Operation: Reconnaissance, Vitiaz Straits

Date: 20th January 1943 (Wednesday)

Unit No: 321st Bombardment Squadron (H), 90th Bombardment Group (H), 5th Air Force

Type: B-24D

Serial: 41-24101

Code: Unknown

Base: 5-Mile Drome, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Location: About 100 miles NW of Wewak, Papua New Guinea

Pilot: 1st Lt. James Austin McMurria O-372644 AAF Age 25. PoW * (1)

Co-Pilot: 2nd Lt. Robert René Martindale O-725625 AAF Age 23. PoW No: 3449 ** (2)

Bombardier: 2nd Lt. Thomas Frederick ‘Tom’ Doyle O-726885 AAF Age 29. PoW */Murdered/MiA

Navigator: 2nd Lt. Alston F. Sugden O-791006 AAF Age 22. PoW */Murdered/MiA

Engineer: T/Sgt. Leslie Herman Burnette 34179416 AAF Age 23. PoW *** (3)

Radio Operator: S/Sgt. Fred Stephen Engel 16036143 AAF Age 22. PoW *** (4)

Gunner: Sgt. Raymond James Farnell Jr. 19061774 AAF Age 23. PoW */Murdered/MiA

Gunner: Pfc. Walter Ray Erskine 39169737 AAF Age 23. MiA

Waist Gunner: Pfc. Patsy Francis Grandolfo 35301880 AAF Age 27. MiA

Tail Gunner: S/Sgt. Frank Osborn Wynne, Jr. 14016975 AAF Age 24. PoW *** (5)

* Tunnel Hill PoW Camp, Rabaul, New Britain

** Omori Headquarters Camp #1 (Ofuna) Tokyo, Japan

*** PoW Camp #20D Sumidagawa, Toyko, Japan

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the morning of the 20th January 1943 B-24D 41-24101 and its crew of ten (10) took-off, on the second attempt, from 5-Mile Drome on a Reconnaissance mission of the Vitiaz Straits and the shipping lanes of the Bismarck Sea.

5-Mile Drome was a name used by the Americans depicting its distance from Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea but was actually named Wards Airfield in honour of Lt Col. Kennth Harry Ward NX127633 of the AIF 53 Battalion, Australian Infantry, who was involved in its construction but was KiA on the 27th August 1942.

As they were approaching Wewak across the island they saw a harbour with four (4) or five (5) transports several destroyers and various other ships, none of which were there the day before. Letting down towards Wewak they saw twenty-seven (22) Zeros on the Wewak grass strip which had been empty the previous day. Seven (7) of the Zeros were taking off as they approached.

1st Lt. McMurria decided to salvo their bombs in the direction of four (4) ships entering the harbour and head for cloud cover they had spotted far out to sea. Before they could reach the cover the Zeros that had taken off from Wewak attacked them. During a twenty (20) minute combat engagement they were hit by at least three (3) 20mm cannon shells and numerous smaller calibre bullets which damaged #3 engine which had to be feathered and also severed and damaged the aircraft controls.

The damaged controls made it increasing difficult to control the aircraft and at around 09:30 hrs they were forced to crash-land in the sea about 100 miles NW of Wewak. Upon contact with the sea the aircraft broke in two and the front section including the wings and engines soon sank. Eight (8) of the crew cleared the aircraft before the front and rear parts sank but there was no trace of Pfc. Grandolfo and Pfc. Erskine.

Pfc. Grandolfo was last seen by S/Sgt. Wynne as he vacated his rear gunner position, holding on to a side waist gun mount and appeared very frightened after being told to prepare for the crash. Pfc. Erskine was last seen in the nose of the aircraft by 2nd Lt. Doyle and was uninjured but when told to prepare for the crash landing he did not report in nor did he vacate the nose.

Only one (1) of the two (2) four (4) man life rafts deployed so the four (4) more seriously injured crew clambered aboard and the other four (4) held on to the ropes on the outside of the raft. The eight (8) of them spent two days at the mercy of the sea and currents. 2nd Lt. Doyle was the most severely injured, being hit in the shoulder by fragments from an exploding shell and a large gash in the back his right thigh in the crash landing The remainder of the crew suffered from varying degrees of superficial cuts and bruises in the engagement and crash-landing. During the night of the second day, they came ashore on the NE shore of an island, which they found was named Wokeo (Roissy Is), which is also known as Vokeo and is some 36 miles NE of Wewak.

They befriended the local natives of the island and remained with them for about five (5) weeks during which time 2nd Lt. Doyle’s injuries were treated by a native doctor. To the SE of the island they could just make out on a clear day from a high vantage point another island which the natives identified as Kairiru Island, which was occupied by the Japanese.

When 2nd Lt. Doyle’s injuries had healed sufficiently well for them to travel they decided to make for the coast of New Guinea with the aim of trekking over the mountains to Port Moresby. They set off in a large canoe, which the natives had constructed, and for the next three (3) weeks hopped eastwards to the Islands of Keul (Deblois Is), Wiei (Jacquinot Is), Blupblup (Garnet Is) and Katovar (Blosseville Is) until on or about the 25th February they reached the New Guinea shore near the Septik River, which is some 64 miles ESE from Wewak. They had planned to land on the east side of the river delta but the currents pushed them to the west of the delta.

In the early morning of the 13th March they were surrounded and captured by a Japanese patrol. They were then transported by boat to Wewak where they were interrogated. On or about the 19th March they were transported by boat to Kairiru Island, which is some 15 miles NNW of Wewak, where they remained until about the 11th May 1943 and then transferred to the Japanese 6th Field Kempeitai Headquarters (HQ) at Rabaul arriving there on or about the 16th May 1943.

2nd Lt. Martindale, T/Sgt. Burnette, S/Sgt. Engel and S/Sgt. Wynne were four (4) of the nine (9) PoWs who were selected for transferred to Japan on the 13th November 1943. The others were:

Maj. Williston M. Cox O-426370 USAAF;
2nd Lt. Jack K. Wisener O-662327 USAAF;
ENS. William T. Welles O-156407 USN;
Cpl. Joel W. Griffin 18040364;
Cpl. Cephas L. Kelly 421693 USMC.

After an extended voyage in an old steamer they arrived in the port of Moji in Japan on the 7th December 1943.

The 6th Field Kempeitai HQ was destroyed in a bombing raid on the 2nd March 1944. As a result on the same day at about 15:00 hours approximately fifty-three (53) PoWs were transferred to another camp known as the Tunnel Hill Cave PoW Camp in a mountain pass named Tanoura on Tunnel Hill road, which was about 2½ miles from Rabaul City and between Rabaul and Pilapila.

After the Japanese were defeated on New Britain it was found that 1st Lt. McMurria was one of only eight (9) surviving Allied PoWs at the Tunnel Hill PoW camp whereas it was expected to find a great many more. An investigation was instigated by the 18th Australian War Graves Unit to determine the fate of the PoWs that were thought to have been held on New Britain.

The investigation found that 2nd Lt. Doyle, 2nd Lt. Sugden and Sgt. Farnell were amongst the approximately fifty-three (53) PoWs who were moved from Rabaul to the Tanoura Mountain pass by truck. When 1st Lt. McMurria last saw 2nd Lt. Doyle he was in good health, 2nd Lt. Sugden was in fair health and S/Sgt. Farnell was suffering from BeriBeri.

It was claimed by the Japanese that 2nd Lt. Doyle, 2nd Lt. Sugden and S/Sgt. Farnell were amongst thirty-one (31) PoWs who were killed in an Allied air-raid on the 4th/5th March 1944. However, after interrogating Japanese officers and soldiers stationed at Rabaul during the war the investigation came to the conclusion that this claim was not credible and that the PoWs had been executed.

An overview of the investigation into the circumstances of the deaths and those deemed to be responsible for the executions and atrocities is summarised in the report entitled “Talili Bay Massacre, New Britain”.(Insert Link when complete)

(1) 1st Lt. McMurria was one of only eight (8) PoWs who survived and released from the Tunnel Hill PoW camp on the 7th September 1945 to Australian forces after the Japanese surrender:

1st Lt. Jose L. Holguin O-728388 USAAF;
2nd Lt. Alphonse A. Quinones O-748876 USAAF;
S/Sgt. Escoe E. Palmer 34269270 USAAF;
Lt(Jg). Joseph G. Nason 117057 USNR;
AR2c. John B. Kepchia 65228343 USNR;
WO. Ronald C. Warren 425959 RNZAF;
Capt. John J. Murphy NGX310 AIF.

He was one (1) of a party of twenty-eight (28) Service personnel that boarded HMAS Vendetta at Rabaul and brought to Jacquinot Bay on the south coast of New Britain. They were then taken by RNZAF Air-Sea Rescue boat to the Australian Army 2/8th General Hospital at Jacquinot Bay for assessment and treatment.

After approximately three (3) weeks at Jacquinot Bay and Finschafen Hospital, he was turned over to the American authorities at Leyte and left for the United States by sea on the 26th September 1945.

Justin Austin McMurria was born on the 13th September 1917 in Columbus, Georgia to parents john Henry and Mary Brooks McMurria. He graduated from Columbus High School in 1933 and the University of Georgia in 1937 with a BBA Degree. After a short career in the family automobile business and in banking, he was accepted as an Aviation Cadet in the Army Air Corps in 1941. He graduated from flight training at Randolph Field in San Antonio, Texas as a pilot in February 1942. Lieutenant McMurria checked out in the new B-24 Liberator and joined the 321st Squadron, 90th Bomb Group, 5th Air Force for combat service in the Southwest Pacific Theatre of Operations.

His diary and reflections are chronicled in his book “Fight For Survival” An American Bomber Pilot’s 1000 days as a PoW of the Japanese – Captain James Austin McMurria – ISBN: 1-885354-24-X

After the war, he married Mary Frances Smith of Greenville, South Carolina. During there 57 year Marriage, they lived in Columbus, GA and Greenville, SC, and had four children, Brooks, Harriet, Austin and Anne. Seven grandchildren followed. James died on the 5th August 2003 at the age of 86.

Above: Courtesy of The Greenville News, dated 7th August 2003

(2) Robert René Martindale was born on the 28th October 1919 at Ft. Brown in Brownsville, Texas. He entered military service as an Aviation Cadet in May 1941, and saw combat in the South Pacific with 90th Bomb Group as a co-pilot of a B-24.

Above: Courtesy of The Cleveland Press, dated 10th February 1943

His book “The 13th Mission” Prisoner of the Notorious Omari Prison in Tokyo - Robert R. Martindale – ISBN: 1-57168-252-X, describes his story from serving in the USAAF, the shooting down of B-24D 41-24101, the aftermath, subsequent evasion and capture and his time as a PoW at Rabaul and in Japan

Above: Courtesy of The Brownsville Herald, dated 16th May 2010

(3) After T/Sgt. Burnette arrived at the Omori Headquarters Camp #1 (Ofuna) he was assigned to PoW Work Camp #20D Sumidagawa in Toyko which was evacuated on the 30th August 1945.

Above: Courtesy of the Rocky Mount Telegram, dated 10th May 1943. His serving brothers all survived the war.

Leslie Herman Burnette was born on the 20th December 1919 in Franklin County, North Carolina. Leslie died on the 20th February 2005 in Rocky Mount, Nash County, North Carolina, USA.

Above: Courtesy of the Rocky Mount Telegram, dated 22nd February 2005

(4) After S/Sgt. Engel arrived at the Omori Headquarters Camp #1 (Ofuna) he was assigned to PoW Work Camp #20D Sumidagawa in Toyko which was evacuated on the 30th August 1945.

Fred Stephen Engel was born on the 27th August 1920 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. Fred died on the 25th September 2000 in Athens, Henderson county, Texas, USA.

Above: Courtesy of the Tyler Morning Telegraph, dated 27th September 2000

(5) After S/Sgt. Wynne, Jr. arrived at the Omori Headquarters Camp #1 (Ofuna) he was assigned to PoW Work Camp #20D Sumidagawa in Toyko which was evacuated on the 30th August 1945.

Frank Osborn Wynne, Jr. was born on the 2nd December 1918 in Merigold, Mississippi. Frank died on the 10th July 2003 in Jackson, Mississippi, USA.

Above: Courtesy of the Clarion Ledger, dated 10th July 2003

Burial Details:

Above: Group burial marker including 2nd Lt. Thomas F. Doyle, 2nd Lt. Alston F. Sugden, Sgt. Raymond J. Farnell Jr. (Courtesy of KcK - FindAGrave)

2nd Lt. Thomas Frederick Doyle. Air Medal (AM). Ashes repatriated and laid to rest on the 21st March 1950 in a group burial at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri, Plot 78, Grave 930 to 934. Born on the 2nd April 1913 in Kansas City, Missouri. Son of Frederick A. and Teresa B. Doyle of Kansas City, Missouri, USA.

2nd Lt. Alston F. Sugden. Air Medal (AM). Ashes repatriated and laid to rest on the 21st March 1950 in a group burial at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri, Plot 78, Grave 930 to 934. Born on the 19th October 1920 in Worcester, Massachusetts. Son of Fred and Lillian Mae (née Jones) Sugden of Warren Town, Rhode Island. Husband of Grace (née Johnson) Sugden of Warren Town, Rhode Island, USA.

Sgt. Raymond James Farnell Jr. Air Medal (AM). Ashes repatriated and laid to rest on the 21st March 1950 in a group burial at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri, Plot 78, Grave 930 to 934. Born on the 21st March 1920 in San Miguel, California. Son of Raymond J. and Clarissa F. (née Sweet) Farnell of San Miguel, California, USA.

Above: Pfc. Walter Ray Erskine, Manila American Cemetery, Tablets of the Missing (Courtesy of the ABMC)

Pfc. Walter Ray Erskine. Purple Heart (PH), Air Medal (AM). Manila American Cemetery, Tablets of the Missing (Date of Death 20th January 1943). Born on the 25th November 1919 in North Bend, Oregon. Son of Henry John and Martha Sarah (née Millard) Erskine of North Bend, Coos County, Oregan, USA.

Above: Pfc. Patsy Francis Grandolfo, Manila American Cemetery, Tablets of the Missing (Courtesy of the ABMC)

Pfc. Patsy Francis Grandolfo. Purple Heart (PH), Air Medal (AM). Manila American Cemetery, Tablets of the Missing (Date of Death 20th January 1943). Born on the 20th December 1915 in Campbell, Mahoning County, Ohio. Son of Frank and Carmela (née Zokle) Grandolfo of Campbell, Mahoning County, Ohio, USA.

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the crew and their relatives (Feb 2026). Addition of PoW transfer to Japan links (Apr 2026).

Other sources listed below:

References(s):

1. Investigation File: NAA: 336/1/1345 Part 6.

Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them. Franklin Delano Roosevelt