Stafford William Drake
First Lieutenant Stafford W. Drake was a Marine fighter pilot with VMD-422.
He was killed in a mid-air collision during a routine flight near Midway, 20 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number O-12609
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
October 30, 1918
at Chicago, IL
Parents
Stafford William Drake, Sr.
Adele Marie (Waters) Drake
Education
New Trier High School (1936)
University of Illinois
Occupation
Clerk
Frederick J. Drake & Co. Publishers
Service Life
Entered Service
October 6, 1941 (Navy)
August 12, 1942 (commission)
Home Of Record
1011 Greenwood Avenue
Wilmette, IL
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Adele Drake
Specialty
Pilot
Primary Unit
VMF-422
Campaigns Served
—
Individual Decorations
—
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
First Lieutenant Stafford Drake was a “plank owner” in VMF-422, a Marine fighter squadron formed in 1943. The new unit trained in California before shipping overseas to Midway, where they would continue operational practice ahead of a combat tour.
On 20 November 1943, Lieutenant Drake led his Corsair division aloft for a routine flight. Two miles from the island, at two minutes before noon, the plane piloted by 2Lt. William A. Aycrigg II slid beneath 1Lt. Edmond G. Farrell. Aycrigg’s propeller chewed through Farrell’s tail assembly, and the stricken fighter lurched through the formation until it collided with Drake’s F4U-1 (BuNo 02233). The wreckage fell into the sea about three hundred yards from the runway. Drake and Farrell were both reported as dead immediately following the accident.
The fatal accident was only the second suffered by the squadron, and “for the superstitious this was the beginning of a long siege of bad luck.”
Burial Information or Disposition
Searches of the area were made immediately; Edmond Farrell’s remains were located and given a military burial at sea on 21 November 1943. No sign of Drake’s body was ever found, and it was presumed that he went down with his plane.
Lieutenant Aycrigg survived this mishap, but was forced down at sea in a storm two months later. He was never seen again.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Adele Drake.
Location Of Loss
Approximate site of the crash, “about 300 yards beyond the end of the runway.”
Stafford’s plane likely fell into deeper water on the far side of the reef.
