Willie Cleo Thompson

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 B – which included pilot 1Lt. Alonzo N. Hathway, Jr., radioman PFC Willie C. Thompson, and turret gunner Corporal John J. Edwards in Plane #111 – departed Piva at 0130 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.” Although Group B followed a different approach route than Group A, anti-aircraft gunners quickly adjusted and opened fire on the low, slow targets. Avenger #10 piloted by Lieutenant Hugh L. Cornelius was seen to smoke, strike water in Blanche Bay, and bounce before sinking, while Hathway’s #111 (TBF-1 25316) failed to return to base. VMTB-233 lost a total of six Avengers and eighteen Marines on the disastrous mission.

The entire crew of #111 was declared dead on 15 February 1945. Hathway was awarded a posthumous Distinguished Flying Cross, while Thompson and Edwards received Air Medals.