Evening star., 1945-06-24
Stories From Pacific
Theater Tell Of Fast
Action by D. {. Men

If Aviation Radioman BIC Maur-
ice E. Cowan, 2141 Wyoming avenue
NV. was looking for action in the
Pacific, he found it packed into a
nine-day sortie of Liberator pa
troll plane.
During that period Radioman
Cowan and his mates destroyed two
Jap mining camp buildings, four
story concrete factory and four
large warehouses in operations of
Okinawa.
But that wasn't all. The plane in
its tour burned four other ware
houses, left two small Jap mer-
chantmen dead in the water and
seriously damaged a radar station
three small freighters and 1000
ton merchant ship, the Navy re-
ported.
The damage control officer aboard
a crippled United States war
ship off Okinawa discovered an
unexploded Japanese bomb in the
provisions storeroom. The room
was flooded and baked beans were
floating around. After the room
was drained, 1t. q, g. William T.
Bell, 1919 Jonquil street NV,
found the 5OO-pound bomb alive
but was able to remove the fuse.
1t. Clifton B. Davis, 410 East Nell
son street, Alexandria, bombed into
splintered uselessness one 6-foot
Jap motor launch, silenced three
enemy gun emplacements on the
beach, left one sprawling barracks
building in flames, burned five
enemy freighters to the Waterline or
forced them to the beach and an
initiated two other freighters under
construction. He flew home with
fax holes in the planes rudder and
horizontal stabilizer.
Three District men are members
of the Navy's Utility Squadron in
the Pacific, which, according to the
Navy Department, is a jack-of all
trades outfit. They are 1t. d. g.
Edward L. Evans, 1860 Biltmore
street NV: 1t. d. g. John T.
Flynn, 1912 Warren street NV, and
Walter j. Racket, aviation.mac
lists mate &c, 1925 Elliott place
NV. The pilots fly single-engine
aircraft one day and twin-englne
planes the next. They go early, fly
long, come home late.
1t took four Marine fighter pilots
five minutes to shoot down seven
Jap planes and damaged two others.
I'd 1t. Thomas Blackwell, jr., 26,
of 1905 w street Sc, was one of the
pilots. They were returning from a
routine patrol over the East China
Sea. according to news received
from a Marine combat correspond
ent on Okinawa. During the attack,
1t. Blackwell had the closest call.
He was within 300 feet of Nip
when ne set him afire. He was un-
able to pull up in time and flew
right through the flames. burning
the fabric completely off his rudder,
elevator and part of both wings.
The lieutenant damaged two other
enemy planes in the scramble. At
one point he was also chased by two
Jap pilots, but was able to lose them
in high cloud.
1t. Blackwell said he had some
tough luck" though. Twice he start
ed after a Jap only to have another
Marine shoot him down.
1t. d g. Gordon L. McDonough,
jr., 1907 M street NV. has been
communications officer of
his destroyer.
Roy M. Winston, chief boatswain's
mate, 1887 E street NE, shares the
Carrier Hancocks unequaled one
day record of Jap planes downed
After a three-hour rest period
on one of the Navys recreation
islands" in the Pacific, Comdr. Perry
Louis Mitchell. 1900 Patrick Henry
drive, and Marine Sergt. Thomas H.
Blanton, 1926 Highland street. both
Of Arlington, are back fighting
Japs. The recreation islands have
been set up on tiny atolls to give
Navy men few hours to relax be- .
tween battles.
1t. James J. Anderson III is serv-
ing on a carrier in the Pacific as
officer in charge of the maintenance
of radar equipment. His home is
at IA Newlands street, Chevy Chase,
Md.
The q. S. S. Nevada, the only
to maneuver successfully
during the Jap attack on Pearl
Harbor having been sunk after
to shallow water, has three
men from nearby vicinity now serv-
ing aboard her in the Pacific. The
men are Charles Cook, coxswain,
% Denwood avenue, Takoma Park
Md; Thomas r. Bisset, seaman &c.
4712 Rosedale avenue, Bethesda ]
and Kenneth H. Hildreth, jr. sea-
man &c, Laurel, Md.
David E. Robinson, fireman 1ic.
1920 Seventeenth place NE, helped
take a destroyer minesWeeper into
the waters off Okinawa eight days
before the invasion to sweep a path
for the rest of the fleet.