The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-03-23
RY ERNIE PYLE

I'M THE WESTERN PACIFIC
Observation-Disclosures love to pick
up airplane pilots out Of the ocean.
When they rescued our Lieut.. jim
my Van Fleet, Of Findlay, o.,
after his plane had plunged over
the side, it was PICTURESQUE No.
Is for them.
They keep box score on it, just
as carriers keep score of the planes
they shoot down. They even keep
records of their speed, and try to
set a new record. They fished out
Jimmy seven minutes after he
went over. Their record rescue Is
three minutes.
On the destroyer they put Jimmy
to bed, got the water out OF him
and some morphine into him, ans
sewed up the cash in his head. The
doctor joked as he seWed, telling
Jimmy he was sorry he couldn't
find a bigger needle so it WOULD
hurt more.
Jimmy was nightmarish all
night. He didn't get sick at hi;
stomach until next morning, wher
he tried to get some breakfast
down. He had a headache next dey
but after that he was all right.
Destroyers treat rescued pilot:
as though they were kings. They
put Jimmy up in the shippers pri
vate cahia, since the skipper was
on the bridge day and night any
how.
Jimmy wore the shippers bath
robe and house slippers and under
wear. The skipper came in a cou
pie of times to take a bath, ane
actually apologized for intruding.
Fishing out pilots is such fire.
quent occurrence that the skipper
even keeps a bundle Of brand new
toothbrushes ir his medicine cab
met for such sudden guests.
BY the time Jimmy came to
the laundry had washed and press
ed his clothes. He didn't have hi:
wallet with him, SO his pictures
and private paper were spared
dunking.
This certain destroyer has fish
ed out so many pilots that the.
have a scroll already printed Vi
for such cases, and all they have
to do is fill in the name. It's
picturesque certificate like you &c
when you cross the Equator.
Across the top of Jimmy's scroll
was engraved the words - THE
Blanks Home for Dripping Avia
tors"
And beneath it was this-"Knov
we that Lieut.. James Van Flee
on such and such a date abruptly
appeared into our happy home
and due to the peculiarities OF nj:
arrival has been found worthy o.
being honored as a Blanks drip
ping aviator"
Engraved over the scroll was
huge arm reaching out from des
troyer, hauling a wet flier out O.
the ocean by the seat of his pants
They returned Jimmy to us thret
j DAYS later, when they were deliver
ing messages and mail from the
flagship. They sent him over in q
bosn's chair, pulled across on {
heavy line strung between the two
ships.
We got Jimmy aboard, and ther
we sent something back across i.
the chair to the destroyer. You're
never guess what it was. 1t was
IN gallons of ice cream!
Our carrier always does thai
when a destroyer rescues one o.
: our pilots. Apparently all carriers
don't, for the destroyer sent back
scrubbed note saying Thanks 8
lot That is the incest thing that
hos ever happened to u.s."
After they told me the whole
s+orv. we sent signal back to the
Destroyer asking for the names Of
~ two men who rescued him. The
, destroyer les came right back
The swimmer was Seaman FRS,
r,ass Franklin Galloway, of (463;
'oakland-st.) Philadelphia, and the