Mission History
On July 24, 1945 took off from Yontan Airfield on Okinawa piloted by X as one of two PB4Y-2 Privateers an anti-shipping sweep along the west coast of Korea. At 9:20am a they radioed they were under Japanese attack. At 11:00am, they radioed that they had bombed a Japanese ship. Both bombers failed to return from the mission and were presumed to be lost along the 40th Parallel. When this PB4Y-2 failed to return, the entire crew was declared Missing In Action (MIA).

Search
On July 25, 1945 a search mission was conducted for the two missing bombers without result.

Memorials
The entire crew was officially declared dead on July 25, 1946 All are memorialized on the tablets of the missing at Manila American Cemetery.

Ramsey earned the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) with two Gold Stars, Air Medal and Purple Heart, posthumously.

Hamlett, Williams, Stengelin, Kallstrom, Rummel, Nicholls, Hobbs Yankow, Anson and Wilson earned the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and Purple Heart, posthumously.

Relatives
Trudy Jones (daughter of Hugh Crae Wilson)
"I am Trudy Wilson-Jones, my father was flying with Lt. Ramsey. I have wondered many times over the years the fate of my father and the other men. My mother never remarried and held on to hope for many years that someday my dad would return. I was 2 weeks old when my dad's plane disappeared. Now I would like to get in contact with those folks who were close to the situation and learn more about the incident. I do have the letters of notification from the Navy about my father's last flight. Any information you could pass on to me would be of great worth to me. It is very similar to what was presented on the web site. Thank you for your help."

References
Navy Serial Number Search Results - PB4Y-2 Privateer 59519X
USN Overseas Aircraft Loss List July 1945 PB4Y-2 59519 VPB-124 LT J.E. RAMSEY
American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - John E. Ramsey
American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Hoyt H. Hamlett
American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Merlin H. Williams
American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Robert F. Stengelin
American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Allen E. Kallstrom
American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Russell L. Rummel
American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Robert S. Nicholls
American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Howard Hobbs
American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - William A. Yankow
American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - John H. Anson
American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Hugh C. Wilson
FindAGrave - Lt John Ellis Ramsey (tablets of the missing)
FindAGrave - AOM3 Hoyt Hurst Hamlett (tablets of the missing photo)

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Last Updated
November 20, 2018