The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1945-05-25
CHAPTER XVII

Another theory was that the reali-
cation that you had strafed enemy
ground troops, shot down japanese
pilots, strafed troops getting out OF
an enemy transport, or even killed
Japanese satellites, would come
back to you at night, and you'd wake
up in horror at having "blood on
your hands," To that / say "Nuts."
Later, when the newness of COM
bat had worn off, I used to watch a
Japanese pilot come towards me on
head-on' run, picking me out,
guess, because I was leading the
Group. I'd get my sights on him
and yell, perhaps bit Historically:
"You poor sucker, with my six Fiji
ties that out-range your short-range
little cannons that jam lots of times,
I'm going to blow you apart before
you get close enough to hit mel"
Overconfidence, perhaps, for didn't
get every one who came at me, and
I took lots Of hits in my own ship
even had to dive away sometimes
when two came on me at once. But
I'm still here, and from thirteen to
twenty-five Jap pilots who fought
against me are dead.
You know that you have every
thing to live for, and that the Jap
has everything to die for. That's
his only hope of reaching the heaven
that we already have.
Yes, they are suicide pilots; at
times they will try to ram your
plane, or will dive their ships into
our carriers. I've seen Japanese
dive low over Hengyang and circle
while they shot at him with every
thing on the field and we shot at
him with every ship above the field.
But he flew his ship in slow cir
Gle, as if he were blinded and
couldn't see, or were only partly
conscious. Then, with half roll at
barely three hundred feet, he dove
his plane into the only building on
the field-our thatched-roof alert
shack, which burned with the Jap
in his ship. When the wreckage had
cooled enough we finally pulled his
charred body out-and by his side
was his Samurai sword, and through
his body the doctor found one lone
bullet-hole, severing his spinal cord
near the small Of the back. He had
been able to move his hands but not
his feet. But with his last conscious
ness he had picked out one more
object on our field to destroy for
the gods of the Shinto Shrine.
But they have fear too. Don't
think they're supermen, for I assure
you they're not. They're little,
warped brain savage animals
with the complex of suppression
but they have fear, like any one
else. Their fear is worse, for there's
that phobia of having nothing to live
for-the inferiority- complex they try
to overcome.
/ once saw that fear on the face
of a Japanese pilot when he knew
he was going to die, and it did me
lots of good. I told of it many
times to youngsters in my Group and
it always made them feel better to
know that the Japs were afraid
when they met them - probably
more afraid than we were. Oh, the
Jap is a wonderful pilot when he
meets no or little opposition. They
come in over undefended Chinese
cities and loop and roll and zoom.
shooting at the helpless pedestrians
while arrogantly flying inverted on
their backs. But when they meet
good American fighters, with pilots
who know how to fight them, they
are the most anxious people I've
ever met to leave our territory and
60 ''hell for leather" towards Japan.
One day I flew up very close to a
lone Jap pilot during a fight near
Kweilin. placed my sights right
where his wing joined the fuselage
of the 1872 and steadily squeezed
burst from two hundred yards,
holding the trigger down while /
moved into closer range. Then
swerved out from behind the enemy
ship, expecting it to stream fire
and perhaps explode. I had seen
pieces come off, and had seen the
canopy glass turn to a fine, shining
powder that sparkled in the slip
stream as the ship nosed almost
straight up. But when it didn't burn,
] skidded back across its tail, first
with a look to my rear quarter.
! saw into the cockpit. The can
opy had been shot away and could
see the Jap's face-and on it was
look of terror such as / had never
seen before. The realization went
through me with such force that as
i nosed down to fire again I nearly
cut the tail from the Jap fighter
with my prop. Then ! savagely
held long burst from less than
fifty yards while ! shot the ship to
pieces. Even after the enemy plane
had fallen and / had flown through
the debris, found that I was con-
Itinuing to fire at the empty heavens,
for I had learned to hate also.
! No, the Jap Is far from a super
man. But we must never again be-
little the fanaticism of the Japanese.