Second Lieutenant Paul “King Kong” Rutledge, a fighter pilot assigned to VMF-121, arrived at Guadalcanal’s Henderson Field on 6 October 1942.
On 14 October, after a sleepless night under the guns of a pair of Japanese battleships, the Cactus Air Force went out looking for revenge. They attacked force of enemy destroyers and transports south of Santa Isabel Island that evening, bombing and strafing in the face of heavy antiaircraft fire.
Second Lieutenant Rutledge fell victim to enemy action during the attack; none of his buddies saw his aircraft go down. He was declared missing in action, and a presumptive finding of death was issued on 19 February 1945.
Purple Heart
Second Lieutenant
Posthumous promotion to Captain.
Mother, Mrs. Edna G. Bolman
Entered Service May 19, 1941
Date of Loss October 14, 1942
Region Solomons
Campaign/Area Guadalcanal/Santa Isabel Island
Casualty Type MIA (Declared Dead) 19 February 1945
Unit VMF-121 Duty Pilot
Contributor: Glenn Perry (47718834)
On 14 October, after a sleepless night under the guns of a pair of Japanese battleships, the Cactus Air Force went out looking for revenge. They attacked force of enemy destroyers and transports south of Santa Isabel Island that evening, bombing and strafing in the face of heavy antiaircraft fire.
Second Lieutenant Rutledge fell victim to enemy action during the attack; none of his buddies saw his aircraft go down. He was declared missing in action, and a presumptive finding of death was issued on 19 February 1945.
Purple Heart
Second Lieutenant
Posthumous promotion to Captain.
Mother, Mrs. Edna G. Bolman
Entered Service May 19, 1941
Date of Loss October 14, 1942
Region Solomons
Campaign/Area Guadalcanal/Santa Isabel Island
Casualty Type MIA (Declared Dead) 19 February 1945
Unit VMF-121 Duty Pilot
Contributor: Glenn Perry (47718834)
Second Lieutenant Paul “King Kong” Rutledge, a fighter pilot assigned to VMF-121, arrived at Guadalcanal’s Henderson Field on 6 October 1942.
On 14 October, after a sleepless night under the guns of a pair of Japanese battleships, the Cactus Air Force went out looking for revenge. They attacked force of enemy destroyers and transports south of Santa Isabel Island that evening, bombing and strafing in the face of heavy antiaircraft fire.
Second Lieutenant Rutledge fell victim to enemy action during the attack; none of his buddies saw his aircraft go down. He was declared missing in action, and a presumptive finding of death was issued on 19 February 1945.
Purple Heart
Second Lieutenant
Posthumous promotion to Captain.
Mother, Mrs. Edna G. Bolman
Entered Service May 19, 1941
Date of Loss October 14, 1942
Region Solomons
Campaign/Area Guadalcanal/Santa Isabel Island
Casualty Type MIA (Declared Dead) 19 February 1945
Unit VMF-121 Duty Pilot
Contributor: Glenn Perry (47718834)
On 14 October, after a sleepless night under the guns of a pair of Japanese battleships, the Cactus Air Force went out looking for revenge. They attacked force of enemy destroyers and transports south of Santa Isabel Island that evening, bombing and strafing in the face of heavy antiaircraft fire.
Second Lieutenant Rutledge fell victim to enemy action during the attack; none of his buddies saw his aircraft go down. He was declared missing in action, and a presumptive finding of death was issued on 19 February 1945.
Purple Heart
Second Lieutenant
Posthumous promotion to Captain.
Mother, Mrs. Edna G. Bolman
Entered Service May 19, 1941
Date of Loss October 14, 1942
Region Solomons
Campaign/Area Guadalcanal/Santa Isabel Island
Casualty Type MIA (Declared Dead) 19 February 1945
Unit VMF-121 Duty Pilot
Contributor: Glenn Perry (47718834)
Gravesite Details
Entered the service from Washington.
Family Members
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