The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-12-22
By JAMES CULLINANE . NEA Service Staff CorrespOndent

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 Washington, Dec. 9 - One of the wars greatest fighting stories of the U. s. Army's 18th Heavy Bom- bardment Group and its year of continuous action over the Pacific has been embla1oned across far horizons in trails of smoke, the white streaks of tracers and the soaring flashes of demolition bombs.
 But the action packed and mil- itarily important records of the organization twice were destroyed, in the Philippines and Java. So now, for the purposes of formal report, the story of the fighting 18th is be- ing told by the members themselves. The whole Group was called home so that Intelligence officers can piece together the details of the epic ad- venture, and so that the flyers can pass on some of their vital experiences to Air Force fiedgings. CAN'T RECALL THEM ALL However, no matter how much the young men prod their mem- ories and thumb their diaries, i some particulars never will be fully known. For example, the 18th is credited with the destruc- ton of more than 600 Japanese planes, and the figure is called conservative. Of warships, trans ports and cargo vessels sunk, the number sis high but indefinite. And only Tojo could approximate the death and ruin that the big bombers rained on Jap bases and troop concentrations.
 What happened to some of the personnel of the 18th Bombard- ment Group is uncertain, too. be- cause of course not all of them came back. A few, such as Colin Kelly, were seen to die--at full throttle and in burst of hell and glory. Others are listed as miss ing-such as Captain Don Strauther, who flew on Is bombing missions in g days and didn't return from the last one. And some fell, or disappeared. while fighting as in- fantrymen on Bataan after there were no more planes for them to repair and fly.
 They were in action from the very beginning, and at first the future of the 18th seemed hope less. The Group had just started to assemble in the Philippines when the Japs struck. Twelve bombers en route from the States arrived in Hawaii and landed in the midst of the attack( Tn one Of them was the Group Con- mander. Lieutenant Colone Richard H. Carmichael, of Austin, Tex, who now is only 29 years old.
 HAWAII TO AUSTRALIA
 Many of the planes were deS- troyed on the ground. But out of the wreckage they patched up few ships and roared off to meet the enemy in the Philippines. When the Americans were driven from Luzon, the Group fought on from Minda- nao, where one of the Fortresses picked up General Douglas Mac Arthur and flew him to Australia.
 As the Japs began to overrun Mindanao, the bombermen burn ed their records and went on to Java. Until March, they had been fighting with early BITS. which lacked tail guns and the heavier armor of the new models.
 Even after the new planes be- gan to arrive we continued to use the old Forts" recalled Major John E. Dougherty. 26-year- old opera tions officer of Minneapolis. Fol- lowing a bombing job, officers and men would work all night cleaning guns. patching bullet holes and switching motors to get some of the ships ready for an- other operation. Don Strauther brought back Fort with a hole in 1t big enough to put your head and shoulders through. But we patched it."
 LAST STAND IN JAVA
 The Group stayed in Java until Dutch demolition squads arrived to blow up the base. On its last bomb- ing operation there. using three B. ITS, two of the planes left the field with only three engines operating.
 From Java. where the records again were burned. the 19thawent on to Australia and reformed for the third time. However. with new planes and fresh pilots arriving from the United States. 1t was the first time that the hard-pressed Group had been built up to full strength. It fought in the Coral Sea. Milne Bay and Solomons battles. and in the New Guinea campaign.
 It was during 6 raid on Tonde- layo harbor in the Solomons, while the Marines were landing on Gua- dalcanal, that the 18th discovered and wrecked new weapon of the Japanese navy. It was a battleship stripped of its superstructure, equip- ped with extra guns and intended for battering shore installations.
 We spotted it lying in the harbor