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You are here: Home | American Planes Lost on Yap | 21 March 1945
The following plane was lost on 21 March 1945 on a mission to Yap Island. I would greatly appreciate anyone's help to locate additional information regarding the information listed below.Submit additional information, updates, newpaper articles, pictures, and supporting documents to: pat@missingaircrew.com
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| 21 March 1945 |
F6F-5
Hellcat |
VF-12 from Marine Air Base, Ulithi due to damaged USS Randolph |
- ENS. DELBERT L MARTIN, 364035
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 Action Report
VF-12 World War II War Diary
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Pictures of Delbert LaRue Martin:
The following pictures were supplied by the family of Delbert LaRue Martin:
Description:
HIT GRD STRAFING;POSS AA HIT
United States Naval Reserve
Entered the Service from: Indiana
Died: 22-Mar-46
Missing in Action or Buried at Sea
Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery
Manila, Philippines
Awards: Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal
Ens. Delbert LaRue Martin
USNR
Parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. Frank Martin from Fountaintown, IN
Delbert apparently did not marry. He had one sister Scytha Martin Brown who died in 1993 and a brother Robert L Martin who died in 2003.
Delbert's maternal first cousin is Maurice Eugene Boring. I talked to Maurice and he said Delbert was a little guy, light build but a ball of fire. He stopped by to say goodbye before leaving for the service. His parents thought he was lost at sea and his dad walked the roads in grief for years.
VF-12 and VB-12 flew this mission from the Marine Air Base in Ulithi due to their carrier being damaged by a Japanese attack in the Ulithi harbor. They flew with a support package of Marine planes (F6F-5, TBM-3 and PBY-5A) from Casu-51 and VPB-23. Ens. Martin went into a dive with the other F6F-5 from VF-12 but never pulled out. It was not known whether he had been hit by AA, blacked out, or a structural failure caused the plane to crash near the Pelak harbor entrance on Gagil-Tomil, Yap.
VF-12 History
On 11 March 1945, while
anchored at Ulithi Atoll, a
Yokosuka P1Y Frances
kamikaze hit the
Randolph on the
starboard side aft just
below the flight deck,
killing 25 men and
wounding 106. She was
repaired at Ulithi Atoll
before joining Task Group
58.2 enroute to Okinawa
on 13 March 1945. USS
Randolph (CV-15)
alongside repair ship Uss
Jason (ARH-1) at Ulithi
Atoll, Caroline Islands, 13
March 1945, showing
damage to her after flight
deck resulting from a kamikaze hit on 11
March.
VF-12 World War II War Diary
Campaign to Bring Ens. Delbert LaRue Martin Home. He was from Fountaintown, Indiana.May 25, 2015
This memorial day (2015) I have decided to start a campaign to bring Delbert Martin home. The Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency mission is to "Provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families and the nation." Therefore, I would like to ask anyone who has any extra time to start a letter/email writing campaign to the DOD, your Senators and Congressmen, the political leaders in Indiana (Delbert's home state) and any media outlet (newspapers, TV, etc. especially the ones located in Indiana). Please use the information below within your emails and letters:
Delbert was shot down over Yap Island on March 21, 1945, http://www.missingaircrew.com/yap/mac/21march1945.asp. He was listed as missing in action (MIA). While doing research in the National Archives (NARA) I located a document dated January 17, 1946 that clearly shows the American Military Headquarters with Task Unit 94.3.3. had identified Delbert's grave on Yap Island. His name was even painted on the cross over the grave site.
http://www.missingaircrew.com/pdf/17Jan1946-Martin-ID.pdf
http://www.missingaircrew.com/pdf/17jan46-Yap-Search.pdf
A document dated November 30, 1945 provides information about the first American's to find Delbert's crash site and grave on November 27, 1945.
http://www.missingaircrew.com/pdf/30nov45-Yap-Search.pdf
The following April 8, 1947 document once again shows the correct grave site (#4) but someone has now listed his name as B.L. Martin not D.L. Martin. They also have the wrong date listed for his loss. Between January 1946 and April 1947 the US military lost the identification of Delbert, his unit (VF-12) and date of his loss.
http://www.missingaircrew.com/pdf/yapburials-8April1947.pdf
The following X-Grave file from August 30, 1949 now lists his remains as UNKNOWN and UNIDENTIFIABLE: http://www.missingaircrew.com/pdf/X-31-Grave-YAP.pdf
Although Delbert's grave was identified shortly after the war ended, his remains were essentially misplaced by the US Military and he was never returned home to his family. Delbert's family had no idea in their lifetime that Delbert was actually identified and recovered on Yap, reburied for a few years at the Marine Cemetery on Guam and then sent to a mausoleum at the American Military cemetery in Manila, Philippines under the unidentified/unknown grave marked X-31.
Ens. Delbert LaRue Martin (364035) parents were Mr. and Mrs. J. Frank Martin from Fountaintown, Indiana. Delbert did not marry. He had one sister Scytha Martin Brown who died in 1993 and a brother Robert L Martin who died in 2003. Delbert's maternal first cousin is Maurice Eugene Boring. Maurice said Delbert was a little guy, light build but a ball of fire. He stopped by to say goodbye to Maurice before leaving for the service. His parents thought he was lost at sea and his dad walked the county roads in grief for years.
Delbert was a member of the US Navy VF-12 Squadron from the from USS Randolph. He was shot down while flying from the Marine Air Base, Ulithi due to kamikaze damaged to the USS Randolph on March 11, 1945.
VF-12 and VB-12 flew this mission from the Marine Air Base in Ulithi due to their carrier being damaged by a Japanese attack in the Ulithi harbor. They flew with a support package of Marine planes (F6F-5, TBM-3 and PBY-5A) from Casu-51 and VPB-23. Ens. Martin went into a dive with the other F6F-5 from VF-12 but never pulled out. It was not known whether he had been hit by AA, blacked out, or a structural failure caused the plane to crash near the Pelak harbor entrance on Gagil-Tomil, Yap.
Help me to bring Ens. Delbert LaRue Martin home or in the very least let's identify his grave so he does not remain missing. This would be the "… fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel".
Respectfully,
-Pat
Patrick T. Ranfranz
Missing Air Crew Project Founder, www.missingaircrew.com
1473 21 1/2 Street, Cameron, WI 54822
Home: 715-458-0020
Cell: 612-282-5624
Email: pat@missingaircrew.com
The Missing Air Crew Project Facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/groups/missingaircrewproject/
The Missing Air Crew Project YouTube Channel:
The Missing Air Crew Project and its web site, www.missingaircrew.com is dedicated to the mission to research and locate the unaccounted for men and planes who were lost near Yap Island during WWII. We should find our fallen men and bring them home, no matter where they fell, or how long ago they have been lost.
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