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| USAAF 5th AF 35th FG 39th FS   39th FS c1942 |
Pilot 1st Lt Hoyt A. Eason, O-428482 (MIA / KIA) Eclectic, AL MIA March 3, 1943 MACR none Aircraft History Built by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation (LAC) in Burbank. Constructors Number 7067. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as P-38F-5-LO Lightning serial number 42-12633. Disassembled and shipped overseas and reassembled in Australia. Wartime History Assigned to the 5th Air Force (5th AF), 35th Fighter Group (35th FG), 39th Fighter Squadron (39th FS). No known nickname or nose art. On January 6, 1943 took off piloted by Richard E. Smith when he claimed a Japanese fighter shot down. Mission History On March 3, 1943 during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea took off from 14 Mile Drome (Schwimmer) near Port Moresby piloted by 1st Lt Hoyt A. Eason on patrol mission over the Bismarck Sea. When this aircraft failed to return it was officially listed as Missing In Action (MIA). Robert Rocker adds: "39th Fighter Squadron pilot Curran J. Jones told me that during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea on his return to base he saw Hoyt Eason's P-38 tail sticking up out of the water circled and saw Eason in the water in his Mae west but when the PBY's looked for him he was never found the fog of war plus that channel is full of sharks between New Britain and New Guinea." Memorials Eason was officially declared dead on December 20, 1945. He earned the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal and Purple Heart, posthumously. Eason is memorialized at Manila American Cemetery on the tablets of the missing. He also has a memorial marker at his parent's grave at Harmony Cemetery in Coosa County, Alabama. References NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Hoyt A. Eason USAF Serial Number Search Results - P-38F-5-LO Lightning 42-12633 PNG Museum Aircraft Status Card - P-38F Lightning 41-12633 American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Hoyt A. Eason FindAGrave - 1Lt Hoyt A Eason (news, tablets of the missing photo) FindAGrave - Lieut Hoyt A. Eason (photos, news, memorial marker photo) The Missions and P-38 Lightnings of Richard I. Bong: A Synopsis (2002) pages 22 Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated April 19, 2021
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 P-38  MIA 1 Missing |
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