The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1944-07-13
W.N.u.F FEATURES

had been obeyed, and he told us re-
luctantly to bid them Godspeed and
good luck; they had fought the good
fight, and those who returned from
this mission were now free to go to
Australia. If there was way.
81 hoped there still would be. The
Colonel had told me the day before
that if l could get them across Java
Ito Jockstrap-by noon, they would
find three Fortresses which he had
ordered back from Australia to pick
them up. However, he couldn't guar
antee that these Forts would dare
wait on that field beyond noon.
"As we stood on the Gnoro Field
of course / got tense. Would those
kids come back alive and in time to
get across Java by noon? If we were
late, would the bomber pilots get
jittery and maybe pull out without
us? Not that I'd blame them, for
today no plane would be safe on any
field in Java.
''The Dutch pilots are grave, but
they make us welcome.
'Then comes the roar of P-40's
and here is the first fight-in out of
the Rising Sun as though fleeing
from it. Jack Dale is its leader.
We grab them. What happened?
at looks bad, they tell us. There
were so many barges. And when
they started spraying them, the
barges threw up horrible cones of
fire, in great masses. There was a
cross fire, too-from Jap shore bat
teries, already landed. At last they
had set their ugly, crooked teeth
into the fair white coastline of Java.
Jack said, however, that he could
see his bullets taking effect as the
Japs spread out, either diving or be-
ing blown off their barges. But he
said he found he was flying so low
that his own propeller was picking
up the water splashes of his bullets
ahead, so he had to pull up.
"Just as he did this, he noticed
his wing man was also pulling up,
and out to the right, and letting his
wheels downtown he could see his
wing man was on fire. Jack called
out to him to bail out quick, not to
II W GOillG III Dtl lliG BGdGAl. DuI
then things were happening to Jack
so fast he couldn't watch what hap
pened elsewhere, for he had to pull
out for his next pass.
"Then Jack said, in a low voice,
When in hell will we get out of
here, Frank?'
''I said / had news for him, but
just then the next flight comes roar
ing in-it's three Hurricanes flown
by Dutch pilots, all that is left of
the Dutch Air Force this final day,
except of course they had plane
less pilots who were to take up our
abandoned P-40s. They bounce out
of their planes, Hurricanes, still ex-
cited from the strafing party. But
when we question them, they say
yes, they had done some little dam
age, but it had not been worth it.
Nov here's the third fight, buzz
ing in low-P-40's this time, and the
American boys still have their old
spirit left because they buzz up the
drome, come roaring in right over
the roof of the operations office-for
a fighter pilot it's like knocking at
the door. They're still the old 18th
Pursuit Group-or what's left of
them.
Because the wing man on this
fight had been caught in what the
other two said was furious cross
fire of beach and barge guns-it's
a word fighter pilots don't use often
and had dropped into the sea
among the barges.
"I looked at the P-40's. They are
so full of holes they should be con-
demned-there is hardly one the
Dutch would dare take up again. We
were leaving them little enough.
"Now my boys are gulping coffee.
They grab an apple each and sand
wiches to take along, and cram
Nhings in their bags, and l suppose
it's time for goodbys. Captain Ana
maet, leader of the Dutch fighters,
tall, thin, dark-haired, with a finely
chiseled face, nervous like many
fighters, is standing silent at one
side. His Dutch boys are with him.
What can we say? Our American
boys have fought with them like
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ing a dash for safety. We can't
say what we don't mean, but how
can we say We'll hope to see them
again, when all know we never will?
Or wish them good luck, which all
know they can't have? l stand there,
tongue-tied.
"Anamaet is the courageous one.
He walks forward, puts up his hand,
and says simply, without quaver,
Thanks for all you have done. We
have tried, but we are finished
Gravely, and with no bitterness.
81 ask him why he and all his
boys don't come out with us. We'l
find room for him in the planes.
Then we can continue the war from
Australia. He shakes his head. His
place is here.
Nov our boys are loaded in the
truck, and presently we're out on
the main highway, headed across
Java, but just then we hear a IA
miliar drone-Jap dive bombers.
Smelling their way into Java,
they've finally found this field. It's
only luck they hadn't found it be-
fore. Our boys crowd against the
tail gate of the truck to watch them
peel off one by one, assume that
40-degree angle toward the ground,
let 60 the little egg, pull out of their
dives and then-r-r-r-umpf, the bomb
takes hold. It punctuates the les
son we'd been trying for days to
drive home to the Dutch infantry