Not sailing but I thought interesting with Independence Day approaching

[Mikem]

Conversations with a 101 year old Army Air Corps Pilot shot down in China in WW2.
Joe is a smallish man with lively green eyes thinning grey hair a bright smile and an energy and mobility that defy his 101 years. No walker, no cane, no glasses and possessed of a hearty appetite. He fixed his own burger and dished his own beans. He is hard of hearing and has hearing aids but his wonderful wife, Barb, says he refuses to wear them. During the course of our two hour conversation he would sometimes repeat himself but he was in all respects a happy man with a quick laugh.
I asked him what year he was shot down and he said he couldn’t remember but 1944 was as good as any other year. He was flying close air support somewhere in China in his P-51 Mustang and was at tree top level on a strafing run when he lost his engine due to small arms fire. He pulled the stick back to gain altitude to bail out. Due to the mountainous terrain he could only achieve 500’ AGL (above ground level). He said he bailed out and suffered no injuries on impact but doused his chute and ran like the dickens to avoid the Japanese. I was unable to determine the location where he was shot down but he walked 600 miles in 3 ½ months eluding capture.
He traveled at night and hid during the day. The Chinese were extraordinarily helpful and even gave him a horse. When he told them he didn’t know how to take care of a horse a teen age boy was assigned him for that purpose. They waded across a river and climbed a very steep grade on the opposite side. The path was carved out of the side of the mountain and was about 4’ wide. Sadly his horse lost its footing and fell down the mountain. Joe was leading the horse at the time so he was not harmed but his equipment was on the horse so it was quite an effort to retrieve the gear.
He spoke of hiding in caves with other Chinese avoiding the wrath of the Japanese. There were constant Japanese raiding patrols and several times he was the target of long range sniper fire.
His salvation came when he was delivered to the headquarters of the Chinese Communist Army. There he met Mao Tse Tung, Chou en Lai and General Chutek. Mao asked him about the United States and Joe told him about freedom, liberty and voting. He said Mao could not understand the concepts.
At some point a Gooney Bird (C-47 or DC-3) landed at a nearby airfield and took him back to US forces where he was once again assigned to combat duty. He said he flew about 150 combat missions this time in Burma and what was French Indo China (Vietnam).
He loved flying and has time in the B-17 flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator, B-25 Mitchell, B-26 Marauder. P-47 Thunderbolt, P 51 Mustang, F 84 Thunderjet, and the F 86 Saber. The F 84 and F 86 he flew in combat in Korea. He finished with over 6,000 flight hours. He said the P 51 was a dream to fly but the jets were his favorite as they were so simple…no propeller torque to deal with. He said dive bombing was difficult in a prop driven aircraft due to that torque.
Prior to leaving he serenaded the small gathering with several songs he sang beautifully in Italian.
He loved flying he loves his country and as a final comment he didn’t understand all the fuss about personal pronouns. He thought our current generals were losers.
I thought Joe a wonderful and delightful man in whom there was no guile, no cynicism, no regrets and at total peace with himself. This was an experience I shall always remember.

 

[Roland5048]

Great story. I, also, have a very dear friend of mine, just turned 98yo, who was a member of the Army Air Corps during WWII. He often regales us with his stories of his AAC years. Fortunately for him he did not really see any action so his stories are usually more humorous than tales of danger. Unfortunately, time does not stand still and in not too long a time from now these great warriors will no longer be with us. It is imperative that their memories of that time live on.

 

[Siamese]

Great story.

A couple years ago, my neighbor died. Old guy, lived alone. I never met him. After he died, there was an estate sale at his house and I went to it. While looking through all the stuff, I discovered that he had been one of the Flying Tigers. Amazing. Sometime after WWII, he located in Hollywood, where he was a costume designer.

Have to wonder what sort of stories he could have told. One of my neighbors, who had no idea what a Flying Tiger was, said that he was an ornery old guy. I could have gotten past a lot of ornery just to have a conversation with him. Oh, well.

 

[CavuDave]

My next door neighbor passes away this year at 99. Flew the Hump in C46s and then flew alot of stuff up through Alaska during Lend Lease with Russia. Quite man, never really wanted to share much, but his wife has told me many stories since his passing

 

[Rick Webb]

Trick is to get these guys together.
Many will not share their stories to those outside the clan.

 

[Will Gilmore]

Thanks for the story, Mikem.
I have not had the pleasure of talking to a WWII vet, but my father's best friend died only a few years ago at a month shy of his hundred and first birthday. He was tall and energetic. Played golf almost everyday, claiming to still be working at perfecting his game. He told me his father had crossed the Atlantic on a steamer. For a guy over a hundred, or a twenty year old, the guy was sharp as could be. When the doctors told him he wouldn't return to his former health after recovering from pneumonia, he decided he was done, and he simply died after saying as much to the nurse.

The trouble with talking to ancient New Englanders is, their way of life wasn't that much different than old New Englanders. My father-in-law grew up using the same outhouse and scythe as his father. Only in the last 50 years has Norther New England really come out of the pre-industrial age.

-Will

 

[Head Sail]

Great story. Thanks for sharing. My Dad (RIP) was a B-17 copilot with combat missions over Europe in 1944 and '45. Didn't talk much about the experience except for the time they picked up civilian refugees in Austria. Turns out they were mostly young women. They couldn't resist the opportunity to buzz the Eifel Tower with the ladies in the cockpit as they returned to England. He also talked of flying a B-17 under the Edenbourgh Bridge in Scottland. At his funeral, the pilot of his crew recounted a story in Eye England when the pilot used his service 45 to shot a hole through the top of the tin hut right over my Dad's bunk. Now he wasn't all to happy about having the rain drip through the hole while he slept so he unloaded his 45 over the pilot's bunk. Don't know if they would get away with all that today but they won.

 

[Mikem]

Great story.

A couple years ago, my neighbor died. Old guy, lived alone. I never met him. After he died, there was an estate sale at his house and I went to it. While looking through all the stuff, I discovered that he had been one of the Flying Tigers. Amazing. Sometime after WWII, he located in Hollywood, where he was a costume designer.

Have to wonder what sort of stories he could have told. One of my neighbors, who had no idea what a Flying Tiger was, said that he was an ornery old guy. I could have gotten past a lot of ornery just to have a conversation with him. Oh, well.

In my talk with Joe he mentioned that he knew Clair Chennault, the leader of the Flying Tigers. Perhaps Joe knew your neighbor as well.

 

[Jumpstart]

I feel obligated to respond. My father was a AAC pilot in WWII and Korea. Your friend Joe’s story while colorful has some incredulous claims. My father was qualified on B-26s, and flew A-20s and A-26s in combat. It would be highly unusual for any pilot to fly heavy bombers, medium bombers, attack bombers, and fighters. Just the training to qualify to fly all of those planes would require numerous unit transfers and training. Pretty hard to do in 3-1/2 years of war. The way the AAC was organized there were fighter groups, bomb groups, etc. It would be rare to from one to another. BTW, my dad would have been 100 this year. He joined in 1942 and it would have hard to have been any younger and to be a pilot. He served in the 12th Air Force, 47th Bomb Group, 97th Sqdrn. Also a recipient of the air medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross with clusters while flying A-20s and A-26s mostly in Sicily and Italy.

 

[Rick Webb]

I feel obligated to respond. My father was a AAC pilot in WWII and Korea. Your friend Joe’s story while colorful has some incredulous claims. My father was qualified on B-26s, and flew A-20s and A-26s in combat. It would be highly unusual for any pilot to fly heavy bombers, medium bombers, attack bombers, and fighters. Just the training to qualify to fly all of those planes would require numerous unit transfers and training. Pretty hard to do in 3-1/2 years of war. The way the AAC was organized there were fighter groups, bomb groups, etc. It would be rare to from one to another. BTW, my dad would have been 100 this year. He joined in 1942 and it would have hard to have been any younger and to be a pilot. He served in the 12th Air Force, 47th Bomb Group, 97th Sqdrn. Also a recipient of the air medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross with clusters while flying A-20s and A-26s mostly in Sicily and Italy.

Actually, it was not uncommon.

During the war you are correct but starting with Korea and through the fifty's it was not at all unusual particularly if a guy went to the Reserves or Guard. Even more recently it still happens on occasion Know a guy who went from B-52s to F-4Gs just because the SAMs pissed him off. Well, that was Viet-Nam so not so recently but another guy I know went from C-130s to A-10s. Those two guys were on active duty. In the Guard or Reserves if your unit transitions either you do as well or you move on. Two examples I am familiar with are an F-15 unit transitioning to B-1s and a C-130 unit going to F-4s.

It caught my eye as well and I'd call it interesting perhaps but not incredulous. Being a bomber guy in WWII was really ballsy way of making a living. Odds of making it through the war as a bomber crewman were lower than anyone else's in the service. Though if you were stationed in England your accommodations were better. Guys flying B-24s out of Italy and North Africa did not have it so great. In the Pacific after you went west of Hawaii creature comforts were spartan as well.

 

[Mikem]

I feel obligated to respond. My father was a AAC pilot in WWII and Korea. Your friend Joe’s story while colorful has some incredulous claims. My father was qualified on B-26s, and flew A-20s and A-26s in combat. It would be highly unusual for any pilot to fly heavy bombers, medium bombers, attack bombers, and fighters. Just the training to qualify to fly all of those planes would require numerous unit transfers and training. Pretty hard to do in 3-1/2 years of war. The way the AAC was organized there were fighter groups, bomb groups, etc. It would be rare to from one to another. BTW, my dad would have been 100 this year. He joined in 1942 and it would have hard to have been any younger and to be a pilot. He served in the 12th Air Force, 47th Bomb Group, 97th Sqdrn. Also a recipient of the air medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross with clusters while flying A-20s and A-26s mostly in Sicily and Italy.

He spent much time in a ferry squadron, hence the time in different aircraft. He said he was not checked out in them but was qualified enough to ferry them. As a navy pilot myself I was tuned to his knowledge of the different aircraft. I asked him if he had any time in B29s and he said no. He discussed in detail dive bombing, skip bombing and lofting a bomb. With regard to the P51 he said it only took one hit in a liquid cooled engine to take it out. That is precisely the reason the P51 was pulled from Korean War service. The radiator was too vulnerable. I had no reason to doubt his story. I appreciate your dad’s service. What an absolutely outstanding record. A hero in anyones book. My dad was a corpsman and my father in law was a navy PBY pilot in WW2. I hope this additional information reduces your skepticism. I have had chats with other “veterans” over the years and had reason to doubt their stories especially when comparing their age and the events they claimed to be involved in.

 

[Jumpstart]

The A-20 and A-26 are not that well known. Partially because the A-26 was renamed the B-26 in Korea ( the original B-26 was decommissioned by then). The A-26 was used in Korea, Bay of Pigs, and Vietnam. It was a ground attack plane before the A-10. Notably it had 8 50 caliber guns in the nose plus 3 50s under each wing. Another variant had a 30mm canon in the nose and 12 50s. It also could carry a large bomb load. It was a late war design and the fastest bomber in the US arsenal . My dad made his bones in low level ground support at night and attacking trains and transportation centers Quite the feat for a guy who graduated high school a month after his 16 birthday began flying combat 4 years later.