1st Lieutenant Chester A Gorham
Chester Arwin Gorham Jr was born on May 24th, 1923 in Owosso, Michigan to Chester Gorham Sr and Oda Friegel but the family home was in Mount Pleasant. Chester graduated from Owosso High School and was accepted into the University of Oklahoma beginning in fall 1940. Although his family deemed college important, and Chester had rushed Lambda Chi Alpha, his mind was elsewhere. The Second World War had broken out in Europe a year prior and the United States was apprehensive about joining the fight, but Chester wanted to serve regardless. He had heard about Americans traveling to Canada and joining their armed forces, albeit very controversial, and decided he would do the same.
Royal Canadian Air Force After completing his freshman year of college, Gorham took a trip up to Toronto, Canada and volunteered for the Royal Canadian Air Force on October 3rd, 1941. He expressly told the recruiters he wanted to be a pilot, and began basic training the same day at Manning Depot #1. It was here that he learned of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the US declaration of war, making his trip to Canada all the more conflicting. Gorham began thinking of ways to return and fight for his own country, but for now had to continue his contract. |
After passing his first test, he was sent to Number 6 Initial Training School on December 22nd, 1941 for an additional two months before beginning flight and ground training at #7 Elementary Flying Training School at the RCAF base in Windsor. Due to his desires of becoming a pilot, Gorham deliberately did not try during ground training, barely passing with a 59.1%, with his commander stating “He is a below average student. He requires push to do anything. Lacks effort.” During flight training, he flew the Fleet Finch aircraft for a total of 35 hours and 15 minutes solo, and 32 hours and 15 minutes with a copilot, passing with a 69%. His comments were better this time, but still showed his struggles with learning a new craft: “Good average student. He shows good airmanship. Eager to fly but has no outstanding faults. He needs more time on aerobatics and precautionary landings.”
Gorham still had plenty of training left at the 5th Service Flying Training School, but his status as an American, combined with many other volunteers wishing to return home, gave him the opportunity he needed. On May 19th, 1942, he was discharged from the RCAF with the rank of LAC and joined the US Navy through the Canadian-American Naval Selection Board for the trip back to the United States, and joined the Reserve Aviation Base in Atlanta, Georgia on May 28th.
To the Marines
On June 15th, Gorham was transferred to USNAS in Jacksonville, Florida where he was directly commissioned into the Marine Corps as a 2nd Lieutenant on October 31st due to his prior service and began further training with Air Operational Training Squadron 8 in Cherry Point. Interestingly, Gorham’s training included courses at the American Airlines and Pennsylvania Training Schools in Fort Worth, TX and Washington National Airport with heavier-than-air craft. By December, he had racked up ninety eight flight hours but was deemed rusty. “This pilot needs seasoning, recommend one year to two years as a co-pilot for more mature judgment and view point. Has ability, but needs aging.”
In January 1943, 2nd LT Gorham joined NAVC of his unit to continue flying and was appointed to 1st Lieutenant on June 8th, two months after marrying Ida Anderson whom he met while stationed at the base. His training continued with Aircraft Engineering Squadron 14, USMCAS in Quantico as an assistant flight officer, then as assistant chief flight officer in August where he began further solo flights, returning to Cherry Point in July.
On August 28th, Gorham, 2nd LT Harold Isbit, 2nd LT William Lipscomb, PFC Richard White, and Pvt Rosario Perricone boarded PBJ-1 #35002 at Pamlico Sound, NC and departed the station at 3:00 PM for a routine training flight. This was to be his 750th hour of flight time.
“At around 1445 several local thunderstorms in a rough line from ENE to WSW and moving Southeasterly were in this area, causing a light to heavy rain in the vicinity of Cherry Point Air Station, requiring local flights to land immediately or proceed to and land at outlying fields..."
“Lieutenant Gorham…was piloting the bomber and kept in radio communication with the air base until he reported they had ran into a storm over the Atlantic. The radio contact was suddenly broken after the storm was reported.”
"[Gorham’s] airplane was unreported, but no particular concern was attached thereto, due to… the possibility that he might be flying in a clear area awaiting the showers passing Cherry Point. When flights were secured later on, all planes were accounted for with the exception of #35002….Air Traffic Control and the Air Interceptor Command at Wilmington were notified that the plane was missing and were requested to aid in the attempt to locate this plane at any other airports in this area. Unsatisfactory weather conditions prevailed through the remaining hours of daylight, preventing any aerial search of this area from this station. Nothing but negative information was received through the night from the Air Interceptor Command at ATC.”
The weather prevented any search flight until the 29th, where his entire squadron did a sweep of the area, yielding no results. Further flights came up empty handed. Lieutenant Chester Gorham and his crew were officially declared deceased on September 3rd, 1943. He left behind his wife of four months and his family in Michigan.
Gorham still had plenty of training left at the 5th Service Flying Training School, but his status as an American, combined with many other volunteers wishing to return home, gave him the opportunity he needed. On May 19th, 1942, he was discharged from the RCAF with the rank of LAC and joined the US Navy through the Canadian-American Naval Selection Board for the trip back to the United States, and joined the Reserve Aviation Base in Atlanta, Georgia on May 28th.
To the Marines
On June 15th, Gorham was transferred to USNAS in Jacksonville, Florida where he was directly commissioned into the Marine Corps as a 2nd Lieutenant on October 31st due to his prior service and began further training with Air Operational Training Squadron 8 in Cherry Point. Interestingly, Gorham’s training included courses at the American Airlines and Pennsylvania Training Schools in Fort Worth, TX and Washington National Airport with heavier-than-air craft. By December, he had racked up ninety eight flight hours but was deemed rusty. “This pilot needs seasoning, recommend one year to two years as a co-pilot for more mature judgment and view point. Has ability, but needs aging.”
In January 1943, 2nd LT Gorham joined NAVC of his unit to continue flying and was appointed to 1st Lieutenant on June 8th, two months after marrying Ida Anderson whom he met while stationed at the base. His training continued with Aircraft Engineering Squadron 14, USMCAS in Quantico as an assistant flight officer, then as assistant chief flight officer in August where he began further solo flights, returning to Cherry Point in July.
On August 28th, Gorham, 2nd LT Harold Isbit, 2nd LT William Lipscomb, PFC Richard White, and Pvt Rosario Perricone boarded PBJ-1 #35002 at Pamlico Sound, NC and departed the station at 3:00 PM for a routine training flight. This was to be his 750th hour of flight time.
“At around 1445 several local thunderstorms in a rough line from ENE to WSW and moving Southeasterly were in this area, causing a light to heavy rain in the vicinity of Cherry Point Air Station, requiring local flights to land immediately or proceed to and land at outlying fields..."
“Lieutenant Gorham…was piloting the bomber and kept in radio communication with the air base until he reported they had ran into a storm over the Atlantic. The radio contact was suddenly broken after the storm was reported.”
"[Gorham’s] airplane was unreported, but no particular concern was attached thereto, due to… the possibility that he might be flying in a clear area awaiting the showers passing Cherry Point. When flights were secured later on, all planes were accounted for with the exception of #35002….Air Traffic Control and the Air Interceptor Command at Wilmington were notified that the plane was missing and were requested to aid in the attempt to locate this plane at any other airports in this area. Unsatisfactory weather conditions prevailed through the remaining hours of daylight, preventing any aerial search of this area from this station. Nothing but negative information was received through the night from the Air Interceptor Command at ATC.”
The weather prevented any search flight until the 29th, where his entire squadron did a sweep of the area, yielding no results. Further flights came up empty handed. Lieutenant Chester Gorham and his crew were officially declared deceased on September 3rd, 1943. He left behind his wife of four months and his family in Michigan.