Name:
Robert James Buel
Rank:
Second Lieutenant
Serial Number:
O-424901
Unit:
21st Pursuit Squadron, 35th Pursuit Group
Date of Death:
1942-02-15
State:
California
Cemetery:
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial Manila, , Philippines
Plot:
Wall of the Missing
Row:
Grave:
Decoration:
Purple Heart
Comments:
Born 28 Sep 1917 in
Sacramento, California.
Lt. Buel was killed in action in the Timor Sea north or northwest of Bathurst Island (near Darwin, Australia) on 15 Feb 1942. Flying a P-40 Kittyhawk, he was the sole American pilot to attack a Japanese Kawanishi flying boat which had bombed a U.S. Navy convoy that included the USS Houston. After an exchange of gunfire , both aircraft were shot down and crashed in the water with no survivors. His body was not recovered and this action was witnessed by crews of the U.S. Navy convoy.