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VMB-612, US Navy, USMCR, Pacific and Leon J. Guyette

VMB-612, US Navy, USMCR, Pacific and Leon J. Guyette

Posted: 27 Oct 2013 5:23PM GMT
Classification: Military
Surnames: Guyette
I have a photo, from my deceased father's wartme keepsakes, picturing him with six others (flight crew) in VMB-612. He only wrote last names on the back, but according to the unit roster, from VMB-612's website, one of the young men is Leon J. Guyette (Navigator/Bombardier)

I am trying to find family members of those in the photo, in the event they wish to have a copy of it. They only good lead I had on Ancestry for Guyette, puts her Leon J. Guyette (her father's cousin) in the Navy as SF2/c, Navy submarines. She told me a local Service Men's album placed him on the ship USS Euryale in the Pacific theater. (Please Note: there was another Leon Guyette, but he was enlisted in the Army).

My own father initially enlisted in the Navy and ended up in the USMCR as a pilot with VMB-612. So, I suppose the transition from one to the other is not unrealistic, but...

My question, for all you WWII and Marine history buffs out there, is: would they have plucked a Navy man off of a sub or ship, declared him a member of the USMCR and put him in the belly of a plane (PBJ-Mitchell) as a navigator/bombardier???

Any help will be appreciated and thank you in advance.

Julia

PS. I have posted a query to the VMB-612 website to see if they can shed any more light on Leon J. Guyette. No replies yet.

Re: VMB-612, US Navy, USMCR, Pacific and Leon J. Guyette

Posted: 14 Nov 2013 4:49AM GMT
Classification: Query
The powers that be at the time were asking for volunteers in the Navy to transfer off ships (and I suppose subs, other duty stations and maybe even Army units) to be navigators and bombardiers, according to my husband. He was on a carrier and did considered it but was advised by a Master Chief not to do it. They were losing allot of men in the bombing raids of Germany, they needed more than what could be supplied by boot camps and the schools, in all the war theaters.

Re: VMB-612, US Navy, USMCR, Pacific and Leon J. Guyette

Posted: 14 Nov 2013 11:46PM GMT
Classification: Query
Thank you for your reply...which makes sense to me. I'd bet money it's the same guy and that's exactly the situation. However, she would have to send in a request for his OMPF from the National Archives to find out for sure. Either way, I'll just have let that one go.

Julia

Re: VMB-612, US Navy, USMCR, Pacific and Leon J. Guyette

Posted: 18 Jan 2015 4:51AM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 18 Jan 2015 4:53AM GMT
Surnames: Guyette
Julia,

I've been researching the Guyette family that is connected to my family tree. Could this be him?

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Gu...;

Leon Joseph Guyette

Born June 23, 1925
Rank PFC
Unit U. S. Marine Corps.; WWII
Died July 7, 1966 aged 41
Type of Tombstone U. S. marker

(info from findagravedotcom)

Jill

Re: VMB-612, US Navy, USMCR, Pacific and Leon J. Guyette

Posted: 18 Jan 2015 7:40PM GMT
Classification: Query
I'll be happy to email a copy of the photo to you, if you like. The photo is, of course, is black & white and is a rather dark exposure, but perhaps you could tell any family resemblance. Just provide me an email and I'll do it after I get back home from my Findagrave photo taking.

Julia
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