Glad to pass along to you what I know about the photo.
I cannot say with 100% certainty but I think that I took the photo.
The photo is of Albert Perreault.
Al as I remember it, wanted to fly, but didn't make the grade with the Air Corps. But he found his way to the Royal Canadian Air Force where he earned his wings. WWII erupted and Al returned to the U.S. Army Air Corps as a rated pilot. He served flying the hump during the war.
I began flying with Al shortly after joining the 7th Geodetic and flew for the most part with him for a span of about five years. I'm not sure just where we were going or when. I suspect it was '49, '50. The aircraft is a 47 and looks like a blue uniform.
I know we had one C-47 with two radio compasses one was an ARN-7 the other
an ARN-5 and this one has both.
The name Capt. Midnite came about because of the way they paid per diem at
one point in time. They paid another day or portion of another day if you
landed after midnite. If Al saw that we were going to arrive close to
midnight he would come back on the throttles and drag our feet until we touched
down some time after midnight. Someone in the squadron caught onto what
was going on and began calling him Capt. Midnite.
He was one fine AC. He once explained his philosophy about taking
care of his troops. He was commissioned in the cavalry before he learned
to fly. There the philosophy was "Take care of your horse first, next see
that your troops are provided for and then take care of your needs. Al
continued the practice in the AF. First the aircraft, then the crew and
then himself. He also saw to the needs of the ground station personnel
along those lines as well. He was one fine officer.
More about Al
I first served in the U.S. Navy as a radioman. When I came to the Air Force it was an entirely new ball game. There were a lot of things to learn. In the navy the relationship between officers and enlisted men was not the same as in the Air Force.
I was sent on my first TDY to Jamaica in January or February of '49 as Al's RO along with Pinky Settlemire. The C-47 we had required an engine change shortly after we arrived down there and so I tagged along with Pinky to base maintenance to get an "A" frame and the other necessary equipment to change the engine.
We had the cowling off and were hard at it when Al and Lt. McKenzie showed up in coveralls ready to go to work. I was shocked! Officers just didn't do that. But these two were in there up to their elbows in all the grease and grime same as we were.
I would learn that Al was a hands on person and if there was a job to be done he would help along with the rest of the crew. This again applied not only to the aircraft but to the installation of ground stations.
He wouldn't ask anyone to do something that he wouldn't do himself.
Later the Air Force adopted a motto of "Leadership By Example". Al was a prime example.
Fred Bayse
