In September 1976, shortly after I earned my Private Pilot license, I invited my father to go flying with me in a Cessna 150. I knew he was accustomed to flying having served as a flight instructor for the U.S. Naval Reserve (USNR). He earned his pilot’s license in 1941 through the Civilian Pilot Training Program, took secondary and advanced courses, and ultimately earned his instructor rating. He enlisted into the USNR in 1942, received a commission as an Ensign, then trained at NAS Corpus Christi where he earned his gold wings as a naval aviator. His first assignment was NAS Minneapolis where he conducted Primary Flight Training for new recruits who had never flown before.
Now, back to that fall morning in September 1976 as I pre-flighted the plane, the extent of what I knew about my father’s flying career only went as far as him being a flight instructor. I did not know any of the specifics I just described. He talked very little about his military experiences.
After take-off and setting a westerly heading at 4,500 feet MSL, I asked if he wanted to take over flying. “Sure!” he said and I handed control of the aircraft to him. He did a couple coordinated standard-rate turns about a point, straight and level flight, and followed a heading using dead reckoning to another airport. He said, “Just like riding a bike. There are some things you don’t forget.” I could tell right away there was a sense of familiarity and confidence with which he maneuvered the plane.
Now, let’s move the clock forward to the year 2020. While conducting some genealogical research, I stumbled upon a declassified military document that identified my father, Lt. Joseph Ward Bearss, reporting for duty aboard the USS Bullard, a Fletcher-class destroyer. Growing up we were told he served aboard the fast carrier USS ESSEX. This destroyer was new information. However, it proved to be valid as this military record showed him transferring from the ESSEX to the BULLARD on 5 June 1945 “for temporary duty as Intercept Fighter Director Officer.”. I wondered, What else is there online I can dig up about his navy experience? Thus began a two year research project tracking down my father’s World War II military journey.
With the help of librarians, archivists, college registrar offices, military historians, museum curators, newspaper journalists, and WWII enthusiasts, I discovered a LOT. To begin, while in college, it became very apparent that my father wanted to become an aviator. During his second fall semester at Western State Teacher’s College, he made that decision: He dropped his classes and enrolled into the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
After earning his pilot’s license, he moved to South Bend, Indiana where his secondary CPTP classes were held. Ground school was at Notre Dame. Flight training was at Bendix Field.
With the help of published memoir by another aviation enthusiast – who also happened to attend Western State Teacher’s College the same year as my father – I stumbled upon a photo in his book that showed nine graduates of CPTP aerobatic training. Standing in that photo – second from the left – was my father. That was an OMG moment for me. I learned this phase of CPTP training required him to successfully execute loops, spins, Split-S turns, rollovers, and other assorted maneuvers with aircraft like the Waco UPF-7 and the Stearman PT-17.
Now, let’s flash back to that fall day in 1976. While soaring above the farmlands of southeast Michigan, I had no idea that my father – the pilot at the controls sitting next to me – had the knowledge and skills in handling an aircraft that far outreached the capabilities I would ever achieve. Had I know, I would have asked, “Want to do a spin?”
