Evening star., 1944-09-03
BY George Kennedy.

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port.
Some Of them are back now with
out-of-this- world stories of swishing
between a white sky and dark green
sea in pursuit of the Inflated Jap
planes in the Battle of the Eastern
Philippines. This was the possibility,
given advance notice by Admiral
Nimitzs headquarters, of knocking out q
good portion of the Jap fleet 1t turned
out to bs disappointment as decisive
naval engagement but resulted in the
greatest air battle of the war in the
number Of enemy planes shot down.
They look the same as other naval
and the yellow ribbon for service in
the Pacific. You pass them on the side
walks OF Washington today, men who
have had some OF the strangest ex-
periences in this war.
Comdr. Ernest M Snowden, who COM
manded the planes on the flagship OF
the now famous Task Force So, was in
Washington last week driving around
In the shiny new automobile his mother
gave him for coming back alive. He
lunched at a downtown restaurant with
this reporter and f1ghter-squadron
commander from another carrier.
A Test for Fun
He is quick-moving. brown-eyed
North Carolinian with dark hair and
a ready liking for company. Coming
back from the Pacific gives a man zest
for fun. With his wife, who IS Gen.
Arnolds daughter, he spent two days
at the Ritz in New York-two days
in which he got to a press conference
and a radio interview that Navy's
Public Relations let him in for, and,
on his own, to 81 and Larues-spent
. lot of money, had swell time.
Not that the Army pilot doesn't ex-
pect TO live. Before he goes on a
mission every man turns down the
blankets of his cot to make it all ready
to roll into. But some of the men,
who have been bombing Germany in
the Fortresses and Liberators, have a
dropped of the clouds amaze
ment at being home again. They had
been specializing on their chance of
earning furlough by going unscathed
through the remainder of so missions.
And after beating their way home with
fax victims dying in their plane, and
packing the clothes of the men who
didn't come back, they have q feeling
on returning OF For Gods sake doesn't
hnrn hot
ing on?"
Navy pilots today don't accept the
death OF one OF their number as
necessary happening even In maj ior air
battles. When one Is lost in a brush
with the Japs, the remainder 60 into
a huddle over 1t in the ready room
once all is secure again. They want
to know: Could It have been avoided?
Was the protective team work main
tanned?
The 'Thach Formation
The protective teamwork - their
"thach formation"-was worked out
when they were flying the old Wildcat,
which did not have the maneuverability
of the Zero They have it drilled into
them to stick together-"Dont 60 hunt
ing Japs On your own" That accounts
for their approach to invulnerability in
fighting the Japs with their new He'll
cats today.
The Nays air arm has come a long
way since that day in June, 1912, when
Is planes of Torpedo dashed them
selves against the concentrated fire of
the japanese feet at Midway and
only Ensign Gay of the As men on that
mission was fished out alive.
The returned Navy pilots are different
from the Army men in another respect
The opportunity to order steak in a
restaurant means nothing to them.
Comdr. Snowden ordered a shrimp
salad. They have been eating American.
Like Bob Hope who traded cracks with
Americans all over the world. they
have never left home"
But they have been far and taken
chances. Every landing is halrbreadth
The Army pilot shudders at the thought
of airmen coming down on one of those
tiny platforms, which are, from the air,
all the carriers appear to be as they
move along through the water.
Nothing Like 1t
Their score on the first day of the
Battle of the Eastern Philippines is
incredible. There has been nothing like
it In this war. Over Dieppe In August
1912, the Royal Air Force knocked
down some 300 German planes with 6
loss Of more than 200 to themselves
On September Is, 1910, the peak day
of the Battle of Britain, the Raj
knocked down 185 of the attacking
Luftwaffe. The daylight attacks or
Germany of the 9th Air Force with
their fighter escort have scored a tor
bag of 265 planes on a foray.
But on June 10, 1914, Task Force 5s
the air armada that is the most power
full naval striking force yet assembled
shot down 4o2 japanese planes with
loss of of It's own pilots.
The Japs will quickly be able t.
replace the planes with ones as goot
or better. But Admiral Koshir
Oikawa's next 400 pilots will not be a
good. They will have lost something
much more important than face. The
will have lost their expectancy of life
Before the shooting was over on Jun
10, Me Jap pilots were jumping ou
Of Their planes over Guam before the
had ever been hit. Match that wit
the fegend tnat they fight until thei
final act is an attempt to make suicid
profitable to the Emperor