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Casualty Info
Home Town Bentonia, Mississippi
Last Address Phoenix, MS
Casualty Date Jul 04, 1944
Cause KIA-Body Not Recovered
Reason Air Loss, Crash - Sea
Location Japan
Conflict World War II
Location of Interment Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial - Honolulu, Hawaii
Wall/Plot Coordinates (cenotaph)
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
On July 4, 1944, LTjg Hancock took off from the USS Cabot (CVL-28) on a fighter sweep over Iwo Jima. Over the target, the formation was intercepted by A6M5 Zero. Likely, this Hellcat was shot down by an intercepting A6M5 Zeros. When Hancock failed to return he was listed as Missing In Action (MIA). His body was never recovered and he was later declared dead.
Comments/Citation:
Service number: 263521
Presidential Unit Citation
For extraordinary heroism in action against enemy Japanese forces in the air, ashore and afloat in the Pacific War Area from January 29 44, to April 8, 1345. Operating continuously in the most forward areas, the U.S.S. CABOT and her air groups struck crushing blows toward annihilating Japanese fighting power; they provided air cover for our amphibious forces; they fiercely countered the enemy's aerial attacks and destroyed his planes; and they inflicted terrific losses on the Japanese in Fleet and merchant marine units sunk or damaged. Daring and dependable in combat, the CABOT with her gallant officers and men rendered loyal service in achieving the ultimate defeat of the Japanese Empire.
For the President,
James Forrestal
Secretary of the Navy
The information contained in this profile was compiled from various internet sources.
Western Caroline Islands Operation/Battle for Ulithi Atoll
From Month/Year
September / 1944
To Month/Year
September / 1944
Description Ulithi Atoll, also known as the Mackenzie Islands is a coral atoll in the Yap Islands, the western part of the Carolines. There are some 40 islets withn a total land area of 1.75 square miles (4.5 square km). It is located about 190 km east of Yap. The atoll’s inhabitants are probably of mixed Polynesian and Micronesian origins and speak Ulithian, an Austronesian language. It is one of the greatest natural harbors in the world. Ulithi appears to have been first sighted by Portuguese navigators (1526). No other record exists until Spanish Jesuit missionaries led by Juan Antonio Cantova landed (1731). Along with rest of the Carolines, the Germans purchased it from the Spanish and Japan seized it during World War I. After the War, the League of Nations awarded a mandate to the Japanese. The Japanese made little use of Ulithi, but did site a seaplane base there. They had a radio and weather station on Ulithi and the Imperial Navy had occasionally used the lagoon as an anchorage. The United States used it very differently. The Pacific Fleet at first avoided landinfs in The Carolines. What they wanted was the Marianas to the north wherevair bases could be used to bomb the Japanese Home Islands. Japanese garrisons in the Carlines, luke Truk, were neutralized rather than invaded, avoiding costly landings. As the Americans moved west toward the Philippines, it became obvious that a forward supply base was needed. Naval planners bgan asessing Ulithi. The Japanese who has established garison all over the Central Pacific, somehow failed to perceive the vast strategic importance of Ulithi. The atoll with its magnificent harbor was precisely what the pacific Fleet needed for its operations in the Western Pacific. The decisive Japanese defeat in the Battle of the Philippines Sea meant that the Pacific Fleet faced no naval opposition (June 1944). The Japanese withdrw to bases west of the Philippines and the Home Islands and began tom plan a naval battle to resist the anticipated American invasion of the Philippines. More surprising, the Japanese did not garrison Ulithi Atoll. A regiment of the US Army's 81st Division landed unopposed (September 23, 1944). A regiment of the US Army's 81st Division landed unopposed (September 23, 1944). They simply walked ashore and took possession of the Atoll. It was a gift of unimaginable value, a starategic prize that would play an important role in the final phase of the Pacific War. Tragically, the Americans and Japnese in the same month would fight an extended pitched battle for Pelilu in the Palaus, another chain in the Carolines of virtually no value. A battalion of Seabees followed. While a magificent natural harbor, it was totally undeveloped. The survey ship USS Sumner) assessed the lagoon and concluded it was capable of accomodating an stonishing 700 vessels. This was more than Pearl Harbor and then Majuro after the seizure of the Marshalls could handle. The Pacific Fleet rapidly turned it into the major supply base for major operations in the last year of the War (the Philippines and Okinawa). This was done with little publicity, but the Japanese eventually found out what they had conceded to the Americans without a fight. Japanese midgit subnarines attacked islamd in the harbor, but despite their success had no real impact on the supply operations there. After the War, Ulithi was used as a military radio outpost.
