My New Guinea Diary
by Staff Sergeant Pilot Ernest C. Ford, White Stag Press, Roseville, Calif., 2010, $19.95.
This book is remarkable for a number of reasons. It is filled with detail—almost daily diary entries relating the wartime experiences of “Ernie” Ford. These are of particular interest because of the dearth of material on noncommissioned officer pilots. It also fills a gap in that it chronicles the adventures of transport pilots in combat. Ford, who flew 385 combat missions in two wars, was awarded no fewer than six Distinguished Flying Crosses.
In a larger sense, My New Guinea Diary is significant because it highlights the value and quality provided by self-publishing presses such as White Stag, which target niche markets. I believe that such companies now constitute a worthwhile countermeasure to the trend toward fewer publishers and electronic publications.
Ford begins with the story of one of his early missions with the 6th Troop Carrier Squadron—at a time when a P-39 fighter pilot’s life expectancy was greater than that of a C-47 transport pilot. On October 13, 1942, he and 12 other C-47 pilots flew a 4½- hour mission from Brisbane to Townsville, Australia. Once there, they were told to take on a full fuel load for an over-water flight at low level. They were to carry 29 mechanics with their tools, and no crew member was to wear either a parachute or a Mae West vest, as there were none for the passengers.
After landing on a pierced-steel plank strip, Ford found himself in an unfamiliar place, Port Moresby, New Guinea. From then on, he faced danger on a daily basis, from the enemy as well as the miserable climate and squalid living conditions. Stationed close to the front lines, Ford and his squadron mates flew resupply missions with no maps, no fighter cover and no means of self-defense. His sterling service was recognized with a battlefield commission in August 1943.
Ernie Ford’s book gives you a good idea of what it was like to be in the left seat of a C-47 during combat. It’s well worth reading.
Originally published in the November 2011 issue of Aviation History. To subscribe, click here.
