In August of 1942 the Marines invaded the island of Guadalcanal. This was the beginning of combat operations in the area. By the end of 1943 the fighting was largely over. Just because the combat was over didn't mean the death toll didn't rise.
In November 1943 Patrol Squadron 91 (VP-91) was operating from Tulagi in the Florida Island Group. On the 19th of the month PBY-5 #08388 was caught in a down draft and crashed into the waters off Malaita Island, which is located northeast of Guadalcanal. The aircraft had been on a non-combat flight in the local area. The eight crewmen were Lt. Mayo M. Mooney, pilot, Ens. Richard H. Donovan Jr., AP1 Arthur L. Miller, ART2 Carleton Liebbrandt, ARM3 Richard W. Hazzard, AMM2 Curtis A. Baldwin, ARM2 Oliver Z. Coupe and AOM3 Gerald A. Rogier. Coupe and Rogier survived the crash with only minor injuries. The other six perished.
Salvage operations began immediately. Five of the six crewmen were eventually recovered and moved to the cemetery on Guadalcanal. Only one of them was identified. Ensign Donovan is listed as KIA while the remainder of the crew is listed as missing. The other four bodies were buried as unknowns X-176 thru X-179. Following the war the bodies of the unknowns were moved to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, where they presently rest in B-912, F-476, B-615 and A-819. Ensign Donovan was interred in the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Francisco, California.
Perhaps a re-examination of the unknowns with modern technology could individually identify the unknowns, but if that fails a group burial would seem to be in order.
