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Was Carole Lombard America's First Female Casualty of WWII?

Discussion in 'WWII Films & TV' started by ATNelson, Apr 3, 2009.

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  1. ATNelson

    ATNelson Member

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    I've been researching for my website - Victory Theater: Hollywood in World War II - and came across this claim. The comic actress, who was married to Clark Gable, died in a plane crash on 1/16/42 returning from a War Bonds tour.

    I'm a bit doubtful. There must have been female casualties at Pearl Harbor, others say it was true being only six weeks into the war. If so, maybe it's important.

    If anyone the knows the answer I will post it.

    Thanks

    AT
     
    ATNelson, Apr 3, 2009
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  2. C.Evans

    C.Evans Expert

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    Thanks for the info about her. I had not known she died that early on. I recently saw her-or I THINK it was her-opposite Gary Cooper in: Unconquered. Im going to have to recheck that to see if it was indeed Carole-or someone else?
     
    C.Evans, Apr 3, 2009
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  3. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    Women killed during the Pearl Harbor raid

    FAUFATA, Matilda Kaliko
    FOSTER, Rowena K.
    GONSALVES, Emma
    OHTA, Jane Yuriko
    ORNELLAS, Barbara June
    ORNELLAS, Gertrude
    WHITE, Alice
    WILSON, Eunice

    There were mostly likey more, as there were a good many Asian names on the list that I did not know the usual gender of.
     
    Slipdigit, Apr 3, 2009
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    Skipper and TA152 like this.
  4. C.Evans

    C.Evans Expert

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    Hi Jeff, good list and hopefully it was not much longer than that? There were some American Nurses raped repeatedly by Japanese soldiers when Bataan and Corrigador both fell. I can't remember how many were estimated to having gone through that additional hell.
     
    C.Evans, Apr 4, 2009
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  5. dgmitchell

    dgmitchell Ace

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    Jeff - That is a good list but I wonder if any of the female victims at Pearl Harbor were there on behalf of the US military or in some way participating in the war effort. They may have been purely civilian casualties and I expect they were because I do not believe there were any female military casualties at Pearl. That being the case, it is possible that the claims that AT is reading regarding Ms. Lombard could be true to the extent that Ms. Lombard might be the first fatality of a female acting on behalf of the USA in connection with the war effort, as opposed to a civilian casualty. Thoughts?
     
    dgmitchell, Apr 4, 2009
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  6. Skipper

    Skipper Kommodore

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    I wouldn't be surprised that civilian U.S. citizens were killed by bombings during the Blitzkrieg in Poland or the Benelux or BoB. Only some government workers had diplomatic immunity and "accidents" might have happened even if the USA wasn't at war then .
     
    Skipper, Apr 4, 2009
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  7. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    I remember reading somewhere as to what each of the civilain casualties were doing at the time of their deaths. Most, by far, were in Honolulu, attending to everyday activities, such as one family that was killed going to church. Some were killed on the military reservations, but I have no recollections of which ones were and if they were females.

    Edit: I found the list, showing where the civilians were killed. Deaths on the military posts seem to be mostly male, but there are a few foreign names that I cannot determine the gender of. One name, Yaeko Lillian Oda, 6 years old, was listed as being killed at Ewa. I'm guessing that Ewa here is the town and not the airfield. Tai Chung Loo, 19 was a Federal employee killed at Pearl Harbor (not the general area, but at the naval base itself) and Kamiko Kookano, 35 was killed at Kanehoe Bay NAS. Does anyone know if these names are male or female?

    Very likely, but how to find it? Or aid or missionary workers killed in China prior to the PH bombings?
     
    Slipdigit, Apr 4, 2009
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  8. Heidi

    Heidi Dishonorably Discharged

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    i highly doubt it,there were american female jounalists in england and europe in 1939 at the start of ww2,3 years before america enetred the war.
    there is a good chance of of this ladies could be the first american female casualtes.
     
    Heidi, Apr 4, 2009
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