The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1944-08-03

SYNOPSIS

SYNOPSIS
CHAPTER I: The story Of the famous
18th and 7th Bombardment Groups. OF
/ Lieut.. Col. Frank Kurtz and his Fortress
crew In the tremendous air campaign
mat saved the day for the United Nations
In the Southwest Pacific. Lieut.. Kurtz,
who was pilot Of the old Fortress. known
Ss.r Ss The S,. Swoose @ which escaped from,
that fatal day when the Japs struck He
3. pedals to the wreck of Old 9q finds eight
OF his crew lying in an irregular line.
CHAPTER III: Lieut. Kurtz tells how
orders to camoufage Old SO were coun-
termanded; instead they were tc load
bombs. Then he was ordered to jerk the
the camouhage. Preparations made for
taking pictures of Formosa. Someone
shouts, Look at that pretty navy forma-
tion. The navy formation" happens to
be flight of Jap planes.
i CHAPTER III: Bombs hit the mess
hall: The Japs move of. They, hear
: then tahnotner emu mum. 80 s., they think, put
the direction of Corregidor. The boys
duck back into their foxholes.
CHAPTER Nv: The pilots are given
their targets and towering above the
!. group is Colin Kelly, about to head out
: on his first mission. Buzz Wagner IS
! chased by Japs in his P-40. He meets
Lieut.: Russ Church and they bomb
Jap field. Church fails to return. The
: death of Colin Kelly.
, CHAPTER v: Fortresses are kept in
the air to save them from the Japs.
Through some mistake someone opens
fire on them: Japs begin photograph
/ the place. No longer safe to sleep in the
barracks. cots are. moved into corn
field With no fighters left to defend
them. evacuation begins. Lieut. Kurtz
tells of last plane trip out in patched.
up plane. Japs land Light tanks at Apart.
to return from mission. u: S. forces Zee
from Clark Field to Mindanao.
CHAPTER VI: Navigator Harry
which Shorty Wheless takes part. He
lands In rice paddy and is surrounded
by Filipinos. The crew buys an outrigger
canoe and sail to the isle of Panay. Later
they take off for Australia.
CHAPTER VII: Lieut. Kurtz takes up
the story again. He describes the hot.
I dry Christmas day in Australia. and how
1 u. S. fiiers spent II. A report comes in
/ over CIV radio. II was from Schaetzel
/ saying he'd be In after dark with one
I body aboard. Schaetzel gets in, his plane
/ wreck. Gen. Brereton lands on the
field and the boys are summoned to
meeting.
CHAPTER VIII: u s. fiers arrive at
the Dutch field. and shortly after start
+ but run short OF gas and come home.
f, Gas up and take off at midnight for
Davao, but fail to make target. On third
trip over. KurtZ sees tremendous concen-
tration Of ships, makes bomb run. Jap
fighters come up. Bombs awayi'
CHAPTER TX: Bombardier says they
had caught Japs fat-footed. At Malang
hnNc< hrinfa6 h0f
/ told about big concentration of Jap ships
! NE. of Borneo. They take off, but hit
a frightful fog. Cannot see plane right
! ahead. Coming out of fog they see a
huge black cloud resembling tornado. 1t
! was the Dutch burning their Borneo oil.
CHAPTER X: One of Kurtz' motors IL
! hit as they approach target. He makes
fast. Tries to make MaIang Field on
Java, but changes mind and heads for
Surabaya Field. Sets her down safely on
| short runway. Dutch get reinforcements
from u. S.-new Z model Forts.
CHAPTER M: Bombardier tells OF
hazardous trip to Brazil when running
low on gas, and OF sabotage on planes.
Gunner picks up the story, tells how E
model Fortresses tangled with the Japs.
CHAPTER XII: Lieut. Kurtz tells of
bombing run on cruiser. Two hits scored
Major Robinson radios to Skiles: Radio
base at Malang to have ambulance
! ready" Then Major Robinson's plane
1 goes into dive and crashes into sea.
CHAPTER XIII: A Jap transport hit
by u. S. bomb. goes up in confetti. Lieut.
I Kurtz, now In Batavia, gets word that
/ P-40's are on way from Australia with
1 belly tanks. The P40's arrive at Gnoro
/ Japs move into Borneo and the Celebes,
ard three waves of Jap bombers fly over
Java.
CHAPTER XIV: An American sub
gneaks through from Corregidor with IA
passengers aboard. Sergt Boone, the
gunner. tells how Queens die.
CHAPTER XIV: Java sea now full of
I Jap carriers. continues Lieut.. Kurtz. Japs
lombard helpless Dutch town. Scant
Dutch rations described, Japs come
over and blow up the kitchen; a bomb
scores direct hilton their supply of beer.
of z model Fortress, and u, S. fiiers put
in a .50-caliber machine gun. Attack
Jap cruiser. Lieut.. Kurtz senses he Is
being watched.
CHAPTER XVII: Morale says when
boys learn that an aircraft tender stacked
with P-40s goes down with all on board.
and the story of the Marblehead and the
| his commission as Lieut.. Col. in the
morning; rides to his death in a dive
/ bomber in the afternoon. Japs take Bali
! fed. Java begins to cave in.
j CHAPTER XVIII: The Dutch blow up
their ammunition dumps and the order
! comes through to evacuate. Some Of
/ the boys head for Australia, as Java
! begins collapsing all around. The little
Dutch navy fights losing fight.
CHAPTER XIX: Landing barges sight.
ed off the beach. Dutch general gives
u. S. fiiers permission to leave, provided
they first strafe Jap landing barges. This
is done. Lieut.. Kurtz and the boys say
goodby to the Dutch and leave for Jock
strap, where Forts are waiting for them.
On arrival find Japs got there first,
hangers split wide open. six Forts afre.
CHAPTER Xxx: A Jap recco plane
comes over the field, and a little later
some Zeros. BIT and B-24 set alire
Japs sweep up Broome field in 80 min
utes. Gunner tells how he makes escape
s In a truck through salt marshes, TO Mel
bourne. Old gang-what is left-joins up
at Melbourne and take over The
Swoose" as pilot and crew for the COM
manding air force general.
CHAPTER XXI: American engineers
pour into Australia and old 18th Bonn
bardment Group pounds Jap base at
Rabaul several times week. Bataan
falls. AL Mueller. cireling over Del
Monte Field, waiting for signal to come
on in, gets radio message from Australia
TGlllFB MN uul 10 4diu. 1DTIGElQOI ana
Mindanao had surrendered. out of gas.
he beaches his plane at pre-arranged
point u. S. sub surfaces. takes him
and crew aboard.
CHAPTER XXI
Because the real truth is he
said, our present Army fighters
don't climb fast enough, or high
enough-and they don't have the
range. Every Jap knows this, il
the people back home don't. Maybe
1t would hurt their morale to find Ii
out, but I'm only thinking of the
morale of my pilots. That's why he
wanted to come home. Poor guy. "
Meanwhile Florida played on in