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Bassett, Edgar Rees, ENS.
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Casualty Info
Home Town Philadelphia, PA
Last Address Hartsdale, NY
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 5 (cenotaph)
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
Edgar Bassett enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve at New York City as a seaman second class on 13 February 1940. After flight training, he was commissioned as an ensign on 20 May 1941. He joined Fighting Squadron 42 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown on 9 June 1941 as the squadron was preparing for its first Neutrality Patrol cruise in the Atlantic Ocean aboard Yorktown. Bassett was considered one of the more colorful characters among the fighter pilots of Fighting Squadron 42, and remained associated with Yorktown for the rest of his life.
Bassett was noted more than once for his aggressive performance of duty in the first few months of World War II, especially for his strafing of Japanese gun emplacements and barges during the aircraft carrier raid on Lae and Salamaua, New Guinea, on 10 March 1942.
During the Battle of the Coral Sea, which took place between 4 and 8 May 1942, Bassett shot down a Mitsubishi F1M2 "Pete" floatplane over Tulagi in the Solomon Islands during the Yorktown air group attack on Japanese shipping there on 4 May and strafed the Japanese destroyer Yuzuki as she fled Tulagi harbor. On the morning of 7 May, he flew one of the fighters that protected Torpedo Squadron 5 in its attack on the Japanese aircraft carrier Shoho. That same evening, he helped to disperse a group of Japanese dive bombers and torpedo planes in the vicinity of the Yorktown task force. On the morning of 8 May, he flew combat air patrol over Task Force 17 and assisted in the downing of one Japanese plane during Japanese attack on Yorktown.
Assigned to Fighting Squadron 3 aboard Yorktown along with several other Fighting Squadron 42 pilots just before the Battle of Midway, Bassett flew one of the six Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters covering Torpedo Squadron 3 in the attack on the aircraft carriers of the Japanese Mobile Force on the morning of 4 June 1942. When the Japanese combat air patrol swarmed over the torpedo planes and their escorting fighters, Ensign Bassett was shot down in flames at the outset and killed.
Comments/Citation:
Service number: 085741
Navy Cross
Awarded for Actions During World War II
Service: Navy
Battalion: Fighting Squadron 42 (VF-42)
Division: U.S.S. Yorktown (CV-5)
General Orders: Commander In Chief Pacific Fleet: Serial 2050 (May 8, 1942)
Citation: The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Ensign Edgar Rees Bassett (NSN: 0-85741), United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Fighter Plane in Fighting Squadron FORTY-TWO (VF-42), attached to the U.S.S. YORKTOWN (CV-5), in action against Japanese forces during the period 4 to 8 May 1942. As a wingman in the division of fighters sent to protect our own aircraft bombing and torpedoing ships at Tulagi on 4 May, Ensign Bassett assisted his section leader in an attack on three enemy seaplanes and succeeded in shooting down one of them. Shortly following this action he participated in a strafing attack, pressed home in the face of heavy anti-aircraft fire resulting in the setting afire and internal damaging of an enemy destroyer. On 7 May he piloted an airplane of the fighter escort for our Torpedo Planes in an attack on an enemy carrier in the Coral Sea. He assisted his section leader in driving off enemy fighter attacks on our Torpedo Planes in which action four enemy planes were shot down. This effective protection allowed our Torpedo Planes to launch torpedoes and return from their attack unharmed and resulted in the sinking of the enemy carrier. That evening he accompanied a group of our fighters which attacked and dispersed a formation of enemy scout planes and backed up his section leader in shooting down one enemy plane. On 8 May, in the Coral Sea, while pilot of a fighter in the combat air patrol, he engaged enemy fighters which appeared over our forces and assisted his section leader in their destruction. Ensign Bassett's outstanding courage and determined skill were at all times inspiring and in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Description The Makin Island Raid (occurred on 17–18 August 1942) was an attack by the United States Marine Corps Raiders on Japanese military forces on Makin Island (now known as Butaritari Island) in the Pacific Ocean. The aim was to destroy Japanese installations, take prisoners, gain intelligence on the Gilbert Islands area, and divert Japanese attention and reinforcements from the Allied landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi.
Execution of the raid
Makin as seen by USS Nautilus.
The Marine Raiders were launched in LCRL rubber boats powered by small, 6 hp (4.5 kW) outboard motors shortly after 00:00 (midnight) on 17 August. At 05:13, Companies A and B of the 2nd Raider Battalion—commanded by Lt. Col. Evans Carlson—successfully landed on Makin. The landing had been very difficult due to rough seas, high surf, and the failure of many of the outboard motors. Lt. Col. Carlson decided to land all his men on one beach, rather than two beaches as originally planned. At 05:15, Lt. Oscar Peatross and a 12-man squad landed on Makin. In the confusion of the landing, they did not get word of Carlson's decision to change plans and land all the Raiders on one beach. Thus, Peatross and his men landed where they originally planned. It turned out to be a fortunate error. Undaunted by the lack of support, Peatross led his men inland.
At 07:00, with Company A leading, the Raiders advanced from the beach across the island to its north shore before attacking southwestward. Strong resistance from Japanese snipers and machine guns stalled the advance and inflicted casualties. The Japanese then launched two banzai charges that were wiped out by the Raiders, thus killing most of the Japanese on the island. At 09:00, Lt. Peatross and his 12 men found themselves behind the Japanese who were fighting the rest of the Raiders to the east. Peatross's unit killed eight Japanese and the garrison commander Sgt. Major Kanemitsu, knocked out a machine gun and destroyed the enemy radios; but suffered three dead and two wounded. Failing to contact Carlson, they withdrew to the subs at dusk as planned.
At 13:30, 12 Japanese planes—including two flying boats—arrived over Makin. The flying boats—carrying reinforcements for the Japanese garrison—attempted to land in the lagoon, but were met with machine gun, rifle and Boys anti-tank rifle fire from the Raiders. One plane crashed; the other burst into flames. The remaining planes bombed and strafed but inflicted no U.S. casualties.
Evacuation of the Raiders
At 19:30, the Raiders began to withdraw from the island using 18 rubber boats, many of which no longer had working outboard motors. Despite heavy surf seven boats with 93 men made it to the subs. The next morning several boatloads of Raiders were able to fight the surf and reach the sub; but 72 men, along with just three rubber boats, were still on the island. At 23:30, the attempt by most of the Raiders to reach the submarines failed. Despite hours of heroic effort, 11 of 18 boats were unable to breach the unexpectedly strong surf. Having lost most of their weapons and equipment, the exhausted survivors struggled back to the beach to link up with 20 fully armed men who had been left on the island to cover their withdrawal. An exhausted and dispirited Carlson dispatched a note to the Japanese commander offering to surrender, but the Japanese messenger was killed by other Marines who were unaware of Carlson's plan.
At 09:00 on 18 August, the subs sent a rescue boat to stretch rope from the ships to the shore that would allow the remaining Raiders' boats to be pulled out to sea. But just as the operation began, Japanese planes arrived and attacked, sinking the rescue boat and attacking the subs, which were forced to crash dive and wait on the bottom the rest of the day. The subs were undamaged. At 23:08, having managed to signal the subs to meet his Raiders at the entrance to Makin Lagoon, Carlson had a team, led by Lt. Charlie Lamb, build a raft made up of three rubber boats and two native canoes, powered by the two remaining outboard motors. Using this raft, 72 exhausted Raiders sailed 4 miles from Makin to the mouth of the lagoon, where the subs picked them up.
Casualties
USMC casualties were given as 18 killed in action and 12 missing in action. Of the 12 Marines missing in action, one was later identified among the 18 Marine Corps graves found on Makin Island. Of the remaining eleven Marines missing in action, nine were inadvertently left behind or returned to the island during the night withdrawal. They were subsequently captured, moved to Kwajalein Atoll, and executed by Japanese forces. Koso Abe was subsequently tried and executed by the Allies for the murder of the nine Marines. The remaining two Marines missing in action have never been accounted for.
Conclusions
Carlson reported that he had personally counted 83 Japanese bodies and estimated that 160 Japanese were killed based on reports from the Makin Island natives with whom he spoke. Additional Japanese personnel may have been killed in the destruction of two boats and two aircraft. Morison states that 60 Japanese were killed in the sinking of one of the boats.
Although the Marine Raiders succeeded in annihilating the Japanese garrison on the island, the raid failed to meet its other material objectives. No Japanese prisoners were taken, and no meaningful intelligence was collected. Also, no significant Japanese forces were diverted from the Solomon Islands area. In fact, because the vulnerabilities to their garrisons in the Gilbert Islands were highlighted by the raid, the Japanese strengthened their fortifications and defensive preparations on the islands in the central Pacific — one of the objectives of the raid, insofar as it would dissipate Japanese material and manpower — which may have caused heavier losses for U.S. forces during the battles of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaigns. However, the raid did succeed in its objectives of boosting morale and testing Raider tactics.