Robert M. ("Ack") Acker - After his service in the VMSB243, Bob returned stateside in December of 1944 and remained in the Marine Corps until December, 1945. He married his high school sweetheart, Gerry, in January of 1945, with fellow squadron member, Bud Ahrens, as his best man. After the war ended, Bob returned to Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (now Iowa State University) and graduated in 1949 with a B.S. in Dairy Industry. He was in the dairy industry in various capacities from 1949 to 1951, and 1953 to 1992. In 1951, Bob returned to active duty in Cherry Point, NC and was promoted to Major in June, 1952. He returned to Iowa in April, 1953 and resigned in 1955. Bob and Gerry had eight children, six daughters and two sons, and nineteen grandchildren. Gerry died of cancer in 1985. Bob married Muriel in 1988 and after they retired, they moved to Colorado and then Florida. He passed away April 30, 2001, also from cancer. Throughout his life he cherished all things related to aviation and the Marine Corps.

Joseph ("Little Joe") Baker – Following the war, Joe and fellow VMSB243 pilot, Conway Anderson, attended Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania under the G.I. Bill. Both earned B.S. Degrees in Industrial Engineering. Shortly after graduation, Joe got married and was employed at U.S. Steel in McKeesport, PA. Joe and his family lived in Pennsylvania until he was called up to serve in the Korean War. At that time, his family relocated to Cherry Point, North Carolina and finally ended up in El Toro, California. Joe graduated up from flying SBDs and loved flying jets and was often heard saying, “I’ll never give up my wings.” Upon returning to civilian life, Joe and his family opted to remain in California where, like many engineers (and especially former military pilots), he worked for numerous aircraft manufacturing plants in the Los Angeles area. He really loved his work. Over the years, he shared many great memories and conversations with his family and friends of his days in the South Pacific. Joe and his wife, Nancy, had two children, Susan and Joseph. Joe passed away of a heart attack in 1984. While his family will always miss him, what they say they miss the most is his contagious sense of humor. 10/28/08

Harold A. (“Clem”) Clemetsen passed away in East Lansing, Michigan on February 26, 2008, just a month shy of his 89th birthday. After his military service he moved to New Jersey where he worked as an industrial chemical sales representative responsible for accounts throughout the eastern United States. Upon retirement, he and his wife Betsy, (who preceded him in death) returned to East Lansing. An ardent community supporter, Harold was an active member of Kiwanis International for over 40 years, including a stint as President while living in New Jersey. Harold learned to fly at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan in the early 40s, before he joined the Marines. While he was challenged with numerous health issues prior to his death, including recovering from two major strokes and very limited vision, Harold’s eyes still lit up and a smile punctuated his face when he was reminded of his Marine Corps service and his glory days soaring the “wild blue” over the South Pacific in 1944. Harold toured this website for the first and only time on the 4 th of July in 2007 and was delighted with all of the memories it brought back. But what he was most excited about was the fact that all of the “boys’ were together once again. And for this tour of duty, forever. 3/10/08

Vance A. ("Val") Lahey married June Rose Campbell on May 14, 1948, in Tucumcari, New Mexico. He was a farmer and rancher and was especially fond of his favorite horse “Whip.” He served as a member of the Federal Land Bank for 12 years. He was also an avid fan of dirt track racing. Vance was an active member of the United Methodist Church in Moscow and a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Masonic Lodge (both of Hugoton, Kansas). He received his 60-year Masonic pin in 2006. Vance passed away, at the age of 84, on October 14, 2006 in Wichita, Kansas.

Jack R. ("Mac") McKinney - After serving his country, Jack married the love of his life, Barbara, in February of 1948. Around the same time, he began his career with the Shell Oil Company which resulted in many moves over the years from their hometown of Portsmouth, Ohio to Toledo, to Cleveland and then to Texas, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where Jack passed away in 1967 at the young age of 46, following his third heart attack. Jack and Barbara had three children; two sons, Richard and Jack, and a daughter, Nancy. Today Barbara is the proud grandmother of eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Quoting his son, Richard, “Like many men of his era, dad didn’t talk much about the war. I know that he was very proud of his service, but pride never gave way to boasting. I remember once as a kid, caught up in the fascination with a war on a television series, like Combat, I asked him if he ever killed any Japanese in the war. I’ll never forget his reply. ‘I did what my country asked me to do and I’m proud of that. But those men that I killed had families that loved them too so I don’t take any pride in their death.’ It was a sobering moment for me that brought home the tragic side of war.” 3/19/09

Lt. Col. (Ret.) Simon L. (“Spider”) Webb - A former Marine Corps Reserve Lt. Col, retired Army Reserve Lt.Col., and veteran of the battles for the Solomon Islands in early WW2, now lives in Oxford, MS. A Helena, AR native who graduated from high school in 1936, he attended Notre Dame two years and transferred to Ole Miss in 1939 where he met his future wife Dorothy Ann Thompson of Laurel, MS. They married in 1944 and she died in 1987. Their two children are Tom Webb of Collierville, TN and Sally Boteler of Upper Arlington, OH.

Rather than being drafted he enlisted in the Navy V5 Naval Aviator program in July 1941 and chose a commission in the Marine Corps on graduation. He flew the Douglas Dauntless SBD dive-bomber with Marine Scout Bomber Squadron 243 for two combat tours in the Solomon Islands campaigns in 1943-44, and one as Flight Officer of Squadron 244. His squadron call sign Spider became his nickname.

Flying from Munda Point on New Georgia, Piva Yoke on Bougainville and Green Island, VMSB-243 supported the Third Marine Division landing on Bougainville and bombed most of the Japanese airfields supporting Japanese efforts to stem the American advance. Their toughest target was Rabaul on New Britain, a major Japanese base with deepwater port and five airfields. It was later isolated and bypassed after McArthur pushed west on New Guinea and the Marines started island hopping in the Central Pacific.

Webb advanced to Captain during WW2 and retrained as a night-fighter flying F7Fs. Promoted to major in 1947 he served as Executive Officer of Reserve Squadron VMF-541 flying F6Fs and F8Fs in Birmingham, AL, then during the Korean affair as a pilot in VMF(N)–531, S2 of MAG-24 and CO of MABS-24. He was promoted to Lt.Col. in 1953, then transferred to the Army Reserve in 1956 to earn Reserve pay and retirement points.

But Once a Marine, always a Marine. He is a life member of the Marine Corps Aviation Association, the Military Officers of America and The Distinguished Flying Cross Society. He retired from Champion International Corp in 1983 and moved from Stratford, CT to Laurel, MS.

At 88, Spider says it all happened long ago and far away, and he’s been telling his war stories so long that he’s beginning to believe some of them. 9/3/07