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thedrifter
12-24-02, 06:48 AM
Military biography

of

MTSGT. Howard H. Hicks, U.S. Marine Corps [NAP] [266771]

Howard Harvey Hicks was born April 2, 1918 in the small town of Genoa in eastern Colorado. Upon graduation from the Hugo, Colorado High School, he attended Colorado State College in Fort Collins, Colorado. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on 26 July, 1938. His dream was to attend flight school.

After basic training in San Diego, he was assigned to HS-2M, Aircraft Two, FMF, NAS, San Diego, Calif. where he served as a clerk typist in the Sgt. Majors office, rising, by December of 1940 to the rank of Sgt.

On December 31, 1940 he married Marian Catherine Morrison, of Limon, Colorado, in Yuma, Arizona prior to being shipped to Hawaii with the 2nd Marine Air Group to begin the operation of Ewa Field on the island of Oahu. On November 26, 1941 he boarded a ship bound for San Diego and arrived there on 7 December, 1941 to the news that Hawaii had been attacked and the country was at war.

On 31 December, 1941 he reported to the Marine Barracks at NAS Pensacola, Florida to begin his primary flight training with Class 1(6) and on January 28th 1942 flew his first solo flight in a Navy N3N3 Aircraft. His instrument rating (#538) followed on 21 May, 1942 and on July 10th, 1942 he was issued a Naval Aviation Pilots License #62-42, for heavier than air craft and was immediately reassigned to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at NAS San Diego, where he completed his Advanced Carrier training and his transition into Douglas Dauntless Dive Bombers.

On 5 October, 1942 he joined the newly formed Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 142 (VMSB-142) under the command of Major Robert Richard and departed on the 15th of October 1942 onboard the USS Mumu (formerly the luxury liner SS Lurline) arriving on 28 October, 1942 in Noumea, New Caledonia.

On November 9th, 1942 the Squadron boarded the Aircraft Carrier USS Nassau, bound for the island of Espiritu Santo. Upon arrival in Espiritu Santo, nineteen of the pilots left directly for Guadalcanal, arriving there on 12 November, 1942 in time to participate in the decisive battle for the island. The remaining 9 pilots (Including Sgt.. Hicks) would arrive 5 days later.

http://www.dauntlessdivebombers.com/Page.html


Sempers,

Roger