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| Ensign Kevin Ahern went MIA after the Ventura bomber he was copiloting was shot down near Bougainville in May 1944. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Ventura |
Kevin O. Ahern never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on April 21, 1918 in New Hampshire. His parents Michael and Amanda were born in New Hampshire and French speaking Canada, respectively. Kevin's paternal grandparents were from Ireland. His father worked as a cotton mill clerk and later as an employment office helper. Kevin had two older sisters and four older brothers. At least one brother also served in the military during WW2. By 1940 Kevin had completed four years of college and was living at home.
He enlisted in the US Navy on June 10, 1942 and became an ensign and bomber pilot in the US Navy Flier Bombing Squadron 148. The unit was formed in August 1943 and was equipped with PV-1 Ventura medium bombers. It was sent to New Guinea in early April 1944.
Ensign Ahern was copiloting his Ventura on a mission to Bougainville on May 3, 1944, when it was hit by enemy fire and crashed into the sea, taking the lives of all five crewmen. His remains were not recovered.
He is memorialized at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines.
Last year on this date I profiled B-17 bombardier Stephen Monson. You can read about Stephen 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
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