JOSEPH H. GOLLNER, LTJG, USN
Joseph Gollner '49
Lucky Bag
From the 1949 Lucky Bag:
Joseph H. Gollner
Salisbury, Maryland
Joe's first glance at this big world took place in Wheeling, West Virginia, but he eventually wound up as a native Marylander. After graduation from Wicomico High in Salisbury, "The Count", a Life Scout, sold his '34 Dodge and trekked to the U. of Maryland, where he was lured first by Sigma Chi and then by a Naval career. Without a doubt he was the most suave gent in these parts, but his French cuffs and fancy links caused him no end of trouble with the braid of Bancroft. For the women, the little guy was an explorer, but dynamite! Joe's many likes included swimming, music, hunting, flying, and the drums which he played like Krupa. His popularity insured him success whatever way he went, even over the wall. We didn't worry about him, though, for Joe was the sort of a guy who just couldn't miss the mark.
Joe was a member of the waterpolo team and manager of the swim team.
Joseph H. Gollner
Salisbury, Maryland
Joe's first glance at this big world took place in Wheeling, West Virginia, but he eventually wound up as a native Marylander. After graduation from Wicomico High in Salisbury, "The Count", a Life Scout, sold his '34 Dodge and trekked to the U. of Maryland, where he was lured first by Sigma Chi and then by a Naval career. Without a doubt he was the most suave gent in these parts, but his French cuffs and fancy links caused him no end of trouble with the braid of Bancroft. For the women, the little guy was an explorer, but dynamite! Joe's many likes included swimming, music, hunting, flying, and the drums which he played like Krupa. His popularity insured him success whatever way he went, even over the wall. We didn't worry about him, though, for Joe was the sort of a guy who just couldn't miss the mark.
Joe was a member of the waterpolo team and manager of the swim team.
Loss
From Find A Grave:
Joseph H Gollner graguated from the Naval Academy, class of 1949. He went to Naval Flight School and was assigned to fly the Navy's AD-4 aircraft. Assigned to VF-54, flying from the USS Essex (CV-9) off the East Coast of Korea, he was killed in the line of duty shortly after takeoff on 11 Jan 1952. The Action Report from the Essex reports: "LTJG Gollner's plane departed at 1235 and after a normal takeoff, jettisioned 1-one thousand bomb then climbed abruptly to about 900 ft, made three shallow turns to the right, the last turn steepened into a nose down diving spiral. The plane sank immediately after striking the water. Two helicopters conducted a fruitless search for the pilot. No radio transmissions were received from the pilot at any time. Cause unknown."
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
In 1940, Joseph received the Boy Scout Star Award as a member of Troop 151.
He was president of his junior and senior classes at Wicomico High School. As a junior, he sang in the boys chorus for the play operetta “Forest Prince.” In a previous senior class will: “Hotsie” White leaves his blushing to Joe Gollner. At the University of Maryland, he was in the ROTC band.
As a teen, Joseph experienced two drownings in Johnson’s Lake in Salisbury. In June 1940, Lawrence Esham was swimming with him and two other boys off his father’s boat. The boy sank, and Joseph’s father pushed an oar toward him, but he sank and drowned.
On June 29, 1944, Joseph pulled a fully-clad woman, Mrs. Roger W. Purcell, age 33, from Johnson’s Lake, but efforts to revive her were unsuccessful. She was the mother of two young daughters.
In May 1947, Joseph and Robert S. Clark (‘49,) also of Salisbury and the Naval Academy, accompanied Commander John D. Bulkeley to the Salisbury Rotary Club meeting. Bulkeley told how his PT squadron evacuated Gen. MacArthur from Bataan and rescued President Manuel Quezon from the island of Cebu.
Joseph received his wings on November 1, 1950. In September 1951, Joseph was the wing man for Lt. Francis J. (Joe) Prendergast in Korea during “Operation Strangle.” They bombed four railroad bridges south of Songjim, dropping two spans and ripping up track. They also bombed a marshaling yard and destroyed it.
From the Daily Times, Salisbury, Maryland, November 12, 1952:
Joseph was posthumously awarded The Distinguished Flying Cross and two Air Medals. The citation for the Distinguished Flying Cross was for action on October 29, 1951, when Lt. Gollner, in a strike against a strategic enemy headquarters at Kapsan, Korea, delivered napalm bombs at treetop level and continued to pinpoint targets with bombing and strafing attacks until all ordnance was expended and the assigned area completely demolished “thereby aiding immeasurably in the successful completion of the mission.”
He was presented the Air Medal for completing 20 strikes between August 23, 1951, and October 16, 1951, in which he attacked bridges, supply routes, gun emplacements and railway cars in Korea.
He received the Air Medal posthumously as an attack bomber pilot for air support flights, and bombing attacks against the enemy line of communication, gun emplacements, bridges, vehicles and troop concentrations for the same period.
The Gold Star, presented in lieu of a second Air Medal, cited Lt. Gollner for meritorious achievement as the pilot of a fighter plane with Carrier Group 5 operating in Korea from October 21, 1951, to January 5, 1952, in which he completed “20 combat missions and daring strikes over enemy held territory.”
The citation stated: “By his skilled airmanship, cool courage and unswerving devotion to duty in the face of grave hazards, he contributed materially to the success of his squadron, and upheld the highest tradition of the U. S. naval service.”
Joseph was a member of Wicomico Presbyterian Church since 1936. He married Bobby Wood on November 11, 1949. Her parents were Congressman and Mrs. John Wood of Washington, D. C.
Joseph was survived by his widow, his son John Marsh Gollner, his father W. Marsh who owned a chain of theaters, and mother Eureka (Dot.) His widow attended the Wicomico Class of 1944 tenth reunion in May 1954 to represent Joseph. She remarried in April 1960.
In 1953, Joseph’s parents talked with two roommates of Joseph from the carrier Essex. They were Lt. (j.g.) Emmett Aillaud and Lt. (j.g.) James McCallum. Joseph’s parents also gave a bronze war memorial plaque to the Wicomico Presbyterian Church in honor of Joseph. It also carried the names of those who died in WWII.
Photographs
Distinguished Flying Cross
From Hall of Valor:
(Citation Needed) - SYNOPSIS: Lieutenant, Junior Grade Joseph Henry Gollner (NSN: 0-521481), United States Navy, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (Posthumously) for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight while serving with Fighter Squadron FIFTY-FOUR (VF-54), embarked in U.S.S. ESSEX (CV-9), in action against enemy aggressor forces in Korea on 29 October 1951.
General Orders: All Hands (July 1952)
Action Date: October 29, 1951
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade
Company: Fighter Squadron 54 (VF-54)
Division: U.S.S. Essex (CV-9)
Memorial Hall Error?
Joseph is not listed on the killed in action panel in the front of Memorial Hall. While not an obvious error, inclusion on the panel for crashes like this (incidental to combat flights) has been inconsistent across WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
