Evening star., 1942-11-07
Precision Amazed Air Witness
OfGu0doIconuI Assault
1t. E. B. Gibson, Jr.,
Here Recovering From
Bottle Wounds
By JOE RICHMAN.

Sitting in an airplane over Guadal-
canal seven minutes before any other
plane and sizing up the situation
for the marines to make their first
landing was like having a grand
stand seat for the greatest show
ever staged, in the opinion OF 1t.
Edward Banks Gibson, jr., 28, OF
3915 Oliver street, Chevy Chase, Md.
Wounded severely two days later
when the 10,OO0-ton cruiser Quincy
was sunk, 1t Gibson Is now under
going treatment at the Navy Hos
pital in Washington. He is the son
of Comdr. Edward B. Gibson OF the
Navy Department, who lives at $500
Thirty-eighth street.
"Our ship moved into the area on
August 7 to cover the initial land
ings from the transports" he said,
"and as senior aviator aboard the
Quincy I was asked by our gunnery
officer to go over the island first
and drop flares over the batteries,
just west of Henderson Field near
the town of Kukoon."
He described how for seven min
utes he flew over predetermined
spots on the island, dropped a load
of bombs on Kukoon, and flares over
the batteries. At first, he believes,
the japanese thought he was a
friendly plane, because they did not
Immediately open fire on him.
A few seconds after his flares lit
up the batteries, the cruiser was able
to blast the shore batteries, enabling
the carrier based planes to come in
for their work, he continued. Con-
sequently, the center of the Jap
defense was knocked out by the ship
batteries and plane bombings, and
the transports began their job of
unloading.
Although his unit operated in the
center of the attack after it was
started well, 1t Gibson said none
of the planes was hit by the Japs.
About him, he said, he gleefully fol-
lowed the carnage the Americans
were causing.
"The entire operations came off
like a big drill. We were amazed at
our own precision. Everything
seemed to Click" he declared en-
Enthusiastically.
1t. Gibson recounted many of the
things he saw at the height of the
battle; along the beach one tanker
destroyed, a supply ship burning,
and three other ships beached; !;
confused Japanese down below
wondering which way the marines
were landing and driving motorized
units in the wrong direction, Amer
ican warships in positions where
they could blast every vital point
ashore, his own ship knocking down
two Jap planes.
Jap Flyers Faulty.
Hardly impressed with the Japa-
nese aviators, 1t. Gibson said "they
had pretty nice planes but just
didn't seem to Judge the wind right
when dropping their bombs"
He added that a low cloud level
made 1t possible for the Americans
to fly at 5000 feet, endangered
chiefly by ack-ack fire but not by
enemy planes.
He recalled one of the operations
he was in as the Quincy stood by
for two days under the heat OF
battle covering the landings OF
American troops and supplies, and
! ultimately how the great cruiser was
finally sunk early on Sunday morn
ing, August 9.
Firing at the Japs continuously
gets awfully monotonous, the gun
merry officer told 1t. Gibson on the
second day under fire. The lieuten-
ant added that every untried gun
| merry crew found the "Japs were not
SO hot after the initial attack and
took them In stride with amazing
accuracy.
1--WE knew we couldn't stay there
| as long as we did and when the
Japs finally caught us we werenl
surprised" the flyer explained.
One Catapult 1t Time.
"rwas on the catapult on the decl
getting ready to launch my plane
Things began looking like . majol
/ July I celebration.
/ "A Jap destroyer on our port bow
began throwing torpedo attack q
US. and then = large cruiser On oul