Master Technical Sergeant William H Vealy
William Henry Vealy was born on March 3rd, 1919 in Burnwell, West Virginia to Velma Stone and Arthur Vealy, their second of six children. He only completed up to his junior year of high school to presumably find a full time job, which later ended up not being what William wanted to do with his life. On November 20th, 1939, he decided to join the Marine Corps, even though World War Two had just broken out overseas, and was sent to Parris Island for a month of training. By late December, Private Vealy joined Air Detachment One at Quantico, Virginia in preparation for a squadron assignment, as the Corps realized he had mechanical experience. On April 1st, 1940, Private Vealy was sent to Marine Bombing Squadron 1, 1st MAG which later left on the USS McCawley for duty at Guantanimo Bay, Cuba in September for special fleet landing exercises lasting into the following year. Before leaving Cuba, Vealy was promoted to Private First Class and gained another advancement to Corporal in June, just a week prior to special temporary aviation duty aboard the USS Wasp as a mechanic. While cruising between Bermuda and Virginia, Corporal Vealy’s unit was redesignated as Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 132, and on July 14th, Vealy transferred to the Naval Air Station at Jacksonville, Florida to attend aviation mechanic school. During his two month course, Vealy was promoted to Sergeant, and upon completion, rejoined VMF 132 in November as a crew chief. The following month, Japanese forces launched their surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and other American bases in the Pacific which prompted the US to enter World War Two on the allied side. Sergeant Vealy’s relatively calm service just took a drastic turn, and he was now going to war.
Guadalcanal
Shortly before his first deployment to the Pacific, Sergeant Vealy transferred to the Aviation Mechanic Mates School in Norfolk for an additional two months of instruction until rejoining VMF 132 in July and preparing for the Guadalcanal campaign. While the invasion began the following month, it was not until October 15th that the squadron boarded the SS Lurline and traveled to Noumea, New Caledonia for a brief stop. Finally on November 3rd, newly promoted Staff Sergeant Vealy landed at Guadalcanal and immediately camped at Henderson Field to begin combat missions. VMF 132 now became a part of the “Cactus Air Force,” a conglomeration of Navy and Marine Corps planes tasked with defending the island and countering Japanese reinforcement attempts. Due to their position, the airfield had been constantly bombed since the early stages of the invasion, but by the time Staff Sergeant Vealy arrived, the situation had improved dramatically. The CAF heightened their combat operations in the coming months, which meant he was busy repairing damaged planes and keeping others in working order while the infantry continued to clear the island of Japanese. Vealy was promoted to Technical Sergeant by the end of the year, and on January 18th, 1943, he left the island with the ground echelon aboard the USS Crescent City for Espiritu Santo. Here, the squadron attacked nearby shipping lanes and enemy air bases for a few months until Staff Sergeant Vealy transferred to Service Squadron 14, MAG 14, 1st MAW on November 3rd as a crew chief and extended his enlistment.
New Georgia and Bougainville
The squadron moved to Ondongo, New Georgia where they repaired fighter planes and bombers engaging enemy emplacements for the New Georgia campaign and at the battle of Bougainville, during which Vealy was promoted to Master Technical Sergeant. However, once New Zealand captured the Green Islands in Papua New Guinea, the squadron left on LST 341 and arrived at the island by the end of February 1944 to utilize their airstrip to fly missions at Rabaul. Within days of arriving, MTSgt Vealy contracted an illness that hospitalized him for a month and prompted a transfer back to the states on April 23rd.
Upon his arrival in the states, he was granted a month of furlough during which he married Evelyn Adkins before reporting for duty at Headquarters Squadron, Marine Air Station at Edenton, North Carolina on July 15th as a plane captain and section chief. The following months were relatively uneventful but at the dawn of 1945, Vealy transferred to AES 41, USMCAS, Cherry Point at their reconditioning shop, where he put his extensive experience with airplanes to good use for a very brief period. In July, he traveled to San Diego’s Marine Air Casual Squadron 4 where he learned of the unconditional surrender of Japanese forces in September much to his relief. MTSgt Vealy had seen his fair share of the war, so when his enlistment period expired, he chose not to reenlist and was discharged on November 27th, 1945. William returned to his wife in West Virginia, but it is unknown what he did during his civilian life. In the 1980’s they moved to Willoughby, Ohio where he sadly passed away on April 28th, 2001.
Guadalcanal
Shortly before his first deployment to the Pacific, Sergeant Vealy transferred to the Aviation Mechanic Mates School in Norfolk for an additional two months of instruction until rejoining VMF 132 in July and preparing for the Guadalcanal campaign. While the invasion began the following month, it was not until October 15th that the squadron boarded the SS Lurline and traveled to Noumea, New Caledonia for a brief stop. Finally on November 3rd, newly promoted Staff Sergeant Vealy landed at Guadalcanal and immediately camped at Henderson Field to begin combat missions. VMF 132 now became a part of the “Cactus Air Force,” a conglomeration of Navy and Marine Corps planes tasked with defending the island and countering Japanese reinforcement attempts. Due to their position, the airfield had been constantly bombed since the early stages of the invasion, but by the time Staff Sergeant Vealy arrived, the situation had improved dramatically. The CAF heightened their combat operations in the coming months, which meant he was busy repairing damaged planes and keeping others in working order while the infantry continued to clear the island of Japanese. Vealy was promoted to Technical Sergeant by the end of the year, and on January 18th, 1943, he left the island with the ground echelon aboard the USS Crescent City for Espiritu Santo. Here, the squadron attacked nearby shipping lanes and enemy air bases for a few months until Staff Sergeant Vealy transferred to Service Squadron 14, MAG 14, 1st MAW on November 3rd as a crew chief and extended his enlistment.
New Georgia and Bougainville
The squadron moved to Ondongo, New Georgia where they repaired fighter planes and bombers engaging enemy emplacements for the New Georgia campaign and at the battle of Bougainville, during which Vealy was promoted to Master Technical Sergeant. However, once New Zealand captured the Green Islands in Papua New Guinea, the squadron left on LST 341 and arrived at the island by the end of February 1944 to utilize their airstrip to fly missions at Rabaul. Within days of arriving, MTSgt Vealy contracted an illness that hospitalized him for a month and prompted a transfer back to the states on April 23rd.
Upon his arrival in the states, he was granted a month of furlough during which he married Evelyn Adkins before reporting for duty at Headquarters Squadron, Marine Air Station at Edenton, North Carolina on July 15th as a plane captain and section chief. The following months were relatively uneventful but at the dawn of 1945, Vealy transferred to AES 41, USMCAS, Cherry Point at their reconditioning shop, where he put his extensive experience with airplanes to good use for a very brief period. In July, he traveled to San Diego’s Marine Air Casual Squadron 4 where he learned of the unconditional surrender of Japanese forces in September much to his relief. MTSgt Vealy had seen his fair share of the war, so when his enlistment period expired, he chose not to reenlist and was discharged on November 27th, 1945. William returned to his wife in West Virginia, but it is unknown what he did during his civilian life. In the 1980’s they moved to Willoughby, Ohio where he sadly passed away on April 28th, 2001.