895th Chemical Company - Seeking Info

[norge0209]

Hi,

I am trying to determine if my grandfather flew in airplanes during WWII. (I know he was not a pilot.) There's a disagreement in my family over whether my grandfather simply stocked planes with napalm or was actually in the planes.

Here's what I know:

My grandfather, Bernard J Hurley, was in the U.S. Army. In 1943, he had Basic Training for the Air Force at Sheppard AFB in Wichita, Texas. He served with the Air Corps and traveled to the Philippines and Papua New Guinea. According to his discharge papers, he was a corporal in the 895th Chemical Company, 5th Air Force Service Command, 22nd Service Group.

Can anyone tell me exactly what he did during his time in the military? (Or your best guess of what he did?)

Thank you.

 

[absentplodder]

The 895th Chemical Company was based at Fenton Airfield, Northern Territory, Australia for a period from late 1942. Fenton was a fairly significant Bomber Field for a couple of years. I am not sure if the had Napalm at that time, they would have had Mustard and possibly a few other interesting weapons. The Japanese had used Mustard in China, and the allies knew that they had stocks available in the Pacific. Both Australia and the US were prepared to use Mustard on the Japanese if it was used on them.