CPT Jeremiah David Shanahan

Comments: Captain Shanahan was the pilot of a F4U-4B Corsair fighter with Marine Fighter Squadron 214, Marine Air Group 12, 1st Marine Air Wing. On July 27, 1951, while on bombing mission over North Korea, his aircraft received a direct hit by anti-aircraft fire, crashed and burst into flames. He was listed as Missing in Action and was presumed dead on December 15, 1953. Irish heritage. Pusan K-1.

Unit Records - PDF page 26.

DPAA: Captain Jeremiah David Shanahan entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Massachusetts and served in Marine Fighter Squadron 214, Marine Air Group 12, 1st Marine Air Wing. On the morning of July 27, 1951, he piloted an F4U-4B Corsair (bureau number 97404) as one of four aircraft on an armed reconnaissance mission south of the North Korean port of Wonsan. The flight reached the target area and initiated attack runs. Captain Shanahan's aircraft was next seen east of the target area before it disappeared into the clouds for unknown reasons. The rest of the flight descended below the clouds to attempt to reestablish visual contact with the Corsair and located what appeared to be the aircraft's wreckage in the water close to shore. The other pilots orbited the crash site but saw no sign of Capt Shanahan and called for a rescue helicopter. The helicopter was also unable to locate Capt Shanahan. There is no evidence suggesting he survived the crash or was ever alive in enemy hands, and his remains were never recovered or identified.