PFC Shea joined the Marine Corps on February 24, 1942, at the age of seventeen. He qualified as a rifle marksman after training with the 6th Recruit Battalion at Parris Island, but instead of going to the infantry was assigned to Aircraft Engineering Squadron #13 at Quantico, Virginia that April. Shea learned the business of aviation mechanics and gunnery, received a promotion to Private First Class, and a transfer to Marine Scouting Squadron Three in the Virgin Islands. After arriving at Marine Corps Air Station St. Thomas, PFC Shea was assigned to a Kingfisher scout plane flown by a genteel young officer, Second Lieutenant Richard F. Dabbs of South Carolina. They flew regular patrols and reconnaissance flights over the picturesque Caribbean, responding to reports of German submarines and providing some escort cover for convoys. Bert Shea disappeared on September 15, 1942. He was on a flight with Lt. Dabbs – some accounts state they were searching for a downed pilot from their squadron – when they ran into a storm. Search parties could find no trace of the Marines or their aircraft.
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Entered the service from Maine.
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Entered the service from Maine.
PFC Shea joined the Marine Corps on February 24, 1942, at the age of seventeen. He qualified as a rifle marksman after training with the 6th Recruit Battalion at Parris Island, but instead of going to the infantry was assigned to Aircraft Engineering Squadron #13 at Quantico, Virginia that April. Shea learned the business of aviation mechanics and gunnery, received a promotion to Private First Class, and a transfer to Marine Scouting Squadron Three in the Virgin Islands. After arriving at Marine Corps Air Station St. Thomas, PFC Shea was assigned to a Kingfisher scout plane flown by a genteel young officer, Second Lieutenant Richard F. Dabbs of South Carolina. They flew regular patrols and reconnaissance flights over the picturesque Caribbean, responding to reports of German submarines and providing some escort cover for convoys. Bert Shea disappeared on September 15, 1942. He was on a flight with Lt. Dabbs – some accounts state they were searching for a downed pilot from their squadron – when they ran into a storm. Search parties could find no trace of the Marines or their aircraft.
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Entered the service from Maine.
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Entered the service from Maine.
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PFC, US MARINE CORPS WORLD WAR II
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