Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-10-21
BY OLEN CLEMENTS.

PACIFIC, Oct. 3 Delayed Prom
muddy, tangled jungies big Army
bombers roared out to strike at the
Japs wherever they found them, and
that was about everywhere in the
Melanesian Islands of the South
Pacific.
For two months the bombers have
been hammering the enemy night
and day.
Col. L. G. Saunders, commanding
officer of this base, summed up the
bombers' accomplishments in these
words:
I'VE have killed a hell of a lot of
Japs."
The colonel, whose nickname
"Blondy" bellies his thinning black
hair, was all-inclusive with that
I'VE" taking in all the American
forces-Army, Navy and Marines
operating in the South Pacific.
His men, just out of boyhood a
short time ago but aged and sobered
by the bomber work of war, are
putting muscle into the American
attack. Their theater of war is
almost as large as that of Europe
and over it they fly, blasting ships
and men and towns with bombs and
straflng with machine-gun fire
when their bomb load has been
dropped. 1t is bloody, about war
with no quarter asked or given.
Navigators Hold Fate of Crew.
These lads came into this war
months ago filled with high hopes
and the glamour that surrounds the
World War careers of such aces as
the German Baron Richthofen and
the American Capt. Eddie Ricken-
hacker and others. They know now
that glory is an elusive thing-that
this war is dirty, foul job requir-
ing precision and not reckless dar-
ing. They know. too, that Uncle
Sam has given them the biggest and
best long-range bomber in the world
"a ship that can take them there
and get them back if the navigator
sets the true course.
Navigators over this interminable
ocean are important. The distance
from the base to the target and
back takes about all the gas the
ships hold. If the navigator is
wrong it usually means death for
the whole bomber crew These tiny
pin-point islands are almost impos-
sible to find in a haze or in dark
ness. And any bomber man will tell
you that the most time you can ex-
pect when plane settles out of gas
on the water is about 20 seconds be-
fore she sinks.
This specter is ever present in the
minds of the men, as indicated by
Capt. Larry Sheehan, st. Louis, who
climbed out of his ship on returning
from his mission and exclaimed:
boy! Coming in and hunting
for this island I saw old Father
Neptune rise up from the Pacific
and beckon to me and heard him
whisper, 'Sheehan, how much gas
you got?'"
Saved by Life Raft.
Maj Philo Rasmussen, Salt Lake
City, and his crew hit the sea in
the darkness before dawn Septem-
Der 10, when they overshot the base
The bomber ran out of gas and the
major set it down on the ocean. The
landing was rough. The major was
knocked out and Radio Operator
Nicholas Kahlefent. Irvington, N. j.,
was shaken up and made helpless.
Co-pilot Clyde Shields, Aberdeen
S. Oak, risked his life to save the
major and Navigator Stanford Otto,
New Orleans, pulled the radioman to
safety. Also in the crew was Sergt.
Joseph Angelina, Philadelphia
The crew launched the life raft.
The maj or was revived and steered
the raft to the shore. The officers
and men were hospitalized but all
now are back on the job.
In addition to carrying out bomber
missions this crew has left it's mark
on the Jap air force Five neatly
painted Jap flags adorn the ships
nose, one flag for each Jap plane
shot down by the bomber crew.
Col. Saunders bomber command
has shot down so Jap planes, sunk
one Jap warship, damaged II more
and probably scored hits on four
Others
Japanese flyers have learned to
have healthy respect for the
United States Army bombers. The
Nipponese Zeros hang back out of
range most of the time and seldom
attack bomber except in force,
The bomber gunners give better
than they take, ten-fold. So far
only four American heavy bombers
have been lost in combat in the
South Pacific area.
Storms and cumulus clouds make
this front one of the worlds worst
so far as weather is concerned.
Brood Over Fate of Pals.
When one of these young pilots
fails to come back the boys are
down at the mouth for a while, but
older heads steer them through the
Oppressive hours. There is no gloom
like that of the youngsters brood
ing over pal who ran out of gas
or was shot down over the biggest
ocean on earth.
This command is just getting over
one OF these morose spells. One
pilot and his crew was shot down
off Shorthand Island September %.
Anti-aircraft fire from Jap cruiser