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| Brothers Everett E. Plant, who enlisted first in the Merchant Marines and then the US Navy, along with his brother William Franklin Plant, joining the US Marine Corps. Both served in WWII, as did Sally Virgina (WAVE in US Navy) and Thomas Gustar Plant, (US Army, killed in action during North Africa landing in Port of Orano). | Everett E. Plant is a retired computer facilties engineer, now living in Danville, Illinois. |
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| William
(Bill) Plant served as a P-40 (Flying Tiger) mechanic with the Marine Air
Group-23 (MAG23). After the war, Bill spent some time back home in
New Hampshire and then moved to Alaska, enjoying the outdoors he truely
loved. Marine Air Group 23 was commissioned at EWA, Territory
of Hawaii, as part of the Second Marine Aircraft Wing, the group became
the first Marine aviation group to meet the enemy in the South Pacific.
The group formed the forward echelon of the First Marine Aircraft Wing and landed its first units at Henderson Field on 20 August 1942 when VMF-223 and VMSB-231 were flown off the USS LONG ISLAND headed for Guadalcanal. Ten days later the Group's rear echelon, comprised of VMF-224 and VMSB-232, joined the forward echelon at Henderson Field. |
MAG-23, augmented by Army and Navy land based air under the operational control of 1st MAW, furnished air support to the First Marine Division and Army ground forces in the epic struggle for Guadalcanal. Although the Group itself was comprised of only four Marine squadrons, personnel and aircraft of six Navy carrier squadrons, (VS-5, VB-6, VF-5, VS-71, VT-8 and VS-3) the 67th Army pursuit squadron, and detachments of Marine squadrons stationed at various South Pacific bases operated with MAG-23. This heterogeneous group shot down 244 enemy planes in four weeks. Navy pilots accounted 44, Army flyers, using p-400s shot down eight. The remaining 192 were credited to Marines. The price of that score was 22 Marine pilots killed in action...three by enemy naval gunfire. (Photo of P-40, Flying Tiger, landing) |
 
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| From Guadalcanal MAG-23 was transferred to the Naval Air Station at San Diego where it served from 18 November 1942 until 9 January 1943. The group was then transferred to Marine corps Air Station at El Toro until September 1943. On 19 September 1943 the Group landed at EWA and remained as part of Marine Air Hawaiian Area until May 1944. On 8 May 1944 the group transferred to Midway Island where it remained until the war ended. MAG-23 later returned to the West Coast and was decommissioned on 1 November 1945. | U.S. Army Private Thomas Gustar Plant II died at the Oran Beach landing. Photo of Coast Guard-manned sea-horse landing craft, as American troops leap forward to storm North African beach during final amphibious maneuvers." Photo by James D. Rose, Jr., ca. 1944. (26-G-2326 NARA) |
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| To assist in our Plant family research, we're looking for Sgt. Carl Weinke and Pvt. 1st Class Ernest Marjoram, Signal Corps cameramen, (pictured above) wading through stream while following infantry troops in forward area during invasion at a beach in New Guinea." T4c. Ernani D'Emidio, April 22, 1944. (111-SC-189623 NARA). | WAVE Sally Virgiana Plant alalyzed aerial photographs such as this one made from a B-17 Flying Fortress of the 8th AAF Bomber Command on 31 Dec. when they attacked the vital CAM ball- bearing plant and the nearby Hispano Suiza aircraft engine repair depot in Paris, France, 1943. (208-EX-249A-27 NARA) |
