Name: John Durcan Comeau Rank: Sergeant Service Number: 378777 Service: Marine Torpedo Bombing Squadron 232, Marine Aircraft Group 11, 1st Marine Air Wing, United States Marine Corps Awards: Purple Heart Date of Birth: February 8, 1921 Place of Birth: Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Date of Enlistment: April 17, 1942 Place of Enlistment: Boston, Massachusetts Address at Enlistment: Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Age at Enlistment: 21 Occupation: Light fixture plant worker Marital Status: Single Religion: Roman Catholic Height: 5 feet, 9 inches Complexion: Ruddy Eye Color: Brown Hair Color: Brown Date of Death: November 23, 1943 Age: 22 Memorial: National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii Reference: Courts of the Missing 2, Honolulu Memorial John Durkan ‘Jackie’ Comeau was the son of Elias Joseph Comeau (1886-1970) and Dora Ellen (Smith) Comeau (1892-1940). John’s Massachusetts birth record lists his middle name as Durkin. His father was born in Meteghan in the Clare community of Digby County, Nova Scotia; the son of Agapit V Comeau and Catherine (Saulnier) Comeau. John’s mother was born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. John’s siblings were Donald Edward Comeau (1907-1964), Doris J Comeau (1909-2004), Evelyn Dora Comeau (1911-2002), Katherine Comeau (b. 1913), Leah H Comeau (1915-2002), Robert Albert Comeau (1917-1991), James Walter Comeau (1919-1987), Ernest C Comeau, and Bala Florence (Comeau) Lacombe (1928-2004). When John registered for the US Draft on February 15, 1942, he was employed by the Hygrade Sylvania Corporation, which later became Sylvania Electric Products Inc. The company operated a lighting fixtures plant in Ipswich, Massachusetts, where John worked, while his family resided nearby at 54 North Street. Shortly after registering, John joined the United States Marine Corps. He completed his initial training and was stationed at a number of domestic posts. In April 1942, he served as a Private with the 6th Recruit Battalion at the Marine Barracks Recruit Depot on Parris Island, South Carolina. By July 1942, he had transferred to Training Squadron 2 with the Marine Aviation Detachment at Naval Air Station Jacksonville in Florida. Following a promotion to Corporal, he transferred to Training Squadron 14 at the Marine Aviation Detachment Naval Training School (Aviation) in Chicago, Illinois, in October 1942 until early 1943. In April 1943, John transitioned to the West Coast, where he was initially attached to the Headquarters Squadron of Marine Base Defense Aircraft Group 43 (MBDAG-43) under Marine Fleet Air at the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) El Centro, California. Later that month, he joined Marine Torpedo Bombing Squadron 232 (VMTB-232). Sergeant John “Jackie” Comeau served as a torpedo bomber radioman with VMTB-232, Marine Aircraft Group 11 (MAG-11), 1st Marine Air Wing (1st MAW), Fleet Marine Force (FMF) in the Pacific theater. Squadron 232 were known as the “Red Devils” of what was referred to as the Cactus Air Force. The Cactus Air Force was the nickname given to the chaotic, makeshift assortment of Allied military aircraft operating out of Guadalcanal during the crucial early months of the Guadalcanal Campaign (August-December 1942). The name came from "Cactus," which was the Allied wartime code name for the island of Guadalcanal. Comeau flew in a TBF Avenger, usually with 1st Lieutenant Elden E. Leach, Jr. in the cockpit and Private First Class Joseph J Pereira manning the turret guns. After a tough tour of duty in the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific Theater, the Leach crew was sent to Sydney, Australia for a well-earned rest. Their return flight was made via South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command (SCAT) aboard an aircraft assigned to the 604th Troop Carrier Squadron, 403rd Troop Carrier Group. On November 23, 1943, Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft 41-18675 (call sign “675-Baker-253”) departed Noumea, New Caledonia, with 25 men aboard, most of whom were "Red Devils" of 232 Squadron returning to Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides (now known as Vanuatu). In addition to the 16 men of 232 Squadron, the aircraft was manned by a five-man crew and carried three personnel from the Royal New Zealand Air Force, along with a Navy Medical Corpsman assigned to Headquarters Squadron, Marine Aircraft Group 25 (MAG-25). The plane failed to respond to a scheduled call at 0910, and when it did not arrive at its destination a massive search was launched. Two days later, wreckage and some personal effects were found floating in Nakety Bay off the coast of New Caledonia. The pieces were identified as belonging to the Skytrain, but none of the bodies were ever recovered. The 16 passengers from VMTB-232 and the Corpsman from MAG-25: Francis L Ballman – Torpedo Bomber Radioman Donald E Barker – Torpedo Bomber Gunner Robert V Carter – Marine Aviator, Pilot William C Childers – Torpedo Bomber Radioman Lyman H Grover – Marine Aviator, Pilot Roy L Heritage – Torpedo Bomber Radioman Jack C Knight – Torpedo Bomber Gunner Elden E Leach Jr – Marine Aviator, Pilot Robert J Nichols – Torpedo Bomber Gunner Raleigh T Parson – Torpedo Bomber Gunner Joseph J Pereira – Torpedo Bomber Gunner Thad D Reed – Marine Aviator, Pilot Vernon G Rubincam – Marine Aviator, Pilot Harold C Soukup – Torpedo Bomber Gunner Winthrop D Yadon – Torpedo Bomber Gunner Chief Pharmacist's Mate Clarence B Latham, Service No. 2954191 – Flight Corpsman The crew from the 604th Troop Carrier Squadron, 403rd Troop Carrier Group: Second Lieutenant Philip Charles Anders, Service No. O-670484 – pilot Second Lieutenant Richard Lamar Harpe, Service No. O-670898 – co-pilot Second Lieutenant George Samuel Richardson, Service No. O-797394 – navigator Staff Sergeant Carl Falk Boeckman, Service No. 39249930 – crew chief Staff Sergeant Lawrence Norman Pitkus, Service No. 12145060 – radio operator The other passengers from the Royal New Zealand Air Force: Aircraftman Second Class J. W. Payne Aircraftman Second Class R. W. Knap Aircraftman Second Class D. S. White

Sources: findagrave honorstates.org Missing Marines Veterans Legacy Memorial, US Department of Veterans Affairs Massachusetts, U.S., Birth Index, 1860-1970