A Short Story: My Dad's First Month in Combat

On Apr 3, 1:17*pm, "Jim Wilkins" wrote:
"Jonathan" wrote in message

...

"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message

Thanks for reading. Some fighter escorts would have been
nice. But I was surprised to read the AA seemed more of
a problem than the jap fighters. There were several reports
the jap fighter pilots looked inexperienced and very poor
marksman.
jsw

The normally chair-bound operations officer of the 868th Bombardment
Squadron decided to do his share and flew a shipping patrol of the
Macassar Straits. Finding nothing, he went to the Lutong oil facility
and took his B-24 down between the rows of oil tanks, claiming 11 set
afire. Then he looped back between two rows of barracks and repeated
the performance. The Japs had only their service rifles to oppose him.
No crew were hit but the airplane received 164 bullet holes.

Their AA defenses improved after that.

jsw

I always felt there were a ton of Hellacious Pacific WW2 movies about
the bomber pilots there. That sounds like one of them easy, a real
flight of the intruder type mission.

"Jim Wilkins" writes:

"Jonathan" wrote in message
...
"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message

Thanks for reading. Some fighter escorts would have been
nice. But I was surprised to read the AA seemed more of
a problem than the jap fighters. There were several reports
the jap fighter pilots looked inexperienced and very poor
marksman.

The normally chair-bound operations officer of the 868th Bombardment
Squadron decided to do his share and flew a shipping patrol of the
Macassar Straits. Finding nothing, he went to the Lutong oil facility
and took his B-24 down between the rows of oil tanks, claiming 11 set
afire. Then he looped back between two rows of barracks and repeated
the performance. The Japs had only their service rifles to oppose him.
No crew were hit but the airplane received 164 bullet holes.

Their AA defenses improved after that.

Yikes!

--
Gernot Hassenpflug
Aunkai

"Keith W" writes:

Jonathan wrote:
Putting myself in my father's shoes, his first month
in combat during WW2 should read something
like this....


General MacArthur, in keeping his famous promise, steadily
advanced from one Pacific Island to another, so the HQ of
my unit, the 307th Bombardment Group, the Long Rangers
"Jungle Air Force" moved with him.

From Midway to Canton Island and Guadalcanal. On to
air fields at New Georgia, Los Negros and finally to
the Wadke Island Aerodrome just off the coast of
New Guinea. The last 'hop' before the long promised
Big Invasion.

My new airfield was just captured from the japs during
'Operation Straight Line', only 4 jap soldiers survived.
Little did anyone know that several thousand more jap
soldiers died in a remote cave on the island, hiding from
the bombers. They hid so well that 62 years passed before
their skeletons were to be found, and properly buried.


Given that the island is only 1.5 miles long x 1 mile
wide, that it was defended by a single Japanese
battalion and captured by a single US Infantry regiment
several thousands seems somewhat exaggerated.

The linked story was sparse and I did not have time to search further:
it seems "a few" is more like it, and several locals too. It is not
mentioned how or why they died there---could it be they got lost in
the caves, or fell down in someplace with no exit?
--
Gernot Hassenpflug
Aunkai

"Jonathan" writes:

"Alan Erskine" wrote in message
ond.com...

**** off dickhead


Why in the world does my post offend you?

Possibly confused keyboarder?
Your post was most worthwhile!
--
Gernot Hassenpflug
Aunkai

On Apr 3, 6:49*pm, Gernot Hassenpflug
wrote:
"Jonathan" writes:
"Alan Erskine" wrote in message
pond.com...

**** off dickhead

Why in the world does my post offend you?

Possibly confused keyboarder?
Your post was most worthwhile!

Remember that we have a clone poster in here, and in each case that he
has posted under other's names, he uses profanity out of the blue on
targets that don't appear to deserve such treatment.

Gernot Hassenpflug wrote:

"Jonathan" writes:

"Alan Erskine" alom wrote in message

**** off dickhead


Why in the world does my post offend you?

Possibly confused keyboarder?
Your post was most worthwhile!

I second that fully!!!!!

Dennis

Gernot Hassenpflug wrote:
"Keith W" writes:

Jonathan wrote:
Putting myself in my father's shoes, his first month
in combat during WW2 should read something
like this....


General MacArthur, in keeping his famous promise, steadily
advanced from one Pacific Island to another, so the HQ of
my unit, the 307th Bombardment Group, the Long Rangers
"Jungle Air Force" moved with him.

From Midway to Canton Island and Guadalcanal. On to
air fields at New Georgia, Los Negros and finally to
the Wadke Island Aerodrome just off the coast of
New Guinea. The last 'hop' before the long promised
Big Invasion.

My new airfield was just captured from the japs during
'Operation Straight Line', only 4 jap soldiers survived.
Little did anyone know that several thousand more jap
soldiers died in a remote cave on the island, hiding from
the bombers. They hid so well that 62 years passed before
their skeletons were to be found, and properly buried.


Given that the island is only 1.5 miles long x 1 mile
wide, that it was defended by a single Japanese
battalion and captured by a single US Infantry regiment
several thousands seems somewhat exaggerated.

The linked story was sparse and I did not have time to search further:
it seems "a few" is more like it, and several locals too. It is not
mentioned how or why they died there---could it be they got lost in
the caves, or fell down in someplace with no exit?

More likely the cave roof collapsed during the bombardment.

Keith

"David E. Powell" wrote in message
news:d05c1c65-7e52-49b1-890c-

always felt there were a ton of Hellacious Pacific WW2 movies about
the bomber pilots there. That sounds like one of them easy, a real
flight of the intruder type mission.


How about this one I found from my dad's unit. His first
mission was one week later.

Oct 3, 1944 Mission
307th Bombardment Ground, 424th Bomb Squadron.

Lt Wheeler's plane, over the target a 20mm shell exploded
in their cockpit, paralyzing the right leg and arm of the pilot
and the co-pilot was bleeding so badly he became
barely conscious. With one engine out and the help
of the engineer, they managed to keep flying for the
6 hours it took to get back, and somehow landed safely.
In the words of the group commander...

"Some crews have it, some crews don't.
This crew had it...in large quantities."

During this mission, the 307th gunners shot down
23 aircraft, 21% of all personal that started out
have not returned. 29% of the airplanes that day
will never fly again. In all 12 planes were lost in
combat, one crashed on take off, and 32 were
damaged."



s

"Gernot Hassenpflug" wrote in message
...
"Keith W" writes:

Jonathan wrote:
Putting myself in my father's shoes, his first month
in combat during WW2 should read something
like this....


General MacArthur, in keeping his famous promise, steadily
advanced from one Pacific Island to another, so the HQ of
my unit, the 307th Bombardment Group, the Long Rangers
"Jungle Air Force" moved with him.

From Midway to Canton Island and Guadalcanal. On to
air fields at New Georgia, Los Negros and finally to
the Wadke Island Aerodrome just off the coast of
New Guinea. The last 'hop' before the long promised
Big Invasion.

My new airfield was just captured from the japs during
'Operation Straight Line', only 4 jap soldiers survived.
Little did anyone know that several thousand more jap
soldiers died in a remote cave on the island, hiding from
the bombers. They hid so well that 62 years passed before
their skeletons were to be found, and properly buried.


Given that the island is only 1.5 miles long x 1 mile
wide, that it was defended by a single Japanese
battalion and captured by a single US Infantry regiment
several thousands seems somewhat exaggerated.

The linked story was sparse and I did not have time to search further:
it seems "a few" is more like it, and several locals too. It is not
mentioned how or why they died there---could it be they got lost in
the caves, or fell down in someplace with no exit?


I found two articles about this, but I can only find the one I linked
to now, the other article was shorter but mentioned 'thousands'
of skeletons along with some civilian too, but that number
seems suspect.


--
Gernot Hassenpflug
Aunkai

In article ,
Dennis wrote:
Gernot Hassenpflug wrote:

"Jonathan" writes:

"Alan Erskine" alom wrote in message

**** off dickhead


Why in the world does my post offend you?

Possibly confused keyboarder?
Your post was most worthwhile!

I second that fully!!!!!


Note that Alan Erskine's response was in sci.space.policy, where this thread
really is off-topic.

--
Kathy Rages
Dennis