Choosing the Weather for Battle! 12th USAAF Weather Officer Grouping

Coelum Ad Proelium Elige is Latin for Choose the Weather for Battle and was the motto of the Army Air Force Weather Service. The following is the story of an officer assigned to a seldom heard about, behind-the-scenes crew responsible for timely forecasting and the facilitation of every AAF mission flown during the war.

Donald M. G-A-L-E-S was born in Pasadena, CA in 1920. In 1942, during his Junior year of college at UCLA he applied for an Appointment as an Aviation Cadet (Ground: Meteorology). He was commissioned as an Air Force Meteorological Officer at Chanute Field, IL on 29 Nov 1943...a career which he excelled in for 40+ years.

His first assignment was as the Chico Army Airfield's Base Weather Officer which lasted from Dec 1943-Apr 1944. On 16 Apr 44 he shipped out to Greensboro, NC to await his overseas orders and movement. Arriving in the EAME theater on 17 May 44, he was quickly assigned to the 12th Weather Squadron, 12th USAAF in the MTO. He remained with the 12th through June 1945 receiving credit for the Rome Arno Campaign, represented by the lone star on his EAME ribbon.

Upon his return to the US he performed weather duties at varies airfields until his discharge from Active Duty on 17 Sep 46. He later served in the Air Force Reserve in the same MOS throughout the 1950s reaching the rank of Captain in 1951 and ultimately leaving the service in 1953.

He had a long post-war career working for LAX, NOAA, and the National Weather Service keeping countless numbers of passengers safe with his meteorological work. Retiring in 1985, he wrote several books about the flora and fauna of the Costa Mesa, CA region. An interesting note is that he served as the primary meteorologist for the 1984 Summer Olympics in LA! Don passed away in December of 2013 at the age of 93.

This uniform jacket, trousers, and document grouping came to me complete and unaltered and was hanging on the original 1950s hanger and dry cleaning bag. Over 50 original pages of paperwork dating back to 1942 truly piece this vet's story together!

Thank you for your service Capt, it's an honor to follow in your footsteps as an Air Force Officer!

 

The Sacrifice of a 32nd Div Captain. WIA 04 Aug on Luzon

Stuart W. P-R-A-T-T was born in Wisconsin in 1914. On July 29, 1941 he enlisted in the US Army and on December 15, 1942 he was commissioned as an Infantry Officer. He served in combat with t “F” Company, 127th Infantry Regiment in the 32nd Infantry Division in the Leyte, Luzon, and New Guinea Campaigns. On August 4th, 1945 his life would change forever. Two days before the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, then Lt Pratt was critically wounded on the island of Luzon. Shrapnel to the abdomen and machine gun rounds to his right leg resulted in his leg being amputated mid-thigh and a FIVE year stay in various military medical facilities.

Five years this brave Captain was in the struggle of his life battling gangrene, a colostomy, and learning to live with the loss of his leg.

He was finally discharged on June 23, 1949 and returned home to his wife in Wisconsin.

Mr. P-R-A-T-T lived out his final years in Sun City, Arizona passing away at the young age of 58.

This uniform came all original straight from the family and included a box of  uniform insignia.The CIB is an interesting variant with a raised musket.