Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1949 Lucky Bag:

Robert W. Conklin

Here at Navy, Conk was about as far from home as he could get without getting his feet wet. After graduating from Wenatchee High School, Bob went to Washington State for a year, where he picked up some engineering and a TEKE pin. At Navy, Conk’s interests centered about his two great loves: basketball and jive. The winter, and most other, months found him streaking about the courts in plebe and JV basketball. He was also more than just a lover of jive; he played it, appropriately enough, on the drums, and we’d often seen him helping out a combo during hop intermission. If Conk ever gives up that intention to “mount a 5”/38 on a canoe and go deer hunting in the wilds of Montana," it’ll be a real pleasure to serve with the Wanatcheean again someday.

Loss

Robert was lost on August 12, 1951 when the PB4Y-2 Privateer he was co-piloting crashed on Amak Island, Alaska, 20 miles northwest of Cold Bay. The entire crew of twelve was killed. They were members of Patrol Squadron (VP) 9, Naval Air Station Kodiak.

Aviation Archaeology has further details. VP-9 has much the same information as above.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Robert graduated in 1944 from Wenatchee, Washington, High School where he was on the “A” Squad for football and basketball, President of the Derby Club, President of the Junior Class, and Senior Class Representative to the Executive Board. The Derby Club put on the Sweetheart Dance. He then attended Washington State college and was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon. In March 1949 as a member of the Naval Academy’s musical club, he appeared on a special television program presented recently by the academy.

He received his pilot’s wings at the naval aviation school at Pensacola and went for advanced training in multi-engine aircraft at Corpus Christi.

Survived by his parents Russell and Dorothy Conklin of Great Falls, his grandmother Frances, wife Bette, daughter Gail. His brothers were Richard, Billy, and Russell. He was buried in the family plot at Highland Cemetery.

He is buried in Montana.