The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1944-03-31

AOWAs AAC WOulQ tii1kih ulukl udVC
complete confidence in him. would
start to write the little news about
family affairs, and it seemed so
trite-because maybe he'd be read
ing 1t in a foxhole, not having eaten
for week. Maybe he'd be wound
ed. And maybe each one would be
the last letter he would get-for a
long while the only thing he'd hear
from me.
Then l had to do something about
myself could see that. Sitting in
my room thinking, I would 60 to
pieces. And wanted to get started
doing something useful before Christ
mas. Back in October Frank prom
Used me he'd call on Christmas Day,
and now realized I'd been building
on hearing his voice then more than
/ knew. I also realized that maybe
he wouldn't be able to. If that call
didn't come through, it would be
hard for me to take.
"My little brother (he's fighter
pilot now was getting married out
on the Coast during the holidays.
They were asking me to 60 out But
suppose Frank did call me Christ
mas, and missed me? I decided to
wait in Omaha for that call.
"But just waiting would drive any
one crazy. wanted to help-to get
close to the Air Corps. So ! went
down to Colonel Houghland's office
he was air officer of our 7th Corps
area in Omaha-and put it up to
him.
HE didn't laugh because I wanted
to work without pay-he couldn't
have been nicer. He showed me
huge piles Of applications for avia-
tion-cadet assignments in the Air
Corps that were coming in. could
help, he explained, by classifying
and filing these, getting them in
their proper groups, help speed up
the stream Of reinforcements which
the boys out East would need so
badly-we didn't dream how badly"
"We needed everything" said
Frank. Ground crews, pilots, CO.
pilots. And to make it worse, our
own group commander, Colonel Eu-
bank, had been hurt and was in
a Manila hospital.
'We were getting more and more
uneasy. Here we were, comforta-
BILE on this beautiful field. It was as
peaceful as Clark Field had been
before December eighth. We'd fled
from Clark down here to Mindanao,
and even as we were arriving the
Japs were putting troops ashore at
the southern tip of this same island,
where thirty thousand Japanese
farmers" had taken over the city
Of Davao on the first day.
But here at Del Monte we saw
people who didn't seem to know
war was on. The only military
around was some kind Of trans
portation outfit. The first day we
were there I got hold of a couple
of privates and gave them orders
to dim out the headlights Of every
car-no matter whose-that APP
preached the field. But the trans
portation officer decided he'd stop
all that. It seemed the boys, carry
ing out my orders, had even stopped
a staff car, and the transportation
officer explained that they needed
more light.
"Well, our planes were on that
field, and knew the Japs were
headed down the coast and would be
here soon enough anyway, and I
didn't want to attract them any
sooner than necessary.
"But before they did come, the
old 10th Bombardment Group-or
what was left Of it-got in some
mighty hard ticks at them. For in
stance, there was the lie Gaspi Bay
mission. Our Intelligence reported
a big concentration of Jap ships
moving south toward us down the
coast of Luzon. OF course that meant
the handwriting on the wall for us,
particularly if one was carrier
with Zeros which would presently
be in range of us and could strafe
US on the ground-remember we.
hadn't a single American fighter
within five hundred miles.
"Sure enough, Intelligence pres
emily reported that they thought one
Of this concentration was a carrier,
and now they were just off lie Gas
-pi. It was up to us to take off and
do what we could. We'd been work.
ing like hell to get the planes in
shape, and finally had six which we
thought could complete the mission
and get home. But remember Old
80 was back on Clark, and I was
planeless pilot. So it ought to be
Harry's story-he was navigator on
Jack Adams plane"
t'Well," said Harry Schrieber, the
navigator, cit was like this. The six
Of us were to start at ten o'clock,
and Jim Connally rolled out first,
and got fiat tire right on the rum
way-throwing one wing into the
ground and crumpling it. That left
FIVE, and it wasn't SO good, because
there is safety in numbers in For
tresses-the more Of them that go
over a target together, the more fire
4 L.