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NAME Youell Lester Crum |
NICKNAME Joe |
SERVICE NUMBER O-10849 |
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| UNIT VMF-121 Pilot |
HOME OF RECORD 311 Northwest 28th Street Miami, FL |
NEXT OF KIN Mother, Mrs. Lena L. Crum |
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| DATE OF BIRTH November 14, 1919 at Trilby, FL |
ENTERED SERVICE September 29, 1941 (enlisted) June 23, 1942 (commissioned) at Miami, FL |
DATE OF LOSS January 2, 1943 |
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| REGION Solomon Islands |
CAMPAIGN / AREA Rendova |
CASUALTY TYPE Missing In Action Declared Dead January 3, 1944 |
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| CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS Second Lieutenant Youell “Joe” Crum was a Marine fighter pilot serving with the Cactus Air Force. He arrived on Guadalcanal as a member of VMF-122 on 22 December 1942, and transferred to VMF-121 on 1 January 1943. On 2 January 1943, Crum was assigned to a escort a dive bomber strike against a reported Japanese destroyer fleet. The ships were spotted about fifteen miles west of Rendova, covered by fighters of the 204th kokutai. Although the bombers made their dives, the seasoned IJN pilots scattered the American escort. Two Marine flyers – Crum and Captain Robert “Pete” Petersen – never returned to base. Lieutenant Crum and F4F-4 Bureau Number 5124 were never seen again. The pilot was declared dead on 3 January 1944. |
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| INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart |
LAST KNOWN RANK Second Lieutenant posthumous Captain |
STATUS OF REMAINS Missing in action |
MEMORIALS Manila American Cemetery |
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