Evening star., 1943-04-30
Toxic Flight Medical Officer
Described as Unsunq Hero
1t. Col. MendeIson
Tells of 1t. White
7 reoting Injured
BY ROBERT A. ERWIN.

The japanese, always able to dish
it out in their own barbarian way,
proved they couldn't take it when
American flyers led by Maj. Gen
Jimmy Doolittle bombed Toxic on
April 18, 1912.
Panic reigned among the Japa-
nese that day, with hysterical radio
announcers adding fuel to the flames
of fear that swept the populace. One
of these announcers was a woman.
Into her microphone she shouted
the news that enemy planes were
flying in from all directions and
their bombs were flying out. Trans
lated from japanese, those were her
words.
That broadcast was heard not
only by the American aviators, some
of whom were later captured and
executed, but by American soldiers
in China.
1t. Col. Joseph A.. Mendelson, 1409
Decatur street NV, veteran Army
Medical Corps officer and medical
member of the United States mill
tary mission to China at that time,
heard the broadcast in Chungking.
Little did he think or dream that a
short time later he would be talking
with, examining and treating those
flyers who reached safety from the
egg Laying expedition on Toxic that
day.
Attends Flyers in Chungking.
Because the story of the Toxic
flight has been told Col Mendelson
was willing today for the first time
to tell some of the sidelights that he
picked up from the flyers them
selves, as we'll as some of his own ex-
periences and impressions of Burma
and China.
Back home in Washington and
part of the time in Pittsburgh since
last July, Col Mendelson was just
as silent as any one else who knew
anything about the Toxic bombing.
He admitted to friends that he had
been to China, but that was all.
American aviators forced down in
China found their way to Chung
king by various routes with assist
ance of friendly Chinese. At Chung
king, they were turned over to Col.
Mendelson.
Those boys observed their orders
very strictly" he related. They
flew under the orders issued by
President Roosevelt and delivered
by Maj. Gen.-then lieutenant COL
onel-Doolittle They were told not
to bomb the Imperial Palace, to
concentrate only on the assigned
military objectives, and not to fly
into Russia. Only one plane was
forced down on Russian soil"
The Toxic flight heroes talked
freely while "the Doc" was looking
them over 'It was while I was ex-
amining one of them that he told
me about having flown over
crowded baseball stadium where a
ball game was in progress" said Col.
Mendelson. The people in the
stands actually waved, not knowing
the planes were those of the United
States. 1t would have been easy to
have strafed that crowd, but our
boys didn't do it."
One of the unsung heroes of the
historic flight, as far as Col. Men,
delson is concerned, is 1t Thomas
R. White, Redlands, Calf. the
medical officer who accompanied the
airmen. 1t was 1t. White who at
tended one of the most seriously
wounded of the American airmen,
1t. noW Capt. Ted w. Lawson. Los
Angeles, after their plane had crash
landed on the Chinese coast.
Gave Own Blood.
white took some of his own
blood and gave Lawson a trans
fusion" Col. Mendelson related.
He also treated the other victims of
the crash A man deserving of great
praise in sending medicines and
additional medical assistance to
White and his party before they
reached safety is DR.. P. z. King, di-
rector of the National Health Ad-
lIlllllSUl VI SIllIld. LII. nix
also sent to the flyers money fur
nished by American authorities. I
understand he was recommended
for decoration by our Government,
but so far as I know, the decoration
hasn't been forthcoming.
There was a lot more Col. Men,
delson could have said of the Toxic
flight, but he acted as his own CEN
sor, consistently passing over certain
episodes or brushing aside questions.
On his travels to and from China,
he visited the Burma road fire.
quently. That was in the months
it was in use, as the chief supply
route to China, until the japanese
conquered Burma.
Because Col. Mendelson speaks
Chinese-he lived in Tientsin for 10
years before the war-he was a
valuable member of the American
Military Mission.
Credits Magruder for Traffic.
From the Burma China theater,
he brought several definite impress
sions, among them:
l. That it was Brig. Gen. John
Magruder, United States Army,
rather than Daniel Arnstein, New
York traffic expert, who really
opened up the Burma road. Mr..
Arnstein has received much credit
for the job.
2. That regular American news
men. such as Leland Stowe tnow
1t. COLI, Vincent Sheean, Edgar
Ansel Mower and Edgar Snow, wrote
automatically of Burma and China,
because they we're on the ground,
in contrast to some others who flew
over the area and got most of their