More than seven decades after his service ended, a United States Navy veteran from Portsmouth was finally honored Friday for his heroism in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
Raymond Custy, 93, an aviator who served four years in the Philippines, was presented Friday with medals, pins and ribbons signifying his heroism and service while serving from 1942 until his discharge four years later. The awards, which he never received, came after he met with Congressman David Cicilline at a veterans’ breakfast in Middletown four months ago.
“I feel very gratified, he said of finally receiving his medals. “It’s understandable, certainly. Over time the Navy sort of forgot about my address changes. The last contact I had with the Navy was probably in 1965.”
Lt. JG Custy enlisted in the Navy in December 1942 and served until July 1946. During the war, he participated in the Marshall Islands campaign, the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, the Western New Guinea campaign, the Battle of Leyte, the Battle of Luzon and the Battle of Okinawa.
Now a resident of Atria Aquidneck Place in Portsmouth, Mr. Custy was presented the medals Friday as 12 members of his family, and many other Atria residents, proudly looked on. His awards include the Philippine Liberation Medal, Navy Unit Commendation for outstanding heroism in action against the enemy on the field of battle, Philippine Republic Unit Citation, Combat Action Ribbon, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal and US Navy Honorable Discharge Medal.
Mr. Custy said he has many wonderful memories of his service. He started out flying SBD dive bombers and then switched to TBF torpedo bombers after a torpedo squad he was with was nearly annihilated by the Japanese.
Among his fondest memories are the missions he flew dropping supplies to American Prisoners of War (POWs) held by the Japanese on xx, the northernmost island of Japan.
we were certainly motivated by the defense of our county. they were
“We couldn’t spare parachutes to drop these supplies so the skipper told us to take whatever we could,” he said. “We used bed sheets, pillow cases, mattress covers, and put in them whatever we thought a prisoner of war would welcome after three or four years of being held. We flew over them very low and very slow, by that I mean 50 feet and 85 knots,” he said, “and dropped these pillowcases, mattress covers and whatever we could find, full of shaving cream and tooth brushes and underwear, shoes and whatever else we could think of, that they otherwise would not have had.”
Serving his fellow soldiers filled him with honor as a flyer, he said, and he still has fond memories of his serve.
“We were certainly motivated by the defense of our country,” he said.
— with reports from Richard W. Dionne Jr.