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Dick’s Research on Bobby Jay Cosbie

For many years I have been curious about how, why and when Bobby Jay was killed during WWII. Where did it happen? What ship was he on? What were the flight operations that day? I remember Aunt Claire telling me one evening she knew very little other than what was printed in the newspapers at the time. She said the Navy wouldn’t release very much information during the war.

I thought it would be good to have the information so that in the future anyone wanting to know about Bobby’s service would have some details before it was lost forever. Many of the veterans of WWII are leaving us every day. I wanted to see if I could get as much information as possible before it’s too late.

Laurel and I were in Texas for a family reunion. I met David Judson, the husband of one of her cousins, who had served in World War II. He told me he was a member of the Navy League and some of the things they do are helping people get information on their relatives who served during the war. I asked him if there was a chance I could find out anything about my cousin.

Through the Navy League Dave contacted the Department of the Navy. They sent him a cover letter and a Report of Casualty and advised him that maybe the Naval Historical Center would be able to help. David was kind enough to send me the letter and the Report of Casualty.

The Report of Casualty showed the date Bobby was kittle and the squadron he was assigned to. This was a big help. I know Bobby flew TBF Avenger fighter-bombers for the Navy. TBF stood for Torpedo Bomber Fighter.

The TBF Avenger earned the reputation as the most deadly torpedo bomber ever developed in the battle of the Pacific during World War II. Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp. developed the plane. It became the standard torpedo bomber in the Navy and was produced in larger numbers than any other torpedo bomber ever used. Even the Marine Corps used the plane. The planes used by the Marine Corps were built by General Motors and designated TBM.

I spent hours searching the Internet trying to find some kind of lead to get me going. The Navy sites referred me to the National Archives. Once I got the their website it seemed very complicated, and I spent a lot of time trying to find information on Bobby’s squadron. Finally I found out there was a squadron called VT-82 during the war. I wanted more information, but they wanted you to write. Writing takes months and I didn’t want to wait that long.

So back to the Internet. I finally came across a website called Escort Carriers Sailors & Airmen Association. On the main page they had a link for Sailors Killed in Action & Operations of World War Two. I came upon an index that listed in alphabetical order the names of Sailors killed during operations in World War Two. I searched the “C” index and found Bobby’s name listed and his ship, CV-20.

During the war there were many different designations for our carriers. CV was an escort type carrier and searching the US Navy website I found out CV-20 was a carrier named the UUS Bennington.

I started searching for information about the USS Bennington. Most of what I could find was about the carrier’s service during the war: What battles it fought, where it was during certain dates, etc. Dates helped, because Bobby would go aboard in 1944.

One evening I came across a website for the UUS Bennington. This was great. The site contained lots of information about the ship, her crew and squadrons assigned to her. I sent an email to a fellow named Bill Copeland, and he forwarded it to all members of the Bennington who had registered on the site.

About two weeks later I received an email from George Mattimoe Ph.D. He was very kind and gave me some good information to go on. One thing he suggested was to contact the BUPERS (Bureau Personnel Records) in Washington. I did this and was told to contact National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO and Modern Military Reference Staff National Archives and Records Administration in College Part MD.

I did get a response from the National Archives and Records Administration. I asked them if I could obtain a copy of the USS Bennington ship logs for the period of February 1945. They mailed the forms required and I got the copies of the log. With the logs I was able to confirm the carrier was operating in the area that Bobby was shot down.

In the meantime, I found two names on the Bennington website of men who served in VT-82 during the same time Bobby was on the ship. I sent emails to both of them.

I received an email from Jane Carnazza whose dad was aboard the Bennington during the time Bobby was aboard the ship. She talked with her dad and he instantly remembered Bobby. Said he called him Cosbie. Said he remembered Bobby as an artist and poet and as one of the nicer pilots on the carrier. He said Bobby even wrote a poem about the squadron.

George Mattimore sent me another email and included the chronological report of the Torpedo Squadron 82 since it was organized during World War II. This contained lots of useful information.

I received a letter from Lauren Williams. Her dad, Lawrence Bay, served aboard the Bennington during the period, and she sent me copies of some reports the Navy used during the war. These turned out to be the actual combat reports that are filed the flight operations officer. They had all the information pertaining to the last mission Bobby flew.

I received a letter from Jesse Naul who was a pilot in Bobby’s squadron. He was flying in the flight behind Bobby and actually saw him get shot down. He saw Bobby’s plane get his and his wing blown off and the plane crash into the sea. He said after Bobby’s plane was hit it went into a spin and crashed into the wing of Lt. King’s plane and chewed of a portion of the wing before going down. Jesse sent pictures of King’s plane. This was almost unbelievable. I was able to find a former pilot who was actually on the same air strike and flying behind Bobby’s plane when it got hit.

I posted some of my research on a Dr. Wick’s website. He was a Naval doctor who served with the Marines on Chi Chi Jima. He sent me some information on the islands in the area. The Navy needed to secure the outer islands before the invasion of Iwo Jima to neutralize any enemy planes in the area. He told me I should contact James Bradley who had written a book about his dad who was Naval Corpsman attached to the Marine Corps in the battle of Iwo called The Flag of Our Fathers.

I did this and Jim called me and asked for copies of all my research.

I put a request on a Japanese website about the combat action at Chi Chi Jima on the day Bobby was shot down. Just did this to se if anything would come up. After many emails, I got a response from a fellow named Jugemu in Japan who sent along some information about the Japanese gun crews including some of their names. He did state that no POW’s from Chi Chi Jima survived the war. They were all executed. He seemed to be a guy with a real concern for others about what had happened to their relatives. He was very careful with his communications, not wanting to stir up old memories and upset people.

I decided to send this information along to James Bradley for his research on his new book Flyboys. Jim told me he had worked in Japan and had also make many trips to the outer islands, including Iwo Jima. We had a long talk about the things that occurred during that time period. Jim has been to Chi Chi Jima many times including once with former President Bush, who was shot down in the same area as Bobby was. There is going to be a special on MSNBC about their trip. Jim also speaks Japanese fluently, so he should have no trouble communicating with the fellow who sent the information about the gun crews. Chi Chi Jima, as it turned out, is a great dive area. Many people from all over the world go there to dive.

To sum up my research I want to say how helpful everyone was that I contacted. I have a feeling I did this just in time. The response to my emails and letters was great. I truly feel the generation that fought World War II was very special. Many gave their all, as Bobby did. As an amateur historian on the subject I realize the more I read what a tough and demanding job they had. Just ordinary people doing what needed to be done.

I have been contacted by three other people looking for information about their loved ones who served aboard the Bennington. I told them about the website and the other places I found. One did find a former crewmember who served with his dad.

These guys the served and flew off the carriers during the war were real heroes. If you go to an air museum and the size of the TBF and other planes that flew off carriers, you wonder how they did it. As George Mattimoe said, the dive-bomber and TBF pilots really nuts in their own way. Just think how much guts and courage it takes to dive your plane through enemy fire and drop a torpedo with all the guns on the enemy ships trying to shoot you down. In the battle of Midway one survived out the entire squadron.

I found that Bobby served aboard the carrier USS Bennington during 1944. He was a member of VT82, a Torpedo Bomber Squadron flying TBF Avenger aircraft. He was well liked and thought of as a real nice guy. His plane had a three-man crew including himself. Bobby was shot down on his second mission off the USS Bennington on February 18, 1945. His plane crashed into Futami Bay near Chi Chi Jima.

This has been a very interesting project. Seems like you can go on and on. Every week or so I seem to find out more information about the USS Bennington and her service during the war. I hope future generations of our family preserve the information I was able to put together about Bobby.

Dick Cosbie