The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1945-03-29

fuI Haynes left, I felt as II had lost
my best and last friend. For this
meant that I'd have to stay on the
ground more, and work the admin
istration as well as the operations of
the ABC, which was getting tougher
and tougher with all the rice we
were having to drop and the passen-
gers we were having to haul.
On the one day that stayed on
the ground, it seemed to me that
every time looked up from the desk
that was "fiying," some long, lanky
tea planter would be standing there
in the door in sun-helmet and shorts.
With his bony knees sticking out,
he'd ask me in cold clipped accents:
II say old chap-do you have trans
portation for Calcutta?"
My morale got pretty low. And
the rains got worse; some days we'd
have foot of water in the "basha"
that was Operations, and the men
were sleeping almost in the water. I
remember most of the Southern
boys would argue with the North
erners on the old familiar subject
of the why's and wherefores of the
War Between the States. AS the
Southerners were in greater num-
bers, they of course won most of
the friendly arguments.
From over near Sadiya, we had
gotten eight elephants, tame ones.
and were working them to move
some heavy timbers to be used on
the warehouses of the new field.
There was an old Southern sergeant
who took good care of the pachy-
derms. He must have been mule
skinner in either the first World War
or the border war with Mexico. for
he did everything in his power to
keep the eight elephants dry and
well-fed and content. Even when he
tied the chains to their legs at night.
he would wrap the links with cloth
to keep them from chafng the thick
skin of the big beasts.
Another sergeant, from about the
same section of the country that
the old elephant caretaker hailed
from, came by one day and looked
the stalls over with a quizzical eve.
"Say. Micky," he called back as
he left, you're taking too good care
of those elephants. You're going to
get 'em so comfortable that the Yam
KEGS will come down here and free
'em."
Bob Layher, one of the AVG pi-
lots, came over for several DAYS.
and we drank good Scotch whiskey
at night and flew our planes across
into Burma in the day-when
didn't have to get passengers on the
freight ships. learned a lot, hy-
ing on his wing. We'd 60 over for a
look at Myitkyina, and it would
amaze me how effortlessly, without
apparent forethought. Bob would get
our ships into the sun before we
came within sight of the field we
were 10 observe. picked up little
things like that as few with him,
and they helped me later.
On the twentieth of June, MEM
bers of the Army Board that had
been appointed to induct the AVG
passed through Assam, and my
hopes faded of ever getting over to
work under General Chennault.
knew that out of those Colonels,
the powers-that-be had surely picked
some lucky one to get the greatest
job in the world. This was of course
that of commanding the AVG after
it came into the Army, with its
nucleus of old AVG personnel and
the new pilots as requirements from
home in the States. General Chen
nault was to be the Task Force Com
mander' and was to be over the
Fighter Group and the Bomber
Force.
If the Scotch hadn't given out, /
would have got drunk that night.
But instead went on another STRAIT
ing raid in the late afternoon, and
had to land after dark.
So / took it out in action. bombed
Homalin and the railroad yards at
Mongaung the next day, and strafed
the field at Myitkyina coming back.
During the ensuing days until the
26th of June, carried out attacks
on barges near Bhamo, and on one
trip went to Shwebo and almost to
Mandalay, making round trip of
nearly nine hundred miles. I strafed
the field at Maymyo, caught a train
on the railroad North of town, and
set it on fire. 1t was anything for
action--and the engine of ''Old Ex-
terminator" got pretty rough at
times, for by then had three hum
dred and sixty hours on it and my
mechanics had had little experience
with Allisons.
That night, when got home from
my trip into Burma, was handed
a radiogram that saved my life. As