Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1949 Lucky Bag:

Stephen A. Dobbins

Some called him carefree, others called him a serene and composed character; but, regardless of the description Dob succeeded in leaving us all with the impression that he would remain unruffled by any of the ordinary trials of John Q. Midn. In fact, it was often Steve who tossed off that petite quip, styled in the inimitable Dobbins manner, which produced the lightning chuckle. Most of his spare moments, and there were some, were spent absorbing the symphonic strains of the masters. We have all paused in passing by the “Dauber’s” door to catch a phrase from the latest addition to his collection of classics. Although he was a man of diversified interests, his first love was the open hunting ground of his native middlewest. In the future, Steve, “Good Hunting!”

Loss

Stephen was lost on August 8, 1952 when the PBM-5S Mariner patrol bomber he was aboard crashed near Shokoku, Japan. All fourteen men aboard were killed. He was a member of Patrol Squadron (VP) 892; the squadron had suffered a crash with the loss of thirteen officers and men just the day before.

“It was vectored into a mountain by radar ground control. Investigation revealed that a U.S. Air Force ground controller, unfamiliar with the extermely slow climb performance of a loaded Mariner, had assumed SE-2 had reached an altitude to clear the hills.” There is a memorial at the site of the crash that is maintained by a local Japanese group.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

In 1940 Charleston, Illinois, his father was a retired veteran, mother Pearl, brother William Jr., and sister Paula. In 1935, the family lived in Cherokee, and in 1930, his father was a railroad car inspector. He died in 1946, and Stephen’s sister died in 1948. They are both buried in Nebo Cemetery, Cumberland County, Illinois.

Stephen was survived by his mother and is buried in California.

He is not mentioned in the 1949 Class History.