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| USN VF-17 |
Pilot Lt(jg) John H. Keith, O-145236 USNR (MIA / KIA) KS Ditched November 1, 1943 at 6:10pm Aircraft History Built by Vought. Delivered to the U.S. Navy (USN) as F4U-1A Corsair bureau number 17661. Disassembled and shipped overseas to the South Pacific (SoPAC) and reassembled. Wartime History Assigned to Fighting Squadron 17 (VF-17) "The Jolly Rogers". No known nickname, nose art or markings. Mission History On November 1, 1943 at 8:45am took off from Ondonga Airfield piloted by Lt(jg) John H. Keith on a two hour Combat Air Patrol (CAP) led by Halford at 28,000' over Empress Augusta Bay off western Bougainville. The formation encountered heavy cloud cover over patrol area. At 10:45am, bogies were spotted, but contact was lost before they could be engaged. Returning, the Corsairs strafed Ballale Airfield then returned to land safely. At 3:45pm, "Flight 2" took off from Ondonga Airfield piloted by Lt(jg) John H. Keith for another two hour patrol over Empress Augusta Bay, but failed to spot any enemy aircraft. On the return flight, they again strafed Ballale Airfield. This time, they encounter intense anti-aircraft fire from Ballale Island. This Corsair was hit and begin to smoke heavily. At 6:10pm this Corsair ditched into the sea five miles southeast of Ballale Island. The pilot was observed to swim clear of the plane. His wingman, Ensign Country Landreth (Landrew?) circled until after sunset until he lost sight of him in the dark and departed. While he circled, Keith did not deploy his life raft. When he failed to return, Keith was listed a Missing In Action (MIA). Search During the night and into the next day, a U.S. Navy PT Boat and PBY Catalina search for the pilot. Neither found any trace of Keith. Memorials Keith was officially declared dead on January 11, 1946. He earned the Purple Heart, posthumously. Keith is memorialized at Manila American Cemetery on the tablets of the missing. He also has a memorial marker at Fort Scott National Cemetery at section MA site 4. Relatives Mary M. Ogborn (sister) "My brother, Lt. jg John Henry Keith was shot down in a Corsair making a run over Ballale. I was just a kid and remember little about it all except for the grief." References Navy Serial Number Search Results - F4U-1A Corsair 17661 USN Overseas Loss List - November 1943 - F4U-1A Corsair 17661 lists loss location as Poporang Island American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - John Henry Keith FindAGrave - LTJG John Henry Keith (photo, grave photo) The Jolly Rogers (1997) by Tom Blackburn pages 108-109, 111 (Page 111) "[November 2, 1943] I learned that the meticulous, thorough search for Johnny Keith had produced no results. I wanted to hold out hope - downed pilots were known to turn up weeks and even months after going in - but I knew that it was not fair to withhold the news from Johnny's family. That afternoon, I wrote the first of all too many heart-wrenching next-of-kin letters from the forward area." Thanks to Mary M. Ogborn for additional information Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated January 19, 2023 |
 F4U  MIA 1 Missing |
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