Gilbert Fletcher Gauldin, son of Nash Gauldin and Sallie Hardy is honored on The Punchbowl Memorial
- Catherine Gauldin
- 3 days ago
- 8 min read
The Punchbowl Memorial, formally known as the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, is one of the most sacred military sites in the United States. Located in Honolulu, Hawaii, it honors American servicemen and women—especially those from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War—who died in the Pacific theater or whose remains were never recovered.
The Punchbowl Memorial: History, Purpose, and Meaning
The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, commonly called the Punchbowl Memorial, sits within the ancient volcanic crater known as Puowaina, meaning “Hill of Sacrifice” in Hawaiian. Long before it became a military cemetery, the site was used for ceremonial offerings. Its modern role—honoring American war dead—continues that legacy of solemn remembrance. The cemetery was established in 1949, when the United States sought a dignified resting place for thousands of service members who died in the Pacific during World War II. Over time, the memorial expanded to include those lost in the Korean War and Vietnam War, especially airmen and sailors whose bodies were never recovered. (1)
Today, Punchbowl is one of the most visited military cemeteries in the world, known for its sweeping views of Honolulu, its quiet lawns, and its powerful memorial architecture.
Military Narrative of Aviation Electrician’s Mate Gilbert Fletcher Gauldin (1925–1953)
Gilbert Fletcher Gauldin entered adulthood at a time when military service shaped the lives of countless young Americans. Born in 1925 in rural Rockingham County, North Carolina, he grew up in a large family headed by his widowed mother, Sallie Hardy Gauldin. The hardships of the Great Depression and the responsibilities shared among his older siblings prepared him for the discipline, resilience, and technical skill that would define his naval career.
By the mid‑1940s, Gilbert had enlisted in the United States Navy, joining the branch that would become both his profession and his fate. His early service records place him in the Pacific theater shortly after World War II. Passenger lists from Honolulu, Hawaii, show him traveling between Hawaii and Los Angeles in 1947 (2), indicating active duty assignments or transport connected to naval aviation operations. These movements reflect the Navy’s continued presence in the Pacific during the tense postwar years, when American forces maintained strategic readiness amid rising Cold War pressures.
Gilbert’s naval specialty placed him among the highly trained technical personnel essential to aviation operations. By 1948, he appears in the U.S. Navy Muster Rolls aboard the USS Thomas Jefferson, serving as an Aviation Metalsmith and later advancing to Aviation Electrician’s Mate. (6) These roles required expertise in aircraft structural repair, electrical systems, and onboard maintenance—critical responsibilities in an era when naval aviation was rapidly expanding and increasingly central to American military strategy.
This appeared in a Danville newspaper on 27 May 1946
Danville Seaman Given Air Medal for Good Service
Gilbert Fletcher Gauldin, seaman, first class, ward of Mrs. Davis G. Elliott, 735 Patton Street, Danville, Va has been presented the Air Medal by Secretary of Navy James Forrestal for the President. The citations reads as follows: "For meritorious achievement in aerial flight as aircrewman in Scouting Squadron 31, operating against enemy forces in the Atlantic area. Steadfast and courageous in the face of treacherous winter weather conditions, Gauldin participated in numerous operational flights in a one-engine land plane, rendering valiant service throughout convoy escort, anti-submarine patrol sweeps and submarine contact investigation. By his expert technical ability and unwavering devoting to duty despite grave hazards, he contributed materially to the success of his squadron toward effecting the safe passage of shipping through these waters and toward disrupting German submarine activities. His gallant conduct throughout was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
His work would have involved maintaining patrol bombers, transport aircraft, and other naval planes used for reconnaissance, supply missions, and long‑range patrols across the Pacific. Aviation electricians were responsible for ensuring that communication systems, navigation instruments, electrical wiring, and power distribution systems functioned flawlessly—tasks that demanded precision, technical knowledge, and calm under pressure.
Attack transports like the Thomas Jefferson were not front‑line combat ships, but they operated in dangerous waters—often under threat from submarines, aircraft, and coastal defenses. Their missions required precision, coordination, and courage from both the ship’s crew and the troops they carried. After World War II, the Thomas Jefferson continued to serve during the early Cold War period. She transported personnel, supported occupation forces, and carried out logistical missions as the Navy maintained a strong presence in the Pacific. This is the period when Gilbert Fletcher Gauldin served aboard her (1948), working as an aviation metalsmith and electrician’s mate while the ship operated in the Pacific region.
Service during the Korean Conflict
Gilbert’s career advanced as the United States entered the Korean Conflict in 1950. Naval aviation played a vital role in the war, conducting reconnaissance, anti‑submarine patrols, and search‑and‑rescue missions across vast stretches of ocean. Gilbert’s rating eventually rose to Aviation Electrician’s Mate First Class, a senior enlisted position reflecting both experience and leadership.
On 10 November 1953, Gilbert was serving aboard a Navy patrol bomber operating off the coast of Korea. The aircraft—carrying 17 crew members—disappeared during a mission. No trace of the plane was ever found. The Navy declared all aboard missing and presumed dead.
Newspapers in Hawaii and on the mainland reported the loss. The Hilo Tribune-Herald noted that Gilbert, a “Danville native,” had been aboard the missing aircraft. The Danville Register published a detailed account on 24 November 1953, stating that Gilbert had been declared missing and presumed dead, and that his wife and young son were living in Los Altos, California at the time of the crash. His surviving siblings included Mrs. Bernard Elliott (Della), Mrs. Roy Doss (Mary), Mrs. Gordon Strader (Thelma), and Raymond Gauldin.
Gilbert’s service was recognized with the Purple Heart, awarded posthumously, along with additional Navy–Marine Corps commendations. (8) His name is memorialized at the Honolulu Memorial in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl), where missing servicemen of World War II and the Korean War are honored. His service number, 6593028, appears in military burial and memorial records, marking his place among those who gave their lives in defense of their country.
"Gilbert Fletcher Gauldin, Danville native, has been declared missing and presumed dead in the crash of a Navy patrol bomber off the coast of Korea on November 10, according to notification to relatives. Gauldin, a first-class aviation electronics mate, was one of 17 aboard the plane. No trace of the craft was found. His wife (3) and small son live in Los Altos, Calif. He is survived by the following brothers and sisters Mrs. Bernard Elliott, Mrs. Roy Doss, Mrs. Gordon Strader, Raymond Gauldin.”
Though only twenty‑eight at the time of his death, Gilbert’s military career reflects the courage, technical skill, and dedication of a generation that served during two global conflicts and the early years of the Cold War. His loss was felt deeply by his family in North Carolina and Virginia, and by his young wife, Beverly Beryl Inghram, who survived him by more than sixty years.
Gilbert Fletcher Gauldin’s story is one of service, sacrifice, and devotion to duty. His name endures in the records of the U.S. Navy, in the Punchbowl Memorial, and in the memory of the Gauldin family whose history he helped shape through his life and his ultimate sacrifice.
The Courts of the Missing
The Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl Memorial honor thousands of American service members whose remains were never recovered—those lost at sea, missing in action, or killed in aircraft disappearances during World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Gilbert Fletcher Gauldin’s name is engraved here, ensuring he has a permanent place of remembrance despite having no known grave.
The memorial’s design reinforces its solemn purpose. At its center stands Lady Columbia, a symbolic figure representing America’s grief and protection over the fallen. Surrounding her are vast mosaic battle maps depicting major Pacific and Korean War campaigns, helping visitors understand the scale of the conflicts. Set within the quiet natural bowl of an ancient volcanic crater, the cemetery provides a peaceful resting place for more than 53,000 veterans and family members.
More than a burial ground, Punchbowl is a national symbol of sacrifice. It honors those who died far from home, those whose bodies were never found, and those who served in the most dangerous theaters of war. For families like the Gauldins, the memorial offers a place to grieve and remember Gilbert’s life and service. His name carved in stone ensures his sacrifice endures alongside thousands of others who never returned home.
Jesse Williard Dickens
Gilbert Gauldin’s brother-in-law is also memorialized on the Punchbowl Memorial. Jesse Williard Dickens married Gilbert’s older sister Della but they were divorced before the outbreak of World War II. Jesse enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve, training as a Shipfitter Third Class (SF3)—a skilled rating responsible for metalwork, structural repairs, and maintaining the integrity of a ship’s hull and fittings. Shipfitters were essential aboard aircraft carriers, where constant battle damage and heavy operational wear demanded expert repair work.
Jesse was assigned to the USS Franklin (CV‑13), one of the most active and hard‑fought carriers in the Pacific Theater. On 19 March 1945, while operating only 50–70 miles off the coast of Japan, the Franklin was struck by two armor‑piercing bombs dropped by a Japanese dive‑bomber. The explosions ignited fueled aircraft, detonated ordnance, and caused catastrophic fires throughout the ship.
The attack became one of the deadliest non‑sinking naval disasters in U.S. history. More than 800 sailors were killed and hundreds more were wounded. The ship was nearly lost but was ultimately saved through extraordinary effort. Jesse Willard Dickens was among those killed in the attack. His death record lists:
Date of death: 19 March 1945
Place of death: “At Sea”
Status: Missing in action
Branch: U.S. Navy Reserve
Rank: Shipfitter Third Class
Award: Purple Heart
His name is memorialized on the Honolulu Memorial, Courts of the Missing, located in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl), where thousands of Pacific Theater casualties are honored.
Works Cited
1. Image of Gilbert Fletcher Gauldin. Find a Grave. [Online] Added by: Dale Thompson on 26 May 2024. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/98551470/gilbert-fletcher-gauldin#view-photo=295895015.
2. National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Wikipedia. [Online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Memorial_Cemetery_of_the_Pacific?utm_source=copilot.com.
3. Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S., National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl), 1941-2011. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2462/images/40034_B086854-01963?pId=63234.
4. Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S., Arriving and Departing Passenger and Crew Lists, 1900-1959. ancestry.com. [Online] A3614 - Arriving At Honolulu, Hawaii, 1937-1954 60. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1502/images/40299_169787-00756?pId=14091335.
5. Hawaii, U.S., Arriving and Departing Passenger Lists, 1941-1948. ancestry.com. [Online] 1947, July. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1027/images/A3392_8-0214?pId=66943.
6. U.S., World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949. ancestry.com. [Online] Ship, T, Thomas Jefferson, 1948. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1143/images/32863_255119-01144?pId=52959982.
7. U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S., Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942-1949. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9170/records/30236680?tid=163174124&pid=422121228436&ssrc=pt.
8. USS Thomas Jefferson. Wikipedia. [Online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Thomas_Jefferson_(APA-30)#/media/File:USS_Thomas_Jefferson_(APA-30)_underway_off_Norfolk,_Virginia_(USA),_on_7_December_1944_(80-G-294245).jpg.
9. U.S., World War II and Korean Conflict Veterans Interred Overseas. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/4283/records/51286?tid=163174124&pid=422121228436&ssrc=pt.
10. California, U.S., Marriage Index, 1949-1959. ancestry.com. [Online] 1952. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5186/images/CA___MG952GARTRE-0?pId=33086.
11. Oakland Tribune (Oakland, Ca.), 11 NOV 1953, p. 1. Find a Grave. [Online] Added by: Dale Thompson on 26 May 2024. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/98551470/gilbert_fletcher-gauldin/photo#view-photo=295897342.
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