One Pilot's Life

by Thomas E. Herrod

Thomas Herrod knew he wanted to fly when he was an eleven-year old boy. By the time the US entered World War II in December of 1941, Herrod had already logged over two hundred flight hours before becoming an Army Air Corps cadet. "One Pilot's Life" chronicles Herrod's aviation career, from his military service to his successful business ventures. Often a parallel exists between his military service and peacetime careers. Flying military cargo over the treacherous skies of the Himalayas, gave Herrod flight experience that would serve him well in other aviation endeavors. As a young pilot during World War II, Herrod flew for the Air Transport Command, transporting military supplies from Assam, India, over the Himalayan "Hump" into China. The operation was the first twenty-four hour aerial supply line in history, and also one the most dangerous. Pilots flew at high altitudes over the world's tallest mountains in unpredictable and severe weather. The dangerous flight left a trail of wrecked planes and dead pilots across the Himalayan slopes. Herrod delivered more than cargo during the war. He flew hospital planes, transporting wounded soldiers from behind enemy lines under heavy fire. And like many young hotshot pilots, he got into trouble on his own as well, almost losing his military career for performing a slow roll around another plane during a training exercise. Military service also offered Herrod instructional and administrative skills he transferred to civilian life. Herrod trained bombardiers in Victorville, California, and served as a B-25 flight instructor in Columbia, South Carolina, before being assigned to fly the Himalayan "Hump". After his sixty-five round trips from India to China (a trip many pilots never returned from), he set up a China-Burma-India program for Rocket Airlines in Karachi that supplied the B-29s that were bombing Japan. He also acquired commercial airline experience when the military loaned him to Eastern Airlines to fly government contract flights from Miami to Natal, Brazil. Herrod took his military experience and applied it first to thirteen years in the agricultural spraying and chemical business, delivering agricultural services by both single and multiple engine aircraft. Upon leaving the agricultural business in1960, Herrod founded his Airline Pilot Training School, where he trained over one hundred pilots that were hired by the airlines. Herrod's courage, ingenuity, and business acumen shine through in "One Pilot's Life", making his story essential reading for pilots, aviation buffs, veterans and businessmen.