Aiding the Air while Serving at Sea
By Woody Freeman
The USS Pastores entering San Francisco Bay, CA, circa late 1945. “USN Ships--USS Pastores (ID # 4540, Later AF-16),” Ibiblio.org, February 9, 2003, accessed August 15, 2025, https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-p/af16.htm.
Howard William McKinley
September 25, 1917 – April 3, 1998
Howard William McKinley Jr was born on September 25, 1917, to his father, Howard McKinley, and his mother, Muriel McKinley. He was born in Phoenix, Arizona, where his father worked as a fireman on a nearby railroad.[1] During his childhood, he moved to Santa Monica, California, with his family, including his parents as well as his younger brother, Jack McKinley, who was born in 1919.[2] After High School, Howard would go on to study at the Curtis Wright Technical Institute and would graduate in 1940.[3] The Institute was created to train both pilots and aviation mechanics and would work closely with the United States Military in training pilots for World War II.[4]
In March of 1942, only a few months after the United States formally joined the Allies in World War II, Howard McKinley joined the United States Navy and was stationed on board the USS Pastores.[5] The Pastores’ ship designation was AF-16, meaning that it was classified as a Store Ship.[6] This meant that the USS Pastores was used as a vessel that would resupply other ships in the US and Allied fleet, providing extra ammunition as well as other equipment that may be needed. The Pastores was deployed to the Caribbean between 1942 and 1943, but soon moved into the Pacific and joined the war in the Pacific until 1944.[7] As a Supply Ship, the Pastores was not a frontline vessel and primarily transported provisions and did not carry a significant arsenal of weaponry. Due to McKinley’s specialisation in Aviation, he would receive the rank of Aviation Machinist's Mate First Class (AMM1).[8] The role of this rank is to uphold and maintain the equipment associated with aircraft, including engines and other instruments.[9] As an Aviation Mechanic onboard a supply ship, Howard’s role was to ensure that equipment being supplied to Navy aircraft, most likely on aircraft carriers, was in good condition before being transferred onto the primary vessel. However, this wasn’t the only role that McKinley would serve throughout the war, as he was also a Captain onboard a PBY5A Catalina amphibious aircraft.[10] These aircraft were used both as submarine hunters, armed with depth charges, as well as rescue aircraft, due to their ability to land on water, and were heavily used around the world, especially in the Atlantic.[11]
McKinley was honorably discharged on September 18, 1945, and moved back to California for a short period of time.[12] Before the war had come to an end, Howard married Esther Geraldine McKinley in November of 1944.[13] She also served in the United States Navy throughout the war and was discharged as a Machinist’s Mate Second Class.[14] She was also a skilled engineer and served her country in a similar way to her husband. In 1948, whilst still living in California, Howard and Esther welcomed their only Son, Patrick.[15] Howard’s love for aviation and engineering didn’t end with the war. Howard would go into commercial aviation throughout the 1950s before moving to and settling in Colorado with his family and working for aerospace and defense equipment producer, Martin Marietta.[16]
After a lifetime of service to the aviation industry, both in wartime and peacetime, on the ground and in the air, Howard would pass away on April 3rd, 1998, leaving behind his wife and son in Colorado, but he didn’t go far and was buried in Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado.
Footnotes ↓
[1] “1920 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, entry for William McKinley, accessed August 15, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/44376867?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a225a447361487476315938367a472f454e5169634e3858704b692b634d513531585444736a4d5064433256553d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d.
[2] “1940 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, entry for Jack McKinley, accessed August 15, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/44376965?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a22417a6f2b332b6176596b586b5a3867786b4335595135674e364e765072364e78313346354c6941453559553d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d.
[3] “Howard William McKinley Jr | National Air and Space Museum,” Si.edu, accessed August 15, 2025, https://airandspace.si.edu/support/wall-of-honor/howard-william-mckinley-jr.
[4] Swopes, Bryan, “Curtiss-Wright Technical Institute | This Day in Aviation,” Thisdayinaviation.com, accessed August 15, 2025, https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/curtiss-wright-technical-institute/.
[5] “U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949” Ancestry.com, accessed August 15, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/44377080?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a222f5846594730396268737a4c72687a7264547954354d775a344a44587a516244556e6752753777704152343d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d.
[6] “Ship Abbreviations and Symbols,” Navy.mil, accessed August 15, 2025, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/abbreviations.html.
[7] “USN Ships--USS Pastores (ID # 4540, Later AF-16),” Shipscribe.com, accessed August 15, 2025, https://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/ww1/ships/af16.htm.
[8] “Howard W McKinley (1917-1998),” Findagrave.com, accessed August 1, 2025, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/197957761/howard-w-mckinley.
[9] “Navy - Enlisted Personnel Ratings | Center for Deployment Psychology,” Deploymentpsych.org, accessed August 15, 2025, https://deploymentpsych.org/content/navy-enlisted-personnel-ratings.
[10] “Howard William McKinley Jr | National Air and Space Museum.”
[11] Evans, Gabriel, “The PBY Catalina in World War II,” The National WWII Museum | New Orleans, April 29, 2025, accessed August 15, 2025, https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/pby-catalina-world-war-ii.
[12] “Howard William McKinley Jr | National Air and Space Museum.”
[13] “Mrs. Esther Geraldine McKinley | National Air and Space Museum,” Si.edu, accessed August 15, 2025, https://airandspace.si.edu/support/wall-of-honor/mrs-esther-geraldine-mckinley.
[14] Ibid.
[15] “1950 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, Entry for Patrick McKinley, accessed August 15, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/44379977?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a22746359614b747559314672514f56704d6757626978684154524f39796d396e4b784142353933324a4b6c453d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d.
[16] “Howard William McKinley Jr | National Air and Space Museum.”
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