STAFF SERGEANT EVERETT JOSEPH PLUMMER; U.S. ARMY AIR FORCE

DOB/DOD: September 28, 1907 (Portage, ME) – August 24, 1943; 33 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
LOCAL ADDRESS: 8 Baxter Drive, South Norwalk
ENLISTMENT: June 3, 1942
SERVICE NUMBER: 31123763
UNIT: 425th Bomber Squadron, 308th Bomber Group (Heavy)
STATUS: Missing In Action (MIA)

FAMILY: Born to Rex E. (1883-1947) and Flossie Gagnon Plummer (1883-1962). Four brothers, Herman F. (1906-1987), Lawrence C. (1910-1936), Gerald F. (1911-1977), and Louis J. (1914-1987). One sister, Mildred L. Plummer Fairclough (1912-1999).

DECORATIONS: Awarded the Air Medal and Purple Heart Medal.

CIRCUMSTANCES: Killed in a B-24D crash in China

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Norwalk High School Class of 1928

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From the Connecticut Military Portrait Collection, Connecticut State Library, Identifier: PG570; used with permission

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B-24D #42-40845 took off, with a crew of 10, from Kunming, China, on a combat mission over Hankow, China. They were shot down by Japanese fighter planes. The crew was given the order to bail out due to extreme damage. Six members of the crew were lost; names are in italics below:

CREW MEMBERS

Pilot, 1st Lt Joseph Hart; EUS
Co-pilot, 2d Lt Clarence B. Stanley; Perkins County, SD; KIA
Navigator, 2d Lt Frederick A. Scheuerman; Ridgefield Park, NJ; (1917-1975)
Bombardier, 2d Lt Gordon M. Ruhf; Easton, PA; (1918-1992)
Radio Operator, TSG John B. Myre; Tover; MN; KIA
Engineer, TSG Alan I. Solberg; Koochiching, MN; (1915-1986)
Asst Engineer, SSG Everett J. Plummer; Norwalk, CT; Finding of Death
Asst Radio Operator, SSG Ray L. Clark; Washington County, WI; KIA
Gunner, SSG Willis J. Welch; Madison, SD; Finding of Death
Armorer Gunner, SSG Arthur A. Tuchek; Protivin, IA; KIA

NOTE: The pilot, who survived, saw a wounded SSG Plummer heading toward the rear of the plane.

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From The Norwalk Hour September 3, 1943

SGT PLUMMER MISSING IN ACTION
Was Turret Gunner In U.S. Air Force In Asia; Hatch And Bailey Co. Salesman

Staff Sergeant Everett Joseph Plummer, a former salesman for the Hatch and Bailey Company and who was a top turret gunner with the United States Flying Force in Asia, has been reported missing in action since August 21, following a flight over enemy-held territory in the Pacific. This grim report was a cable from Staff Sergeant Plummer’s commanding officer received Wednesday by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Rex Plummer of Westport. The cable, lacking in detail, read, “Regret to inform you that your son, Everett J. Plummer, is missing in action in the Asiatic area.” Plummer was accepted into the Air Corps on June 3, 1942, and during the 15 months he has been in the service, he saw plenty of action. He is believed by his parents and friends to have entered the Asiatic zone of operations about two months ago. On two other occasions, Staff Sergeant Plummer is reported to have narrowly missed fatal action. On one occasion, arriving one day late on return from furlough, Sergeant Plummer thereby missed his scheduled trip in the sky. That plane never returned. A second time, Plummer bailed out of a plane, landing uninjured in a tree. The remainder of the crew never returned. Sergeant Plummer is believed to have been aboard the plane “Glamour Girl” on its ill-fated last mission. His parents are endeavoring to obtain further details from the War Department. Plummer is well known in Norwalk, and a wide circle of friends is hoping that he will turn up alive in a later communication. He is a member of the Railroad Avenue Business Men’s Association.

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Memorialized on “The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan” in Nanjing, China. This memorial honors 870 Chinese, 2,197 Americans, 231 Soviets, and 2 Koreans who gave their lives to defend China from the Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. 

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Memorialized Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, 1634 McKinley Road, Taguig City, Philippines

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