Daniel Eugene Pelham is born November 11, 1916 in Kingston, NY to Albert J. Pelham (1885-1969) and Alice Barry (1890-1921). At the time of this writing I was unable to determine when his parents were married. His father was an engineer with the New York Central Railroad. His mom died in January 1921 of an illness when he was only 5. His dad remarried Beatrice Kidder two years later. The family moved to Fair St. in Oneonta, NY.  Daniel attended Oneonta, NY schools growing up but graduated from Kingston High School in Kingston, NY class of 1935. His family lived there during the last two years of his schooling. He registered for the draft on October 16, 1940 in Queens, NY. He was 5'-11" tall and weighed 142 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He worked for a time in New York City before enlisting in the Navy on March 27, 1941 in New York City.

Once in the Navy he spent time at the Naval Training Base in Norfolk, Virginia and the U.S. Naval Air Station in Quonset Point, Rhode Island before going to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. While stationed in Hawaii he was sent back to California to do patrol duty along the California coast just before the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941. By late February 1942 he was sent back to Pearl Harbor aboard the USS Pyro (AE-1) and from there to the South Pacific aboard the USS Curtiss (AV-4). His squadron, VP-91, operated aboard the USS Mackinac (AVP-13) in the Segond Channel during the time AOM3 Pelham was with them.

AOM3 Pelham was aboard PBY 04509, a plane from Patrol Squadron 91, in the southwest Pacific Ocean, when it failed to return after making contact with the enemy. In compliance with Section 5 of Public Law 490, he was presumed dead on December 4, 1945. His remains were never recovered. Local newspapers speculated that he lost his life in the sea battle off the Solomon Islands.

If you notice anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact Jim Greenberg at nez1382@gmail.com

Sources

"D.E. Pelham, 26 Killed in Action", Kingston Daily Freeman, Kingston, NY, November 24, 1942, pg. 2.

Find a Grave entry for Daniel E. Pelham accessed at https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56118826/daniel-e-pelham, February 26, 2023

Individual Deceased Personnel File for Daniel E. Pelham 2241920, National Archives at St. Louis, P.O. Box 37587, St. Louis, MO 63138

Marriage Records. New York Marriages. Various New York County Clerk offices.

Moore, Edwin,Gold Star veterans records, [194-], Photo Collection 23, Huntington Memorial Library, New York State Room, Oneonta, NY.

National Archives, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, 20740-6001, Patrol Bombing Squadron 91 (VPB-91), 12/1/41 – 4/2/46, Muster Rools of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, January 1, 1939 – January 1, 1949, pg 12. Accessed at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/184418130, February 26, 2023.

New York Department of Health; Albany, NY; NY State Death Index

Pelham, Albert J., Obituary, Tampa Bay Times, Tampa Bay, Fla., November 29, 1969.

VP-91 Mishap, accessed at U.S. Navy Patrol Squadrons website, http://www.vpnavy.com/vp91_mishap.html, February 27, 2023.

Year: 1920; Census Place: Kingston, Ulster, New York; Roll: T625_1271; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 166

Supporting Files