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


suppose the others were hidden in
the brush to the side. AS I pulled
up, could see the black plume Of
smoke to the South-my first enemy
ship was burning fiercely.
I made as though to leave the
area, then came in again from the
South on the troops after the dust
had settled. They had reformed but
were not as closely packed as be-
fore. Again strafed them, but this
time / saw that they were firing at
me. The trucks couldn't get off
the road, and I exhausted my am
rnunition on them in two more
passes. One truck that I caught
dead center with a full two-second
burst seemed to blow up. When I
left, I knew that four of the trucks
were burning, and farther to the
South could still see the smoke
of my first Jap plane rising high
above the trees of Burma.
Straight back to base / went, feel
ing very intoxicated with success.
At last I'd been able to see Japs and
draw blood. In this case they had
been treated just as they had been
treating Allied ground troops, and !
was happy.
That afternoon I went back on
the second mission. I found the
wrecks of four trucks and baggage,
and objects that could have been
men, scattered all over the road.
The place where I had caught the
troop column showed about forty
dead men. The grounded plane had
burned, and with it had burned about
ten acres of the jungle. fired a
long burst into the truck and into
the four fuel drums in front of the
debris of the enemy bomber, but
they didn't burn; I guess the morn
ing fire had finished them. I
searched the country to the North
for more troops, but didn't intercept
any.
went back home highly elated-I
had drawn my first blood. I felt that
the world was good again. With pride
I radioed General Chennault that
his SHARK had been in use, that I
had caught lots of rats walking along
the Burma Road, and that one Army
81 bomber would fly no more for the
Japs.
When Myitkyina fell, I went over
there every day to burn the gasoline
that had been stored in tins in
the woods to the Northeast of the
end of the runway. had found out
it's location from British Intelli-
gence, but the Raj Group Captain
had exacted from me a promise
that would not fire into it until he
gave me the word.
It seems that he was afraid that
the firing and the burning of the fuel
would excite the native Burmese
who were in the village. I couldn't
see what difference that would
make, for after all the Japs would
capture the thousands of gallons of
aviation gasoline, and the natives
were more than likely helping them
anyway. Though 1 held off, every
time saw the shiny four-gallon
cans in the trees my finger itched
to burn the cache before the enemy
could use it. passed the three
days of waiting in burning three
barges on the Irrawaddy, South of
Bhamo, and in setting a fuel barge
on fire down on the Chindwin. In
this last raid my ship picked up a
few small holes; evidently some Jap
sympathizers got my range.
Later in the week, the Raj Group
Captain told me that his Comman-
dos in Myitkyina were going to
knock holes in all the fuel tins with
picks before they left the field to the
Japs. Nevertheless I kept watching
the gasoline stores while the Japs
moved to the North. On May 8,
when got in my ship and started
the Allison, my friend the Group
Captain ran across the field to tell
me that the Japs could not get the
gasoline-it had been destroyed with
out fire, and thus the villagers would
not be panicked. Over the roar Of
the engine I yelled that in that case
it would not burn when I fred into
it. For I had waited long enough;
the Japs were in Myitkyina and I
wasn't taking any chances on their
acquiring over 100000 gallons of avn
alton fuel less than two hundred
miles from our base.
When I came over the field at
Myitkyina, the enemy fired at me
while l was yet ten miles away; I
could see the black bursts of the
81 nm AA in front and below me.
! started linking and moved to
the Northeast, so that I could come
from out of the sun and be as far as
! could get from the field. With my
first burst the whole woods seemed
to blow up-I have never seen such
a fash as that which came when
that veritable powder-train of high
octane fuel caught fire from the trac-
ers. I also fired at two of the gun
installations on the field. But the
bursts from the Jap guns were so
close to me that I decided to let
well enough alone, and turned for
home in Assam.