Page 4 - MidWeek Central - Dec 22, 2021

4 DECEMBER 22, 2021
Retired Naval Officer Uncovers His Father’s Military History
barely spoke about the war. Upon his father’s death in 2002, Little’s younger broth- er Tom asked, “Just what did Dad do during the war?” In pursuit of answers, other than what Little knew about his fa- ther serving on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, the budding author began by re- viewing his father’s military service records at the National Military Service Record Ar- chives in St. Louis, Missouri, as well as the National Ar- chives at San Francisco and the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Re- search Center.
After his daughter Jessi- ca convinced him to start a blog about his research on the Carrier Aircraft Service Units (CASU) that his father was a part of, Little made contact with Engineman 1st Class Patrick O’Flynn of Tampa,
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Florida, who was a member of CASU-11. The blog also led him to meet Melissa Hays, who shared her father’s daily diary of his 17 months with CASU-11 working on a va- riety of aircraft at Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, and Little was convinced that the book must be written. The volume begins with the unit’s incep- tion on Jan. 22, 1943, in San Diego and ends when the unit is disbanded on Nov. 1, 1946, in Okinawa after the end of World War II. CASU encompassed the nearly 800 trained personnel necessary to support the maintenance and flight operations of a shore- based Carrier Air Group, or its equivalent of 60-80 aircraft.
“The response has been
very positive,” Little says of his book titled Mechanic on the Wing: The Untold Story of Carrier Aircraft Service Unit Eleven (CASU-11) 1943-1946.
BY KYLE GALDEIRA
As an officer with the U.S Navy, William Little, 73, provided meteorological and oceanographic support to the fleet in Guam, San Diego and Hawai‘i.
“People have enjoyed read- ing about this part of the war effort,” he says.
Following his retirement, however, Little pursued a new passion project as his curiosi- ty around his father’s experi- ences in World War II began to swell.
Little explains that while he does not plan to write any ad- ditional books, he would like to make presentations in the community.
Little, who has lived in Mililani for the past 36 years, retired from the Navy in 1991 and continued to work as a federal civil servant in the fields of weather and ocean- ography. During the summer of 1986, he arrived on O‘ahu with his wife, Sally, and two daughters, Rachel and Jessica.
To find the book online, search for “Mechanic on the Wing” via search engine or directly at amazon.com in the books section. It is also avail- able at Hawai‘i State Public Library System branches.
Little explains that, as is common with many World War II veterans, his father
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To learn more about Little, view his blog at casu11.word- press.com.
Mililani resident William Little holds a copy of his book Mechanic on the Wing: The Untold Story of Carrier Aircraft Service Unit Eleven (CASU-11) 1943-1946. PHOTO COURTESY WILLIAM LITTLE
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