Lt. Harold June: Aviator

( Autobiographical Sketch; Typed from the original tissue paper version as written.)

    I was born February 12, 1895 on a farm in Stamford, Connecticut. This was a rather poor, average, hilly and rocky New England farm, wherein the family had to live from the food that was grown on the land, excepting for a barrel or two of white wheat flour, sugar, salt and seasoning. The money to buy clothing ad the few necessities of life was obtained by my father having established a weekly route to the city of Stamford delivering orders received the previous week, of butter, eggs, vegetables, and fowl. At the age of six it was necessary for me to arise at our o’clock in the morning and attend to the various farm chores, in accordance with my strength, in the barns, poultry houses and pigeon lofts.

            At eight years of age I was first allowed to attend a Connecticut ungraded school consisting of nine grades. The school was located one mile away and it was necessary for me to walk both ways in rain, sunshine or the freezing snowy winters. The hours of the school were from eight in the morning until three-thirty in the afternoon. A part of the farm was a large steam powered mill, and at the age of eight it also became my duty four days a week to build the fires in the large fire tube boiler using logs for fuel, (this work started at four A.M.) raise steam pressure, warm up and operate the several different steam engines, and oil all the line shaft bearings and the various type machines; grain grinding machine (using stones for grinding) a very large rip saw for cutting all types of lumber from the original logs, and four eighty bushel apple presses for the production of cider. This work had to be done in addition to my attendance at school and all the other previously mentioned farm chores.

            In 1907 at the age of twelve I graduated from grammar school and started high school in Stamford, Connecticut which was five miles away from my home with no transportation available, so that it was necessary for me to either walk or ride a bicycle in accordance with road conditions. These roads were country roads, unsurfaced and usually in bad condition.

            In December of 1909 due to changing conditions and transportation facilities in the United States, Connecticut farms were unable to compete with the western shipments by rail, and it therefore became necessary, due to economic conditions, for me to leave high school and go to work, in December 1909 at the age of fourteen I secured an apprenticeship appointment to the machine shop of the Mianus Motor Works, Mianus, Connecticut who were builders of marine gas engines. This apprenticeship was completed in three years. In 1912 at the age of seventeen years, this company qualified me as an expert machinist on all types of machine shop equipment. This company also qualified me as a special trouble shooter and installation supervisor on all types of boats and ships in which their engines were installed.

            In 1913 at the age of eighteen, I obtained a second-assistant unlimited merchant marine engineers license for gas and Diesel. At this time I left the employment of the Mianus Works and obtained a position of first assistant engineer on board the yacht “Vagrant” owned and personally operated by Harold S. Vanderbilt.

            In 1913 I obtained an additional license as Chief Engineer 10,000 ton steam Diesel and gas out of Boston and became Chief Engineer for Harold S. Vanderbilt and continued in this position until May 2nd 1917, at which time I enlisted in the Navy as a Chief Machinist Mate General service. During the last two years of my employment with Harold S. Vanderbilt, I held the position of Senior Chief Engineer for the three yachts he then had in commission. There were the “Vagrant”, “Magistrate”, and “S.P. 56”.

            In April 1917 I received from the International Correspondence School a degree as a Refrigeration Engineer after completing their long course.

            From May 1917 until March 1918 I served as a Chief Machinist Mate USNR at the Block Island section of the Second Naval District as repair and material officer in charge of repair of submarines, mine sweepers, and patrol boats. During this period due to the fact that there were no adequate docks or machine shops available, it was necessary for me to design and have built all the facilities needed for this work for the Navy.

            From March 1918 to February 1919 I was assigned as senior material and inspection representative of the navy at Herrishoff Manufacturing Co. Bristol, Road Island, rating Chief Machinist mate.

            From February 919 through January 1920 I was on inactive duty USNR as a Chief Machinist mate with a confirmed rating and spent this time in Connecticut on my father’s farm helping him.

            In February 1920 I returned to active duty in the Navy to complete the unexpired portion of my original enlistment in the USNR, which was one year and three months. At this time I transferred from USNR to USN as Chief Machinist mate acting appointment. Immediately after returning to active duty, I was transferred to the Aviation Machinist Mate’s School, Naval Training Station, Great Lakes, Illinois, for the nine months elementary machinist mate’s course. This course was completed in eight months by September 1920, and I was then appointed Senior Instructor of ignition and motor theory by Commander Wilson who was then the officer in charge of the Machinist Mate’s School. I held this appointment until March 1922 when Commander Wilson requested me to assume the additional duties of completing the twelve week advanced Machinist Mate’s course, which I completed in October 1922.

            In November 1922 I was transferred to the Naval Training Station, Pensacola, Florida and assigned duty under instruction at the Advanced Aircraft Radio School, completing the course of theory, also of sending and receiving twenty words a minute in twelve weeks. In February 1923 I was assigned to the Radio Stations and a land line. At this time my rating was Aviation Chief Machinist Mate, qualified Aircraft Radio Operator.

            In April 1923 I was assigned to the Heavier Than Air Pilot’s Training School as a student and completed this course of training in November 1923, graduating with Class 18, as number one of sixty-nine men.

            In December 1923 I was assigned to the U.S.S. Wright for further assignment for duty. My first assignment on board the U.S.S. Wright was to the engine room to assist the chief engineer on repairs and reconditioning of the ship before starting on its winter cruise south. Part of this reconditioning was to be completely new and redesigned installation of evaporators. The chief engineer assigned me to the duties of designing and installing this evaporator system, in accordance with the material and equipment that I might find available in the Philadelphia Navy yard. The personnel that were assigned to me to this work were all aviation machinist’s mates or seamen. These duties were completed the first week of January 1924, at which time I received a special written commendation from the captain of the U.S.S. Wright for the excellence of the work and having completed it two weeks ahead of time.

            In January 1924 to June 1924 I was assigned duty as Co-Pilot with Lieutenant Sprague (now Admiral Sprague) as leader of the second section of the V.P. squadron then attached to the U.S.S. Wright.

            In June and July 1924 I was assigned to duty at the Naval Aircraft factory Philadelphia, Pa. Under instruction at the catapult school, making many experimental catapult shots. After being thoroughly qualified was transferred to the U.S.S. Concord as Senior Aviation Chief to put the catapults and aircraft in commission,, and remained on this duty until January 1925 when I was discharged because of expiration of enlistment.

            During the first part of February 1925 I re-enlisted and was assigned duty at Anacostia D.C. My duties there consisted of test pilot for all reconditioned or overhauled planes and seven days a week aerological soundings to 15,000 feet, regardless of weather, providing there was a minimum of 500 feet ceiling.

            In the latter part of March 1925 to August 1925 I was transferred to NAS Lakehurst, New Jersey, with a Douglas torpedo plane on wheels, and assigned duty flying for the parachute school testing parachutes with dummy overloaded drops and flying all the parachute student for their qualifying first pull-offs and first jumps.

In September 1925 I was transferred back to NAS Anacostia, D.C. and re-assigned to all the duties I had previously held before the transfer to Lakehurst. This continued until the end of May 1926.

About the first of June 1926 until September 1926 I was assigned to the U.S.S. Niagra. While on this assignment as Chief Machinist mate qualified Naval Aviation Pilot it became my duty to make an aerial survey of the Gulf of Venezuela, S.A., including a considerable distance up the Colombian coast. The survey was completed successfully.

About October 1926 to July 1927 I was assigned duty at NAS Hampton Roads, Virginia, as Assembly and Test Division Superintendent of the Assembly and Repair Department and was appointed shortly after arrival as Chief Test Pilot. In December 1927 while on this duty I had other collateral duties as stand by emergency pilot about once each six days a week. During the month of December while standing the duty of a stand by pilot an emergency call on a Sunday afternoon came through for the immediate service of the hospital plane with doctors and medical facilities were required immediately at Cape Hatteras Coast Guard Station. We arrived at this station about four P.M. By six P.M. it had started to get dark. The patient, who was the wife of a Coast Guard, with her husband and the doctor were all loaded on board with a special request from the doctor to hurry back to Norfolk because the patient needed immediate hospitalization and an emergency operation. The flight up Albemarle Sound was beautiful in the moonlight. On crossing over to the Atlantic Ocean a heavy mist and rain set in and it was necessary, due to the fact that on this old F5L the batteries had gone dead, the luminous paint on the instruments was so old they could not be read after dark it was therefore necessary to follow the white line of the breaking surf to the lighthouse at Cape Henry, Virginia, so that the lighthouse keeper could get the plane number and report our departure from there to NAS Hampton Roads. A course was set by magnetic compas for the airstation. About half way there, the starboard engine threw a connecting rod in either number three or four cylinder. Result, four cylinders plus propeller, radiator and crankcase left us, and in this type of old F5L we could not stay in the air with a single engine. Fortunately, my co-pilot Pat Burns and myself had arranged for this type of an emergency. The magnetic compass still had the luminous paint showing, but all other instruments were out of visibility in darkness. The arrangement with my co-pilot and myself was as follows:  If in case of an emergency, he was to fly the rudder from the compass steering a straight course while I was to stick my hand down close to the instrument board between the wheels and under the yoke, and in this position it was possible for me to read the air speed meter, altimeter and turn bank instruments. The arrangements were that my co-pilot would fly the compass on a straight course, while I would take over the wheel and govern the milarons and flippers with my head close to the instrument board. When the emergency happened these arranged dual duties were successfully carried out and a landing was made at night in a heavy rain about half way between Cape Henry and NAS Hampton Roads. After two hours of taxie against very adverse weather conditions the plane and crew were safely delivered to NAS Hampton Roads. My co-pilot and myself both received a special commendation from the Bureau of Navigation by the recommendation of Captain A.C. Read.

In July 1928 I was detailed to the Byrd Antarctic Expedition number one and returned from that duty in September 1930. I was assigned duties by Commander Richard E. Byrd as, Engineering Officer, Senior Pilot and Executive Officer of the expedition; my naval rating was still aviation Chief Machinist mate qualified Naval Aviation Pilot.

During this period many flights of exploration were made, and photographic mapping of an area of over 200,000 square miles never before seen by human eye. On November 28th and 29th 1929, the first and only flight over the South Pole was made. The crew of the plane consisted of then, Commander Byrd, navigator, Balchen and myself, co-pilots, Captain McKinley, aireal surveyor.

In October 1930, I returned from leave and reported for duty NAS Hampton Roads, and was assigned duty as Assembly and Test Division superintendent, A&R Department, NAS Hampton Roads.

In November 1930, I was presented with a Distinguished Flying Cross with Citation. Later, in December 1930, I was transferred to the Naval Experimental Laboratory, NAS Anacostia, D.C. and remained on this duty until March 1931 when I was transferred to the Naval Academy, Anapolis, Maryland, as pilot of the target plane assigned to midshipman training.

In September of 1931, I received a special gold Congressional Medal for the first Byrd Antarctic Expedition.

In December 1931, I was transferred to the U.S.S. Langley assigned for special temporary duty conducting experimental cold weather flight test at Bar Harbor, Maine. From January to June 1932, I was assigned duty with V.S. Squadron VIII, Fleet Air Base, Coca Solo, C.Z., and was assigned as co-pilot with the squadron commander, then Commander Sprague (now Admiral Sprague). In July of 1932 to September 1932 I was re-assigned on leave to Admiral Byrd, preparing for the Byrd Antarctic Expedition number two. The expedition was cancelled for this year and I returned from leave to duty at NAS Anacostia, D.C.

In September of 1932 I was transferred to the Fleet Naval Reserve Class F4-C in accordance with a special Act of Congress giving me a pay allowance as of 16 years and one day active service. At this time I had competed 14 years and five months of active service.

From September 1932 until July 1935 I was on duty with the second Byrd Antarctic Expedition as chief pilot, chief engineer, and chief of staff preparing for, and completing the operations of the second Byrd Antarctic Expedition and was in command of all flights of exploration due to Admiral Byrd’s illness. In July of 1935 until July of 1937 I was farming for myself and lecturing all over the United States on the first and second Byrd Expeditions. From July 1937 until February 1951 (? 1941) I was recalled to active duty and transferred to NTS Pensacola, Florida, for a pilot’s (HTA) refresher course. This was completed in June 1941. I was then transferred to NTS Corpus Christi, Texas, with the rate of CAP(P). I was assigned duty as chief test pilot A&R Department. In May 1942 I was appointed Machinist USN(T) and assigned duty as Assembly and Test Division superintendent A&R Department NTS Corpus Christi, Texas. In June of 1932 I was appointed Ensign USN(T), same duty. On May 1, 1933, I was appointed Lieutenant (jg), same duty. On May 4, 1943 I was appointed Lieutenant (sg)(T), (spot), same duty. Until December 1943, when I was transferred to the Naval Air Station, NAS Kodiak, Alaska, and assigned duties as aircraft overhauling officer and inspection officer, A&R Department, until August 1944. On arrival at Kodiak I was re-appointed Lieutenant USN(T) (Spot).

In July 1944 I was appointed a regular temporary Lieutenant (USN) and in August 1944 was appointed A&R officer of the A&R Department NAS Kodiak by dispatch orders from Bureau Naval Personnel.

In March 1945 I was transferred to temporary duty in the Bureau of Aeronotics Aircraft Maintenance, Washington, D.C.

In May of 1945 I was transferred for duty to the A&R Department NAS Alameda, and was assigned duty as foreman of Shop 1941 which included preparation of all feedback aircraft for ferry and the ferry line and also test pilot’s duty.

In September 1945, up to the present date I have been assigned duty as foreman of Shop 1933 A&R Flight Test Division.

My preferable form of recreation is all types of hunting and fishing, deep water sailing, skiing, reading and music. I have no hobbies that I know of. Due to the long service I have had in the navy and the varied experience in civilian life, it is believed that I can be of great value to the navy if appointed as a permanent officer and also that the navy can be great value to me. Navy life and its associations are very close to my heart and I am anxious to continue in active duty as long as I may be of service.