As Hal Rutherford bailed out of his rapidly descending plane, his body crashed into the tail section.

Harold Erwin Rutherford was born in California on September 8, 1904, to Mr. and Mrs. William T. Rutherford. In addition to his brother Clyde, who died in 1927, he had four sisters Gladys, Pauline, Geraldine and Marguerite and a half brother Harold Van Gorder. Rutherford spent his formative years in Santa Cruz and attended Mission Hill Junior High School. In September 1920 he entered Santa Cruz High School, where he majored in English and took college preparatory courses.

In June 1924 Rutherford graduated from high school and the following October joined the US Navy. He received his basic training at the US Naval Training Center in San Diego followed by specialized courses in aviation mechanics. After completing his four-year tour, he re-enlisted and was sent to the Naval Flying School at Pensacola, Florida. During those years, Rutherford rose in rank to Chief Petty Officer and logged over 6000 hours of flying time.

About 1938 Harold Rutherford was commissioned and began advancing through the officer ranks. While in the Navy, he married Marjorie and they had two sons, George and Keith William. In December 1941 he was at Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack and later had an opportunity to repay the Japanese during the air battles over the Marshall Islands and Midway. While serving at Guadalcanal in September 1942, Rutherford was promoted to full lieutenant.

Following a mission on January 12, 1943, Lieutenant. Harold E. Rutherford's plane went into an inverted spin at 13,000 feet over the sea and when bailing out at 6000 feet, his body hit the tail of the falling ship, resulting in his death. His body was recovered and buried with full military honors at Noumea, New Caledonia.

In December 1947 Rutherford's remains were returned to San Diego and reburied in the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.

(USCR, 1910 US Census, CA, Santa Cruz; SCR January 2, 1943 1;SCHSC, Pg. 17; SCSn January 20, 1943 1:8)