Morelli & Vanoni Genealogy - Person Sheet
Morelli & Vanoni Genealogy - Person Sheet
NameALBINI, Edward Colombo
Birth31 Dec 1921
Death4 Aug 1944
EducationTomales High School
ReligionCatholic
FatherALBINI, John B. (1889-1936)
Notes for Edward Colombo ALBINI
Ed Albini enlisted in the US Navy in October, 1942. On August 4, 1944 the plane in which he was a radio man and tail gunner was shot down over Iwo Jima. At first Eddie was listed as missing in action, but, on February 5, 1946, his status was officially changed to “killed in action”. In a letter to Stella Marieni on August 10, 1944, Commander Richard McGowan indicated that no one actually saw the plane crash in which Ed Albini and his pilot Roy (The Gremlin) Majors were killed. Lt. Bill Emerson was a pilot who served in the pacific theater with Ed Albini on the aircraft carrier Lexington, and he claims to have witnessed the crash. According to records submitted by Lt. Emerson, Roy Majors and Ed Albini successfully participated in an attack on Guam on July 18, 1944. Then, on August 4, 1944 at 10:01 AM, Majors and Albini took off with 11 other dive bombers to attack Japanese positions on Iwo Jima. The planes piloted by Majors and Emerson were both shot down, but Emerson and his gunner survived. Here is Bill Emerson’s account of the battle.

Harvey had no sooner mentioned the camera than all hell broke loose in the engine. Smoke started pouring from under the cowl, and the engine started running very rough. I eased the throttle back to 30 inches and cut the RPMs down to 2100. Up to then I had been carrying about “40 to 45” and 2400 RPMs after coming out of my dive. My cylinder head temperature had jumped to 290 degrees. About this time I noticed my windshield was well covered with oil, and my oil pressure had dropped to about 15 to 20 lbs. It suddenly dawned on me that we had been hit, and that our chances of ending up in the briny deep were damn good. Just as I was telling Harvey to prepare for a water landing and to get the raft out, I saw one of our SB2Cs go in. When I saw him he was at about 1000 feet and going straight down. There was nothing but a big splash and explosion. Nothing else. (When I returned to Pearl Harbor I found out that it was Majors and Albini that I had seen.)
Last Modified 15 Dec 2008Created 28 May 2024 by Dennis W. Morelli
Copyright © 2024, Dennis W. Morelli