The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1945-01-26
CHAPTER XII

I couldn't waste much time in
practice, for after all Burma was
just over the Maya Hills and the
Japs were coming towards Myit-
kyina from the South and up the
Chindwin and the Irrawaddy. It was
open season and l needed no hunt
ing license. Now I definitely knew
that adventure was near.
On that afternoon of April 80, 1912,
with a full load of ammunition and
the shark-mouth seeming to drip
saliva, it was so eager, waited by
my ship for an alert. Jap observa-
ton planes had been coming over
at high altitude very regularly. If
they came today hoped to sur
prise them.
At two o'clock the alert came, but
it was not observation. Many un-
identified aircraft were reported by
a British radio somewhere over the
Maya Hills. I didn't ask for more
than that scanty information-I was
in my fighter and climbing over the
"tea ranches" as Colonel Haynes
called them.
High over the field at $4,000 feet,
/ cuddled my oxygen mask and
circled, watching for enemy ships to
the East, South, and Southeast
down in the direction of a course to
Mandalay. I searched until my eyes
hurt, but saw nothing. After about
an hour, turning to course that
would take me in the direction from
which an enemy had to come, flew
off to intercept now had barely
two hours fuel, and the farther
away from my base I met them, the
more successful my attack would be.
Lord! the ego that I possessed! I
honestly believe I thought could
shoot down any number of Japs with
my single fighter. Again I say, more
Of the valor of ignorance.
After forty-five minutes I turned
for home and began to let down to
eighteen thousand. Thirty miles
from the field I suddenly tensed to
the alert. Off ahead of me was a
dark column of smoke, rising high
in the air right in the position on the
worlds surface that the home field
should be. My tortured mind flashed
back to other results of bombings
that had seen.
'.My God," moaned, ''while I've
been away looking for the bastards,
they've slipped in here and bombed
hell out of the home basel"
With tears in my eyes ! nosed
over and dove for the Zeros that
should be strafng the field. Later
I was to learn a lot about this meth
cd too.) The smoke was from base
all right, but could see no enemy
planes. The only thing in the sky
was single Douglas transport,
making normal Ia. ding on the
runway. calling NR-Zero-NR-
Zero" I asked what the fire was.
The reply was muddled, but every
thing seemed to be in order, for I
noticed two other transports clear
ing the field for China. I circled,
then dove on the smoking ruins of
the Raj operations ''basha." That
building had been the casualty, and
it was total loss. I could see the
operations officer sitting out in the
open, some hundred feet from the
charred ruins, calmly carrying on
his duties.
When I'd gotten my fighter parked
again went over and heard the
story. No Jap attack had come,
and felt relieved-my single-ship
war and I had not let the station
down. But as / heard the embar-
raised operations man tell his story
/ remember choking discreetly and
leaving before I laughed myself to
death.
When the alert sounded, Oops
the operations officer-had hurried
to the window of the thatch and
bamboo "basha" to see me take off
in the "bloody kite-that Kitty
hawk" Seeing a transport from
China about to land, and fearing that
the Japs would bomb it on the field,
he had then fired a Very pistol out
of the operations window: the red
Very light would be the signal for
the transport not to land but to fly
in the standby" area. The Very
light had gone nonchalantly out of
the operations window, into the
wind, had curved gracefully back
into another window, and had
burned the bloody building in five
minutes. Operations was being car
ried on as usual from operations
desk, which was located in front of
the site of the former office. Bloody
shame, wasn't it?
Well, it was tragic, but / guess
it was better than a bombing. And
so my first mission ended.
Came May Day, and I began the
greatest month in my life. / flew
every day in that long month, some
times as many as four missions
day. BY putting in a total of 214
hours and As minutes, averaged
over seven hours a day for the
month. Most Of this was in fighter
ships my little old Kittyhawk and
! learned lot, and we were very,