Arthur J. Ward Jr.
Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade
Branch: U.S. Navy
Serial: O-263579
Unit: USS Yorktown CV-10, Fighter Squadron 1 VF-1
Entered the service from: New Jersey
Died: (missing in action; finding of death February 4, 1946)
Memorial: Tablets of the Missing, Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii
Awards: Air Medal, Purple Heart
Introduction
Arthur J. Ward Jr.
Lieutenant Junior Grade Arthur J. Ward Jr. was born in Pennsylvania in 1921. By 1930 the Ward family had moved to 39 Harvard Road in Audubon NJ. A graduate of Audubon High School, Arthur J. Ward Jr. continued his education at the West Nottingham Academy in Colors MD, where he had played football.
Arthur J. Ward Jr. enlisted in the United States Navy in June of 1942. After completing pre-flight training at Chapel Hill NC, he was sent to Memphis TN with John W. Muldoon Jr. of Haddon Heights NJ for preliminary flight training. He trained as a fighter pilot, and won his wings and was commissioned at Pensacola FL in April 1943. Arthur Ward Jr. married Thelma L. Shults in May of 1943. After further duty stateside, and promotion from Ensign to Lieutenant Junior Grade, Arthur Ward was sent overseas in the late spring of 1944 as a member of Fighter Squadron No. 1, VF-1. VF-1, operating the Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat was embarked on the USS Yorktown (CV-10) on its shakedown cruise in the Caribbean in June 1943. VF-1 was assigned with Carrier Air Group 1 (CVG-1) to USS Yorktown from May to August 1944.
Lieutenant Junior Grade Arthur J. Ward Jr. took part in Yorktown’s actions during the Battle of Saipan, the first Bonin raid, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and the second and third Bonin raids. Flying F6F-3 #41893, Lieutenant Junior Grade Ward was declared missing in action on July 3, 1944, during the Third Bonins Raid, against targets on Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima. His body was never recovered, and the Navy issued a finding of death on February 4, 1946. He was survived by his wife and family members, including a sister, Corporal Sara Ward, United States Army Women’s Auxiliary Corps, who was serving in England at the time of his death. His death was reported in the August 19, 1944 edition of the Camden Courier-Post.
High School Grads Seek Commissions
Camden Courier-Post —
Three Members of Haddon Heights Class of ’39 at University of N.C.
Three Haddon Heights High school graduates in the class of ’39 are at the University of North Carolina studying for commissions in the Naval Air Corps. They are Robert P. Davey Jr., 21, son of former Mayor and Mrs. Robert P. Davey, 229 Gibbsboro road, Clementon, William J. Muldoon Jr., 21, son of Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Muldoon, 9 Seventh avenue, Haddon Heights, and Arthur J. Ward Jr., 20, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Ward, 39 Harvard road, Audubon.
Davey studied business administration for three years at Rutgers, Muldoon was an RCA employe, and Ward worked at the New York Shipyard.
Musician In Service
Another Haddon Heights High graduate in the service is Corp. Francis Madajewski, who was inducted in the Army last April. His home is at 712 Newton avenue, Barrington. He was a salesman for an automobile agency and played in Ray Cathrall’s Orchestra. He is in the Air Corps at Miami Beach, Fla.
Photos
Grumman F6F Hellcats of VF-1 in flight in May of 1944
Audubon’s tribute to those who served in WWII. Arthur J. Ward Jr.’s name appears on the Audubon NJ World War II Memorial.