Prior to joining VT-1 Petty Officer Harold Coty may have been stationed aboard the USS Fanshaw Bay (CVE-70). On June 17th 1944 the "Fanny B" was hit by a bomb and put out of commission.

In July of 1944 he came aboard the USS Yorktown (CV-10) as a replacement crewman. He joined VT-1 mid-cruise while they were engaged in combat actions in the Bonin and Marianas Islands. He was assigned to fly with Ens Robert Murphy and likely flew several combat hops in July of 1944. The name of the radioman he flew with is not known.

On one of those combat hops with Ens Murphy they blew up an ammunition dump which caused the plane to lift up and the wings to flex down*. This likely happened either July 18th or July 20th 1944 at Guam (See Aircraft Action Reports #33, 43, 44).

_*Told to William Carr (brother of _Stan Carr) in a 1992 visit with Harold at his home in Puyallup.

Harold Thomas Coty