My father-in-law was a World War II hero.  I did not ask him much about his experience before his passing (he is now with our Lord and Savior), but wish I had.  I am looking for his military records and friends who might have known him.  If you think you did know him, please contact us.
 
 

By looking at pictures that we have from my father-in-law, I believe the plane he flew in was a Ventura which I found on this web page Navy Historic Aircraft   He flew in a patrol bombing squadron, with Fleet Air Wing (6).  We don't know where he flew except it was in the Pacific and sometime from 1942 to 1945.  See UPDATE below for the new information.

We don't know much about what he did (that is what we are trying to find out), but he did say he was a radio operator on a bomber, and used both morse code, and a typewriter.

He also told stories of dropping beer bottles when they did not have enough bombs.  The bottles made the right noise to keep the enemy hopping.  We also found out some information about WWII on this page Navy wars and conflicts  and this page has a lot of good info on the Navy  U.S. Navy History

You can search   The U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation: U.S Navy Memorial and Naval Heritage Center for anyone in the Navy.  They may be listed there.

Here is one of the pictures Harold left us:
 

• Harold with two friends    Trio of Navy friends
• The Crew.  We have the names of each person in the photograph  Crew in the squad
• Here is a picture of a plane that I suppose he made from his plane  flying Devilfish PV-1
•  The Officers.  We have the names of each of these men.  Officers_in_VPB-150_Squadron
•  Are these men crew #14 of the squadron?   Four men on a plane in the Pacific
• Does anyone know who the man is with Harold?   Harold Hervey and a friend
• More pictures will be added soon

I found out some new information and would reccommend this page www.vpnavy.com for all who are searching for some one who was in the Navy Patrol Squadrons.

UPDATE:   Harold S. Hervey joined the Navy in Little Rock on 6/6/42, six months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.  I have found his flight log books and a few other records.  He was an ARM2c and ARM3c, radioman.  He was in a patrol squadron, VPB-150.  He flew from 11/15/43 to 6/6/45.  He was stationed in the Marianas, Gilbert, and Marshall Islands.  I have many of his pictures.  They include the crew he flew with (and group shots of several other crews), the whole squadron (group shot), and all the officers (group shot).  These were taken on 3-15-44, and he has identified each man in the photo in order.  Harold also had many pictures of the living conditions, the airplanes, Hawaii, and other islands.  I found out he flew in a Ventura (PV-1) and a Harpoon (PV-2, only the last month or so) and he flew about four times on a Catalina (PBY5A).  I think his squadron was known as the "Devilfish PViators".  I found he was awarded The Distinguished Flying Cross medal with 1 gold star, and the Air Medal with 7 gold stars.  He was honorably discharged from the Navy on 12/8/45.  I am still looking for more information and people he might have served with.  I am also trying to find the exact islands on which he was stationed.
 
UPDATE 2 APRIL, 00: We have found a few fellow sailors that knew Harold, made notes from the logbooks and other sources. Use this link to see this information: Harold's activities

If you have comments or suggestions, email me at clherv@aol.com

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