First, I know what units he belonged to, and I have muster rolls. I am already trying to get the rest of his military records from the Archives, that is not what I need help with.
He was a radioman in a Helldiver that flew in the battle of Leyte Gulf in Nov 1944, following that he was transferred to HEDRON Fleet Air Wing Two.
I know HEDRON FAW 2 trained all the naval squadrons coming into the pacific and provided all the airframes and replacement crews, and Muster rolls are only updated every 3 months (at least I can only find him every 3 months).
From what I understand, ARM sailors with gunnery training and combat flight experience were very valuable but I have no idea if he might have been assigned to a different Airframe or would have just been sent to a new squadron when a seat opened up or just kept as a trainer or maintenance member of HEDRON. Although if he was a member of a training or Maintenance section I expect there would be a billet listed on the muster roll, but I could be wrong.
I know he was in Guam in Dec. 1944, and he didn't return to Hawaii or the states until Oct. 1945, But other than that it's a big black hole. He was injured at some point and supposedly shot down or in a crash of some kind according to family, but no one knows when or where except that he was in a hospital in Manilla at some point, but getting medical records is difficult as his immediate family is long dead, and he had no children, so we are focusing on unclassified information for the moment.
So, my Question, where do I look to find transfer orders for Navy replacement flight crews from HEDRON Fleet Air Wing Two to forward carrier combat squadrons in the pacific between Jan and Dec 1945?
or does anyone know where any kind of records might be without having to read every single combat flight report in the pacific 1945?
any other recommendations would be helpful.
