- Collection:
- Veterans History Project: Oral History Interviews
- Title:
- Oral history interview of Walter Thompson Comerford
- Creator:
- Lowance, David
Comerford, Walter Thompson, 1924-2006 - Date of Original:
- 2006-02-27
- Subject:
- B-24 (Bomber)
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
Catalina (Seaplane)
Kawasaki airplanes
Distinguished Flying Cross (Medal)
Corsair (Fighter plane)
Gliders (Aeronautics)
Comerford, Mary Lou
United States. Navy
Japan. Kaigun. Kamikaze Tokubetsu Kogekitai
Consolidated PBY (Seaplane)
Glider aircraft
Kamikaze
United States. Navy. VD-1 (Navy officer service numbers) - Location:
- Solomon Islands, Guadalcanal, Henderson Field, -9.42944175, 160.049876046523
United States, Florida, Escambia County, Naval Air Station Pensacola, 30.35266, -87.31865
United States, Georgia, 32.75042, -83.50018
United States, Georgia, Atlanta Metropolitan Area, 33.8498, 84.4383
United States, North Carolina, Granville County, Oxford, 36.3107, -78.59083
United States, Tennessee, Sullivan County, Bristol, 36.59511, -82.18874 - Medium:
- video recordings (physical artifacts)
mini-dv - Type:
- Moving Image
- Format:
- video/quicktime
- Description:
- In this interview, Walter Comerford recalls his history as an aerial photographer in the Pacific during World War II. He describes his youth in the Great Depression, hearing about the attack on Pearl Harbor, recalls how no one knew where Pearl Harbor was and that all were concerned about a Japanese invasion. He joined the Navy and his training took him to Anacostia and San Diego. He became an aerial photographer and waist gunner. His "Trans-Pac" journey took him from San Diego to Hawaii, Kwajalein, Fiji, New Guinea, Ulithi and Yap Island. His flying missions were primarily reconnaissance and damage recording and he describes the procedures in great detail. He recalls having to ditch in the Pacific. A PBY sent to pick them up hit a wave and broke in two. Fifteen sailors had to float for three days before a destroyer escort picked them up. They were taken to Noumea, New Caledonia to recover; on his return to Guadalcanal, he learned he had been reported lost at sea. All his belongings had been packed up and his pinups taken. He also spent five days in Australia to heal. After one mission he counted 430 holes in his aircraft. On another flight, he had to help the tail gunner whose leg had been shot off by cutting off the last string of flesh keeping the gunner trapped in his seat. He describes the metal runways built by Seabees and having to clear the runways of native gooney birds with a jeep before they could take off. On one emergency landing, after they'd lost all hydraulic power, they tossed a chute out the back and the force of the landing nearly tore the plane in two. After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he photographed the damage done by the atomic bombs. Walter's wife Mary Lou also contributed to the interview, describing life on the home front, including air raid drills, blackout curtains, and bandage rolling. She describes how her parents met every train that came through Bristol to see if it contained their son and, finally, one did. He went to Europe as a tank driver with Patton's forces in the 12th Armored Division.
Walter Comerford was in the Navy in the Pacific during World War II. - Metadata URL:
- http://album.atlantahistorycenter.com/cdm/ref/collection/VHPohr/id/176
- Additional Rights Information:
- This material is protected by copyright law. (Title 17, U.S. Code) Permission for use must be cleared through the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center. Licensing agreement may be required.
- Extent:
- 49:34
- Original Collection:
- Veterans History Project oral history recordings
Veterans History Project collection, MSS 1010, Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center - Holding Institution:
- Atlanta History Center
- Rights:
-
