USAAF
5th AF
58th FG
69th FS
September 1944
Pilot 2nd Lt. Arthur F. Cain, Jr., O-814648 (Bath, ME)
Crashed January 17, 1945 at 1200
MACR 11850
Pilot History
Enlisted August 1942, aviation cadet in February 1943 and commissioned November. Assigned to the 69th FS and flew in New Guinea and the Philippines. Cain earned the Air Medal and Purple Heart (posthumously).
Mission History
Eight P-47s took off at 0830am to escort A-20's attacking Laoag. They strafed 5 Sugar Dogs and 1 Sugar Charlie anchored off Salomague. This aircraft crashed into the water one-half mile off shore near Vigan. Pilot bailed out at 1,000' and was seen to smack against the floating plane as he landed. An immediate search showed no trace of pilot. One wheel was afloat in the oil-slick.
Memorials
Memorialized on the tablets of the missing at Manila American Cemetery.
Relatives
Harry Larrabee, Sr. (nephew of Cain)
References
Thanks to 58th Fighter Association for mission details via Kenneth Breaux.
P-47
MIA
Photo Archive
Wartime Article
Wartime Article
