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| USMC MAW-2 MAG-12 VMF-321 "Hell’s Angels"  Duluth Denfeld HS 1939 |
Pilot 1st Lt. Roger Hugh Brindos, O-020325 USMCR (POW, executed March 4-5, 1944, BR) Dulth, MN Crashed January 20, 1944 Aircraft History Built by Vought. Delivered to the U.S. Navy (USN) as F4U-1A Corsair bureau number 17914. Disassembled and shipped overseas to the South Pacific and reassembled. Wartime History Assigned to the United States Marine Corps (USMC), Marine Air Wing 2 (MAW-2), Marine Air Group 12 (MAG-12), Marine Fighting Squadron 321 (VMF-321) "Hell’s Angels". No known nickname, nose art or squadron number. Mission History On January 20, 1944 at 11:25am took off from Torokina Airfield on Bougainville piloted by 1st Lt. Roger Hugh Brindos as one of eleven F4U Corsairs on a mission to escort B-25 Mitchells from 42nd Bombardment Group (42nd BG) on a bombing mission against Vunakanau Airfield near Rabaul. Also escorting were F4U Corsairs from VMF-211, P-38 Lightnings and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P-40 Kitthawks. The weather was sunny with 25 mile visibility with a cloud ceiling at 6,000'. This aircraft was part of Lt. See's Division flying top cover at an altitude of 4,000'. Approaching the target area to the south of Cape St. George, the formation scissored once, then Lt. See lost sight of the other sections. He also lost sight of Lt. Brindos and Lt. Marshall. Over the target, intercepted by Japanese fighters including forty A6M Zeros and seven Ki-61 Tonys. When this aircraft failed to return it was officially listed as Missing In Action (MIA). Also lost was F4U Corsair 02402 pilot Captain Marion R. McCown, Jr. (MIA) and F4U Corsair 55835 pilot 1st Lt. Robert W. Marshall (MIA). Fates of the Crew In fact, Brindos bailed out and landed safely. On January 22, 1944 he was captured by the Japanese and transported to Rabaul and detained as a Prisoner Of War (POW). During late January 1944, he was in an adjoining cell to Colonel Marion Unruh until he was moved on or around February 17, 1944. Statement made by Col. Marion D. Unruh: "The latter part of Jan 44 [January 1944] another prisoner was placed in the cell next to him. He gave his name as Brindos while no guard was watching them. He told he had been shot down by Zeros while flying a Vought F4U. His plane caught fire and he managed to bail out. They got to see each other in a bomb shelter during air raids. One of his eyes appeared very bloodshot and he had several cuts and scratches but was not seriously wounded. He gave Unruh his wife’s address which he in return memorized and promised to write her at his first opportunity. The middle of February, on or about, Brindos was removed from his cell and Unruh never saw him again.” In early 1944, Rabaul became the target of heavy bombing raids. On March 2, 1944, the prisoners including Brindos were trucked to Tunnel Hill POW Camp arriving around 7:15pm and detained in a single tunnel with 6th Kempeitai (6th Kempei-Tai) guards. On March 2, 1944 Brindos and the other POWs were moved was imprisoned at Tunnel Hill POW Camp. On March 4, 1944 a group of fifteen prisoners were removed from Tunnel Hill POW Camp and walked to Tanoura at the edge of Talili Bay and executed. On March 5, 1944 a second group of sixteen prisoners were removed from Tunnel Hill POW Camp and walked to Tanoura at the edge of Talili Bay and executed. Afterwards, the victims were buried at Tanoura. These executions became known as the Talili Bay Massacre / Tunnel Hill Massacre / Tunnel Hill Incident. All three names refer to the same execution event. Recovery of Remains Towards the end of the Pacific War, fearing war crimes prosecution and to destroy the evidence of these executions, the Japanese exhumed and cremated all the bodies buried at Tanoura and placed them in a small box. To cover up the executions and war crimes, the Japanese rehearsed a story that all forty of these prisoners were killed when an Allied bomb scored a direct hit on their shelter at Talili Bay. This was a lie to cover up the murders. In early September 1945 when the Australian military occupied Rabaul, they interrogated personnel from the 6th Kempei Tai who claimed the Allied prisoners who died during the Tunnell Hill Massacre (Talili Bay Massacre) were killed by an Allied bomb and turned over the boxes with their cremated remains. These remains were turned over to the Australian Army 18th Australian War Graves Unit and determined to contain the remains of both Australians and Americans and were divided proportionally. The American portions and two individual boxes were turned over to American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) at Finschafen. Brindos was designated unknown X-172 (X-File 172) and placed into a crypt at the American Cemetery at Finschafen. After being identified as Brindos, accordance with his wife's wishes, his remains were transported to the Philippines and stored at USAF Cemetery Manila #2 for temporarily storage before permanent burial. Memorials Brindos was officially declared dead on January 16, 1946. He earned the Purple Heart and a gold star, posthumously. He was permanently buried at Manila American Cemetery at at plot D row 4 grave 259. Relatives Mrs. Eleanor R. Brindos (mother) Mrs. Patricia M. Brindos (wife) References Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) Roger Hugh Brindos (PDF Page 45) "Subject: Unidentified Cremated Remains 24 January 1947" "2. A total of 28 U.S. and Australian personnel were cremated and the ashes placed in one small box. A suggestion by Australian Headquarters, Rabaul was agreeable with this office to accept three-fourths of the total quantity to represent the list of twenty-one U.S. personnel created as a group. Two U.S. airmen were reported to have been cremated separately and an individual box was received for. A total of twenty-three cremated remains were received by the search party. a. The two individual boxes are lettered with Japanese characters which state only that one remains is of a higher rank than the other. No names were given." (PDF Page 47) "X-172 Roger Hugh Brindos" (PDF Page 62) USMC Casualty Card Roger Hugh Brindos Navy Serial Number Search Results - F4U-1A Corsair 17914 USN Overseas Aircraft Loss List January 1944 - F4U-1A Corsair 17914 NARA World War II Prisoners of War Data File - Roger H. Brindos NARA "Marine Fighter Squadron 321 (VMF-321) War Diary January 1944" pages 2, 3, 27-29 (Page 2) "Roster of Flight Echelon - Brindos, Roger H. 1st Lt. USMCR" (Page 3) "Brindos, Roger H. 1st Lt. Missing In Action 20 Jan 44" (Page 27) "Forces Engaged: Wardle, Harmon, See, Whiting, Hames, Mc Cown, Griffith, Adam, Brindos, Samuelson, Marshall / Losses: VMF-321, Capt. Mc Cown, Lts. Brindos and Marshall Missing" (Page 28) "Narrative Account: ...After scisoring once, Lt. See lost sight of Lts. Brindos, and Marshall, the other section... Capt. Mc Cown, and Lts. Brindos and Marshall failed to return from the mission." (Page 29) "Approximately 40 Zekes and 7 Tonys were seen over the area." NARA "Aircraft Action Report (AAR) VMF-321 January 20 1944 Report No. 13" pages 88-91 (Page 89) "1st Lt. R. H. Brindos / Cause: Unknown / Missing In Action" Duluth Herald "Lt. R. Brindos Is Missing" February 8, 1944 Duluth News Tribune "Death is confirmed" March 27, 1946 American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Roger H. Brindos FindAGrave - 1Lt Roger Hugh Brindos The Siege of Rabaul (1996) by Henry Sakaida page 93 (Rabaul's Military Prisoners: Brindos executed March 5, 1944 by 6th Field Kempei Tai at Talili) Fight For Survival! (2003) by James A. McMurria incorrectly lists "Brendoz" [sic Brindos] Thanks to Henry Sakaida, Edward Rogers and Alvin Grady 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 March 28, 2023 |
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