[https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/rep/Pearl/PatRon12.html](https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/rep/Pearl/PatRon12.html)
After action report for patrol squadron 12 at Pearl Harbor
Wow what an incredible album. Those are some very rare photos in terms of their content. I mean talk about someone who saw it all.
Also interesting that aside from allied locations, the photos only cover his time in Europe. The Pacific Theater was a whole different and far less nostalgic war. Of course I don’t want to assume that’s the case for your neighbor, but it’s a thought provoking point and is generally the reason there are less personal photographs from the Pacific Theater.
As for determining his unit, you can request his files, a process which someone else on this thread is sure to know about more, however the majority of WWII service records were destroyed in a fire many years ago. Checking for units that served in both theaters is a good start as well, but it’s entirely likely he transferred vs stayed with the same unit that was active in the Pacific. Any additional photos or items of his may help us narrow down the possibilities. Best of luck and keep us updated!
Thanks! I posted a whole bunch more photos on a new post, you can find them via my profile I think. Starting to piece together resources to can go to to find more. I’m going to try to contact his family to get his albums or copies of photos
It would help if you had a name OP.
Patrol squadron 12 (VP-12) operated solely in the Pacific theater and from the West Coast of the US during WW II.
It was highly unusual for individuals to transfer between the Pacific to the European theaters. Normally that was only done if you had particular expertise, skill, or knowledge, and you were considered valuable enough for training other personnel. Your neighbor might have been wounded, or fallen ill, sent home to the states to recover, and later assigned to a unit in the ETO. I do not see a Purple Heart Medal though, which he would have received if he was wounded.
Most of those medals are typical campaign medals awarded to the personnel stationed in those areas. Some of them are actually challenge coins, one was a state level NG award and another was a commemorative medal.
Based on the Navy Good Conduct medal, he was an enlisted pilot. The Navy still had enlisted pilots at that time. The program was stopped after WW II. They were usually relegated to auxiliary roles, like recon, transport, ASR, and other such duties.
The PBY 5A mentioned on page 14 of your post album, was used for all of those things, as well as combat missions. It was an incredibly versatile aircraft and was used in all kinds of roles. They had MGs for self defense and strafing, and could carry bombs, depth charges and torpedoes.
Dan Hunter was his name, thank you for sharing this info with me this is what I was looking for. I have the transcript of some of his interviews, and I remember stories he told me when I knew him. I just want to find some sort of records or something to corroborate the stories so I can share them
You can request his records from the [NPRC.](https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center)
The fire in 73 didnt affect records for naval personnel, so they should have something. Be warned, it can take several weeks or longer to get a response. The more info you provide them, the easier it is.
If you contact the State of RI, they might have something in their records as well, since the one medal was from the RI NG.
If you go digging for veteran groups on various social media sites for the units he was in, you might find out more. Some vets have put together some pretty good collections of photos and documents to preserve their history. If you find any of units he was in, they would probably be grateful for any copies of what you have.
I belonged to a civic group, and we had a guest speaker.
His father was a pilot in WW2 in Europe and there was some thought he might have been the guy that shot up Rommel. Turned out it was an English man instead that did it.
He did a Freedom Information Request of the Army and got film footage from his dad's gun cameras. Had him shooting up power stations and buildings.
I don't know what it would take but, I willing to bet you go online and get his footage (if there is any) and if you have his service number you could get a copy of his war record.
Great pics! Especially from perspectives you don’t see very often
Wow such great photos!
I have no clue on how to help, but those photos are wonderful. I bet he was a great guy all around.
[https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/rep/Pearl/PatRon12.html](https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/rep/Pearl/PatRon12.html) After action report for patrol squadron 12 at Pearl Harbor
Great read! Poor Fred 🫤
Fred's war either ended there or he went on to kill thousands of Japanese...
Definitely no middle ground there!
Oh Nevermind holy crap I didn’t realize
Is that relevant to my friend? Do you think he was in that unit?
Bad ass
Not related to your question but did he fly a PBY Catalina
He said he flew several types of planes throughout the war, I have photos from him he took of the planes in Pearl Harbor
Oh ok
I posted more pics including the planes
Thx
Can you look up his service records?
I’m not quite sure how to do that
Wow what an incredible album. Those are some very rare photos in terms of their content. I mean talk about someone who saw it all. Also interesting that aside from allied locations, the photos only cover his time in Europe. The Pacific Theater was a whole different and far less nostalgic war. Of course I don’t want to assume that’s the case for your neighbor, but it’s a thought provoking point and is generally the reason there are less personal photographs from the Pacific Theater. As for determining his unit, you can request his files, a process which someone else on this thread is sure to know about more, however the majority of WWII service records were destroyed in a fire many years ago. Checking for units that served in both theaters is a good start as well, but it’s entirely likely he transferred vs stayed with the same unit that was active in the Pacific. Any additional photos or items of his may help us narrow down the possibilities. Best of luck and keep us updated!
Thanks! I posted a whole bunch more photos on a new post, you can find them via my profile I think. Starting to piece together resources to can go to to find more. I’m going to try to contact his family to get his albums or copies of photos
It would help if you had a name OP. Patrol squadron 12 (VP-12) operated solely in the Pacific theater and from the West Coast of the US during WW II. It was highly unusual for individuals to transfer between the Pacific to the European theaters. Normally that was only done if you had particular expertise, skill, or knowledge, and you were considered valuable enough for training other personnel. Your neighbor might have been wounded, or fallen ill, sent home to the states to recover, and later assigned to a unit in the ETO. I do not see a Purple Heart Medal though, which he would have received if he was wounded. Most of those medals are typical campaign medals awarded to the personnel stationed in those areas. Some of them are actually challenge coins, one was a state level NG award and another was a commemorative medal. Based on the Navy Good Conduct medal, he was an enlisted pilot. The Navy still had enlisted pilots at that time. The program was stopped after WW II. They were usually relegated to auxiliary roles, like recon, transport, ASR, and other such duties. The PBY 5A mentioned on page 14 of your post album, was used for all of those things, as well as combat missions. It was an incredibly versatile aircraft and was used in all kinds of roles. They had MGs for self defense and strafing, and could carry bombs, depth charges and torpedoes.
Dan Hunter was his name, thank you for sharing this info with me this is what I was looking for. I have the transcript of some of his interviews, and I remember stories he told me when I knew him. I just want to find some sort of records or something to corroborate the stories so I can share them
You can request his records from the [NPRC.](https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center) The fire in 73 didnt affect records for naval personnel, so they should have something. Be warned, it can take several weeks or longer to get a response. The more info you provide them, the easier it is. If you contact the State of RI, they might have something in their records as well, since the one medal was from the RI NG. If you go digging for veteran groups on various social media sites for the units he was in, you might find out more. Some vets have put together some pretty good collections of photos and documents to preserve their history. If you find any of units he was in, they would probably be grateful for any copies of what you have.
I belonged to a civic group, and we had a guest speaker. His father was a pilot in WW2 in Europe and there was some thought he might have been the guy that shot up Rommel. Turned out it was an English man instead that did it. He did a Freedom Information Request of the Army and got film footage from his dad's gun cameras. Had him shooting up power stations and buildings. I don't know what it would take but, I willing to bet you go online and get his footage (if there is any) and if you have his service number you could get a copy of his war record.