VMTB-143/CVE-107 1945 & VMTB 134
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LINKS ---> SGT ED MARTIN...................... CAPTAIN BILL PATTERSON......... SGT GEORGE "PRESS" ADAMS


LEROY DURFEE and JOHN KUZMA Photos See below.

.........Three men made up the crew of TBM (Number P-81) the Loose Goose in 1945. All were combat veterans of the Solomons going out to their second tour or duty. Though the Japanese airforce had been badly mauled in the battles of attrition in 1943 and 44 they could still make their presence felt with the Kamikaze who took a fearsome toll in and around Okinawa. No matter how tough the aircraft or skilled the crew, ground fire on these low level missions was often the greater threat and more men were lost to this than to enemy aircraft. The TBM was not an easy plane to escape from in any emergency, especially for all the crew at low level. Capture by the Japanese often meant torture and summary execution. Flying from the deck of the USS Gilbert Islands they were one of the first all Marine air units assigned to the dedicated Marine close air support carrier groups being developed. VMTB-143's last deployment saw the crew sail from the doorsteps of the Empire to the support of the Australian landings in Borneo and back. Luckily the war ended before the inevitable odds caught up to them.


VMTB-143 Squadron Insignia from the first deployment to the Solomons to the second on the CVE USS Gilbert Islands

The Loose Goose. P-81 holds Bill Patterson, Ed Martin and Press Adams.

The Gallant Gussie CVE-107 USS GILBERT ISLANDS ( patch courtesy of Marvin Brenner)



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VMTB-134 from 1943 to 1945 SGT. Leroy E. Durfee Sr. Radio , Radar, Tailgunner.


Leroy was awarded his decoration 45 years after the war ended. Like so many vets he went home to rebuild his life, becoming a school teacher and only learned of his awards at a reunion in the late 1980's.

Distinguished Flying Cross(Est 1926) Criteria: Heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight

Air Medal (Est 1942) Criteria: Heroic actions or meritorious service while participating in aerial flight.

Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal - WWII (Est 1942) Dates: 1941-46 Criteria: Service in the Asiatic-Pacific theater for 30 days or receipt of any combat decoration.

World War II (WWII) Victory Medal (Est 1945) Dates: 1941-46 Criteria: Awarded for service in US Armed Forces between 1941 and 1946.

Leroy in the baseball cap.

Leroy Durfee was lost to us in January 2003 , but his story is in a book by Patsy k. Barber titled : Speaking from the Heart Vol 2. His his upper turret man and Pilot are still alive , and their still having reunions for VMTB-134 and 143. His Pilots Name was Clarence Beasley and upper turret was John Kuzma, The crews original upper turret man was Woody Woodburn and 2 days before my dads 21 st Birthday my dad pulled a bullet out of Woody Woodburns stomach and he made it and lived and Woody was replaced By John Kuzma.

Thanks to his son Robert who served in the military as well with VMGR-352 as a KC-130 Structures Mechanic and a First Mechanic ( Aircrew) and then with VMA-(AW)-121 as a Structures Mechanic on A6-E INTRUDERS

SGT.JOHN KUZMA HOMETOWN , FREEMONT OHIO RETIRED TOOL AND DIE MAKER.

JOHN KUZMA REPLACED WOODY WOODBURN IN THE UPPER TURRET AFTER WOODY WAS WOUNDED IN COMBAT. JOHN FLEW WITH PILOT CLARENCE BEASLEY AND LEROY DURFEE AND REMEMBERS SEEING THE P-38 COMING BACK FROM SHOOTING DOWN THE YAMAMOTO PLANE. HE ALSO FLEW WITH LEROY DURFEE AT ESPIRUTO SANTOS AND MUNDA , GUADACANAL, BOUGANVILLE.. JOHN KUZMA BOTH RECEIVED THE DFC AND THE AIRMEDAL TOGETHER AT A CERMONY IN TOLEDO BACK IN MARCH 1989.


THE NEWS PAPER CLIPPING TITLED ( NEVER TOO LATE) ARTICLE WITH JOHN KUZMA ,LEROY DURFEE AND CLARENCE BEASLEY PILOT PRESENTING THE AWARDS.


E-Mail Me @ worldwar2mem@yahoo.com


Copyright © Ken Arnold 1999. All rights reserved.

A FEW LINKS & CREDITS

All photos on these pages are the property of the aircrews listed and Adam Lewis and should not be copied without their permission. (most if not all photos will be courtesy of the aircrew via Adam Lewis)

Adam Lewis developed site with a lot of information and photos of the history and men of VMTB-143 This is a well done page on a little known and written about chapter in Marine and Carrier avaition. In 1945 the Marines were able to convince their commanders to provide Marine close air support from the new Commencement Bay Escort Carriers.


VMF-512 was the fighter squadron shipped with VMTB-143 VMF-512 Flew the Goodyear Built F4U Corsairs.


AV8R Stuff supplier of the VMTB squadron patches. Thanks to William White.


CVE-107 patch courtesy Marvin Brenner owner of Military Artifacts.

CVE-107 Conversion to the U.S.S. ANNAPOLIS AGMR-1
COMMUNICATIONS MAJOR RELAY SHIP VOX MARIS: "VOICE of the SEA"
CVE-107 USS GILBERT ISLANDS NAV SOURCE SITE

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