 |
NAME William Edward Gise |
NICKNAME — |
SERVICE NUMBER O-5153 |
|
| UNIT VMF-124 Pilot Squadron CO |
HOME OF RECORD 6613 Vista Del Mar La Jolla, CA |
NEXT OF KIN Wife, Mrs. Mary W. Gise |
||
| DATE OF BIRTH February 23, 1912 at Los Angeles, CA |
ENTERED SERVICE July 8, 1936 (commissioned) at Pensacola, FL |
DATE OF LOSS May 13, 1943 |
||
| REGION Solomon Islands |
CAMPAIGN / AREA Russell Islands |
CASUALTY TYPE Missing In Action Declared Dead May 14, 1945 |
||
| CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS Major William E. Gise was a Marine pilot and commanding officer of VMF-124, a fighter squadron based at Guadalcanal. On 13 May 1943, Major Gise piloted a Corsair (F4U-1 02178) on a mission to intercept a Japanese reconnaissance bomber near the Russell Islands. The Americans tangled with the fighter escort in “the first real fight the Corsairs have had in this area” and came away the clear victors, claiming 16 Zeros shot down at the cost of four US planes. Major Gise was one of those who fell – he disappeared during the dogfight and did not return to base. He was declared dead on 14 May 1945. |
||||
| INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart |
LAST KNOWN RANK Major (posthumous Lt. Colonel) |
STATUS OF REMAINS Not recovered. |
MEMORIALS Manila American Cemetery |
|
Biography:
Contact the webmaster for more information about this Marine.
