Morehouse Enterprise (Bastrop, Louisiana) 20 April 1945
PHILLIP BANKSTON'S PLANE DAMAGES A JAP CRUISER
Ensign Phillip T. Bankston, of Bastrop, Louisiana, has returned to duty after a 38 day furlough following a tour of duty in the Pacific, where he served as pilot of an Avenger Torpedo Bomber in Composite Squadron 21, which was based on one of the Navy's hard-hitting little escort carriers. He inflicted severe damage on a Japanese cruiser in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, going in on a solo strafing and bombing attack. He shot up a Japanese twin-motored bomber on Leyte, and inflicted heavy damage on Japanese airfields, hangers, supply dumps and barracks.
Ensign Bankston, who completed 70 combat missions, saw action at Palau, Mindoro, Leyte Luzon and the bitterly contested Second Battle of the Philippine Sea.
The son of Mr. & Mrs. Telford A. Bankston, the flier is 21 years old. He attended Bastrop High School and received his flight training at the Naval Air Station at Corpus Christi, Texas and Miami, Florida.
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Morehouse Enterprise (Bastrop, Louisiana) 24 June 1945
PHILLIP BANKSTON GETS AIR MEDAL FOR WORK IN PACIFIC
Ensign Phillip Telford Bankston, U. S. N. R., 21, of Bastrop, Louisiana, was recently presented with the Air Medal for "distinguishing himself by meritorious acts in aerial flight as pilot of a plane based on a carrier and assigned to the mission of attacking units of Japanese forces in the Southwest Pacific area."
The presentation was made by Commodore Gordon Rowe of the United States Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, Rhode Island. The text of the citation follows:
"Ensign Bankston piloted his plane skillfully through intense antiaircraft fire and landed his salvo alongside the bow of the enemy vessel. The ship was thrown off its course by the explosion and was losing way rapidly when he left the scene of action. His effective assault laid the ship open to later attacks by our forces. His courage and skill have distinguished him among those performing duties of the same character." At present, Ensign Bankston is serving with a carrier squadron.
Ensign Bankston is the son of Mr. & Mrs. T. A. Bankston of Bastrop, Louisiana. Before entering the Navy, Ensign Bankston graduated from Bastop High School as salutatorian of the class of 1942. He was a member of Mu Sigma Honor Society. Ensign Bankston entered the Navy August 2, 1942, attended the preflight school at Athens, Georgia and was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy ???
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Morehouse Enterpise (Bastrop, Louisiana) 3 January 1946
LT. PHILLIP BANKSTON (j.g.) has been discharged from the armed services and is home in Bastrop. He brought with him his bride, the former Jerry Cavaretta of Portsmouth New Hampshire, who was a lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps. Jerry, like wise has been discharged. Phillilp retains his commission as a reserve officer, however.
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Bastrop Daily Enterprise (Bastrop, Louisiana) Monday - 27 January 1964 Front Page
LOCAL MAN SAVES GROUP OF FISHERMAN ON FLOES
'HELECOPTERS SAVE 11 FROM ERIE ICE FLOES' was the big black headline stretched across the front page of the Detroit Free Press January 31, 1964. The story tucked underneath that big headline detailed how 11 anglers were rescued by Navy Helicopters after a part of the ice on Lake Erie broke loose.
One of those pilots was a 21 year veteran flier, Commander Phillip Telford Bankston. Bankston is a former Bastrop native and his mother, Rose Inez Harris Bankston (Mrs. Ted Bankston) still lives here ,,,,, in fact it was she who had the copy of the newspaper rescue. Bankston is attached to Grosse Ille Navy Air Station near Detroit. He and Lt. Commander Daniel G. Page were responsible for plucking the 11 fishermen from the ice. Bankston was not particularly impressed with the difficulty of saving the 11 men. "We do that sort of thing all the time," he wrote his mother, "But they made a big fuss over it this time." longer article
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Could not find an obit in Florida newspapers - only a notice of his cremation in the Orlando Sentinel, Monday, July 7, 2008. page A10
PHILLIP BANKSTON'S PLANE DAMAGES A JAP CRUISER
Ensign Phillip T. Bankston, of Bastrop, Louisiana, has returned to duty after a 38 day furlough following a tour of duty in the Pacific, where he served as pilot of an Avenger Torpedo Bomber in Composite Squadron 21, which was based on one of the Navy's hard-hitting little escort carriers. He inflicted severe damage on a Japanese cruiser in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, going in on a solo strafing and bombing attack. He shot up a Japanese twin-motored bomber on Leyte, and inflicted heavy damage on Japanese airfields, hangers, supply dumps and barracks.
Ensign Bankston, who completed 70 combat missions, saw action at Palau, Mindoro, Leyte Luzon and the bitterly contested Second Battle of the Philippine Sea.
The son of Mr. & Mrs. Telford A. Bankston, the flier is 21 years old. He attended Bastrop High School and received his flight training at the Naval Air Station at Corpus Christi, Texas and Miami, Florida.
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Morehouse Enterprise (Bastrop, Louisiana) 24 June 1945
PHILLIP BANKSTON GETS AIR MEDAL FOR WORK IN PACIFIC
Ensign Phillip Telford Bankston, U. S. N. R., 21, of Bastrop, Louisiana, was recently presented with the Air Medal for "distinguishing himself by meritorious acts in aerial flight as pilot of a plane based on a carrier and assigned to the mission of attacking units of Japanese forces in the Southwest Pacific area."
The presentation was made by Commodore Gordon Rowe of the United States Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, Rhode Island. The text of the citation follows:
"Ensign Bankston piloted his plane skillfully through intense antiaircraft fire and landed his salvo alongside the bow of the enemy vessel. The ship was thrown off its course by the explosion and was losing way rapidly when he left the scene of action. His effective assault laid the ship open to later attacks by our forces. His courage and skill have distinguished him among those performing duties of the same character." At present, Ensign Bankston is serving with a carrier squadron.
Ensign Bankston is the son of Mr. & Mrs. T. A. Bankston of Bastrop, Louisiana. Before entering the Navy, Ensign Bankston graduated from Bastop High School as salutatorian of the class of 1942. He was a member of Mu Sigma Honor Society. Ensign Bankston entered the Navy August 2, 1942, attended the preflight school at Athens, Georgia and was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy ???
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Morehouse Enterpise (Bastrop, Louisiana) 3 January 1946
LT. PHILLIP BANKSTON (j.g.) has been discharged from the armed services and is home in Bastrop. He brought with him his bride, the former Jerry Cavaretta of Portsmouth New Hampshire, who was a lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps. Jerry, like wise has been discharged. Phillilp retains his commission as a reserve officer, however.
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Bastrop Daily Enterprise (Bastrop, Louisiana) Monday - 27 January 1964 Front Page
LOCAL MAN SAVES GROUP OF FISHERMAN ON FLOES
'HELECOPTERS SAVE 11 FROM ERIE ICE FLOES' was the big black headline stretched across the front page of the Detroit Free Press January 31, 1964. The story tucked underneath that big headline detailed how 11 anglers were rescued by Navy Helicopters after a part of the ice on Lake Erie broke loose.
One of those pilots was a 21 year veteran flier, Commander Phillip Telford Bankston. Bankston is a former Bastrop native and his mother, Rose Inez Harris Bankston (Mrs. Ted Bankston) still lives here ,,,,, in fact it was she who had the copy of the newspaper rescue. Bankston is attached to Grosse Ille Navy Air Station near Detroit. He and Lt. Commander Daniel G. Page were responsible for plucking the 11 fishermen from the ice. Bankston was not particularly impressed with the difficulty of saving the 11 men. "We do that sort of thing all the time," he wrote his mother, "But they made a big fuss over it this time." longer article
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Could not find an obit in Florida newspapers - only a notice of his cremation in the Orlando Sentinel, Monday, July 7, 2008. page A10
Morehouse Enterprise (Bastrop, Louisiana) 20 April 1945
PHILLIP BANKSTON'S PLANE DAMAGES A JAP CRUISER
Ensign Phillip T. Bankston, of Bastrop, Louisiana, has returned to duty after a 38 day furlough following a tour of duty in the Pacific, where he served as pilot of an Avenger Torpedo Bomber in Composite Squadron 21, which was based on one of the Navy's hard-hitting little escort carriers. He inflicted severe damage on a Japanese cruiser in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, going in on a solo strafing and bombing attack. He shot up a Japanese twin-motored bomber on Leyte, and inflicted heavy damage on Japanese airfields, hangers, supply dumps and barracks.
Ensign Bankston, who completed 70 combat missions, saw action at Palau, Mindoro, Leyte Luzon and the bitterly contested Second Battle of the Philippine Sea.
The son of Mr. & Mrs. Telford A. Bankston, the flier is 21 years old. He attended Bastrop High School and received his flight training at the Naval Air Station at Corpus Christi, Texas and Miami, Florida.
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Morehouse Enterprise (Bastrop, Louisiana) 24 June 1945
PHILLIP BANKSTON GETS AIR MEDAL FOR WORK IN PACIFIC
Ensign Phillip Telford Bankston, U. S. N. R., 21, of Bastrop, Louisiana, was recently presented with the Air Medal for "distinguishing himself by meritorious acts in aerial flight as pilot of a plane based on a carrier and assigned to the mission of attacking units of Japanese forces in the Southwest Pacific area."
The presentation was made by Commodore Gordon Rowe of the United States Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, Rhode Island. The text of the citation follows:
"Ensign Bankston piloted his plane skillfully through intense antiaircraft fire and landed his salvo alongside the bow of the enemy vessel. The ship was thrown off its course by the explosion and was losing way rapidly when he left the scene of action. His effective assault laid the ship open to later attacks by our forces. His courage and skill have distinguished him among those performing duties of the same character." At present, Ensign Bankston is serving with a carrier squadron.
Ensign Bankston is the son of Mr. & Mrs. T. A. Bankston of Bastrop, Louisiana. Before entering the Navy, Ensign Bankston graduated from Bastop High School as salutatorian of the class of 1942. He was a member of Mu Sigma Honor Society. Ensign Bankston entered the Navy August 2, 1942, attended the preflight school at Athens, Georgia and was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy ???
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Morehouse Enterpise (Bastrop, Louisiana) 3 January 1946
LT. PHILLIP BANKSTON (j.g.) has been discharged from the armed services and is home in Bastrop. He brought with him his bride, the former Jerry Cavaretta of Portsmouth New Hampshire, who was a lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps. Jerry, like wise has been discharged. Phillilp retains his commission as a reserve officer, however.
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Bastrop Daily Enterprise (Bastrop, Louisiana) Monday - 27 January 1964 Front Page
LOCAL MAN SAVES GROUP OF FISHERMAN ON FLOES
'HELECOPTERS SAVE 11 FROM ERIE ICE FLOES' was the big black headline stretched across the front page of the Detroit Free Press January 31, 1964. The story tucked underneath that big headline detailed how 11 anglers were rescued by Navy Helicopters after a part of the ice on Lake Erie broke loose.
One of those pilots was a 21 year veteran flier, Commander Phillip Telford Bankston. Bankston is a former Bastrop native and his mother, Rose Inez Harris Bankston (Mrs. Ted Bankston) still lives here ,,,,, in fact it was she who had the copy of the newspaper rescue. Bankston is attached to Grosse Ille Navy Air Station near Detroit. He and Lt. Commander Daniel G. Page were responsible for plucking the 11 fishermen from the ice. Bankston was not particularly impressed with the difficulty of saving the 11 men. "We do that sort of thing all the time," he wrote his mother, "But they made a big fuss over it this time." longer article
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Could not find an obit in Florida newspapers - only a notice of his cremation in the Orlando Sentinel, Monday, July 7, 2008. page A10
PHILLIP BANKSTON'S PLANE DAMAGES A JAP CRUISER
Ensign Phillip T. Bankston, of Bastrop, Louisiana, has returned to duty after a 38 day furlough following a tour of duty in the Pacific, where he served as pilot of an Avenger Torpedo Bomber in Composite Squadron 21, which was based on one of the Navy's hard-hitting little escort carriers. He inflicted severe damage on a Japanese cruiser in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, going in on a solo strafing and bombing attack. He shot up a Japanese twin-motored bomber on Leyte, and inflicted heavy damage on Japanese airfields, hangers, supply dumps and barracks.
Ensign Bankston, who completed 70 combat missions, saw action at Palau, Mindoro, Leyte Luzon and the bitterly contested Second Battle of the Philippine Sea.
The son of Mr. & Mrs. Telford A. Bankston, the flier is 21 years old. He attended Bastrop High School and received his flight training at the Naval Air Station at Corpus Christi, Texas and Miami, Florida.
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Morehouse Enterprise (Bastrop, Louisiana) 24 June 1945
PHILLIP BANKSTON GETS AIR MEDAL FOR WORK IN PACIFIC
Ensign Phillip Telford Bankston, U. S. N. R., 21, of Bastrop, Louisiana, was recently presented with the Air Medal for "distinguishing himself by meritorious acts in aerial flight as pilot of a plane based on a carrier and assigned to the mission of attacking units of Japanese forces in the Southwest Pacific area."
The presentation was made by Commodore Gordon Rowe of the United States Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, Rhode Island. The text of the citation follows:
"Ensign Bankston piloted his plane skillfully through intense antiaircraft fire and landed his salvo alongside the bow of the enemy vessel. The ship was thrown off its course by the explosion and was losing way rapidly when he left the scene of action. His effective assault laid the ship open to later attacks by our forces. His courage and skill have distinguished him among those performing duties of the same character." At present, Ensign Bankston is serving with a carrier squadron.
Ensign Bankston is the son of Mr. & Mrs. T. A. Bankston of Bastrop, Louisiana. Before entering the Navy, Ensign Bankston graduated from Bastop High School as salutatorian of the class of 1942. He was a member of Mu Sigma Honor Society. Ensign Bankston entered the Navy August 2, 1942, attended the preflight school at Athens, Georgia and was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy ???
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Morehouse Enterpise (Bastrop, Louisiana) 3 January 1946
LT. PHILLIP BANKSTON (j.g.) has been discharged from the armed services and is home in Bastrop. He brought with him his bride, the former Jerry Cavaretta of Portsmouth New Hampshire, who was a lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps. Jerry, like wise has been discharged. Phillilp retains his commission as a reserve officer, however.
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Bastrop Daily Enterprise (Bastrop, Louisiana) Monday - 27 January 1964 Front Page
LOCAL MAN SAVES GROUP OF FISHERMAN ON FLOES
'HELECOPTERS SAVE 11 FROM ERIE ICE FLOES' was the big black headline stretched across the front page of the Detroit Free Press January 31, 1964. The story tucked underneath that big headline detailed how 11 anglers were rescued by Navy Helicopters after a part of the ice on Lake Erie broke loose.
One of those pilots was a 21 year veteran flier, Commander Phillip Telford Bankston. Bankston is a former Bastrop native and his mother, Rose Inez Harris Bankston (Mrs. Ted Bankston) still lives here ,,,,, in fact it was she who had the copy of the newspaper rescue. Bankston is attached to Grosse Ille Navy Air Station near Detroit. He and Lt. Commander Daniel G. Page were responsible for plucking the 11 fishermen from the ice. Bankston was not particularly impressed with the difficulty of saving the 11 men. "We do that sort of thing all the time," he wrote his mother, "But they made a big fuss over it this time." longer article
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Could not find an obit in Florida newspapers - only a notice of his cremation in the Orlando Sentinel, Monday, July 7, 2008. page A10
Inscription
PHILLIP T. / BANKSTON / CAPT USN / 1924 2008 / HIS WIFE / OLYMPIA / 1922 2012
