Edward K. Cornelius
Rank: Second Lieutenant
Branch: U.S. Army Air Forces
Serial: 0-688628
Unit: 64th Bomber Squadron, 43rd Bomber Group, Heavy
Entered the service from: New Jersey
Died:
Memorialized at: Tablets of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines
Awards: Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart
Introduction
Edward K. Cornelius
Second Lieutenant Edward Kenneth Cornelius was born in New Jersey on December 16, 1919 to Theodore R. and Elizabeth Cornelius. By 1930 the family was living with the grandmother, Amelia Cornelius, at 914 Vine Street in Camden NJ, where the father was a machinist. Besides Edward, there were two brothers, Theodore Thomas Cornelius and Robert Cornelius. Edward Cornelius was a graduate of Camden High School, where he was active in many activities.
Second Lieutenant Edward Kenneth Cornelius lived with his parents, Theodore R. & Elizabeth Cornelius, at this house, located at 914 Vine Street, in North Camden.
Edward K. Cornelius had qualified for flight duty after entering the Army. He entered the Army Air Corps in December 1942 and was assigned to the Pacific area in December 1943. Assigned to the 43rd Bomber Group as a navigator on a B-24 Liberator, his squadron was operating out of Nadzab, New Guinea when the aircraft he flew in, piloted by First Lieutenant John Duvall, was lost on June 13, 1944.
B-24 Liberator bomber, the type flown by the 43rd Bomber Group
Older brother Theodore Thomas Cornelius, serving in the United States Navy, had been lost when the submarine he served on, the USS Scorpion, was lost while on her fourth war patrol of the Pacific in February of 1944.
Lieut. Edward Cornelius, of Camden, Among Four Reported Missing
Camden Courier-Post —
Lieutenant Cornelius is the brother of a missing hero of Pacific submarine patrol duty. Another brother was awarded the Purple Heart.
The three men are the sons of Mr. and Mrs. Theodore R. Cornelius, of 914 Vine street, who have received War Department notification that Lieutenant Cornelius has been missing over New Guinea since June 13. His wife, Kathryn, lives at 3115 Robbins street, Philadelphia.
The missing man is the brother of Theodore Cornelius, 28, chief machinist in the Navy and former Courier-Post employe, who was reported missing in a submarine in the Pacific last March. Theodore’s parents have recently received a citation for his accomplishments while on submarine patrol duty in the Pacific. The third son, Robert, 21, is on active duty with the Navy. Last November, he was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received while serving in the vicinity of Italy. Theodore’s birthday was yesterday.
Was Navigator
Lieutenant Cornelius was assigned as a navigator on a Liberator bomber. He entered the Army Air Corps in Dec. 1942, and was assigned to the Pacific area in Dec. 1943.
The missing airman worked at the Courier-Post during school vacations. He is a graduate of Camden High school and studied at Drexel Institute of Technology and University of Pennsylvania. He was employed as a chemist at a duPont plant at the time of his induction. He was notified that he had been awarded an Air Medal and Oak Leaf Cluster, according to his family.
Beverly National Cemetery
Second Lieutenant Edward Kenneth Cornelius and his brother Chief Motor Machinist’s Mate Theodore Thomas Cornelius, U.S. Navy, were both lost during 1944. Neither man’s body was recovered. Two markers were erected, side by side, in their honor, at Beverly National Cemetery in Beverly NJ.