A mission to remember
As we soon welcome a threeday weekend full of barbecues, family gatherings, pool parties, and getaways, let us not forget the purpose of this respite from the daily routine: Remembrance. Memorial Day is a reminder to everyone of the cost of freedom. A reminder of the service and sacrifice of countless heroes who gave their last full measure of devotion to a grateful nation. A reminder of the agony felt by Gold Star Families on the loss of their loved ones. A reminder of the debt we owe for our own safety and security. A reminder to pause in recompense and commemorate the names of those that did not return home.
If a name does not come to mind as you prepare to reflect, then remember Aviation Ordnanceman Ernest Kitchen this Memorial Day. Ernest LaVerne Kitchen was born in Bluffton in 1924 but settled in Decatur in 1935 with his parents, James and Ilo (Platt), his older brother, James “Jimmy” Jr., and an older sister, Estella. James Sr. worked as an electronic appliance salesman and Ilo was a homemaker and the family of five lived together in a modest three-bedroom home on McBarnes Street.
The Kitchens were an industrious family trying to make it through the Great Depression. As young men, the boys kept busy with Ernest working as a newspaper delivery boy for the local Decatur Daily Democrat and Jimmy at the Douglas Dry Good Store. While at Decatur High School, Ernest or “LaVerne” (as he was affectionately referred to by close family and friends) was quite popular and very active. Ernest played baseball, basketball, and football in addition to being in the glee club and commercial club. It was, however, as a member of the Howling Hosts when he achieved the greatest notoriety. The “Howlers” held
season tickets, organized dances, and cheered on the DHS Yellow Jackets to victory! As a senior, LaVerne was elected as the male yell leader where he (according to the 1942 Ravelings Yearbook) “did an excellent job and led our teams on to many decisive victories.”
After graduation and short stints at the Mutschler Packing Co. and at the Decatur General Electric plant, Ernest followed in the footsteps of his older brother and enlisted in the Naval Reserves. Upon completion of Navy Basic Training at Great Lakes Naval Training Station, Ernest was sent to Naval Air Station Jacksonville to train as an Aviation Ordnanceman (AOM). AOM Kitchen was responsible for inspecting and maintaining all types of munitions carried on Navy aircraft and, at times, served as an aerial gunner. This tense training, however, did not prevent Ernest from having a bit of fun and according to his sister, “Ernest won several jitterbug dance prizes in his spare time in Jacksonville”. Ernest’s brother, James, would attain the rank of Aviation Radioman 1st Class (ARM1) and saw combat in the Pacific as part of Night Torpedo Squadron 90 as a tail gunner/ radioman on a Grumman Avenger aboard the USS Enterprise.
By his 21st birthday in April 1945, AOM Second Class Kitchen had seen plenty of combat as his squadron (VPB-106) island-hopped through the Pacific theatre of war in support of numerous amphibious campaigns, including the New Guinea Campaign, Battle of Tinian, Operation Hailstone, and eventually provided support for the infamous Battle of Iwo Jima and General MacArthur’s Philippine Campaign. In the early morning of June 1, 1945, VPB-106 Crew III was on deck for an escort mission over Singapore. Carrying a special K-17 camera and commanded by Lt. Fred Heyler, a B-24 Liberator of VPB-111 would photograph Japanese vessels in Singapore Harbor. In the event of enemy fighter presence, Heyler’s B-24 was escorted by Kitchen’s VPB-106 Privateer piloted by Lt. Commander “Pappy” Mears. As the twoplane formation crossed the Singapore coast, it was barraged by enemy anti-aircraft fire from the Japanese Navy Yard and moored Japanese Cruisers below. In addition, several Japanese Ki-43 Oscar fighters began to intercept the two American aircraft. Gunners from the Privateer and Liberator opened fire and attempted to repel the enemy Oscars in an air battle that would last just over an hour. In one attack run, Kitchen’s Privateer was hit in the No. 3 engine causing it to catch fire and the aircraft to lose altitude. Heyler’s Liberator continued to escort the damaged Privateer as it slowly lost altitude.
According to published reports from Heyler’s Liberator crew, Commander Mears radioed Commander Heyler stating, “I’m sorry but I am going to have to ditch. Thank you for the way you stuck with me.” At the same moment, the No. 4 engine cut out leading to a faster descent and the right wing breaking off. The aircraft then flipped upside down and crashed into the Singapore Strait at 10:10 a.m. The crash site was approximately 8 miles south of the southwest tip of Singapore Island and, according to witnesses, there was no fire or explosion. Debris was seen on the surface of the sea.
The Privateer crew was initially declared Missing in Action (MIA) and ultimately declared dead on June 2, 1946. Photographs taken from the K-17 camera on Heyler’s Liberator captured the final moments of VPB-106 Crew III as well as the Japanese Oscar that potentially dealt the fatal blow to Kitchen’s Privateer.
Despite the eyewitness accounts and written reports documenting specific locations, a Navy Special Board of Review concluded in October 1947 that “no further attempts towards recovery of subject decedents be made and their remains be “Declared NonRecoverable.”
In the past few decades, however, a renewed effort led by surviving family members of Seaman First Class Beauran Roy O’Kane (Crew III gunner) has attempted to convince the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) to prioritize the search and ultimate recovery of the crew. The family has conducted extensive research using military documents, eye-witness testimony, and scientific data to pinpoint the approximate location down to a reasonable search area. Their efforts have also led to the identification of the surviving families of nearly all crew members so that they may update them on their progress. According to Jeff O’Kane (great nephew of crewman Beauran O’Kane), “For 78 years and 4 generations, my family has been seeking closure for our missing sailor. To be able to restore the honor and dignity of these men and return them to their families, means more to me than I have words to express.”
Unfortunately, for the past several decades, Indonesia (which has territorial control over the Singapore Strait) has resisted efforts by DPAA to recover American remains within their territorial borders. In January 2023, however, a Memorandum of Agreement between the United States and Indonesia was signed that will allow for the first DPAA research and exploration missions in June 2023. These missions, though, are limited to terrestrial sites in the Morotai region. The crash site of VPB-106 is located in the water in the Raiu Islands region.
An extensive effort to locate and repatriate the crew is also being conducted by a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing home Missing In Action (MIA). Several crew member families have submitted DNA to the DPAA to aid in the identification of remains if and when any are found. After seventy-eight years, the O’Kane family is as close as ever to achieving their goal of repatriating VPB-106 Crew III.
AOM Second Class, Ernest Kitchen, and the twelve-man crew of VPB106 are memorialized on the Wall of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, in the Philippines.
For his service and sacrifice, Kitchen received the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, Air Medal (with four gold stars), Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, American Campaign Medal, and WWII Victory Medal.
Honor. Remember.