Montoursville, PA
Inducted: April 1944
Killed in Action: Pacific

Repatriated: October 31, 1947

The May 29, 1945, deck log for the USS Black Hawk AD-9 states that the destroyer
tender was underway from San Francisco, California and one day out of Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii. At 12:05 p.m. the USS Black Hawk sighted a balloon at 3,000
yards and shortly thereafter spotted a life raft with a group of men. At 12:10
p.m. the USS Black Hawk passed a body floating in the water. Prior to spotting
the body, the crew of the USS Black Hawk began readying the motor whale boats
and the mike boat to support a rescue attempt. The rescue boats from the ship
picked up ten survivors and the body of Seaman First Class (S1C) Robert Earl
Clair. The ten survivors stated that their aircraft, a PB4Y-2 Privateer, Plane #
118, Serial # 59425, Flight # 330, took off from Naval Auxiliary Air Station
Camp Kearney, San Diego, California. The deck log also states that the navigator
Ensign H. G. Morris was missing. At 12:55 p.m. the civilian ship S.S. Citadel
Victory was spotted at a distance of 16 miles and directed to assist for 30
minutes in a search for additional survivors. The USS Black Hawk recovered
documents, floating debris, secured her organic boats and got underway for
Hawaii after sinking the planes floating gas tank with 20mm fire. The deck log
further states that at the Captain's command the body of S1C Clair was placed in
canvas and stored in the ship's refrigeration spaces for further disposition.
The USS Black Hawk reached Pearl Harbor on May 30, 1945, and expeditiously
transferred all recovered personnel to base medical facilities. Several of the
transferred survivors were listed as in "guarded condition."
Courtesy of K. Meyer