1942 PBY Catalina Aircrew Memorial
East Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii
Marker Inscription
Not far from here, on April 5, 1942, nine American naval aviators perished in the service of their country. ENSIGN WILLIAM H. HOWE ENSIGN GEORGE L. DOLL ORREN A. ROBERTS AMM1c NAP JOSEPH H. HAYMAN AMM3c JACK PARISH ARM2c BILLY B. HERRIN AMM2C DELBERT G. BERCHOT AM3c CHARLES L. ANDREWS RM3c WILLIAM F. ALLEN SEA1c They crashed their Consolidated "Catalina" PBY-5A Serial 2487 seaplane, returning from 12.5 hours of patrolling the waters around Hawaii for enemy forces. They crashed trying to land in foul weather and darkness, mistaking the Makapu'u light for Barbers Point light and hit the hillside during a low altitude circling maneuver. You are not forgotten. Placed by the Hawaii Museum of Flying… transcription continues on the marker
This transcription may be incomplete
Our source stores marker text in a field capped at 255 characters, and this inscription appears to have been cut off. We won’t guess at the missing words — the inscription is the primary source, and inventing it would be worse than leaving it short.
Have you stood in front of this marker? Send us the full text or a photo of the sign and we’ll complete the record.
The Story
This memorial remembers nine U.S. naval aviators who died on April 5, 1942, when their Consolidated PBY-5A 'Catalina' crashed near here while returning from a 12.5-hour patrol of Hawaiian waters. In the anxious months after Pearl Harbor, such long over-water patrols hunted for enemy forces; in foul weather and darkness the crew mistook the Makapu'u light for Barbers Point and struck the hillside. Placed by the Hawaii Museum of Flying, it names each man lost.
Why it matters
It preserves the memory of naval aircrew who died on wartime patrol in the vulnerable early days of World War II in the Pacific, honoring the everyday dangers of that vigilance.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
In the spring of 1942, the Pacific was a frightening place for the United States. The attack on Pearl Harbor the previous December had stunned the nation and thrust Hawai'i into the front lines of a war that was, in those early months, going badly. Fear of further attacks — even invasion — hung over the islands, and vigilance was constant.
Much of that vigilance fell to naval aviation. Long-range patrol aircraft ranged out over the vast ocean for hours on end, searching for enemy ships and submarines, straining to spot danger before it could reach Hawaiian waters. It was exhausting, monotonous, and, though it lacked the drama of battle, genuinely perilous work.
The aircraft that did much of this labor was the Consolidated PBY Catalina, a rugged flying boat that could stay aloft for many hours and cover enormous distances. Slow but dependable, the Catalina became one of the workhorses of the Pacific war, its crews the unglamorous sentinels of the ocean approaches.
People & events
On April 5, 1942, one such crew — nine American naval aviators — died near this spot, and the marker names every one of them: Ensign William H. Howe, Ensign George L. Doll, Orren A. Roberts, Joseph H. Hayman, Jack Parish, Billy B. Herrin, Delbert G. Berchot, Charles L. Andrews, and William F. Allen. Their ranks and ratings span the crew of a working patrol plane, from officers to enlisted airmen.
They were returning from twelve and a half hours of patrolling the waters around Hawai'i — a punishing shift of watching empty sea. As they came back in foul weather and darkness, they mistook the Makapu'u light for the Barbers Point light, and while circling low struck the hillside. Their aircraft, a PBY-5A bearing the serial number 2487, went down with all aboard.
The marker records these details with unflinching honesty, and it closes with the words placed by the Hawaii Museum of Flying: 'You are not forgotten.' There is no enemy in this story, no battle — only the ordinary, lethal danger of the work itself, and nine men who did not survive it.
Its place in the American story
For every airman lost in a famous battle, others died as these nine did — in accidents, in bad weather, in the sheer grind of wartime operations. Such losses rarely make the headlines, yet they were a constant and heavy cost of the war. This memorial insists that these deaths count no less than any other.
The crash also illuminates the anxious early months of the Pacific war, when Hawai'i braced for the worst and its defense rested on the endless patrols of aircraft like this one. The men who flew them were the eyes of the fleet, and their vigilance — dangerous even when no enemy appeared — was essential to the islands' security.
By naming each of the nine, the marker performs the fundamental work of a war memorial: refusing to let sacrifice dissolve into an anonymous total. These were individuals, each with a life and a family, and the record here keeps them present.
If you visit
Take in the setting first, because the setting explains the tragedy. Look toward the coast and the terrain, and consider how, on a dark and stormy night in 1942, a tired crew could confuse one lighthouse for another and fly into a hillside. The landscape makes the loss real in a way words cannot.
Then turn to the names. Read all nine slowly — that is the memorial's purpose, to make you dwell on each man rather than a number. Notice the closing words, 'You are not forgotten,' and understand that reading here is itself a way of keeping that promise.
This is a moving and reflective stop for anyone drawn to World War II history or the story of naval aviation. Let it leave you with a deeper respect for the routine, unheralded dangers of wartime service — and for the ordinary airmen who faced them far from any battlefield.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · William H. Howe
- · George L. Doll
- · Orren A. Roberts
- · Joseph H. Hayman
- · Jack Parish
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Ka Iwi Coast Preservation Marker
Honolulu, HI
This 2018 plaque honors the many O'ahu residents who, over four decades, resisted urban development along the wild Ka Iwi coastline between Hanauma and Makapu'u. Guided by aloha 'aina—love of the land—they helped preserve the coast's natural landscape, native plant habitats, and cultural sites. It commemorates one of Hawai'i's long-running grassroots conservation movements.
Cenotaph for Israel Kamakawiwoʻole
Kaneohe, HI
This cenotaph carries the words of Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole (1959–1997) himself, hope for the survival and flourishing of his people echoing his song "Facing Future." The Hawaiian singer's blend of gentle voice and cultural pride made him an enduring symbol of the islands after his early death, and his best-selling album remains the most popular Hawaiian record ever made.
Diamond Head Lighthouse
Honolulu, HI
Perched beside the ancient tuff cone of Diamond Head, this lighthouse has guided ships toward Honolulu since the early 20th century, its beam a fixed point on Oahu's volcanic coast. The crater itself was born of explosive eruptions thousands of years ago, and the light later became one of the islands' most recognizable maritime landmarks. It ties together Hawaii's dramatic geology and its history as a Pacific crossroads.
Kahi Hali'a Aloha Burial Mound
Honolulu, HI
Kāhi Hāli‘a Aloha — "The Place of Loving Remembrance" — marks a Native Hawaiian burial ground, a sacred resting place for ancestral iwi (bones) in the Hawaiian tradition that regards such remains as living links between the living and their forebears. In Hawaiian culture the care and protection of iwi kūpuna is a profound spiritual duty. The name itself invites all who pass to honor the ancestors laid here with reverence.