USAAF
5th
AF
90th BG
400th BS
Pilot Captain Lark E. Martin, Jr. "The Lark", O-791050 (MIA)
Co-Pilot F/O Herman E Malmquist T-112 (MIA)
Engineer M/Sgt Burl Newport 14043363 (MIA)
Radio T/Sgt Hodge J Collins 34258838 (MIA)
Passenger S/Sgt Jack L Gunderson, 19072583 (MIA)
Passenger Sgt Irving Herson, 11037604 (MIA)
Passenger Sqt Edward T Baker, 12041080 (MIA)
Passenger 1st. Lt Richard B Stanton, O-659492 (Chicago, IL) (MIA)
Passenger 1st Lt. Frank J. Jerome, III, O-409215 (MIA)
Crashed September 2, 1943 at 1500
MACR 652
Crew History
The pilot of the aircraft
was Captain Lark E. Martin whose nickname was "the Lark". Martin was
trained in Canada as a fighter pilot and was reknown for his low-level
flying. Passenger Jerome was with the 871st Airborne Engineer.
Riding as a passenger on this plane was 1st Lt. Richard B. Stanton, from Chicago, Illinois. Lt. Stanton was among the first group of P-38 pilots to arrive in Brisbane, Australia in 1942, and he served with the 9th Fighter Squadron of the 49th Fighter Group based at Port Moresby. He went along on the test flight as a friend of Captain Martin, while serving with the Troop Carrier Command.
Aircraft History
No nose art. Named after the bombardier's wife. Engines: R-1830-43 AAF Serial Numbers: 42-87521, 42-87577, 42-87485, 42-87874
Wartime History
Took off from Wards Drome at Port Moresby on an
engineering test flight out towards Fisherman's Island. Its last radio contact was near Kekini Rocks, Redscar Bay at 1500 hours. Parts of the aircraft were found floating near Fisherman's
Island, but no bodies were ever recovered. One main wheel floated ashore. It was assumed that he has flown too low over the ocean, and
thus caused the crash.
Robert N. Hoffman 871st Airborne Engineers adds:
"In an old notebook from WWII I see an address: Mrs. F. J. Jerome,
10951 Longwood Drive, Chicago, Illinois. I do not know if that was his
wife or his mother. I do not know the date of his death. Sam Parmelee
may know more details than I, but I was at least peripherally involved
because I believe I got the phone call from the outfit that lost the
bomber (90th Bomber Squadron, maybe) asking if we had a "Lieutenant
Ashburner" in our battalion. [ Lt. Ashburner was our Motor
Officer and Hooper was the NCO in charge of the Motor Pool. Lt. Sam
Parmelee was Personnel Officer.]
I told the caller we did, and was informed that he was on a B-24 that was missing. I told the caller that I had seen Lt. Ashburner only an hour or so earlier and that he couldn't be on the missing plane. Further checking indicated that Lt. Jerome had borrowed Lt. Ashburner's jeep to go to the Bomber Squadron's location where Lt. Jerome had friends. The jeep had Lt. Ashburner's tool box in it with his name painted on the box. The jeep had our markings on it and that's why they called us. I may be wrong, but I think Sgt.Cornelius L. Hooper was the one who went to pick up the jeep."
"I had a call a couple of months later from a Sergeant at the 90th Bomber Sq. (if it was the 90th) who told me that they were sending out a party to look for signs of wreckage on Fisherman's Island (I think that 's what he said) and did I want to go along? I told him I was not interested, but that I would appreciate knowing if they found anything. The word got back was that they had found a tail wheel strut with the plane number on it and that it probably went down at sea. I never heard anything further."
"From some source I was told that the B-24's pilot was Jack Martin and that he had a reputation for stunting, such as skimming the ocean surface, etc. Allegedly he also on occasion llet friends who were fighter or transport pilots fly planes he had invited then to ride on with him. We were near the 90th Bomb Group (Heavy) the "Jolly Rogers" in Port Moresby at that time."
Releatives
Robert H. Stanton (nephew of Richard B. Stanton) adds:
"In response to an inquiry made by an acquaintance of Lt. Stanton's father, the Managing Editor of the Chicago Tribune, J.L. (Pat) Maloney, wrote his old friend Major General Ennis C. Whitehead (Commander, Advanced Echelon, 5th AF) in New Guinea, requesting information about the missing plane. Maloney stated that he flew with Whitehead as a member of the First Pursuit Group in World War I on the Chateau Thierry and Argonne fronts. In a letter from General Whitehead to Maloney, dated 19 November 1943, Whitehead stated that "Capt. Martin... was going to test a new ball turret." Martin had given his time of return as 1545 local time.
Whitehead went on to give his conclusion:
"It is undoubtedly difficult for anyone who has not seen the terrain in New Guinea to understand how an airplane can disappear without a trace, occasionally however, such things happen. Anyone of a half a dozen reasons might have caused this crash. There is so much bad weather in New Guinea and adjacent thereto the terrain is very rugged. The country is sparsely populated and in my own best judgement I believe that a local bad weather caused the loss of this airplane and its crew."
References
Thanks to Robert H. Stanton and Aerothentic for historical details.
The Jolly Rogers, page 110 and 196
B-24
MIA
