In June 1945 the US Navy supported the last allied invasion of Japanese territory during WWII. Their mission was to provide close support for the Australian troops who were to undertake landigs at Balikpapan, Borneo.
On board the USS Gilbert Islands was 1st Lt Crawford who was serving with VMF-512, commanded by Maj Blaine Baesler, USMCR. The squadron operated a mix of FG-1D and F4U-1D Corsairs. They also had two F6F-5P Hellcats that were used for photo-recconaissance missions.
On the 1st July aircraft from the USS Gilbert Islands caught a large column of Japanese trucks and armoured vehicles on a highway trying to escape the advancing ground forces. Corsairs attacked both ends of the column. Photo-recce F6F Hellcats followed the strike to assess the damage caused by the Corsairs.
One of these F6F's, BuNo 77424, was flown by 1st Lt Crawford. He was hit by AA fire while flying at low level and crashed.
The Squadron CO simply reported
'KIA at approximately 1230 (-9 zone) over Balikpapan. Remains not recovered.'
After the war the remains of 1st Lt Crawford were recovered and returned home for burial.
Above: 1st Lt C B Crawford, with his dog, standing beside a F6F Hellcat. Adam Lewis
My thanks to Adam Lewis for allowing me to use details of 1st Lt James Crawford from his excellent website www.adamsplanes.com
Also thank you to Donna Crawford Desrosiers for permission to use the photos. Donna is the sister of James Crawford.
