The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1945-05-17
SYNOPSIS


IT. Mcpherson and enlisfs In the regular
army as a private.
CHAPTER II: Scott wins the West
Point competitive exam and gets a fur.
Tough before reporting. He is graduated
as second lieutenant of infantry and
goes to Europe. which he tours on o
motorcycle. He sells his motorcycle and
arrives at Randolph Field. Texas
CHAPTER III: Scott makes his first
solo flight. Drives 1900 miles to Georgia
over every weekend to see his girl. Scott
Is nov. graduated from Kelly Field and
has wings pinned on his chest. Ordered
to report to Hawaii but wanting TO get
married he lays his plight before the
General and is ordered to report at
Mitchell Field. NJ Y, instead.
CHAPTER w En- route TO New York
Scott is stopped by police who mistake
him for a bandit. He carries the mail
for Uncis Sam In order to gain more
flying time. and gets married.
CHAPTER v: rhe wei edges closer
and he Is farther than ever from combat
duty. He has been told he Is too old
for combat flying. and after December Z.
1941, he begins writing Generals all over
the country for chance to fly fighter
plane.
CHAPTER vi: scott solos a Flying
Fortress for the first time and makes
twenty practice landings. He leaves for
India from a Florida point.
CHAPTER VII: Easter Sunday in Az.
rica. They fy along the Arabian coast
A@ - ~{x.rF
1z,000 miles In eight days.
CHAPTER VIII: Col Haynes orders
the group TO report at base In Eastern
Assam, on the India-Burma border.
CHAPTER TX: Burma is falling into
the hands OF the Japs. Flying over
bombed and burned Chinese towns they
land at Schwebo. Scott meets General
Stiiwen and bis party.
CHAPTER X: SCOTS group carries
refugees out Of Burma, heavily overload
ing the planes. He pays q visit TO Gen.
chennault and tells him he Is fighter
pilot and not ferry pilot and IL prom.
tsed the next P-4o that arrives from
Africa.
CHAPTER N: Open season on Japs-
The big adventure Is near. Scott gets
his first japan army bomber on the
ground. He burns up some Jap trucks
and fuel dump.
CHAPTER XII: Scott goes on some
strafng missions with his "Old Ex-
terminator." as he has now nicknamed
his Kittyhsvk. and cuts Jap battalion
10 bits.
CHAPTER XIII: The AVG are told
they are to be inducted into the u. 8.
army. Scott returns 10 India and con-
tnues his single ship raids on the Japs.
He liz now known back In the States ~
"the one man air force"
CHAPTER XIV: Col Haynes IN moved
to China TO head the bomber command
under Gen. Chennault and Scott is left
alone as commanding officer of the Ferry
Command. Scott Is ordered to report to
Gen. Chennault In Running. China. ~
commanding officer Of the 23rd Fighter
Group.
CHAPTER XIV: Col. Scott is ordered
TO proceed to the Kweilin area to take
charge OF fighter operations.
: CHAPTER XVI: He intercepts flight
Of Jap planes and downs O bomber.
His tank is empty but he succeeds In
landing 1t dry.
CHAPTER XVII: In which Scott tells
about his friend, Major TEX" Hill. to
whom he owes his life. Maj. Alison Is
hit and tries to land his crippled bomber
ut night
CHAPTER XVIII: Maj. Alison. who
had crashed M the river and had been
given up for lost, comes back In a sedan
chair carried by admiring Chinese. Chi.
nese coolies and rivermen by means of a
method over three thousand years old
raise and salvage the sunken P-40
The battle for the defense of Heng
yang lasted through August, but we
didn't just sit there on the defensive
We rapidly took the offensive al
our best defense, and kept it up un
til higher headquarters sent US q
very classic radio:
"You either did not understand OF
did not receive my last radiogram
to remain on the defensive. Repeal
quote on the. defensive unquote
Signed, Chennault."
We knew that he had had to adopt
defensive strategy because we were
SO short of equipment. But before
the order came we really had the
fun. We struck every Jap base we
could make with our fuel range
along the Yangtse, Hankow, Kuki
ang, Sienning, Yoyang-and strafec
along the river. We bombed Nan
chang five times in three days, anc
in six days we dropped 10000 pounds
of five-hundred-pound bombs there
from P-40s.
AT Nanchang, on August IL, 1912
! shot down my fourth enemy plan,
that was confirmed. Though hat,
the Japs with passion, ! felt sorry
for that pilot, for he never saw ms
at all. But as / left his burning shir
North of the runway that he, hac
been taking off from, / thought O
the boys in the Philippines and Java
and wasn't so sorry.
I had dropped my five-hundred
pound bomb on the hangers, wher
in pulling out of the dive ! saw Lieu
tenant Barnum, from Old Lyme
Connecticut, continue his dive on l
Jap ship, and begin to fire on it.
looked below. There was dust a
the far end of the Jap field where
one enemy plane was taking off.
rolled over and dove, pulling ou
about a half mile behind the enem,
at the moment he got off the ground
His wheels had just begun to move
to the "up" position as | got hin
dead in my sights and pressed the
triggers. As the pilot died, his new
1872 pulled straight up, then spur
into the ground the few feet it hac
climbed. | passed over it .as tn,
flames belched from the wreckage.
climbed for an enemy observation
plane higher over Lake Puyang Hu
but the Jap outclimbed me, ans