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WWII USN Fighter Bomber Pilot Grouping VB-305 , VBF-3


KASTAUFFER
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I acquire this grouping yesterday from the Grand-Daughter of Lt. Cdr Robert S. Rice . Our kids both belong to the same Cub Scout troop. I had known he was a Naval Aviator and he had even come talk to the Scout troop . Unfortunately in January 2007 he passed away .

 

Here is his obituary :

 

Rice, Robert Wednesday, 24 Jan 2007 Central Kitsap Reporter Central Kitsap, WA Robert S. Rice, 87

Robert S. Rice, of Silverdale, died Jan. 24, 2007, at the Life Care Center in Bothell. He was 87.

Mr. Rice grew up in New Haven, Conn., and attended preparatory school and college on scholastic scholarships. He was on his college crew, football, track and tennis teams.

During World War II, he was a Navy dive bomber and fighter pilot and completed 86 combat missions, including the first attack by a U.S. carrier aircraft on Japan. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was also a commercial pilot for more than 45 years.

His varied interests included worldwide travel and he also was a host for several cruise lines. He enjoyed hiking, mountain climbing, skiing, bowling, swim aerobics, duplicate bridge, singing in choirs and writing for publications. Mr. Rice served on the Boards of The Retired Officers Association, Community Concert Series Association and church councils. He was a member of the Association of Naval Aviation.

In 1987, Mr. Rice received his college’s highest alumni award, the Colby Brick, “for distinguished service as Class President, and Class Agent for over 30 years.” His career included working in different capacities for several major organizations, including Seafirst Bank, Standard Oil and Xerox. He also was president of a commercial photography business in New York City.

Mr. Rice also was a Scoutmaster and Cubmaster in Bremerton. He fought fires for the Forest Service in Washington, mined for gold in Arizona and Alaska and hitchhiked eight times across the United States in the late ’30s and early ’40s.

Mr. Rice is survived by his children . He was blessed with two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A memorial service for Mr. Rice is at 1 p.m. next Saturday, Feb. 10, at Silverdale Lutheran Church, 11701 Ridgepoint Drive NW. Interment will be at 1:45 p.m. on Feb. 12, at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent.

 

He was a true American Hero.

 

After he passed away , his family kept various momentos that were important to each of them. The following items represent what was left that his Grand-Daughter passed on to me to take care of .

 

Rest in Peace Bob.

 

 

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Here are Lt Cdr Rice' s Medals and insignia . In 1995 he received the DFC many years after the war . In a ceremony in 1995 he received the DFC and a new Air Medal at Chino . His Grand-Daughter is keeping the newer issue DFC and Air Medal for her sons . The Medal bar here represents the awards he was presented with during the war , and wore until he retired from the USN in 1960 .

 

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His Wings , Ribbon Bars and leather flight jacket nametag . Unfortunatly Bob clipped the pin off the back of the wing so that it could be put in a frame.

 

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Here are the Citations for DFC and Multiple Air Medal awards that were presented to him in 1995 . During WWII he had been awarded the Air Medal with 2 Gold Stars . In 1994 his awards were reviewed and he was presented with a DFC and an additional 3 Gold Stars for his AM .

 

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The newspaper article from 1995 concerning the presentation of his awards at Chino .

 

Rice17.JPG

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Bob wrote a book about his experiences with VB-305 and VBF-3 called " Bomber Fighter " which he used to sell . I am currently reading it. Here is the cover page.

 

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Flying can be dangerous! Here are some more photos , including some of Bob in the hospital after a near fatal crash .

 

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Bob was a graduate of the V-5 program . Here is his graduation certificate from Chapel Hill . Also shown is his commission as a Lt Cdr.

 

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Lastly, here is his Aviation Green uniform that he wore throughout his career and his tans from that date from the 1950's .

 

 

This thread is a tribute to Lt Cdr Rice and his contributions to this country . I will be forwarding this link to his family for them to see!

 

 

 

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Kurt,

What can I say? I think it is fantastic that the family has allowed you to be the caretaker of this hero's uniforms and medals.

It is also rather interesting that his SBD crash was attributed to sabotage!

I'll also bet there was an interesting story behind his getting his DFC 50 plus years after the fact.

This is a great group. Thanks for sharing!

Allan

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Kurt,

 

I have to agree with Allan.

 

Thanks for sharing from me as well, and thanks to the daughter for allowing her fathers history to be shared with the world!

 

Gary

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Hey Kurt !!

 

A wonderful grouping that represents this gallant flyiers contribution to the freedoms that we enjoy today !! thumbsup.gif

 

Vic

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Veterans are known to receive retroactive awards pertaining to their service in war-time. Many veterans qualified for a certain medal/award, but for some reason, they never received it. Sometimes this was because paperwork was lost, or the deed was overlooked. There are, of course, many other reasons that a soldier was never awarded a medal that he otherwise should have received.

 

I often notice that some collectors are suspicious of some uniforms that lack a medal that, in theory, should be on a given uniform. While this should raise a red flag in many cases, one should also keep in mind that many soldiers never received a medal that they had qualified for. My father's service in the army would be a good case-in-point.

 

Patriot

 

Very nice group!! I wonder why he recieved his DFC so many years later?

Erich

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  • 8 months later...

I just got a copy of Bob Rice's book this afternoon when I picked up a bunch of stuff from the estate of the late Capt. John Iarrobino, USN ret, who was VB-305's XO in WWII and skipper of the Oriskany when she had the big fire during the Vietnam War. Iarrobino was apparently the one who got the ball rolling to get Rice and others their medals 50 years after the fact.

 

Bob signed the book to Iarrobino and took pains to point out the events on pages 90-91.

 

I may be able to get some photos and 16mm film from VB-305, but won't know for another week or two.

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I just got a copy of Bob Rice's book this afternoon when I picked up a bunch of stuff from the estate of the late Capt. John Iarrobino, USN ret, who was VB-305's XO in WWII and skipper of the Oriskany when she had the big fire during the Vietnam War. Iarrobino was apparently the one who got the ball rolling to get Rice and others their medals 50 years after the fact.

 

Bob signed the book to Iarrobino and took pains to point out the events on pages 90-91.

 

I may be able to get some photos and 16mm film from VB-305, but won't know for another week or two.

 

Cool! I'd love to see some of that footage !

 

Kurt

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  • 5 months later...

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