Vernon L. Tebo
Lieutenant
Vernon was born April 21, 1917. He graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a B.S in Education and was a high school teacher. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in June 5, 1941 and served aboard the USS Makassar Strait (CVE-91) in the attached Squadron VC-97.

He is fondly remembered by his shipmates as being "quiet, religious, courteous and considerate of others." He was said to have been best known as a "great solo tenor" with appearances every Sunday in the hanger deck of the USS Makassar Strait. Highly regarded, his best known exploit was the sugar cane landing, as recalled by Vilas Dack a TBM pilot and the LSO that day.



Lt. Vernon L. Tebo was a TBM Avenger pilot in Air Squadron VC-97. He was killed in action on April 15, 1945 while flying a bombing mission over the island of Ishigaki. A memorial dedication was held on June 18, 2011 at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas. Memorial plaques and brick pavers were dedicated for Lt.Vernon L. Tebo and his crewmates Robert Tuggle Jr., AOM 1/c, and Warren Loyd ARM 1/c. A complete record of the June 18, 2011 Memorial Ceremony including photographs and HD video can be found on the Events page or by clicking [here].

The Bilingual Memorial Monument located on the Island of Ishigaki was also dedicated to these three men of Air Squadron VC-97. This monument dedication ceremony took place on August 15, 2001.

Source: https://shipleybay.com