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WW2 Colourised Photos - Lt (JG) Tom ‘TK’ Killefer of US Navy fighter squadron VF-17 (the original 'Jolly Rogers') standing on his Vought F4U-1A Corsair while waiting for an engine change on Nissan Island Airfield. 5th of March 1944 He landed 'dead stick', after a complete engine failure and after repairs that night and the following day, on 7th March, he flew out. Nissan is in the Green Islands of Papua New Guinea, exactly midway between Rabaul and Bougainville. The place had just been secured a month before by Kiwi’s of the 3rd New Zealand Infantry and at the time a young Richard Millhouse Nixon was a Navy supply officer at the base. During World War II, Tom Killefer shot down four Japanese Zero fighter planes. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism and extraordinary achievement in combat flight against Japanese forces; the Navy Air Medal; the Purple Heart for wounds received in action; the Presidential Unit Citation; and the Naval Unit Citation. In later life, he was a shrewd financial executive who revived the U.S. Trust Corp. from a slump in profits as its chairman and chief executive during the late 1970s. Killefer died suddenly on Sunday, June 16, 1996 at his Portola Valley home. Family members said he collapsed while dressing for a Father's Day dinner and after having played 18 holes of golf. He was 79. (source - National Archives) (Colourised by Doug) | Facebook

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