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| Aviation Machinist Mate 1/c Kendall Dungey was killed on an anti-submarine patrol over the Bay of Biscay. His plane was shot down by a German BV 222 Wiking https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25744656/kendall-leroy-dungey https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20170525/part-2-historian-recounts-fateful-mission-that-took-her-fathers-life--video |
Kendall LeRoy Dungey never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on November 15, 1919 in South Dakota. His parents Roy and Laura were born in South Dakota(?) and Pennsylvania, respectively. His father was a World War I veteran who must have fallen on hard times because he worked as a bootlegger during prohibition. He was jailed in 1925 but escaped out-of-state for two years. He was recaptured when he returned to South Dakota. He finished his sentence and paid a fine. Roy may have been single at the time since no mention is made in the newspapers about him having a wife. Kendall's mother remarried Clyde Ward, probably in the 1920s. Roy died in October 1929 at a sanitarium.
Kendall had one younger brother. By 1939 Kendall had completed high school and worked first at the local country club and then started his own delivery business. Later he got a lumber job.
He enlisted in the US Navy in April 1941. He was trained as an aviation machinist mate, graduating at the end of December 1941. He was assigned to duties first in the Caribbean and then based in the east coast, dealing with convoy escorts and coast patrol duties flying PBYs.
He married Gloria Cyr in June 1943 while he was stationed in Rhode Island.
In July 1943 his unit was reassigned to anti-submarine (ASW) duty first in Bermuda and then in England. In September the Army Air Forces turned over ASW duties to the three Navy squadrons - VB-103, VB-105, and VB-110. AMM1 Dungey served in VB-105. He flew on missions that sank five German submarines.
On October 23, 1943, AMM1 Dungey's PB4Y-1 bomber 63917 (a modified B-24 Liberator) was sent on an anti-submarine patrol in the Bay of Biscay. He was the top turret gunner. The plane never returned and all 10 crewmen were declared lost. It had been shot down by a German BV 222 Wiking, a flying boat with six engines and a wingspan longer than a football field. This was the largest seaplane of World War II. Only 13 were built. The Wiking was not a fighter plane, but it was armed and it caught the American bomber by surprise when it appeared out of a cloud bank. The photo above, of Dungey's plane after it was shot up, was taken from the German Wiking.
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| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blohm_%26_Voss_BV_238 |
Kendall Dungey had one daughter born after he was killed.
His cenotaph grave is at Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis, South Dakota.
You can read more about Kendall Dungey and his wife and daughter May-li Anne here.
JOSEPH WAPNER
Joseph Wapner, the judge and TV personality, was born on the exact same day as Kendall Dungey. Wapner was born in California. His father was from Romania and his mother was from Russia.
Wapner graduated from the University of Souther California in 1941, after which he joined the US Army. He served as a lieutenant in the Pacific and earned the Bronze Star.
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| https://www.ksfy.com/content/news/Son-says-Joseph-Wapner-unlikely-TV-star-dead-at-97-414819023.html |
He died in 2017 at age 97.
Last year on this date I profiled B-25 bombardier and navigator Melvin Fox. You can read about Melvin here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
RIP!!
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