Kitchen, Ernest L.

ERNEST L. KITCHEN

AVIATION ORDNANCEMAN  SECOND CLASS
U.S. NAVY

Ernest LaVerne Kitchen was born on April 6th, 1924, in the Wells County town of Bluffton, Indiana. Born to Mr. James Kitchen and Mrs. Ilo (Platt) Kitchen, Ernest “Ernie” and family moved to Decatur in 1935. They would come to reside at 428 McBarnes Street along with his older sister Estella (Rice) and older brother James “Jimmy” Jr. The eldest James was employed in Decatur as an electronic appliance salesman and Ilo stayed home and took care of the three children. As young men, they kept busy with Ernest working as a newspaper delivery boy for the local Decatur Daily Democrat and Jimmy at the Douglas Dry Good Store.

In high school, Ernest (or LaVerne as he was referred to by friends) was an outgoing individual, playing several sports and ultimately making the junior varsity squads for baseball, basketball, and football. He participated in the commercial club, the glee club, and the Howling Hosts. To be a “Howler” you had to be a season ticket holder for either the home basketball or football games. In addition, the “hosts” would organize dances and cheer on the Decatur High School Yellow Jackets to victory! As a senior, LaVerne was elected as the male yell leader along with James Egly where according to the 1942 Raveling’s Yearbook, “they did an excellent job and led our teams on to many decisive victories”. Upon graduation from Decatur High School in 1942, LaVerne would work briefly for General Electric in Decatur before his enlistment in the winter of 1943. 

Following in the footsteps of his older brother, James, Ernest officially entered military service with the Naval Reserves on February 11, 1943. Upon completion of basic training at Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Chicago, Illinois, he was sent to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida to train as an Aviation Ordnanceman. As an Aviation Ordnanceman (AOM), Ernest would be responsible for inspecting and maintaining all types of munitions carried on Navy aircraft including, at times, serving as an aerial gunner. This tense training, however, did not prevent Ernest from having a bit of fun and according to his sister, he 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 would see combat in the Pacific as part of Night Torpedo Squadron 90 (VT(N) 90) aboard the USS Enterprise.

At the conclusion of training, Ernest was assigned to Bombing Squadron 106 (VB-106). The “Wolverators” as they came to be known, operated PB4Y-1 aircraft, a modified B-24 Bomber built by Ford Motor Company for Navy long-range reconnaissance, anti-submarine patrol, and photographic missions. Initially assigned reconnaissance off the north and western coast of Hawaii in search of Japanese forces in June 1943, the squadron was simultaneously preparing for combat operations in the Pacific. 

By the fall of 1943, VPB-106 was based at Midway Island providing reconnaissance, fighter escort, search, and bombing missions on the Japanese held islands of Wake, Makin, and Tarawa. By November, the squadron was conducting similar missions from the recently captured island of Guadalcanal. As the allied island-hopping campaign pushed Japanese forces closer to their home islands, VB-106 was again redeployed for operations from the island of New Georgia in the Solomon Island chain. Here, VB-106 crews acted as aerial spotters for Navy Destroyers and Cruisers, conducted strafing missions, and search and attack missions against Japanese shipping in the areas of Rabaul New Guinea from February to March 1944.

In support of the New Guinea Campaign, VB-106 was moved to Nadzab, New Guinea in March 1944 and again to Los Negros Islands by April 1944 before being relieved in May. After a 30-day stateside leave and additional training in Hawaii, by July 1944 VB-106 had received new aircraft, a new designation, and a new mission. The Navy PB4Y-2, Privateer had an extended range and the latest in electronic equipment to support long-range reconnaissance and photographic missions. The new designation as a Patrol Bombing Squadron (VPB-106) would denote its additional role in the Pacific Campaign.

After several months of operational missions in Hawaii, VPB-106 was heading back to the Pacific. From the island of Tinian, the squadron participated in Operation Hailstone over Truk Island, conducted some of the first B-29 strikes against the Japanese mainland, and provided support for the Battle of Iwo Jima. In early May the squadron was relocated to Palawan Island in the Philippines for search and strike missions in the area of Singapore, Malay, and the entire Indo-China region in support of General MacArthur’s Philippines Campaign.

By the time of his 21st birthday in April 1945, AOM Second Class Kitchen had seen plenty of combat as his squadron island-hopped through the Pacific theatre of war. In the early morning of June 1, 1945, a VPB-111 Liberator (38917) took off from Palawan, PI tasked with photographing Japanese Naval vessels in Singapore Harbor. Carrying a special K-17 camera and commanded by Lt. Fred Heyler the Liberator would be escorted by Kitchen’s VPB-106 Privateer (59563) piloted by Lt. Commander “Pappy” Mears acting as an escort in the event of enemy fighter presence. By 0915, as the formation crossed the Johere River, they were barraged by enemy antiaircraft 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 decent and the right wing breaking off. The aircraft then flipped upside down and crashed into the Singapore Strait at roughly Lat 1.11’ N Long 103.39 E at 10:10am. The crash site was approximately 8 miles south of the south-west tip of Singapore Island and according to witnesses, there was no fire or explosion, and debris was seen on the surface of the sea.

For his efforts in leading this mission to “obtain vitally important reconnaissance photos of the shipping in Singapore Harbor”… and the “outstanding courage and determined skill”, Lt. Commander Mears was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

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 and a 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 that “no further attempts towards recovery of subject decedents be made and their remains be “Declared Non-Recoverable”.

In the past few decades, a renewed effort led by surviving family members of Seaman First Class Beauran Roy O’Kane has attempted to convince the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) to prioritize the search and ultimate recovery of the crew.

Unfortunately, for the past several decades Indonesia 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 will be 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.   

AOM Second Class, Ernest Kitchen, and the twelve-man crew of VPB-106 are memorialized on the Wall of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, 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.

Information researched and collected by Justin Bertsch, 2018 and Alexis Marbaugh, 2021. Edited by Bryan Lineberry, 2023.

SOURCES

American Legion Post No 468, and Berne & Community Businessmen, comps. Service Record World War I and II – Book of Men and Women of Berne, Indiana, and Community. Marceline: Walsworth Brothers, n.d. Print.

Aom2 Ernest Laverne Kitchen (1924-1945) - find a... Find a Grave. (n.d.). Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56761446/ernest-laverne-kitchen

Btowntaz. (2019, February 21). Edward Sruba's account of 6/1/1945. YouTube. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzskBYdXYw4

Btowntaz. (2019, February 21). Victor Walters first hand account of June 1,1945. YouTube. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glf62WYZpuY

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. (n.d.). AOM2c Ernest L Kitchen - service member profile. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000001o5mRSEAY

Ernest L. Kitchen. American Battle Monuments Commission. (n.d.). Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://abmc.gov/decedent-search/kitchen%3Dernest

Heller, D. D., Heller, D. B., & Beckmeyer, L. (1989). 1979 History of Adams County, Indiana. Adams County Historical Society.

Howard Mears - recipient. The Hall of Valor Project. (n.d.). Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/19409

Mercurio, D. (2021, April 6). Warbirds - tales from above: Fire on number three on Apple Podcasts. Apple Podcasts. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fire-on-number-three/id1540616436?i=1000515986073

O’Kane, Jeff. Email to Bryan Lineberry. 3 January 2023.

PacificWrecks.com. (n.d.). Pacific wrecks - PB4Y-2 privateer bureau number 59563. Pacific Wrecks - World War II Pacific War and Korean War. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/pb4y-2/59563.html

PB4Y privateer saga. (n.d.). Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://modelingmadness.com/others/features/pb4ysaga.htm

Ravelings Yearbook Staff, ed. Ravelings Yearbook. Decatur, IN: Decatur High School, 1944. Print.

Squadron flight log entry. Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://navalaviationfoundation.org/ways-to-give/national-flight-log/squadron-flight-log-entry/?id=16

SUPPLEMENTARY

Defense POW/MIA Personnel Profile