As can be seen from the date of death, this was a very early WW2 action in which the USS Pillsbury was sunk by Japanese cruisers. The Pillsbury and 2 other ships were sunk in the same area at the same time. No records surfaced until Japanese records were found after the war ended. The ABMC site lists the declared dead date of Nov. 2, 1945.
The "group" consists of Fairbanks' posthumous officially engraved Type 1 Purple Heart as made ny the US Mint, plus some research and details from the National Archives.
F1C Fairbanks was a regular Navy man who enlisted January 10, 1939. He was born April 24, 1919 in Emmett, Kansas. He trained at the Naval Training Station at Great Lakes. He served on the USS Altair, USS Henderson, and USS Blackhawk. His Blackhawk service was in China on the Yangtze River. He began service on the Pillsbury in 1941.
The complete history of the Pillsbury, including details of the sinking by Japanese cruisers, can be found at:
http://www.destroyerhistory.org/flushdeck/usspillsbury/index.html
