William Bernard Cashman, Sr.
PFC William B. Cashman, Sr. was a Marine aviator with VMTB-233.
He was shot down over Simpson Harbor, Rabaul, on 14 February 1944.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 807836
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
May 22, 1924
at Ecorse, MI
Parents
Lawrence Joseph Cashman
Ellen Agnes (Hughes) Cashman
Education
Roger Williams Junior High (1941)
Occupation & Employer
Jewelry worker (Ostby & Barton)
Welder, Walsh-Kaiser shipyard
Service Life
Entered Service
February 3, 1943
at Boston, MA
Home Of Record
259 Blackstone Street
Providence, RI
Next Of Kin
Wife, Mrs. Helen May (Holden) Cashman
Military Specialty
Aviation radioman / gunner
Primary Unit
VMTB-233
Campaigns Served
Northern Solomons
Individual Decorations
Air Medal
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
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Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
On 14 February 1944, VMTB-233 ordered a mission to lay mines in Rabaul’s Simpson Harbor. Dropping a Mark 12 naval mine from an Avenger required slow speed and low altitude, so planners decided to send three separate waves at one-hour intervals under cover of darkness. Group C – which included pilot 1Lt. Robert W. Sherman, radioman PFC William B. Cashman, Sr., and turret gunner Sergeant James W. Greene, Jr. in Plane #107 – departed Piva airfield at 0230 for the ninety-minute flight to Rabaul.
Unfortunately for the attackers, Japanese spotlight crews were on the alert – and “very accurate in picking up the planes and keeping them in the light.” Anti-aircraft gunners were also primed and ready, having battled two previous waves of attackers. Group C was badly mauled with three Avengers, including Sherman’s #107 (TBF-1C 24340), failing to return to base. VMTB-233 lost a total of six Avengers and eighteen Marines on the disastrous mission.
The entire crew of #107 was declared dead on 15 February 1945. Sherman was awarded a posthumous Distinguished Flying Cross, while Cashman and Greene received Air Medals.
Burial Information or Disposition
Postwar records indicate that Lieutenant Sherman survived and was captured by Japanese forces. Held as a prisoner of war at Rabaul and Tunnel Hill, Sherman reportedly died of beriberi on 28 June 1944. His remains were recovered from a grave near the Tunnel Hill camp and identified after the war. Other Marines lost on this mission were identified from Finschhafen Cemetery #5; Cashman and Greene may be among the remains yet to be investigated.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of wife, Mrs. Helen Cashman.
Their son, William Junior, was born in 1941.
Location Of Loss
Plane #115 was lost in the vicinity of Simpson Harbor, south of Rabaul.
