A BIT OF HISTORY: VP-53 Crew Assignment 20MAY44 1 of 2 "...Flight Department memorandum 5-44 - Flight Crew Organization - Commencing 22 May 1944, the following flight crew and plane assignments become effective - All previous flight crew lists and plane assignments are hereby cancelled. 53-P-1 through 53-P-12..." [05JAN2003]

A BIT OF HISTORY: VP-53 Crew Assignment 20MAY44 2 of 2 "...Flight Department memorandum 5-44 - Flight Crew Organization - Commencing 22 May 1944, the following flight crew and plane assignments become effective - All previous flight crew lists and plane assignments are hereby cancelled. 53-P-13 through 53-P-19, Crew Supernumeraries, Non-Flying Officers, Leading Chief, Engineering Chief, Leading AOM, and Non-Flying Enlisted Men. Submitted: I. D. Quillin, LCDR, USN, Flight Officer and Approved: G. F. Smale, LCDR, USN, Executive Officer..." [05JAN2003]

A BIT OF HISTORY: "...History of Patrol Bombing Squadron 53, Plane PBY6-A, Bureau number 64037. Pilot was Lt. George R. Crumpler. 1944 - trained at NAS Whidbey Island, Washington. 1945 - flew from NAS Alameda, California to MCAS/NAS Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. April 1945: Left Hawaii and flew to Johnson Island, then to Guadalcanal and Green Island. From Green Island to Manus Island and then to New Guinea and Biak Island. From Biak we flew to the island of Samar in the Philippines. August 1945: On Okinawa when typhoon struck and stayed in burial caves. Then to Southern Japan and Nagasaki where to we took top Marine brass "We landed on Nagasaki not too far from the bomb crater. The U. S. prisoners of war broke out of the prisoner of war camps and wanted us to take them back wo Okinawa with us. Of course, we couldn't We already had a nine man crew plus the military officials. We had to tell them to go back to their camps - that someone would soon liberate them. The men finally realized we could not take them back and that they would have to wait for the ships to come and take them back. 1945: After the surrender, we flew to Tokyo Bay and landed at Yokosuka. Our plane was chosen to be specially outfitted to be the private plane for Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance who was Commander of the powerful Fifth Fleet in the Pacific. We did this for about four months. We had to be ready to fly him wherever he wanted to go. We flew him all around Japan and China and had overnight stays in Osaka and Shanghai.I boarded a troop ship to come home in 1945. the above is a short account of my brother, J. V. Warren's remembrance of his duty in the Pacific with VPB-53..." Contributed by Peggy Warren Longmire, sister of James V. (Pat) Warren (VPB-53 PBY6A) rlongmire@triad.rr.com [E-Mail Updated 14NOV2003 | 03JAN2001]

"VP-53 History Summary Page"

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