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LIEUTENANT
JUNIOR GRADE ARTHUR J. WARD JR. was born in Pennsylvania in 1921. By
1930 the Ward family had moved to 39 Harvard Road in Audubon
NJ. A graduate of Audubon High School, Arthur J. Ward Jr. continued his education at the
West Nottingham Academy in Colors MD, where he had played football. The
news article below showing him graduating from Haddon Heights High
School appears to be in error.
Arthur
J. Ward Jr. enlisted in the United States Navy in June of 1942. After
completing pre-flight training at Chapel Hill NC, he was sent to
Memphis TN with John W. Muldoon Jr. of Haddon Heights NJ for preliminary
flight training. He trained as a
fighter pilot, and won his wings and was commissioned at Pensacola FL in
April 1943. Arthur Ward Jr. married Thelma L. Shults in May of 1943. After
further duty stateside, and promotion from Ensign to Lieutenant Junior
Grade, Arthur Ward was sent overseas in the late spring of 1944 as a
member of Fighter Squadron No 1, VF-1.
VF-1, operating the Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat was embarked on the USS Yorktown (CV-10) on its shakedown cruise in the Caribbean in June 1943.
VF-1 was assigned with Carrier Air Group 1 (CVG-1) to USS Yorktown from May to August 1944.
Lieutenant
Junior Grade Arthur J. Ward Jr. took part in Yorktown's actions during
the Battle of Saipan, the first Bonin raid, the Battle of the Philippine Sea,
and the second and third Bonin raids. Flying F6F-3 #41893, Lieutenant
Junior Grade Ward was declared missing in action on July 3, 1944, during
the Third Bonins Raid, against targets on Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima.
His body was never recovered, and the Navy issued a finding of death on
February 4, 1946. He was survived by his wife and family members,
including a sister, Corporal Sara Ward, United States Army Women’s
Auxiliary Corps, who was serving in England at the time of his death. His death was reported in the August 19, 1944 edition of the Camden
Courier-Post. |
