Forced Landing at Sea aboard A PBM Martin Mariner

In 1943, after graduating from boot camp and signal school I was shipped without escort to the South Pacific aboard the SS President Monroe. We stopped in Suva, Fiji for supplies and then proceeded to Noumea, New Caledonia. While in Noumea we lived in a tent city waiting for orders to go north to the fighting. Finally, we received orders to report to Efate Island, in the New Hebrides, (now Vanuatu) at a place called Havana Harbor on the other side of the Island from the city of Villa. Our assignment was to work on a signal tower providing visual communications between the fleet and the harbor facilities.

The names of the other men in my group were: Stanley Russell Monroe, Sands Point, Idaho; Donald James Owsley, Berkley California; Delmas Dee Thurmond, Dallas, Texas; Fleetwood Teague Turner, Los Angeles, California; and William Austin Wade, Mulga, Alabama.

We worked for the First Class Signalman in charge of the tower named, Dallas D. Detour, from Portland Oregon. Others who were already there were, Red Martin, Victor Tucho, and "Hollywood" Halamuda. They were all old salts who had served in the four-stacker, tin can navy with the Asiatic fleet. "Red" was the intellectual; Tucho, the artist; Halamuda, the fly-boy.

After we had been on the island for many months, we were told it was time for rotation and all could go to the states except two. Two would have to stay for a short time to train the new relief crew. The names of everyone were put in a hat. Two were drawn out: Mine and Stanley Russell Monroe. The rest caught a ship and left for the states.


When we trained our relief crew and the time came for us to go home, the Captain of the base arranged for air transportation for Stanley Monroe and me from Efate to Pearl Harbor. The plane was a huge PBM Martin Mariner sea plane with two engines, and gull shaped wings. It was loaded with people, mail, and cargo.

Near the Island of Canton, the plane experienced ignition trouble in the right engine. We lost altitude rapidly. The pilot landed the plane in open water. The bow of the plane took some pounding against the swells. There seemed to be several collisions, shudders, and then rolling and pitching over the waves before we stopped. The mechanical problem was minor and was repaired in a short time. The takeoff was much calmer than the landing and we made the rest of the flight to Honolulu without incident.

Copyright © 2005 Jim Thompson. All rights reserved.

Tags: PBM Martin Mariner, sea plane, Landing at Sea, US Navy, WW 2 Navy, world war 2 navy,Stanley Russell Monroe, Donald James Owsley, Delmas Dee Thurmond, Fleetwood Teague Turner, William Austin Wade, Efate Island, New Hebrides, Vanuatu