Dad flew the Hump from October 1944 to April 1945 as a pilot and copilot. Flying a C-87 or C-109 was not a one-man job. Dad needed a crew to succeed in transporting aviation fuel, parts, other kinds of supply and personnel on round trip flights from Tezpur, India to several airfields in China.
The Dad’s crew from Nashville, Tennessee to Tezpur, India in a brand new C-87consisted of copilot Roland E. Speckman; navigator V.W. Walker; engineer J.S. Byrnes; and W. D. Syester, radio. These men made seventeen stops over a twenty-one day trip. Speckman calculated that the fuel for the trip cost $4,000.
The following men served as crew members for the round trip flights to China. Several served as crew members more than once, but the majority served with Dad only once.
- R.M. Myers
- W.L. Bridges
- K.L. Aicholtz (R)
- T.N. Nickerson
- G.M. Peterson
- M. Strieker(R)
- H.W. Robenstine
- E.E.Noyes (R)
- L.L. Pruitt
- S.P. Williams
- J.C. Turner (R)
- T.M. Phillips
- W.H. Wedeking
- M.D. Kester(R)
- R. J. Foster
- T. Pawlikowski
- E.H. Bucher (R)
- W.H. Brigdes
- C.P. Callahan (R)
- F.B. Krom
- H.L. Hisey
- K.L. Snapp(R)
- E.P. Czark
- R.E. Barr
- F.P. Mangino (R)
- J.J. O’Hanlon
- C.J. Erickson
- R.H. Garis(R)
- G.R. Reynolds (AR)
- A.C. Polzin
- C.L.Finzel(R)
- ? Robbins,
- ? Williams
- F.J. Bell
- F.A. Huss(R)
- W. W. Testerman
- C. W. Childress
- C.V. O’Brien
- C.F. Guilmette (R)
- C.M. Drake (AR)
- C.A. Grove
- W.H. McLaughlin
- A.R. Blanchette (R)
- J.W. McClain
- A.P. Bryant
- P.W. Gerdes (R)
- R.J. Whitlock
- C.P. Groves
- W. Syester
- G.W. McDow (AR)
- B.B. Vinson
- L.B. Shultz
- G.F.Braam(R)
- F.J. Perrault
- J.N. Braud
- J.B. Brown
- A.W. Dahl (R)
- W.S. Conroy
- R.E. Vennard
- R.R. Gelhar
- F.E. Durr
- R.L. Harrington
- L.M. Burstein
- A.A. Apline
- J.M. Tugwell
- W.M. Byers (R)
- B. White
- K. Miller
- L.L. Talbot
- B.A. Sims
- G.F. Miller (R)
- W. Klemme
- A.W. Shearer
- W.V. Dando (R)
- R. T. Murdock
- R. F. Forti (R)
- H.R. Starke
- J. Wilson
- B.F. Binion
- I. Reingold
- R.T. Cole
- J. C. Rutkowski (R)
- J. A. Spaddacio
- S.R. Craft
- J.W. Carroll (R)
- C.L. McElreath
- H.D. Bowen
- W. Linkenauger
- J. Wong
- O.J. Roberts
- C. Lowe
- C.C. Payne (R)
- G.W. Lake
- C.P. Belmont
- B.A. Burch (AE)
- H.W. Trout (R)
- M.G. Horvath
- F.M. Northrop (R)
- J.J. Amend
- J.C. Patterson (R)
- R.R. Hebert
- D.P. Beliveau
- E.D. Peterson (R)
- R.L. Rankin
- J.W. Krok
- D.A. Fisher
- J.H. Dendy (R)
- R.L. Woodall
- J.A. Kristek
- P.A. Davis
- D.C. Phillips (R)
- A.E. Fulks
- H. Stein (R)
- H.G. Martin
- H. Mayer
- R.H. Norton
- G.W. MacDow
- P.J. Duran
- M.J. Wisniewski (R)
- E.O. Peterson (AR)
- W.L. Gray
- J.C. Burger
- E.D. Hanson
- W. Taylor
- N. Adelman (R)
- H.O. Anderson
- R.D. Dickson
- L.A. Godfrey
- J.J. Russell
- J.C. Turner (R)
- C.R. Ahern
- C.C. Hicks (R)
- O. Barrick
- W.J. Lauf
- T.P. Carney (R)
- A.G. Danforth
- R. E. Speckman
- L.A. Oaks
- E.K. Storts (R)
- W.C. Skelly
- D.F. Gambatese
- C.D. Shamburger
- C.J. Goodnow
- K.F. Barton (R)
- M.W. Brouilette
- H.W. McConegly
- D. H. McLaughlin (R)
- W.A. Kibulus (AR)
- R.Mandelberg
- J.G. Riddle
- W.R. Alcorn (R)
- F.J. Liberatore
- C.J. Spellman (R)
- J.J. Valentino
- E.R. Hickerson
- ? Dey
- ? Mitchell (ARO)
- J.J. Costa
- B. Sobin (R)
- C.A. Kokesh
- W.A. Benson
- K.B.Lownes (R)
- P.W. Gregory
- R.J. Prendergast
- W.G. Johnson(ARO)
- H.W. Griggs
- L.D. Hudson
- T.A. Shuey
- J.W. Marshall (R)
- T.E. Fullick
- J.W. Holmes (E)
- R.Y. Hoffman
- ? Donin (E)
- ? Allensworth
We can make some observations about this list. As long as the list is, it is only a small portion of the thousands of personnel that made the Hump successful in transporting supplies into China. Dad got to know all these men to some degree. Dad and his crew members worked together to achieve the goal of transporting supplies and returning to their base safely. The names point to host of cultural and ethnic backgrounds and all of them working toward a common goal. If you recognized a name of one of the crew members, please contact me to share your knowledge of the crew member. Thanks.