Naval Pilot’s Family Visits Crash Site; Trainee Was One of 42 Who Perished

ERMA – “30 March, 1945 “Pilot doing ‘touch-and-go’ landings on first night flight in type…Pilot was well and in good spirits. He was in the air 37 minutes when his engine faltered while applying full power for take off…wheels were retracting when a complete engine failure…the left wheel made contact first, 100 yards off runway…left wing torn off by stump…flamed while still airborne. Pilot managed to get clear…rushed to the dispensary where he died at 1808 hrs. 31 March.” (Excerpt from Naval Crash Report) 
Seventy-two years later to the day, the family of that pilot, Ensign Andrew Hamilton, went to Naval Air Station Wildwood Museum at the invitation of museum Director Dr. Joseph Salvatore, to place a wreath at the exact spot on the runway where Hamilton crashed. They dedicated a permanent marker to their “legendary” airman on Breakwater Road not far from the crash site at the end of Runway 19.
The Naval Crash Report cited above reduced a cataclysmic training accident at Naval Air Station Wildwood into a one-paragraph summary of the final seconds of Hamilton’s life that began March 28, 1922, in Andover, Mass.
Ironically, he perished in that crash two days after his 23rd birthday. He was one of 42 airmen who lost their lives at NAS Wildwood while training during World War II.
He was flying the Navy F-4 Corsair fighter that was considered to be one of the best warplanes ever built, especially by its loyal pilots.
Salvatore provided a short briefing on the role of NAS Wildwood during the war; a special room inside the old hangar is dedicated to the airmen who lost their lives while training there. It contains photos of crashes and other memorabilia depicting the lives of those airmen who are remembered today.
This family, consisting of mostly pilots, included Mark Hamilton, Barbara Donaghue, Col. Bob Donaghue, Robert Hamilton Jr., Willa Hamilton and Doug Hamilton, traveled from New England and Kentucky to visit the site for the first time in their lives.
A short ceremony was held at the exact spot of the crash at the end of the newly-refurbished runway; a small red flag marked the point of impact. 
A family member recited Psalm 23 at the marker flag during a presentation of a wreath. 
Doug Hamilton later played “Amazing Grace” on bagpipes after a short delay when his base reed fell out of his instrument.
Then suddenly, before anyone left the site, the bagpipes came to life; Doug Hamilton was convinced that “Andrew fixed it for me” as the family boarded the bus to return to the air station.
State Sen. Jeffrey Van Drew (D-1st), Freeholder Jeff Pierson, Assemblymen Robert Andrzejczak and Bruce Land, (both D-1st) attended the ceremony and offered thoughts on Hamilton and the sacrifices that all military members make every day.
Van Drew stated, “May God bless him; I am sure he is smiling down on us today.” 
Upon the return to the NAS hangar, Col. Donaghue presented Salvatore with a replica of the Corsair Andrew Hamilton flew as a token of his family’s appreciation for everything he and his staff had done to welcome them to the site of their relatives’ last flight.
Spirits were high among the Hamilton family members as they remembered and honored the young pilot and all aviators who gave their lives before they could engage the enemy.
To contact Jim McCarty, email jmccarty@cmcherald.com.