Evening star., 1945-07-29
D. {. Men Help Put
Pressure on Japan;
One '|nvades' Island

:
forces pounding Japan's innermos
defenses night and day during
recent phases of the Pacific battle
news of local men continued to colol
some of the action in that theater
Exploits of D. c. airmen pilec
up impressively as the Army ane
Navy Air Forces continued theil
drive to knock the enemy air fleet
out of the sky.
News of the ground heroes in
cluded the disclosure that an Ar.
lington County corporal was among
a group that landed on an island of
the coast of China and eliminated
its Jap garrison.
High-score man mentioned in
dispatches this week was 1t. Robert
Kincaid, 1641 Harvard street NV.
who shot down five planes during
the Okinawa campaign. The 28-
year-old Navy fighter bomber pilot
was attached to Vice Admiral
Mitscher's famed Task Force So.
He knocked the first Jap out of
the sky on March 81, and on May
4 accounted for four of the enemy
during one battle.
1t. q. a. George A. Gibbs, 26, of
$3.50 Tennyson street scored a bomb
hit on the Jap battleShip, Yamato
and shot down three enemy planes
in action near Okinawa. He pilots a
Corsair fighter bomber based on a
carrier of Task Force SO.
In the fleet action of April 7, his
bomb helped sink the Jap battle
ship Yamato. He dove through in
tense antiaircraft fire to drop the
missile. The previous day he had
shot down two zeke fighters from
a large flight of Jap planes attempt
ing suicide attacks on shipping at
Okinawa. On April II, during
another Jap assault on Okinawa
shipping, he destroyed a Val dive
bomber.
Two other Washington fighter
bomber pilots attached to the Task
Force So are 1t. d. g. James c.
SakeIlariades, 314 East Capitol
street, and 1t. d. g. Peary d. Staf-
ford. 1905 Allison street NV.
Ensign Sakellariades, Il, shot
down in one day a Zeke fighter and
an oscar fighter over Kyushu. About
a month later, on April 7, he scored
his third kill of the Okinawa cam
paign when he knocked down a
Judy dive bomber attempting
suicide attack on fleet units.
1t. Stafford shot down in flames
a zeke fighter off Okinawa the
morning of April 6. The Jap plane
was one of a large flight which
attempted suicide attacks on Task
Force So.
Charles S. Lee, aviation machin-
lists mate &c, of 44l8 Ninth street
NV, helped send a convoy OF five
Jap ships to the bottom OF the
Pacific recently. He was bow gunner
on one of the Navy's twin-engine
Mariner seaplanes which sank the
convoy, totaling 1900 tons OF ship
ping. in an Commute night attack
of the coast of FormoSa.
The plane was flying night
mare" search attack mission when
the convoy was spotted Is miles
north of Kiirun, Formosa. Dropping
down to 200 feet over one OF the
ships, the search plane scored
several damaging near misses with
its bombs, then, they headed back
over the ships for straf1ng run.
The Japs' ack-ack was no match
for the Navy gunners. While the
burning and wrecked ships were
sinking three Jap fighter planes
suddenly appeared but fed after
one of them made half-hearted
pass at the Mariner.
lst 1t. Rayburn HI. Newsom, pilot
of an Army BIS with the 18th
AAF, recently led his squadron on a
minimum altitude attack in support
of ground action on Labuan, North
Borneo. He is the son of Mr.. and
Mrs. R. q. NewSom, s4214 North
Ninth street, Arlington. The target
on that mission was a small pocket
of Jap troops and the area was so
small that they could not strafe for
fear of hitting their own troops.
When Australian troops moved into
the area, they reported finding a
total of 1893 Jap dead, and l8 slightly
dazed Japs and one giesha girl were
taken prisoner.
The Arlington corporal, who was
in on an air force invasion of the
small island off the coast Of China
was Corpl. Russell Whitney, 1886
North Quincy street.
According to an Associated Press
report from 5th AAF headquarters,
a submarine crew landed there first,
followed by the Air Force COM
mandos who went in to keep the
island secure" Two hours of inspec-
ton convinced the AAF that the
island was clear of Japs and all de-
parted to return to their duties on
EuZon.
The first edition of the Navy News
rolled off the press at Guam last
with the help of John A.
Dabrowski, 1000 D street NE.
who was among crew of enlisted
men who worked until dawn on the
initial publication of the paper.
Dabrowski, an enlisted man in the
Navy. formerly was with the Coast
and Geodetic Survey here.
Storekeeper BIC Raymond L. Joy,
Il, of 1928 S street Sc, is serving
at an advanced naval base in the
Palau Islands. Before joining the
Navy in January, 1914, he was en-
ployed for 26 years by the Southern
Railroad Co. -Four brothers also are
In the service.
Aboard q destroyer -minesweeper
In the Pacific is Sylvester Tarry,
stewards mate 1/c, 1419 Sixth street
NV. This ship was one Of the first
TO enter Okinawa waters, where she
arrived a week before the initial
landings to clear the seas OF enemy
mines.
. Pfc. Robert p. Clapper, 1912 North
Nash street, Arlington, Va, has COM
pleted his 18th month overseas with
the 5th AAF, now in the Phil
ippines. He is a special craftsman
for the photo section of the 5th
Bomber Command.
Also with the 5th AAF is Sergt.
George HI. Jones, jr. Vienna, Va,
who now is an engineer gunner on