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| USN VB-139  USN, VB-139 c1943  CILHI 2002 |
Pilot Lt. Walter S. Whitman, Jr., O-106381 USNR (MIA / KIA) Philadelphia, PA Co-Pilot Lt(jg) John W. "Moose" Hanlon, Jr. O-145441 USN (MIA / KIA) Worcester, MA Navigator AM2c Donald G. Lewallen, 5636083 USNR (MIA / KIA) Omaha, NB Engineer AMM2c Clarence C. Fridley, 3775592 USNR (MIA / KIA) Manhattan, MT Radio AR3c Samuel L. Crown, Jr., 6125394 USNR (MIA / KIA) Columbus, OH Gunner AO3c James S. Palko, 3292467 USN (MIA / KIA) Superior, WI Gunner AM2c Jack J. Parlier, 6693889 USNR (MIA / KIA) Decatur, IL Crashed March 25, 1944 Aircraft History Built by Lockheed as model 237-27-01 in Burbank. Constructors Number 237-5524. Delivered to the U.S. Navy (USN) as PV-1 Ventura bureau number 34641. Wartime History Assigned to Bombing Squadron 139 (VB-139). No known nickname or nose art. Squadron Number 31 was painted on the nose and tail in black. Later, changed to number 33. Mission History On March 25, 1944 took off from Attu Airfield piloted by Lt. Walter S. Whitman, Jr. as one of five PV-1 Venturas on an "Empire Express" bombing and reconnaissance mission against Shumshu Island in the Kurile Islands. Soon after take off, PV-1 Ventura 33343 Number 28 piloted by Lt. J. H. Moore crashed. In the face of extremely bad weather and hazardous flying conditions. Two Venturas were unable to reach the target area aborted the mission when they jettisoned their bombs into the sea and returned to base. About six hours into the mission, Attu radioed Whitman his bearing over Kamchatka. This was the last contact with the bomber. Only one Ventura managed to completed the mission and returned safely. When this aircraft failed to return it was officially declared Missing In Action (MIA). Search When Whitman’s aircraft failed to return, an over water search was initiated by US Navy ships and aircraft over an area extending 200 miles from Attu, but no trace of the bomber was found. Wreckage In fact, this bomber crashed into the slope of the Mutnovskiy Volcano on Kamchatka Peninsula amid scrub brush. The precise cause of the crash remains a mystery. Possibly, it was hit by anti-aircraft fire over the northern Kurile Islands. Or it was attempting to make an emergency landing on Kamchatka in Soviet territory. During 1962, geologist Mikhail Khotin was the first to discover the aircraft which was only visible during the brief summer months. Due to Cold War tensions, the crash site was investigated by the Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (KGB) and the Soviet military and unexploded munitions were detonated, breaking up the wreckage and probably dispersed to disguise it from U.S. spy satellites. In 1992 during a thaw in relations, the crash site was reported to the United States by historian Ms. Alla Paperno but no action was taken for another eight years. During August 7-9, 2000 a US Army CILHI team led by retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Roland Lajoie, chairman of the US - Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs (USRJC), and Col. Konstantin Golumbovskiy, the USRJC's deputy chairman visited the crash site. The engines showed damage, possibly caused by Japanese anti-aircraft fire. At least one live bomb was still present at the crash site. In 2002, US Army CILHI, recovered small bone fragments, artifacts and air crew related items assumed to be those of the crew, including a 1943 nickel. The recovered remains were transported to the CILHI Laboratory for mDNA testing against relatives of the crew. Later, the crew were identified by the Department of Defense (DoD). Memorials The entire crew was officially declared dead on January 16, 1946. The entire crew earned the Purple Heart, posthumously. All are memorialized at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) on the courts of the missing. Palko and Parlier on court 1. Whitman on court 2. Hanlon, Lewallen and Fridley on court 3. Crown on court 5. On November 20, 2003 the crew were buried in a group burial at Arlington National Cemetery at section 60 site 8249. The entire crew is also memorialized on the Memorial To The Missing in Anchorage, AK. Lewallen also has a memorial marker at Valley View Cemetery in Torrington, WY. Parlier also has a memorial marker at Mount Sterling City Cemetery in Mount Sterling, IL. Relatives Frances Williams McClain (aunt of Whitman) Charlotte Davis (sister of Jack Parlier) References Navy Serial Number Search Results - PV-1 Ventura 34641 "34641 (VB-139) lost Mar 25, 1944 Kurile Islands in combat mission. 7 crew MIA. Wreckage and human remains found in 1962 on Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, but information suppressed by KGB. US authorities told in 1999. There was a *Nova* TV program about this plane." American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Walter S. Whitman, Jr. "Remains recovered" American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - John W. Hanlon, Jr. "Remains recovered" American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Donald G. Lewallen "Remains recovered" American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Clarence C. Fridley "Remains recovered" American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Samuel L. Crown, Jr. "Remains recovered" American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - James S. Palko "Remains recovered" American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Jack J. Parlier "Remains recovered" FindAGrave - LT Walter S Whitman (group burial photo) FindAGrave - Lt Walter S Whitman (courts of the missing photo) FindAGrave - LT Walter S Whitman (memorial to the missing photo) FindAGrave - John W. Hanlon (grave photo FindAGrave - Donald G. Lewallen (grave photo) FindAGrave - Donald Lewallen (memorial photo) FindAGrave - Clarence C. Fridley (grave photo) FindAGrave - Samuel L. Crown (grave photo) FindAGrave - James S. Palko (grave photo) FindAGrave - Jack J. Parlier (grave photo, photo) FindAGrave - Jack J. Parlier (memorial photo, photo) PBS/NOVA Last Flight of Bomber 31 covers the history of this aircraft and its MIA recovery The Last Flight of Bomber 31 page 296 DoD "Remains of WWII US Bomber Crew Found in Russia" August 11, 2000 AP "Navy plane wreckage found 56 years later" August 12, 2000 Arlington Cemetery - United States Navy Aircrew 25 March 1944 NorPacWar - VB-139, 1st tour (photo) NorPac War - PV-1s in the USSR (photo) Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated June 26, 2024 |
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