Today in Wheeling History: December 27--Ensign Philip J. Saseen, a 1940 Wheeling Central Catholic graduate and Navy flier from Our Lady of Mt. Lebanon parish, was killed in action when his plane crashed into the South Pacific (1944).
Philip J. Saseen was born in Wheeling on May 3, 1921, to Schickery and Helen Saseen, who lived at 2132 Main Street in Wheeling's Lebanese-American community. He grew up in a large family with one sister and eight brothers, including George and Robert, who also served during World War II. Philip attended local parochial schools and graduated from Central Catholic High School with the class of 1940. Before military service, he worked in business alongside his brothers.
On September 12, 1942, Philip enlisted in the U.S. Navy's V-5 training course. His training took him to Bethany College, the University of Richmond, Waynesboro, Virginia, and the Universities of Georgia and Philadelphia. He received advanced flight training at Norman Field in Oklahoma before graduating from the Naval Air Training Center at Corpus Christi, Texas, in May 1944, when he was commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve.
At twenty-three, Ensign Saseen was serving as a fighter pilot in the Pacific when his aircraft crashed into the South Pacific on December 27, 1944. His mother received notification from the Navy Department on December 29 that her son had died "in line of duty." For his sacrifice, he was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. An active member of Our Lady of Mt. Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church—the only Maronite parish in West Virginia—Philip was part of a community that contributed significantly to the war effort. His remains were never recovered; his name is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines.
To learn more: Archiving Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/2j52zs36), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/mpbu33z4), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/nhjns6m3) (https://tinyurl.com/2y47ajr7)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Find a Grave, Wheeling Intelligencer, Archives of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston
Philip J. Saseen was born in Wheeling on May 3, 1921, to Schickery and Helen Saseen, who lived at 2132 Main Street in Wheeling's Lebanese-American community. He grew up in a large family with one sister and eight brothers, including George and Robert, who also served during World War II. Philip attended local parochial schools and graduated from Central Catholic High School with the class of 1940. Before military service, he worked in business alongside his brothers.
On September 12, 1942, Philip enlisted in the U.S. Navy's V-5 training course. His training took him to Bethany College, the University of Richmond, Waynesboro, Virginia, and the Universities of Georgia and Philadelphia. He received advanced flight training at Norman Field in Oklahoma before graduating from the Naval Air Training Center at Corpus Christi, Texas, in May 1944, when he was commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve.
At twenty-three, Ensign Saseen was serving as a fighter pilot in the Pacific when his aircraft crashed into the South Pacific on December 27, 1944. His mother received notification from the Navy Department on December 29 that her son had died "in line of duty." For his sacrifice, he was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. An active member of Our Lady of Mt. Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church—the only Maronite parish in West Virginia—Philip was part of a community that contributed significantly to the war effort. His remains were never recovered; his name is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines.
To learn more: Archiving Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/2j52zs36), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/mpbu33z4), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/nhjns6m3) (https://tinyurl.com/2y47ajr7)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Find a Grave, Wheeling Intelligencer, Archives of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston
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