Edward H Tunison
MilitaryFrom Denise Goolsby's post: pic.twitter.com/UpMIey5384
Full article: http://desert.sn/1AaW146
Flew on D-Day.
In an article in The Desert Sun newspaper, published 13 December 1944, Ed Tunison recalls:
"We dropped paratroopers. The guys on the plane were more anxious to get out – they wanted to get out of our planes because they knew our planes were being shot at. Dropping them at that low altitude like that – two or three swings and they were on the ground."
"We had no armament on our plane. What we wore was a flak helmet – like a hockey player wears – and a flak vest – like an umpire wears. All we carried was a .45 and a carbine (rifle) in case we were shot down we had some firepower.
"That same day, we came back and brought gasoline back to the mainland. Engineers had already laid out a corrugated runway for us … somewhere in Cherbourg."
The full article is available here: http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/veterans/2014/12/12/world-war-ii-ve…
Ed was recently reunited with his aircraft and took part in a cross-Channel flight.
This footage was taken from the restored aircraft: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiVHtSmt_68
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Ninth Air Force
- Type Category: Troop Carrier
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Ninth Air Force
- Type Category: Troop Carrier
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: C-47 Skytrain
- Nicknames: Placid Lassie
- Unit: 434th Troop Carrier Group 74th Troop Carrier Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Detroit, MI, USA | 14 November 1922 | |
Enlisted |
Detroit, MI, USA | 3 August 1942 | |
Other Served until |
24 September 1945 | ||
Other Lives in |
Palm Desert, CA, USA | ||
Other Works as a volunteer docent |
Palm Springs Air Museum, 745 North Gene Autry Trail, Palm Springs, CA 92262, USA |
Revisions
The Desert Sun, 13 December 2014: http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/veterans/2014/12/12/world-war-ii-ve…
Enlistment record: http://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=51&cat=all&tf…