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Contact Info
Home Town Huntingdon
Last Address Operation HIGHJUMP His body was not recovered but left at the crash site.
Date of Passing Dec 30, 1946
Location of Interment Buried at Sea, Antarctic Ocean
AMM1 Frederick Warren WILLIAMS
(PBM-5) George 1/Operation Highjump
Buried at the Bottom of the World
On December 30, 1946, a Martin Mariner PBM "flying boat" (GEORGE 1) with a crew of nine rose from the Antarctic sea on an exploratory flight to the Antarctic continent in the vicinity of Ellsworth Land. As a participant in the Antarctic Developments Project 1946-47, code-named OPERATION HIGHJUMP, they were part of a three-pronged attack to photograph and map the Antarctic coastline and certain inland areas. As they lifted from the water at 2:44 a.m., the USS PINE ISLAND, to which they were attached, slowly disappeared behind them as they flew due south on their mission. Approximately four hours later, the Ice would claim it's first American lives. Six men would live to return from that flight. AMM1 Williams was killed in the line of duty. His body was not recovered but left with the other two bodies at the crash site.
PBM-5 (George I) Crash:
Ensign Maxwell A. Lopez, USN, USS Pine Island 30 Dec 1946
ARM1 Wendell K. Henderson, USS Pine Island 30 Dec 1946
AMM1 Frederick W. Williams, USS Pine Island 30 Dec 1946
The Commanding Officer of USS Pine Island was aboard and survived the crash. The other survivors were medevac'd home but the CO had to stay and finish the operation. Frederick died two hours after the crash.
Henderson and Williams were posthumously awarded the rank of Chief Petty Officer.
Other Comments:
An Adventuresome Young Man Joins the US NAVY...
Frederick Warren Williams was born on December 19th, 1920 in Huntingdon, Tennessee. The proud parents were Mr. and Mrs. James Williams. He had one brother and two sisters.
Fred attended Clarksburg High School, near Huntingdon. Known as a fearsome and adventurous young man, Fred was 20 years old when he entered the US Navy in 1940. During WWII he fought many fierce battles in the Pacific theatre and was seriously wounded in the battle of the Marshall Islands. Fred would complete six years of service with the navy and in July, 1946, he re-enlisted for another two years. While home that July on a 75-day furlough, Fred shared his enthusiasm over the prospects of being on the Byrd Expedition.
Central Pacific Campaign (1941-43)/Marshall Islands Operation
From Month/Year
November / 1943
To Month/Year
December / 1943
Description In the Pacific Theater of World War II, the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, from November 1943 through February 1944, were key strategic operations of the United States Pacific Fleet and Marine Corps in the Central Pacific. The purpose was to establish airfields that would allow land based air support for the upcoming operations across the Central Pacific. The campaign began with a costly three-day battle for the island of Betio at the Tarawa atoll. The campaign was preceded a year earlier by a diversionary raid on Makin Island by U.S. Marines in August, 1942.
About 4,000 kilometers southwest of the Hawaii Islands, the Marshall Islands represented part of the perimeter of the Japanese Pacific empire. The former German colony was given to Japan after the closure of WW1, and had since been an important part of both offensive and defensive plans of the Japanese Navy. By the end of 1943, Admiral Mineichi Koga of the Japanese Combined Fleet knew the Americans were eyeing the islands, but he could not figure out where they would strike. His difficulties were further complicated by the lack of carrier aircraft, as they were taken away from him in an attempt to reinforce land-based squadrons. With his hands tied, all Koga could do was to send his submarines out as forward observers and order the regional commander in Truk Admiral Masashi Kobayashi to reinforce the island garrisons that were most exposed to American attacks. Kobayashi shifted men to the outer islands of Jaluit, Mili, Wotje, and Maloelap. In total, Kobayashi had 28,000 troops available to him in the Marshall Islands. For a garrison that size ground fortifications were sub-par, but that was rather by design at this stage of the war, for that Tokyo had since decided that the Marshall Islands were to serve only as a part of a delay action campaign. The new defensive perimeter was to be established much closer to the home islands.
American intelligence decoded Japanese messages and detected movements for the outer islands, and decided to change the invasion plans. Unbeknownst to the Japanese, the Americans were now bypassing the reinforced outer islands; they were now directly attacking Kwajalein and Eniwetok.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
November / 1943
To Month/Year
December / 1943
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories Fred Williams was 20 years old when he entered the US Navy in 1940. During WWII he fought many fierce battles in the Pacific theatre and was seriously wounded in the battle of the Marshall Islands.