Edward H Tunison

Military
media-7071.jpeg UPL 7071 Ed Tunison, a Palm Desert WWII veteran

From Denise Goolsby's post: pic.twitter.com/UpMIey5384
Full article: http://desert.sn/1AaW146

Object Number - UPL 7071 - Ed Tunison, a Palm Desert WWII veteran

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

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: C-47 Skytrain
  • Nicknames: Placid Lassie
  • Unit: 434th Troop Carrier Group 74th Troop Carrier Squadron

Places

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

Date
ContributorLucy May
Changes
Date
ContributorLucy May
Changes

Edward H Tunison: Gallery (1 items)