Hump Pilots

Photo's and text of Willard G. Mumford's Jacket
from "American Flight Jackets, Airmen and Aircraft"
reproduced here with permission of authors Jon Maguire and John Conway.

Click on an image to
see a larger version.

Back of Lt. W.G.Mumford's Jacket:
Note Camel Mission Scoreboard painted on the back of Mumford's A-2 Jacket, representing 75 trips over the hump, and the leather American Chinese blood chit.

Front View of Lt. W.G.Mumford's Jacket :
Note the patches on either side of the breast.

Left Shoulder Patch of Lt. W.G.Mumford's Jacket :
A leather C.B.I. Patch (China-Burma-India), is sewn in place.

Right Shoulder Patch of Lt. W.G.Mumford's Jacket :
A leather A.A.F. patch is sewn in place.

Right Brest Patch of Lt. W.G.Mumford's Jacket :
Detail of unidentified unit insignia sewn to the right brest of the jacket.

Left Breast Patch of Lt. W.G.Mumford's Jacket :
Leather name and wing over novelty version of the A.T.C patch (which features a reclining nude with her legs raised at a 90 degree angle on the left breast of Mumford's jacket.

Willard up on the tail of the C-47 when he made his last trip to China. :
The flight was to a P-38 base on the Indo-China border. He got hit by lightning and it blew out all of his engine instruments. He stayed over until they could bring a new set of instruments and install them before he'd "fly that dog back to Burma!"

Willard recalls those days :
"I was flying copilot in C-46s in North Africa. I am not completely sure when or where it was taken, may have been over Africa, the Middle East or the Persian Gulf. It shows I was a dumb young kid, smoking cigarettes!"

Bill in Santa Barbra with his lovely wife, Pat. :
He boasted to us of their 3 children and several grand-children. Prior to his passing on 28 Sep 2000, Bill could be found surfing the Internet with as much enthusiasm as he showed during his younger days.

Click on an image to see a larger version.
Back of Lt. W.G.Mumford's Jacket: Note Camel Mission Scoreboard painted on the back of Mumford's A-2 Jacket, representing 75 trips over the hump, and the leather American Chinese blood chit.
Front View of Lt. W.G.Mumford's Jacket : Note the patches on either side of the breast.
Left Shoulder Patch of Lt. W.G.Mumford's Jacket : A leather C.B.I. Patch (China-Burma-India), is sewn in place.
Right Shoulder Patch of Lt. W.G.Mumford's Jacket : A leather A.A.F. patch is sewn in place.
Right Brest Patch of Lt. W.G.Mumford's Jacket : Detail of unidentified unit insignia sewn to the right brest of the jacket.
Left Breast Patch of Lt. W.G.Mumford's Jacket : Leather name and wing over novelty version of the A.T.C patch (which features a reclining nude with her legs raised at a 90 degree angle on the left breast of Mumford's jacket.
Willard up on the tail of the C-47 when he made his last trip to China. : The flight was to a P-38 base on the Indo-China border. He got hit by lightning and it blew out all of his engine instruments. He stayed over until they could bring a new set of instruments and install them before he'd "fly that dog back to Burma!"
Willard recalls those days : "I was flying copilot in C-46s in North Africa. I am not completely sure when or where it was taken, may have been over Africa, the Middle East or the Persian Gulf. It shows I was a dumb young kid, smoking cigarettes!"
Bill in Santa Barbra with his lovely wife, Pat. : He boasted to us of their 3 children and several grand-children. Prior to his passing on 28 Sep 2000, Bill could be found surfing the Internet with as much enthusiasm as he showed during his younger days.