History Man Posted October 26, 2011 Author Share #26 Posted October 26, 2011 I've got a name in "my great list of WWII naval aviators," Ralph E Boggs, Lieut, USNR, VBF-94, USS Lexington (CV-16), with a reference date of 24 July 1945. thanks for that info. so this guy served on the lexington. is there a way to get/find a picture of him? Philip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manayunkman Posted October 26, 2011 Share #27 Posted October 26, 2011 Lt. Boggs flew F4U-4 and was lost on July 24, 1945. Serial # of the plane was 81319. The report listed his condition as missing. There is a sight called the War Bird Exchange. Someone posted a request for a photo(s) of the F4U-4 explaining that their uncle was shot down on July 24, 1945. Could this be the nephew of Boggs ? The lexington only lost one F4U that day. By the way the squadron patch is a Fox who is delivering a pie full of rockets and bombs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted October 26, 2011 Author Share #28 Posted October 26, 2011 Lt. Boggs flew F4U-4 and was lost on July 24, 1945. Serial # of the plane was 81319. The report listed his condition as missing. There is a sight called the War Bird Exchange. Someone posted a request for a photo(s) of the F4U-4 explaining that their uncle was shot down on July 24, 1945. Could this be the nephew of Boggs ? The lexington only lost one F4U that day. By the way the squadron patch is a Fox who is delivering a pie full of rockets and bombs. so is this the same guy? if so then he made it to LT Commander. also is there a way to get photos of him and the plane he flew? would there be a way to find out how he earned the Navy Commendation and Purple Heart? Philip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manayunkman Posted October 26, 2011 Share #29 Posted October 26, 2011 so is this the same guy? if so then he made it to LT Commander. also is there a way to get photos of him and the plane he flew? would there be a way to find out how he earned the Navy Commendation and Purple Heart? Philip Philip I can't verify it to be the same guy. Google VBF-94 and you will find a photo of the patch. I don't know how to link it. All your other questions are above my pay grade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manayunkman Posted October 26, 2011 Share #30 Posted October 26, 2011 Lt. Boggs flew F4U-4 and was lost on July 24, 1945. Serial # of the plane was 81319. The report listed his condition as missing. There is a sight called the War Bird Exchange. Someone posted a request for a photo(s) of the F4U-4 explaining that their uncle was shot down on July 24, 1945. Could this be the nephew of Boggs ? The lexington only lost one F4U that day. By the way the squadron patch is a Fox who is delivering a pie full of rockets and bombs. Correction the Lexington lost 5 F4U on the 24th. Does the blue jacket have a date in it ? Boggs was missing on a mission as an Lt. He was either found or became a POW or somehow lived through the ordeal to achieve a higher rank. Or this is not the same guy. The Guy from the Lexington is Ralph E. Boggs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted October 26, 2011 Author Share #31 Posted October 26, 2011 no date in the blue jacket. just the name Boggs in the blue one . the name in the green coat is : Boggs R. H. could there be a mistake because the names are too close together and there is no doubt these 2 coats belonged to the same man. i think they belonged to the same Boggs on the Lexington as the first and last names match and Boggs is not a common name. Philip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manayunkman Posted October 26, 2011 Share #32 Posted October 26, 2011 no date in the blue jacket. just the name Boggs in the blue one . the name in the green coat is : Boggs R. H. could there be a mistake because the names are too close together and there is no doubt these 2 coats belonged to the same man. i think they belonged to the same Boggs on the Lexington as the first and last names match and Boggs is not a common name. Philip Could it be possible that the H is an E ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share #33 Posted October 27, 2011 maybe, but when i looked at i saw an H and so did my dad. it doesnt make sense as the name isnt common, he was also a pilot, and the rank matches. too many things add up. is there a way to tell if there was a person by the name R. H. Boggs? or could it be that the H. was a mistake by him? Philip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted October 27, 2011 Share #34 Posted October 27, 2011 Only one problem....Ralph E Boggs never came back. So I'm guessing these didn't belong to him, or belonged to him at one point and then were used by another aviator... Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manayunkman Posted October 27, 2011 Share #35 Posted October 27, 2011 Dave is right. Boggs was lost over " Empire ", that is Japan, and that is how it is listed on the report. The green uniform could be his but he never made Lt. Commander. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share #36 Posted October 27, 2011 then why would the LT Commander uniform bear the same name Boggs? was there another aviator? so the green one could still be his? Philip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted October 27, 2011 Share #37 Posted October 27, 2011 then why would the LT Commander uniform bear the same name Boggs? was there another aviator? so the green one could still be his? Philip I'm doubting either belonged to the Boggs who was MIA. There are 5 Boggs in the 1944 Register, and 4 in the 1947 Register, but none with initials that start with an "R", and none were pilots. I'm certain he was a reservist his entire career, making this a very tough research project. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share #38 Posted October 27, 2011 I'm doubting either belonged to the Boggs who was MIA. There are 5 Boggs in the 1944 Register, and 4 in the 1947 Register, but none with initials that start with an "R", and none were pilots. I'm certain he was a reservist his entire career, making this a very tough research project. Dave how would the guy earn a purple heart, pilot wings, navy commendation, battle stars for ww2 campaign if he was a reservist? maybe the green uniform belonged to him? Philip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY Militaria Posted October 27, 2011 Share #39 Posted October 27, 2011 Reservists go to war too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OD MAN Posted October 27, 2011 Share #40 Posted October 27, 2011 how would the guy earn a purple heart, pilot wings, navy commendation, battle stars for ww2 campaign if he was a reservist? maybe the green uniform belonged to him? Philip ? The majority of US Sailors and Marines were in the reserves during WWII. Most reserves in WWII were active duty. Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share #41 Posted October 27, 2011 so is there any chance this belonged to the MIA Boggs (green LT uniform). any other Boggs in the navy as an officer? or did these 2 belong to a different one? :think: Philip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbranch Posted October 27, 2011 Share #42 Posted October 27, 2011 Pretty much everyone who joined the Navy following Pearl Harbor became part of the USNR. One very obvious avenue of research would be to look up the casualty lists, categorized by state, for the Navy/USMC in WWII. The National Archives had these posted online, but I can't seem to access them right now. He was awarded the Purple heart, so there's a really good chance he'll be listed in the "wounded" section if you dig through all the states. I'd find names on the SSDI that match up (by initials, birth year, sex, etc.) so you can focus on a few specific states (it'll make your search easier). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share #43 Posted October 27, 2011 i know this is a dumb question but i always have difficulties navigating NARA, how do i get to the casualty section and the branch section? Philip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbranch Posted October 27, 2011 Share #44 Posted October 27, 2011 I always accessed it through this site, but I'm not getting it to open now. Might be a network issue on my end, or a server issue on theirs: http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/topics/ww2/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share #45 Posted October 27, 2011 yea, i found it. already up to Michigan with no matches with wounded. i believe the green uniform belonged to the MIA Pilot. Philip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted October 27, 2011 Share #46 Posted October 27, 2011 yea, i found it. already up to Michigan with no matches with wounded. i believe the green uniform belonged to the MIA Pilot. Philip Since there is a WWII Victory ribbon on his uniform, I dont think belonged to the MIA pilot. Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbranch Posted October 27, 2011 Share #47 Posted October 27, 2011 I'd be very doubtful either of these belong to the MIA pilot. Exhaust all other avenues of research before coming to any conclusions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share #48 Posted October 27, 2011 just went through the records a second time and i have found no other USN wounded officers by the name of Boggs. they were just USMC. this is confusing me as these came straight from the family to the swapmeet the next day then into my possession. the LT Commander uniform probably came from the same place and the ribbons didnt change order. i think these 2 uniforms belonged to the same man just no the MIA pilot. Philip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY Militaria Posted October 27, 2011 Share #49 Posted October 27, 2011 Don't forget, most online records are incomplete. Not all names are in the database. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Leonard Posted October 27, 2011 Share #50 Posted October 27, 2011 Guess this is a good time to chime in with an "I guess it's not the guy on my list, eh." Apologize for any bum steer. R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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