KENDUSKEAG – Joe Comeau had always known that his father had served during World War II.

But the LaGrange man didn’t know a lot about Joseph E. Comeau Sr.’s time at war. As he explained, “He would simply say, ‘I was on an escort aircraft carrier. We were in the Atlantic the whole time I was aboard. We just qualified pilots for landing and taking off of an aircraft carrier’s deck.'”

But around 2000, his father, who was battling cancer, began to open up about his Navy days.

Joseph E. Comeau Sr. served aboard the USS Solomons CVE 67 from Jan. 12, 1945, to March 29, 1946. His titles included plane handler, tail hook release man and Barrier No. 2 operator. He was twice injured and earned a Letter of Commendation for Bravery. That commendation came when he chocked the wheel of the plane he was handling after it was struck by another, out-of-control plane, keeping the first plane and its pilot from going over the side.

Comeau could tell one of his father’s regrets was losing touch with his shipmates. The elder Comeau had been in contact with only one crewman and there never had been a ship’s reunion.

“In February 2002, I decided to contact crew members on the Internet, to find copies of some photos and put them into a folder for Father’s Day,” said Comeau, 52.

Comeau had modest expectations, hoping to find two or three crewmen for his father. Instead, he had located 35 by that June, collecting 230 pages of more than 300 scanned photos and documents.

“He was excited,” Comeau recalled. “He couldn’t believe it. He sat there and looked through it and through it.”

The materials kept pouring in, and Comeau would send copies along to his father. A couple more crewmen started corresponding with the elder Comeau. Also, the son did further research at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., bringing back another 80 photos.

With the encouragement of his father, other Solomons veterans and their relatives, Comeau collected all he found into the book “USS Solomons CVE 67” (Trafford, $36.95), which was released in March. All told, he found 60 veterans, and the book is 547 pages, including 810 photos and documents. (Unfortunately, his father died on June 26, 2003, and never got to see the book in print.)

The USS Solomons, named after the key 1942-43 battle for that island group in the South Pacific, was a Casablanca-class escort aircraft carrier, and was about half the size of a regular aircraft carrier. During World War II, it had several missions: protecting convoys of supplies and troops from submarine or aircraft attack, hunting as part of a pack for submarines, and qualifying pilots for combat readiness. A highlight of its career came in June 1944, when pilots aboard the Solomons sunk the German sub U860.

Unlike many books about military history, Comeau sought more than just information about the battles.

“I let each guy tell about what he remembers, and show his pictures,” he said. “Each one seemed to have saved something no one else did. They would tell not just about the battles, but also about everyday life.”

For three years, Comeau spent about 20 hours a week working on the book. He did it not just for his father, but also for other veterans and their relatives.

“A lot of guys, like my father, didn’t want to talk about it,” he said. “A lot of the guys were so excited that someone was dong something, were so glad somebody finally wanted to hear what they did. Also, this will be a heritage for their families. It’s been rewarding to me because it’s been so exciting for other people.”

As those of the “greatest generation” age, it’s important to record their oral history for posterity, Comeau said.

“It’s important to get down what they remember, because there’s so much detail, so much information,” he said. “If it didn’t get written down, it’d be gone when they passed away.”

“USS Solomons CVE 67” is available at the Cole Land Transportation Museum in Bangor. For information, visit www.ggcg.org/navy/cve67.html/. Dale McGarrigle can be reached at 990-8028 and dmcgarrigle@bangordailynews.net.