Biographical account (10/19/2002) of Paul E. Carrigan and the aerological personnel who served in U. S. Navy Fleet Air Wing Four, Territory of Alaska, 1942-1945, by Willard G. Burris, including photocopies of documents, newsletters, photographs and
Paul Edmund Carrigan was born on August 11, 1923, in Little Falls, New Jersey. He served as an aerographer in the United States Navy and took part in the Battle of Dutch Harbor from June 3-4, 1942. Following the battle, he served in the U.S. Navy Fleet Air Wing Four, Territory of Alaska. Before retiring from the Navy in 1950, he logged over 2,000 combat flying hours. He married Jean Roesli from Washington and the two had four sons. Carrigan died on June 22, 2001, at the age of 77.
Willard Guy Burris was born on May 16, 1919, to Walter Guy and Jessie Burris. He served in the U.S. Navy, working as a weather forecaster during World War II and the Korean War. He flew on many missions in the Pacific and earned an Air Medal with citation. He married twice, first to Norma Shrock, to whom he was married for 54 years, and then to Marie Jean in May of 2002. He had three children: Rebecca, Peggy, and Guy. He died on Aug 4, 2006, at the age of 87 in Napa, California.
Written April 2024
This collection consists of papers related to Paul E. Carrigan and the areological personnel who served in the U.S. Navy Fleet Air Wing Four, Territory of Alaska, from 1942-1945. It includes information on the Rawins At Sea, including a photocopy of a typewritten "History of Rawin (Rawins)" (undated); photocopies of signed affidavits (1984, 1986, 1994, 1996); photocopies of the auxiliary plotting board and instructions; various patents (1939, 1946, 1948-1949). Also included is a typewritten narrative (2002) on Paul E. Carrigan and the Aleutian Campaign written by Willard G. Burris. Included throughout the narrative are various photographs (undated); a photocopy (undated) of a spot weather sheet; photocopies (undated) of maps related to Paramushiro (Paramushir) in the Kuril Islands; a scanned photocopy of an issue of "The Attu Morning Sun" related to the Japanese surrender. Miscellaneous materials include correspondence (1969, 1996).
Gift of Mr. Willard G. Burris
Encoded by Apex Data Services
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.