Honoring Service: Fallen Veteran Charles E. Bateson, WWII
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Charles Edward Wagstaffe Bateson was born in Rye on January 14, 1916, to parents Charles W. and Charlotte Bateson. He, his parents, and his brother Phillip lived at 167 Purchase Street. He was a member of the Manursing Island Club and Charles served as an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.
Date of Birth: 1/4/1916
Died On: 10/8/1943
Street Address: 57 Highland Road
Service Number: 12027545
Branch of Service: U.S. Army Air Corps – 8th Fighter Group, 80th Fighter Squadron
Bateson enlisted on March 30, 1937, in Troop K, 101st Cavalry Squadron A, in New York City. After flight school, he was assigned as a fighter pilot to the 8th Fighter Group, 80th Fighter Squadron and was stationed in New Guinea.
Bateson was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for outstanding achievements in the Southwest Pacific, having participated in fifty operational flight missions against the Japanese in New Guinea.
He was declared missing in action on October 8, 1943, while on a mission over Madang, New Guinea. He was reportedly last seen heading out to sea in pursuit of a Japanese plane. Bateson was not officially declared deceased until December 15, 1945, two years after he went missing.
His name is inscribed on the Tablets of the Missing at The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. More on Bateson.
