1st Lt Wayne Francis Kobler

1st Lieutenant 318 AAF Fighter Group 19th Squadron P-47D Thunderbolt pilot

Lt. Wayne F. Kobler became one of the first army pilots killed after taking control of Saipan. On June 27th, 1944, he and six other pilots flew a rocket strafing mission against enemy positions on Gurguan Point, Tinian, approximately 3 miles away. During the low level attack, the Japanese set off a buried 500 lb. bomb that caught two Thunderbolts full blast. Lt. Richard B. Whitzig was missing as the flight regrouped and was never found. Graves Registration found Lt. Kobler weeks later. The Japanese had buried him, marked his grave, and covered it with a parachute. The new number two strip by Isley Field would be named Kobler Field in his honor. (So is Koblerville on present day Saipan.)