Walter A. Eck

	NAME Walter Albert Eck	NICKNAME Wally	SERVICE NUMBER O-11172
	UNIT VMSB-132 Pilot	HOME OF RECORD 3037 South 47th Street, Milwaukee, WI	NEXT OF KIN Father, Mr. Walter C. Eck
	DATE OF BIRTH July 17, 1919	ENTERED SERVICE June 12, 1941	DATE OF LOSS January 21, 1943
	REGION Vanuatu (New Hebrides)	CAMPAIGN / AREA Espiritu Santo	CASUALTY TYPE Non-Battle Death
CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS On 21 January 1943, First Lieutenant Walter Eck, a veteran dive-bomber pilot, was piloting a Dauntless SBD-4 (BuNo 06796) on a routine training flight over the island of Espiritu Santo. The aircraft flipped over into a practice dive, but failed to pull out and crashed into the heavy jungle below. Eck and his radioman PFC Irvin P. Korotki were reported as missing. The wreckage of the Dauntless was found in May. Eck and Korotki were found nearby and buried in the field. However, despite a specific search, neither man’s body was recovered after the war.
INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Distinguished Flying Cross	LAST KNOWN RANK First Lieutenant	STATUS OF REMAINS Buried in the field.	MEMORIALS National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific