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Home Town Born in Dover, NJ
Last Address Rumson, Monmouth County, New Jersey Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Middletown, NJ, Memorial: Wall E, Row 3, Plaque 34
Date of Passing Nov 23, 1979
Location of Interment Mount Olivet Cemetery - Middletown, New Jersey
Wall/Plot Coordinates E/East, Row 3/34
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Last Known Activity:
LCDR Patrick Joseph "Pappy" Byrne, USN (Ret.)
Chief Naval Aviation Pilot, NAP No. 10 (1920)
Naval Aviator No. 3442.
He logged over 2 1/2 years of flight time.
Member of the Golden Eagles, Retired as Lt Cdr.
Birth: Mar. 18, 1896, Dover, New Jersey
Death: Nov. 23, 1979, Rumson, New Jersey
THE LEGENDARY PATRICK J. "PAPPY' BYRNE
Sometime prior to the Spanish American War and yes, even prior to the Wright Brothers epochal experience at Kitty Hawk, a lad was born in South New Jersey named Patrick J. Byrne. Pat or "Pappy", as his shipmates called him, wrapped up his Navel career as Lt. Commander Naval Aviator, USN in 1958 with a mere 23,000 hours flying time. Not too many Silver Eagles can match that; especially when it was performed in 140 different types of aircraft. Types too numerous to designate individually. From the old "Standard", which flew at walking speed, to jets.
It seems that Pat got his yearning to fly in 1915, when a friend in his home town in Rumson, New Jersey, checked him out in a "Burgess Dunne" somewhere on the Shrewsbury River.
Out to lick the Kaiser, Pat enlisted during World War I as landsman for the Machinists Mates School at Pensacola. He rapidly advanced from a boot, who never dropped a piggy-bank passenger, to plane Captain and taxi-pilot.
With his pleasing Irish personality, Pat by now a Chief Petty Officer, found himself selected for the first enlisted men's flight class.
How could he miss? By this time he probably had as much time in the air as his instructors, then on October 10, 1920, he received those much cherished wings which he would henceforth wear with pride, honor, and distinction. Naturally he was selected as chief instructor for the enlisted and Warrant Officer neophytes.
As chief instructor, Pat was always on "tap" for emergency flights or what have you. Because the writer. Joe Frosio, had never before seen any mention of the following among his memoirs, he tempted to "snitch" on him, to wit; One very early calm Sunday morning the O.O.D. awakened Pat in the Chiefs Quarters at Pensacola to take an important hop. Joe, who had just soloed N-9's that week was privileged to fly co-pilot. The mission, because of no wind on the bay, was to assist the plane carrying the Secretary of the Navy (Josephus Daniels) to take off for St. Petersburg, Florida. The usual procedure of taxing on the step ahead of the plane taking off was accomplished with a well done, and a wave off, when Pat, barely off the water chandelled, standing that twin-engine H-16 on its ear, pulled into the beach, cut the guns, and high-tailed to Old Warrington Church. Joe later learned that Pat was just in time for Mass. His co-pilot sat in the cockpit, scared to death. In retrospect. Joe contends that the World War II clinche; "Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer" was plagiarized from that experience.
Pat now felt he had to help sell the surface navy on aircraft as a part of the fleet. So he joined the first Fleet Air Detachment at Norfolk, flying wooden hull jobs with all their grievances; one time losing a propeller over the wintry Atlantic. Proving that even these early types could do a good job spotting, bombing, and reconnaissance was soon accomplished, even thorough drift indicators and bombsights were rather primitive devices. Night landing as that time were made through the use of smudge-pots placed alongside of the seaplane tenders.
Now with an accepted Naval Air Arm, flights were extended. Pat participated in the first flight from Norfolk to Guantanamo. Because of the limited range of the aircraft, many stops were made en-route on the East Coast. Later, with bigger boats, air cooled engines, metal hulls and longer cruising range, his squadron undertook, successfully, a not-stop flight from Norfolk to Coco Sola, Panama. Joining VRF-1 with its various transport assignments, Pat was soon risking ferrying Big-boat's cross-country, with Corpus Christi, Texas, as first stop. His next task, upon request of C.N.O. (Admiral Sherman) was to seek sites for seaplane bases in the Mediterranean. By this time he had been recognized as a trail blazer.
About 1939, American Export Steamship Company decided to venture into air transportation. You guessed it, Pat was chosen, and on loan from the Navy, to establish a route to Europe. It was rumored that he chose to go by way of Ireland just to kiss the "Blarney Stone", the Navy Department granted him a leave of absence for this survey. Incidentally, this route was latter used by Pan American Airways. Next he was called upon to conduct a survey for a seaplane base in Calao Harbor, Peru. The result was favorable, and the Lima-Tampa-New Orleans Airlines was established. Upon completion of the survey. Pat high-tailed back to New York making the first non-stop flight from Peru o New York City. While resting, he undertook the testing of the famous "Mars" seaplane at the Martin Aircraft Factory. However, all this time was not only in Big Boats. In 1925, in order to diversify and get in some time in single engine planes. Pat transferred to the old Langley and qualified as a Carrier pilot. Catapult equipped ships he served on were the Richmond, Trenton, Wyoming and the Augusta, in addition the Seaplane Tenders Shawmut, Wright and the Arostock. Sometime during the cruise to Australia he managed to squeeze in a survey of Tasmania; later it was the Marquisas, and the Galapagos. In 1942, we find him stationed at NAS Kaneohe, Hawaii, making occasional trips to Johnson Island. With that backgroud it is no wonder that the Commanding Officer NAS Miramar, Captain Mills, pronounced him to be "without a peer in the field of flying boats."
Today, when one asks Pat about decorations, he casually answers, "oh yes! The assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air, James A. Smith, presented me with the Legion of Merit back in 1954".
In 1954 Pat was transferred to NAS Lakehurst. At long last, he was close to home; Lakehurst being within jogging distance of Rumson, New Jersey, where he lived with his wife Nan and daughter Nancy. It was the first time in 26 years that he had been assigned shore duty. Finally in 1958, after more than 40 years service in the U.S. Navy, with over 2 1/2 years of it in the air, Pat retired.
(much of this bio is from: The Scuttlebutt, January 1971)
Other Comments:
Patrick Joseph Byrne had over two and one half years experience on aviation matters, mainly aviation engines, prior to his entrance into the U.S. Navy. His first experience was on a Burgess Dunne Seaplane, privately owned by General Howard S. Borden of Oceanic, NJ, now known as Rumson, NJ.
U.S. Navy:
Pat entered the service Dec. 14, 1917 in Oceanic, NJ.
Promoted to CPO/Master sergeant April 1919.
Entered flight training Jan. 25, 1920 with the rate of CMM(A).
Designated NAP No.10, October 8 , 1920, Aviation Chief Machinist's Mate.
Designated naval aviator November 1928 #3442.
Pat retired March 31, 1958 with the rank of lieutenant commander. He had 20,000 military flight hours and 3,000 civilian hours. Pat Byrne, definitely the legendary flying mariner with his early entry into aviation, 40 plus years in the naval aviation service and 23,000 flight hours.
Shore Assignments:
December 17-May 1918 Machinist Mate School, NAS Pensacola, Florida and NAS Hampton Roads, Virginia.
May 1918-February 1919, East Pier Patrol Sqd. NAS Hampton Roads.
February 1919-January 1920, Scouting and Patrol Squadron, NAS Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
October 1922-October 1924, USS Wright (AV-1), NavyYard, Philadelphia. January 1920-October 1922, NAS Pensacola, Florida.
June 1926-October 1928, NAS Hampton Roads. October 1924-February 1925, USS Langley I (AV-3), NAS San Diego.
February 1925-April 1925, VS-2 NAS Norfolk, Virginia and Annapolis, MD.
April 1925-November 1925, USS Richmond, Portsmouth, VA.
March 1926-May 1926, USS Trenton, Portsmouth, VA.
October 1928-August 1930, USS Wyoming, Norfolk, VA. August 1930-January 1931, VS-10 NAS Norfolk, Virginia. January 1931-August 1931, USS Augusta, Norfolk, VA.
September 1931-October 1935, VP-2F, NAS Coco Solo, Panama, Canal Zone.
November 1935-May 1941, VP-14F and VP-52, NAS Norfolk, Virginia. Also "On Loan" to AE, American Export Airline (AOA, American Overseas Airline).
May 1941-February 1942, VP-72F NAS Argentia, Newfoundland, Canada. March 1942-August 1943, R-I, VP-6 and VP-8 NAS Norfolk, Virginia.
August 1943-May 1946, VRF-4 and VRF-l NAS Floyd Bennett Field, New York. May 1946-May 1954, VRF-31, NAS Norfolk, Virginia. 1948-49 Bryne ferried seaplanes from the east coast to Seattle, Washington. 1950, he flew survey flights over the Mediterranean for the purpose of establishing seaplane bases and anchorages to provide logistical support to the Mediterranean fleet. June 1954-March 1958, NAS Lakehurst. Pat retired on 31 March, 1958.
Pat Byrne was awarded the Legion of Merit, Good Conduct, African European Medal, World War II Victory Medal, American Defense, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign, New Jersey State Medal World War I.
.oOo.
Pat Byrne was "on loan" to the American Export Airlines in 1939
American Overseas Airlines - AOA - formerly American Export Airlines USA
American Overseas Airlines had its origins in American Export Airlines, set up in 1937 by the shipping company American Export Lines with the intention of starting North Atlantic services. Eventually, after the U.S.A. had entered the war and after stiff resistance from Pan American, American Export was able to start (June 1942) a flying boat service between New York and Ireland.
During 1945, when American Export was awarded transatlantic rights covering northern Europe including London, the airline had to cut its strings with the shipping industry. Thus, in November 1945, American Export Airlines became American Overseas Airlines (AOA), following the merger with the Transatlantic Division of American Airlines. Working closely with AA for a few years, and benefitting from that airline's domestic connections (with U.S. timetables being issued as AA "Transatlantic" or "Overseas" services), AOA and Pan American agreed to merge in 1950, with AOA disappearing into Pan American during the autumn.
Description The United States of America declared war on the German Empire on April 6, 1917. The U.S. was an independent power and did not officially join the Allies. It closely cooperated with them militarily but acted alone in diplomacy. The U.S. made its major contributions in terms of supplies, raw material and money, starting in 1917. American soldiers under General John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), arrived in large numbers on the Western Front in the summer of 1918. They played a major role until victory was achieved on November 11, 1918. Before entering the war, the U.S had remained neutral, though it had been an important supplier to Great Britain and the other Allied powers. During the war, the U.S mobilized over 4 million military personnel and suffered 110,000 deaths, including 43,000 due to the influenza pandemic. The war saw a dramatic expansion of the United States government in an effort to harness the war effort and a significant increase in the size of the U.S. military. After a slow start in mobilising the economy and labour force, by spring 1918 the nation was poised to play a role in the conflict. Under the leadership of President Woodrow Wilson, the war represented the climax of the Progressive Era as it sought to bring reform and democracy to the world, although there was substantial public opposition to United States entry into the war.
Although the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, it did not initially declare war on the other Central Powers, a state of affairs that Woodrow Wilson described as an "embarrassing obstacle" in his State of the Union speech. Congress declared war on the Austro-Hungarian Empire on December 17, 1917, but never made declarations of war against the other Central Powers, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire or the various Co-belligerents allied with the central powers, thus the United States remained uninvolved in the military campaigns in central, eastern and southern Europe, the Middle East, the Caucasus, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Pacific.
The United States as late as 1917 maintained only a small army, smaller than thirteen of the nations and empires already active in the war. After the passage of the Selective Service Act in 1917, it drafted 2.8 million men into military service. By the summer of 1918 about a million U.S. soldiers had arrived in France, about half of whom eventually saw front-line service; by the Armistice of November 11 approximately 10,000 fresh soldiers were arriving in France daily. In 1917 Congress gave U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans when they were drafted to participate in World War I, as part of the Jones Act. In the end Germany miscalculated the United States' influence on the outcome of the conflict, believing it would be many more months before U.S. troops would arrive and overestimating the effectiveness of U-boats in slowing the American buildup.
The United States Navy sent a battleship group to Scapa Flow to join with the British Grand Fleet, destroyers to Queenstown, Ireland and submarines to help guard convoys. Several regiments of Marines were also dispatched to France. The British and French wanted U.S. units used to reinforce their troops already on the battle lines and not to waste scarce shipping on bringing over supplies. The U.S. rejected the first proposition and accepted the second. General John J. Pershing, American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) commander, refused to break up U.S. units to serve as mere reinforcements for British Empire and French units. As an exception, he did allow African-American combat regiments to fight in French divisions. The Harlem Hellfighters fought as part of the French 16th Division, earning a unit Croix de Guerre for their actions at Château-Thierry, Belleau Wood, and Séchault.
Impact of US forces on the war
On the battlefields of France in spring 1918, the war-weary Allied armies enthusiastically welcomed the fresh American troops. They arrived at the rate of 10,000 a day, at a time when the Germans were unable to replace their losses. After British Empire, French and Portuguese forces had defeated and turned back the powerful final German offensive (Spring Offensive of March to July, 1918), the Americans played a role in the Allied final offensive (Hundred Days Offensive of August to November). However, many American commanders used the same flawed tactics which the British, French, Germans and others had abandoned early in the war, and so many American offensives were not particularly effective. Pershing continued to commit troops to these full- frontal attacks, resulting in high casualties against experienced veteran German and Austrian-Hungarian units. Nevertheless, the infusion of new and fresh U.S. troops greatly strengthened the Allies' strategic position and boosted morale. The Allies achieved victory over Germany on November 11, 1918 after German morale had collapsed both at home and on the battlefield.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
April / 1917
To Month/Year
November / 1918
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories It seems that Pat got his yearning to fly in 1915, when a friend in his home town in Rumson, New Jersey, checked him out in a "Burgess Dunne" somewhere on the Shrewsbury River.
Out to lick the Kaiser, Pat enlisted during World War I as landsman for the Machinists Mates School at Pensacola. He rapidly advanced from a boot, who never dropped a piggy-bank passenger, to plane Captain and taxi-pilot.
With his pleasing Irish personality, Pat by now a Chief Petty Officer, found himself selected for the first enlisted men's flight class.
How could he miss? By this time he probably had as much time in the air as his instructors, then on October 10, 1920, he received those much cherished wings which he would henceforth wear with pride, honor, and distinction. Naturally he was selected as chief instructor for the enlisted and Warrant Officer neophytes.
About 1939, American Export Steamship Company decided to venture into air transportation. You guessed it, Pat was chosen, and on loan from the Navy, to establish a route to Europe. It was rumored that he chose to go by way of Ireland just to kiss the "Blarney Stone", the Navy Department granted him a leave of absence for this survey. Incidentally, this route was latter used by Pan American Airways. Next he was called upon to conduct a survey for a seaplane base in Calao Harbor, Peru. The result was favorable, and the Lima-Tampa-New Orleans Airlines was established. Upon completion of the survey. Pat high-tailed back to New York making the first non-stop flight from Peru o New York City. While resting, he undertook the testing of the famous "Mars" seaplane at the Martin Aircraft Factory. However, all this time was not only in Big Boats. In 1925, in order to diversify and get in some time in single engine planes. Pat transferred to the old Langley and qualified as a Carrier pilot. Catapult equipped ships he served on were the Richmond, Trenton, Wyoming and the Augusta, in addition the Seaplane Tenders Shawmut, Wright and the Arostock. Sometime during the cruise to Australia he managed to squeeze in a survey of Tasmania; later it was the Marquisas, and the Galapagos. In 1942, we find him stationed at NAS Kaneohe, Hawaii, making occasional trips to Johnson Island. With that backgroud it is no wonder that the Commanding Officer NAS Miramar, Captain Mills, pronounced him to be "without a peer in the field of flying boats."
In 1954 Pat was transferred to NAS Lakehurst. At long last, he was close to home; Lakehurst being within jogging distance of Rumson, New Jersey, where he lived with his wife Nan and daughter Nancy. It was the first time in 26 years that he had been assigned shore duty. Finally in 1958, after more than 40 years service in the U.S. Navy, with over 2 1/2 years of it in the air, Pat retired. 
