance squadron based in the New Hebrides Islands. Just after 0400 hours on 7 February 1943, Chenard’s plane – PB4Y-1 BuNo 31958 – took off from Espiritu Santo for the first leg of a planned photographic mission to Truk. The aircraft barely cleared the coastline before it plunged into the sea 600 yards offshore of the airstrip, sinking into 94 fathoms of water. The entire crew was killed in the incident. None of their remains could be recovered. |
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INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Purple Heart |
LAST KNOWN RANK Corporal |
STATUS OF REMAINS Not recovered |
MEMORIALS National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific |
Biography:
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