Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1943-08-17
BACK FROM HE'LL - Bsy BMzv,is .yenz:ius .y1
From Pearl 7orbOr
To New Cuineo He
FouQnt J0ps- in.Air
THEY are both very polite.
Il "A sandwich? A drink

III A "A
Very trim in his pressed unform-with the DFez and
Silver Star rbbOnsthe captain sits on one of the twin beds
She sits by the window her spotess Summer rocK exactly
what the mother of aviators son should wear
Roy hasn't the baby yet" she says casually
The captain laughs. .
we re going up TO New Haven on the train tomorrow,
he saws Wen see him Tonight there's sort of
party-a few friends
Tev scarcely look at each other The pain long spsra
ton is too recent deep be forgotten in four hours
They pretend there nothing unusual in Capt Ernest
Ierov Reid and Mrs being there together the luxury
Of New York kyscraper hotel overlooking the hot cyas
90 months ago nus hours he had not left her with
final wave of hand and flown into nightmare that
$50 combat hours the South Pacific from Pearl Ha
Dor TO New Guinea
remarks with the careless of good avaor wife
He landed at Pearl Harbor December the 7th 1871
Accommodatngly the young pilot explains
Our BIT completely unarmed-and unwarned we
had guns but ammunition As far knew we were Just
delivering another bomber Hckam Field. There nine
or 10 Of us aboard, including flight surgeon.
i coplo approached the field and the pilot
told me all that smoke be burning and the gunte
and explosions Just some kind of maneuvers
We got anxious came IN TO land and then a
Jap Zero flashes BY us and hear the flight surgeon yell For
Gods sake those real bullets because of them has hit
him in the leg
Another burst from Jap at about 500 feet sets fire TO
flares the cabin and of the trapped the
tail and trapped forward There's time to fight the
fire We get her down the field right in the middle Of II
and she bursts into flames
Everybody gets out but the Japs strafng the field
and four wounded running for the hangers and
the hight Killed duck under wing OF what
left Of Fortress where diving Jap can't and then
make dash for the hangar
IN all right except for the hair all burned off head
zone Of the fellows says good barber would charge
you SIS for that singel)
We check the and tend the wounded and look round
for place to eat and sleep We all in from flying Ia hours
steady We stop at majors house and the majors wife po
ltey gets food but she has idea that this anything but
some KIND Of war game-that this IS really II
Mrs Reid looks up and says 1t hard enough for
back here 70 realize II until got Roy message saying Am
all right Even then we had idea what he'd been
through
They exchange quick gances They both know that the
worst came later That at least those 90 monthhos
500 days and nights Of sepsraon-Roy Reid Of New Haven
thought he would get back his bride nor the
baby they expecting
That New Guinea the captain continues hid
Ing his emotions behind cleancheled engaging smile when
The IL Jsps Jumped
Before that Of course we mad few brushes with them
but nothing so very bad During the first Rabau
when 10 Jap pursuits at and bombardier got
me knee 'et all the time we come through it
There we're three Of us then The formation and our
snip canned two probables But think they gave us the
SILVER Star mostly because the mission over Rabaul
and 2e managed gallons IN our
tanks
The New Guinea mission was different - in more WAYS
than one.
he looks az his wife soberlv and she smiles back
Poor Roy she SAYS He means The baby For weeks
koy lad been expecting to hear Of the baby arrival But