The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1945-03-22
Col. Robert l.ScOff

as the passengers got out, to repeat
for their benefit an unprintable
American expression aimed at the
speech-maker. The gas-truck COO
lie would religiously meet every CAT
and with bland countenance would
repeat the sentence. Most of the
AVG used to make sure that he
never reached the transport unload
ing the right man, but several times
it took the best of American flying
tackles to stop him in time.
Handled in another way, be-
ieve that every one of the AVG
who was physically able would have
stayed. As it was, only FIVE pilots
remained, and some thirty ground
crew men. We had wanted to di-
vide them into two groups-those
who from physical standpoint bad
ly needed rest in the United States,
and those who could stay out in
China for six months longer without
impairing their health. We were to
permit the first group to 60 home
on July Fourth (the day their con-
tracts with Cameo terminated) and
to remain there on leave for no less
than month, after which they were
to come back to China. 1t is my opin-
ion that at least ninety per cent of
the AVG would hive accepted this of
fer. But as it was, five of the great
est pilots in the world stayed with
the group when their contracts ex-
pired. And those five were enough.
went back to India and continued
my single-ship raids on the Japs.
After my flights with the AVG,
the burning of the train in Indo-
China, and the news of my one
man war in Burma, the story got to
the war correspondents. I began
to hear from home in the States
that I had been written UP as 'The
One-Man Air Force" From an ego
tistical standpoint I felt the thrill
that normal person would, but
by this time / was beginning to real
ize that one man and one ship in
this type of warfare meant very lit
tie.
In the days that followed / sank
barges filled with enemy soldiers.
bombed enemy columns and strafed
enemy soldiers swimming in the wa
ter from the barges / had sunk. But
when I went back next day there
were more and more Japs surging
northward into upper Burma to-
wards India. No, the title was an
empty one-for even l, with my ego
tism of success in combat, knew by
now that one man could make no
real mark on this enemy that we
were fighting. ! had the satisfac-
ton, however, of knowing that was
learning things. / had the expert
ence of ten years of military flying.
and knew I was good pilot. The
day was going to come when that
knowledge of mine, learned the hard
way, would help train the new units
that would come from home. There
is no substitute for combat. You've
got to shoot at people while you're
being shot at yourself.
For the time being, though, there
was just the one ship, and I nursed
1t like a baby. Flying 1t constantly,
/ had begun to feel part of 1t.
Sometimes at night I'd think of my
wife and little girl, but never in
combat. Sometimes, coming home
after striking the enemy, I'd think of
them and they seemed far. far away.
Towards the last of May, after I'd
flown just about two hundred hours
in combat and had gathered about
a hundred holes in my ship, I think
must have wondered if I'd ever see
them again. carried Tommy gun
with me in the cockpit of the ship,
for at strafing altitude there would
probably be no time to bail out with
the chute anyway, and knew that
prisoners taken by the Japs receive
very harsh treatment, especially
those who have been strafng the
capturing troops when shot down.
With that gun, after my crash land
ing I'd have one more crack at the
Japs--I certainly didn't intend to be
captured.
When my imagination failed to
supply new tricks like painting the
nose different colors and changing
the number on the fuselage, I got
Sergeant Bonner and my armorer
to attach five-hundred-pound DEM
clifton bomb under the little fighter,