Michael Henry Pullen (7 January 1921 – 26 October 1969) was an Australian rules footballer who played with North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).Holmesby & Main (2014), p.723.
Family The son of Frank Brougham Pullen (1887–1958),Deaths: Pullen, The Age, (Monday, 28 July 1958), p.12. and Margaret Jane Hilda Pullen (1890–1947), née Molloy,Deaths: Pullen, The Age, (Thursday, 11 September 1947), p.9. Michael Henry Pullen was born at North Melbourne, Victoria on 7 January 1921.Nominal Roll (Army), and Nominal Roll (RAAF).
He married Dorothy Woods (1922–2015) on 24 July 1943.
Football North Melbourne (VFL) Recruited from West Melbourne in the Sub-District League.Football: Permits Granted, The Age, (Thursday, 27 May 1943), p.4.Could Not Kick Straight, The Sporting Globe, (Wednesday, 1 September 1943), p.12.
RAAF In 1943, he was playing for a RAAF team in Sydney.Footballers win Race, lose Match, The (Sydney) Daily Telegraph, (Monday, 17 May 1943), p.11; Sportsmen's Honor Roll, The Weekly Times, Wednesday, 9 June 1943), p.20.
Military service Pullen served in both the Australian Army,Nominal Roll (Army). and the Royal Australian Air Force,Nominal Roll (RAAF). during World War II.
KH210 He was seriously injured when the Liberator bomber (KH210) in which he was the co-pilot was ditched in the Bay of Bengal, in flames, while returning to its base at Salboni, during a bombing raid on Rangoon in May 1945.
The plane's observer, Wing Commander J.B. Nicholson died. Pullen and one of his crew, nose gunner Flight Sergeant Eric Leslie Kightley (RAF 1480397) neither of whom had any memory of the moment that the plane hit the water were rescued by separate Air/Sea Rescue US Catalinas after clinging to the wreckage for 14 hours in the water.Aircraft Losses: 2 May 1945: Liberator VI: KH210: 355 Squadron, RAFcommands.com, 2013. Both were hospitalized in Calcutta and treated for their injuries and attendant shock.Casualty Report: Warrant Officer Michael Henry Pullen (434840), National Archives of Australia.Pilot VC Killed, The Central Queensland Herald, (Thursday, 31 May 1945), p.13.
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References
World War II Service Record (Army): Private Michael Henry Pullen (VX82067), National Archives of Australia.
World War II Service Record (RAAF): Warrant Officer Michael Henry Pullen (434840), National Archives of Australia.
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