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Casualty Info
Home Town Knoxville, TN
Last Address VS-6 in the Pacific.
Lt Rollins' remains are Lost at Sea in the Pacific.
Casualty Date Jun 04, 1942
Cause KIA-Body Not Recovered
Reason Air Loss, Crash - Sea
Location Pacific Ocean
Conflict World War II
Location of Interment Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial - Honolulu, Hawaii
Wall/Plot Coordinates Court 2 (cenotaph)
Military Service Number 73 638
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
By 0500 on June 4, 1942, 156 planes were already airborne - 108 Japanese planes heading to Midway Atoll. Sixteen U.S. B-17's en-route to attack enemy transport ships and 32 scout planes are out to find the enemy carriers, who at 0603 are 175 miles away.
It took the main U.S. attack force until 1002 to find the Japanese task force. In just five minutes, USS Enterprise's (CV-6) Scouting Six and Bombing Six had destroyed two Japanese fleet carriers and a third was severely damaged.
Both sides are engaged in fierce attacks. Six VS-6 Dauntlesses formed up on the SBD flown by Lt. Ware. By flying slowly, very low over the water, weaving as the enemy planes made their passes, and concentrating their fire, this group succeeded in keeping their assailants at bay: not one plane was brought down by enemy fighters.
The surviving attack planes now faced an equally serious challenge: the flight back to Task Force 16. There were two major problems: low fuel and no "Point Option" (the anticipated position of the carrier when the planes returned from their mission).
Despite their efforts to conserve fuel, one by one the bomber's tanks ran dry, leaving their crews with no option but to ditch and hope for rescue. Of the six crews in the squadron, only one survived. Lt. Charles Ware and his gunner, ARM 1/C William H. Stambaugh and the other four crews, vanished into the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. They were listed as missing in action and later declared dead.
Comments/Citation:
USS Charles R. Ware has been the name of two United States Navy ships:
Navy Cross Citation:
Awarded for Actions During World War II
Service: Navy
Battalion: Scouting Squadron 6 (VS-6)
Division: U.S.S. Enterprise (CV-6)
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 309 (December 1942)
Citation:
"The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Charles Rollins Ware (NSN: 0-73633), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Scouting Plane of Scouting Squadron SIX (VS-6), attached to the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE (CV-6), during the "Air Battle of Midway," against enemy Japanese forces on 4 - 6 June 1942.
...
Participating in a devastating assault against a Japanese invasion fleet, Lieutenant Ware, with fortitude and resolute devotion to duty, pressed home his attacks in the face of a formidable barrage of anti-aircraft fire and fierce fighter opposition.
...
His gallant perseverance and disregard for his own personal safety were important contributing factors to the success achieved by our forces and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country."
