Charles Noble Kirkham Full Narrative
Summary:
Charles Kirkham studied Mechanical Engineering at WSC in 1941 before joining the Navy. As a pilot on the USS Shangri-La, Kirkham’s plane went down at sea in June 1945 when he ran out of fuel while guarding his downed wingman. His body was never recovereDescription:
Charles Kirkham was born in Canada but moved to the Yakima Valley in 1936, where he graduated from Sunnyside High School in 1940. He attended WSC as a mechanical engineer in 1941 but left to join the Navy soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Lieutenant Kirkham served as a naval aviator on the USS Shangri-La (commissioned September 1944, engaged in combat operations in off Japan from April 1945 onward). Kirkham’s last mission was over the southernmost Japanese home island of Kyushu, on June 2-3 or 8th.
People:
Charles Noble KirkhamLocation:
Location Description:
At sea off the island of Kyushu