Evening star., 1942-07-27
Jap Pilot Stunts in Fog to Win GLORY
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and useless rock that nobody but
the seals wants.
This one attack of many attacks
began to take form an hour and As
minutes ago when the major
shoveled on the coal and heaved the
big bomber up out of what had
until then passed for visibility. We
roared into the soup in a steady
grinding climb and for seven end
less minutes We bored through
thick, gray nothing with no top and
no bottom. Then we broke through
into another world of unearthly
beauty.
Binding White.
Below on either side and behind
lay the billowy top of the fog. SO
binding wilite in the sun that 1t
burned your eyes. Poking through
the soup under the left wing-in
justificatio of the navigate
mysterious juju-lav one black flank
Of the peak the charts call Semi
sopochnoi Long ago the bombers
gave it up as an impossibility and
simply call 1t that island
The soup behind was solid for a
thousand miles. but ahead the un-
broken new-snow sheen of mist
showed overhanging crags and val
leys and streaks Of blue that meant
ragged spots and maybe holes to
bomb through.
Somewhere under that weird
panorama lay Kiska and on Kiska
were the men we have come miles
to kill.
We still climbed. going up where
the air was thin and cold and rare
as champagne. It struck you that
this was as good setting as any
for sudden death. There wasn't any
comfort in the thought.
Still hot in your mind was the
radioed report Of Catalina flying
boat that had been here two hours
ahea1 OF us. Somewhere back in
the mist the Catalina was limping
home now with half its controls
shot away, carrying two wounded
men and a dead one You didn't
know who they were and you won
dered If the dead man was one of
those with whom you had shared
a tent the night before. The
Catalina had met Jap fighter over
Kiska.
You remembered, too the bomber
that came over like this 10 days ago.
A scrap of ack-ac got him in the
bomb load and he went down like
q meteor.
Mountains Ahead.
You found your mouth full Of
ashes and your hands dripping
sweat. You wondered how it would
be when it came. What did come
came quietly. You would not have
believed 1t could begin 50 casually.
There's your mountains the
whiskery bombardier said. pointing
ahead. You had time to note his
peaceful tone and you wondered
how this could become old stuff to
any man.
There was Kiska, tucked under a
hundred acre blob of cotton wool
cloud that filled the volcanco crater
and draped itself festively along the
snow-streaked black flanks of the
mountain. The plane eased toward
1t, still climbing. I looked at my
watch. Two-forty-three p m. 1t said.
The next hour and 10 minutes
we're busy, but somehow your hands,
having nothing else to do, took notes
on this odd transaction In death.
Il went about like this:
2:45- The navigator left his
charts when we started and now
crouches lovingly over his machine
gun in the tear-drop glass nose We
occupy. He squats suddenly and
twists the gun in its swivel.
Here he comes" he says quietly.
Out there against the white cloud
rack tiny black speck moves. 1t
moves fast, growing larger as We
stare. and there is something in my
throat I can't swallow.
2:46-We hold our course and
on either flank our other planes
spread out, climb above, or drop
below into attack formation.
Jap Flyer Shows on.
247-The speck is nearer but
something's got into him. He isn't
attacking, and it requires . moment
Of incredulous amazement to realize
what he is doing. He's over there
by misunderstanding. He's doing q
pretty Immelmann but even to you
It seems like 4 silly way to fight
and you suppress q giggle. You
wonder whom he's showing of for.
ct wasn't until much later that
the major offered an explanation
for the Jap's odd antics. The
guys smart" the major said. He
knows his pals down there can
hear his motor but they can't see
him through the soup. They'll hear
that engine howl and they'll think
what hell of a fight he's putting
up. Makes hero Of him before he
starts to fight'D
7:S0-Ihe peak lies below now
and the Jap is out of sight. There's
. glimpse of sea northward, but
the bay where the Jap ships lie. If
they're still here, is solidly covered.
You wonder where the fighter has
got to and you'd like to know when
the attack will begin to bloom
around you.
There he Is again, higher than us
and closer than before. We're still
climbing and the altimeter beside
the chart table says 1900 feet, nearly
miles.
2:55-He vanished again in the
murk but now he is out and he's
gone into another OF his silly aerial
dances. He's still half a mile of but
you feel As big as house and twice
As visible out here in the glass nose.
You wish you had something to
crawl behind.
2:56-You wonder how the bonn
bardier and pilot will contrive to
bomb this place through the soup.
The volcano is visible all right. but
the JaDs aren't in the volcano