The midland journal., 1944-12-29

look at the big-lipped Ubangi worrl-
en-. Then Lake Chad and Fort La
my went by. Just before dawn we
crossed North of the mountain Of
El-Fasher. AT six o'clock the White
Nile appeared-we had crossed the
western part Of the Sudan. Our
landing was made at Khartoum,
where the Blue Nile and the White
Nile meet.
On April 8, we left Khartoum for
an easy run to Alden, on a course
which was almost due East over
the mountains of Eritrea. We went
on over Gura and Massaua to the
Red Sea. On our left we could see
Yemen, and farther South and to
our right, Somaliland. Reaching the
South end Of the Red Sea and the
Gulf Of Alden, the well-known land
marks, the Rocks of Alden, appeared
about noon. Next day we'd make
the run on to India.
The British garrison commander
took care Of us that night. But
around the dinner table there sud-
denly dropped blanket Of despair.
The London radio announced that
Bataan had fallen. After the first
comment we settled down to worry.
Part Of our mission was to bomb
Jap concentrations around Bataan
and Corregidor. Would this develop
n,ent cause that part Of the attack
to be called off? Again the fear of
being frustrated in our effort to take
the offensive clutched my heart. It
seemed that once again help had
been started too late.
We had caught the last of the
Bits at Alden, and next morning
we got up an extra hour early for
the take-off. Our Fortress was
straining to get to the initial point
just behind the "a.
At $3.50 we were climbing over
the beach of southern Arabia, and
as the light improved we all agreed
that Arabia was a rugged-looking
land. After the terrible stories
about the mutilation of forced-down
flyers at the hands of the tribes
men, we all were glad that we had
the little cards written in Arabic,
promising high payment to the Ar
abs if we were delivered unframed
to the nearest British outpost.
We followed the Arabian coast
over the blue waters of the Arabian
sea to the Gulf of Oman, and then
crossed to Karachi.
Colonel Haynes, with the B-24, had
gone to Delhi. Our orders were to
wait at Karachi. And now for two
weeks we anxiously waited, while
the rumors flew.
! think shall always associate
India with my first impression on
getting out Of my ship. No one
seemed to know anything. Behind
us lay twelve thousand miles, which
we had made in eight days-for
what? No one stood there with or
ders to expedite our departure. In
stead they appeared to think we
had ferried this ship for them to use
in training. Training, mind you
here, halfway round the world and
in country that faced attack any
moment! When we explained as
much as we could about our secret
orders, smiles came to the officers
faces. Bets were laid that we would
never leave Karachi with those
ships. But we were volunteers, and
our combat spirit was still there.
remember that all my crew took the
bets, as fast as they were offered.
But we lost.
Once again we had been frustrat-
ed in our effort to 60 to war on the
offensive. Now, four months after
Pearl Harbor, the stencilled word on
a BIZ in our flight, SNAFU-mean-
ing roughly, in Air Corps slang,
"Snarled-up"-seemed to fit the stu
alton. We learned the worst when
Haynes came back from Delhi with
a face yard long. Sadly he told
us the truth. Due to the fall of Ba-
taan and the loss of other fields in
eastern China-our secret bases
coupled with other factors beyond
his control, our dream mission"
had come to the end of the line.
During the fourteen days in Ka-
rachi, when we had been waiting for
Colonel Haynes, it had been a diff
ficult job of finesse to hang on to
the ships. All twelve of the Bits
were lined UP to be turned over to
Base Units on the field. But the
personnel responsible for the con-
f1icting orders had reckoned without
the extreme loyalty of the volunteer
crewmen to the fight commander
and the pilot of each ship. The
men stood guard twenty-four hours
a day in and around the bombers.
This was logical, too, because each
ship contained not only the secret
bomb-sight but full compliments Of
loaded fifty-calibre guns, as well as
the personal effects Of the bomber
crews. At first the crews appeared
bewildered; but then their attitude
seemed to imply stubbornly that
they had been ordered to attack
Japanese territory, and no matter
if Bataan and all of eastern China
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