Early Life
Albert Bohne was born on September 27, 1911 in Fall River, South Dakota, the son of construction contractor, Willam Charles Bohn (9 June 1886-25 November 1958) and his wife, Hilda Bohne (nee Ahlander, 2 October 1879-6 October 1946). His parents were of German and Swedish descent. He had a younger brother, Ralph Bohne (Aug 13, 1919-Feb 9, 2001).

Albert attended Snyder Elementary school in Synder, Nebraska, with perfect attendance and excellent grades. As a boy scout, Bohne enjoyed camping at Pawnie-la-Lake Shar scout camp.

In 1924, the Bohne family moved to Los Angeles, California. According to the 1930 census, he was living on 1418 Bundy Drive, Los Angeles, California.

Albert Bohne graduated from University High School (West Los Angeles) in 1929. He enrolled at UCLS. He was a member of the California Scholarship Federation, served 2 terms as student body president and was a major in ROTC. In the 1933 UCLA college yearbook, Albert would be on the first UCLA Bruins Varsity college rowing team. With eight oarsmen to compete on the Varsity Bruins Rowing Team, Bohne was the 4th oarsman. He graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

The 1940 Census shows First Lieutenant, Albert Bohne, 28 years old, who completed 4 years of college, had a roommate, First Lieutenant, Edward Johnston, in the U.S. Navy, renting at 955 G Avenue, Coronado, California.

Military Life
Private First Class (PFC) Albert Bohne enlisted on June 10, 1935 in the new division between the Marine Corps and the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics. On June 12, 1935, he reported for active duty as a designated student and completed the elimination flight training. From June 12-30, he became a student in the Naval Aviation Program (NAP), Marine Corps Reserve Aviation Unit, Naval Reserve Aviation Base, in Long Beach, California.

On July 20, 1935, PFC Bohne accepted the appointment as Naval Aviation Cadet with excellent character and the next year (July 1935-July 1936) was stationed at Marine Barracks, Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida.

He graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts and was commissioned. Second Lieutenant, Naval Aviator on July 8, 1936, assigned to Aircraft One, Marine Barracks, First Marine Brigade, Quantico, Virginia. Following his commission, for the next two years he would attend Student Basic School as Assistant Squad Engineer, assigned to VF Squadron 9m, Aircraft One, Fleet Marine Force, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia.

On July 1, 1939, he would accept a commission as First Lieutenant assigned to VMB-2, Marine Aircraft Group, FMF, NAS, San Diego, California.

On July 1, 1940, he married the daughter of Mr. And Mrs. Otto Christianson of Pacific Palisades, Eva Christianson. Eva was the secretary of an aircraft factory. Following a lavish wedding reception, the couple left for New Orleans. They set sail on July 20, 1940 for St Thomas, Virgin Islands. For the next two years, (July 1940 to Jan 1942), First Lieutenant Bohne would train in flight, navigation and B School O, assigned to Marine Scouting Squadron Three (VMS-3) Base Air Detachment, Fleet Marine Force, Bourne Field, St Thomas, Virgin Islands.

"On December 6, 1941, Marine Corps aviation consisted of two aircraft wings: the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) headquartered at Marine Base, Quantico, Virginia and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing headquarters at the Naval Air Station, San Diego, California. The total strength of the 1st MAW consisted solely of the six squadrons, Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 11 while the 2nd Aircraft Group included only one group, MAG 21 located on Oahu, Hawaii. Of the six MAG-21 squadrons, four were at bases on Oahu and two were on board carriers, except for a detachment on Wake Island. With the addition of Marine Scouting Squadron 3, stationed at Bourne Field, St Thomas, Virgin Islands. The Marine Corps had a total of 13 aircraft squadrons, 204 aircraft and 5,866 aviation personnel. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese destroyed the U.S fleet at Pearl Harbor. After one day of war, the entire 2d MAW had been reduced to only 40 operational aircraft. The Marine Corps began rebuilding immediately.

Following the Battle of Midway in 1942, Captain Bohne returned to Headquarters Company, Washington, D.C. By October, 1942, he accepted the commission to Major.

Ancestry does not provide many US Marine Corps muster rolls for Major Bohne between 1942 and 1943.

Obituary
On March 24, 1943, Major Bohne and 3 comrades were testing the new Curtiss R5C-1 Commando transport plane and were killed instantly in a plane crash at Bolling Field, near Washington D.C.

The Washington star published this statement given them by his higher superior officer, "Major Albert Bohne was the best pilot, the best flyer, and the best officer I have served under me." Major Albert H Bohne served eight years in the Marine Air Corps and established a remarkable record for no accidents and outstanding service. Military honors were accorded to Major Bohne at Arlington National Cemetery.

The letter "V" denoted in the obituary comes from the basic tactical and administration unit of the US Marine Corps aviation squadron. Fixed wing and tilt-rotor aircraft squadrons are denoted by the letter "V", which comes from the French verb "Voler" (to fly).

The memory of Major Albert H. Bohne, USMC has been perpetuated by naming a road in his name at the new Paxtunet, US Naval Air Station, in his honor.

Family

Major Albert Bohne died before meeting his newborn daughter, Karen Marie, born on June 17, 1943. Eva remarried John B. Lyman on September 7, 1957. Eva lived a full life of 102 years, and passed away on Feb 15, 2020 in Green Valley, Arizona.

Albert's younger brother, Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Bohne (Aug 13, 1919-Feb 9, 2001), served in the US Marine Corps in World War II from Nov 7, 1940 through May 10, 1946 and the Korean War (Dec 3, 1951-June 30, 1955). He is interred at Southern Heritage Cemetery, Pelham, Shelby County, Alabama.

Eva's sister, Violet Marie Christianson, enlisted and served in WWII, February 5, 1944 and the Korean War, Jan 16, 1951-May 15, 1952. She passed away on January 9, 1999. She is interred at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, California.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see https://www.storiesbehindthestars.org/). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smartphone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.

If you have any details, photos or corrections for this story, please email me by clicking on my name. Dawn Brenton - Contributing Author, Stories Behind the Stars

Bohne, Albert Henry, Maj