Before Fighting Squadron Thirteen

The service record places Sullivan on active duty by April 1940 and documents his appointment as an Ensign in the United States Naval Reserve in February 1941 while at Naval Air Station Pensacola. His separation papers list service or training associated with Pensacola, Corpus Christi, Norfolk, Quonset Point, Carrier Aircraft Service Unit 21, USS Franklin, and Fighting Squadron Thirteen. Later Reserve records establish that he earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Iowa State College after attending from 1935 to 1939.

Those records also resolve an earlier uncertainty in the squadron score sheet: Iowa State was not merely an attendance lead. His later Navy qualification records expressly record the bachelor’s degree.

From Operations Officer to command

The November 1944 VF-13 personnel roster identifies SULLIVAN, Jaye Michael (Smasher), lieutenant, USNR, as Operations Officer. A dated organization chart for 1 September 1944 names him Executive Officer. The squadron’s official history then records that Sullivan became Squadron Commander on 11 November 1944 when Cdr. W. M. Coleman was relieved to assume command of Carrier Air Group 18. The 25 November historical submission bears Sullivan’s signature as commanding officer, and the 1 December Squadron Saga likewise identifies him as commanding.

What his fitness reports add

The award citations establish what Sullivan did on particular combat missions. The fitness reports add how his senior officers evaluated him. During the 1944 combat tour he was described as an excellent heavier-than-air pilot and combat flight leader, with a reserved but pleasing personality, character beyond reproach, and suitability for promotion and a Regular Navy commission. One report records four months in the combat zone and 179.9 combat flight hours.

A February 1945 report states that he had completed his first combat tour as VF-13’s Executive Officer, had personally distinguished himself on several occasions, was level-headed and decisive under trying conditions, and had organized the reformed squadron’s training effectively. A later report calls him an excellent pilot and again recommends promotion when due.

After active combat service

The record does not end with the carrier war. Sullivan remained in the Naval Reserve. A 1948 fitness report covers annual training duty and recommends him for flight-instructor work, describing his performance, cooperation, enthusiasm, piloting, and military character favorably. Later Reserve qualification records show that he held commercial single- and multi-engine land pilot credentials and an instructor’s license.

In civilian life he operated an aviation business in Wyoming as an airport manager and flight-school operator, with aircraft charter, sales, and service activities. The same Reserve record reports approximately 2,100 Navy flight hours to that date. By 1954 he reported self-employment in oil and gas exploration and lease investments and management of a citrus grove. His Reserve precedence record shows retirement effective 1 April 1954.