Byron Hilbish Jr. was a pilot employed by
Pan American Airways.
He was a second officer aboard a PB2Y-3R
Coronado transport plane under contract by
the Naval Air Transport Service during World
War II.
He was killed when the giant seaplane crashed
on take-off at Funafuti Atoll, Tuvalu, in the
Gilbert Islands of the Southwest Pacific, when
it struck a mast on a coast guard ship in the
harbor. (At least) nineteen of the reportedly
twenty-two personnel aboard perished.
Naval personnel (14) killed on this flight:
Barton, William A ~ LCDR, TX
Beggs, Lloyd S ~ LCDR, WA
Bruner, Harold T ~ LTJG, PA
Cecil, Charles P ~ RADM, KY
Doyle, James Q ~ Lt, MA
Eley, Francis L ~ CDR, CA
Gentry, James N ~ LTJG, Pilot, GA
Gideon, Delbert L ~ LTJG, OK
Gifford, Walter S, Jr ~ Lt, NY
Hamilton, Edward A ~ AMM2, IL
Lund, Loyd ~ AMM1c, NJ
Newcomb, Leland L ~ LTJG, WI
Sickel, Horatio G, IV ~ Capt, MD
Roberts, Jack D ~ Lt, CA
~
Army personnel (3) killed on this flight:
Beaver, Chester M ~ LTC, SD
Brown, Robert S ~ LTC, OH
Doughty, Walter C ~ LTC, TX
~
Civilian crew (5) killed on this flight:
Bell, Walter H ~ Radioman, CA
Hilbish, Byron W ~ Second Officer, CA
Morgan, Howard W ~ First Officer, AR
Obri, Norman F ~ Third Officer, CA
Palman, Edward F ~ Second Engineer, ME
~
Bio & Listing by:
Byron Hilbish Jr. was a pilot employed by
Pan American Airways.
He was a second officer aboard a PB2Y-3R
Coronado transport plane under contract by
the Naval Air Transport Service during World
War II.
He was killed when the giant seaplane crashed
on take-off at Funafuti Atoll, Tuvalu, in the
Gilbert Islands of the Southwest Pacific, when
it struck a mast on a coast guard ship in the
harbor. (At least) nineteen of the reportedly
twenty-two personnel aboard perished.
Naval personnel (14) killed on this flight:
Barton, William A ~ LCDR, TX
Beggs, Lloyd S ~ LCDR, WA
Bruner, Harold T ~ LTJG, PA
Cecil, Charles P ~ RADM, KY
Doyle, James Q ~ Lt, MA
Eley, Francis L ~ CDR, CA
Gentry, James N ~ LTJG, Pilot, GA
Gideon, Delbert L ~ LTJG, OK
Gifford, Walter S, Jr ~ Lt, NY
Hamilton, Edward A ~ AMM2, IL
Lund, Loyd ~ AMM1c, NJ
Newcomb, Leland L ~ LTJG, WI
Sickel, Horatio G, IV ~ Capt, MD
Roberts, Jack D ~ Lt, CA
~
Army personnel (3) killed on this flight:
Beaver, Chester M ~ LTC, SD
Brown, Robert S ~ LTC, OH
Doughty, Walter C ~ LTC, TX
~
Civilian crew (5) killed on this flight:
Bell, Walter H ~ Radioman, CA
Hilbish, Byron W ~ Second Officer, CA
Morgan, Howard W ~ First Officer, AR
Obri, Norman F ~ Third Officer, CA
Palman, Edward F ~ Second Engineer, ME
~
Bio & Listing by:
Inscription
HILBISH, BYRON W JR
DATE OF BIRTH: 03/20/1915
DATE OF DEATH: 07/31/1944
BURIED AT: SECTION Q SITE 17
NATIONAL MEMORIAL CEMETERY OF THE PACIFIC
2177 PUOWAINA DRIVE HONOLULU, HI 96813
(808) 532-3720
CIVILIAN OF HILBISH, BYRON W JR
CIVILIAN CIVILIAN WAKE ISLAND NAS
Gravesite Details
Civilian from California.
Family Members
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Records on Ancestry
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1930 United States Federal Census
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U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947
-
Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S., National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl), 1941-2011
-
U.S., World War II and Korean Conflict Veterans Interred Overseas
-
U.S., National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-1962
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