HomeMy WebLinkAboutBill Palmos, Brazos Valley Heroes
One in a series of tributes to merribers 0" e rea test
Generation" who served our country during World War II
Bill Palmos of the Hearne law firm of Palmos, Russ,
McCullough and Russ is starting his 67th year as a
licensed attorney, but only his 63rd year of practice.
That is because of his time of service to his country.
"I had graduated from Hearne in 1933 and the
University of Texas Law School in 1939 and was
practicing law back in Hearne with Mr. John R. Grace.
The war was looming and my brothers and I decided
that if war was going to break out, we wanted to be
able to serve in the Navy. My brothers Demetre, Paul,
George, Bobby Charles and I all joined the Navy.
"When we entered service, Paul, Demetre and I had
our physicals the same day. They passed but I flunked
- they said I had a heart murmur. I knew I was healthy
so I volunteered for the Navy flight program, where the
physical was more complete, and I passed. I was sent for
basic training at Dallas and as a cadet to flight school."
At the start of the war, the German U-Boats were
sinking a good portion of all shipping that left U.S.
ports on the eastern seaboard and shipping coming
out of the Gulf.
"When I graduated from flight school and was
commissioned, the Navy wanted me to fly PBYs or
PBM's, both seaplanes. That was something I didn't
want to do. With the loss of shipping by the German
submarines, there was a critical need for dirigible or
blimp pilots. I volunteered for blimps and was sent to
Lakehurst, N.J., to learn to fly a blimp.
"I found out right away that flying a blimp was a lot
more difficult than flying a plane. It took me seven
hours of flight time in a plane before I soloed but
twenty-five hours in a blimp before I soloed.
"When I got my wings, I was assigned as a pilot to a
blimp and crew for escort duty on shipping coming out
of the East Coast shipyards and docks. A blimp has
a crew of 10 people - three officers, who all are pilots,
and seven enlisted men.
"Most of our flight missions would last from 12 to 18
hours. Each blimp had a MAD device which could
detect submarines under water. That was our job, to
detect and run off the German submarines that were
attacking our shipping. I'm proud to say that we never
lost any ships on any of the escort missions our blimp
and crew were on."
Palmos and his crew served as escorts for shipping
along both of the U.S. seacoasts, Central America and
Latin America until the war ended.
"We flew in weather that would ground most planes,
but the weather almost grounded us once and for all.
We were on the California coast and were attempting
to land when the Santa Ana winds started. Our blimp
is 250 feet long and must be secured by ground crews
grabbing our landing ropes in order to land.
"We attempted several passes with no luck. Our crew
aboard the blimp and the people on the ground were
exhausted by our attempts to land. I finally decided
that on the next pass I was going to kill all engines
because I didn't think we could make another pass.
Fortunately when we made the next pass, they were
able to catch us and held on for dear life. It still took
over an hour before we were able to disembark."
"When the war was over, I returned to Hearne to
continue my law practice but my brother Paul didn't
make it back. He went down with his ship, the Juno,
in the South Pacific. There were 860 men aboard, and
only 12 survived.
"When I look back on the war, I think about the friends
I made and the brother I lost. I also remember that all
of us felt that we owed a duty to our country. Either we
protect our county then and there or else the Germans
were coming here."
Bill Palmos, now 90 years of age, goes to the office
daily. He has served his community, his clients, his
profession and his country well.
Bill Palmos' name can be found on the Brazos Valley
Veteran's Memorial. For more information, to make
a contribution, or if you know a World War" veteran
whose story needs to be told, contact the BWM at
www.veteransmemorial.org or Bill Youngkin at (979)
260-7030.
!!!~)~~~Ie
Local World War 1/ veteran Ray Valigura will be the guest on
"Veterans of the Valley" Friday at 8:30 p.m. on KAMU- Tv.
Veterans of the Valley, hosted by WTAW's Tom Turbiville. can be seen
Fridays at 8:30 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 6:30 p.m.
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KAMU.tamu.edu
Channel 15/cox cabJe4