Evening star., 1945-05-27
Flyer, Long Denied,
Finally Scores Kill
When Japs Bore In

Her On l3th AAF LlberatOr, haC
never shot at-let alone shot down.
japanese plane But now the rib
bing he's been getting has stopped
and he's happy man.
According to an Associated Press
dispatch from the Philippines, the
gunner from Lanham, Nd, was or
mission over the Celebes Islands
when several enemy interceptors
challenged the big four-enginec
bomber. Always before the Japs
seemed to pick out other planes ir
the formation and left Sergt. Doerine
with nothing to do, = but this time
they came in for the attack.
Almost trembling with eagerness
Sergt. Doering poured 200 rounds Of
ammunition into the Jap planes
wings and fuselage, and kept firing
until the Nip pilot bailed out ano
the plane exploded.
Six in ATC's New Band.
Six Washington men, two of whom
are brothers, recently arrived in Eu-
rope with the European Division
Air Transport Command Band.
Pvt. William F. Decker, 64O8 Sev-
enth street NV, trombone anc
vocalist; Pvt. Robert F. Decker, 1910
Oates street NE. string bass: Pvt
Loren R. Wilfong, 225 Seventeenth
street NE, trumpet and arranger
Pvt. Joseph Moser, 1419 Chaplin
street NV, alto sax; Pvt. Donald
M. Gardner, 502 Dartmouth avenue
Silver Spring, trombone and vocal
ist, and Pvt. Bernard A. Cavaliere
40 East Glendale avenue, Alex
andria, tenor sax.
Pour Burning Oil on Japs.
Trying to crack OkinaWa'S Wana
Ridge, one of the last natural bar
riers to ancient Shuri Castle just
behind the town of that name,
Marines of the 5th Regiment, 1st
Division, drove tanks to within a
few yards of the enemy's lines to
spearhead the attack and poured
burning oil on the Japs. Drums of
oil were brought to the front in'
amphibious tractors and hauled to
the top of the ridge with ropes
pulled by l6man teams, an Asso-
ciated Press dispatch disclosed. The
whole bluff burst into flames and
silhouetted Shuri in front of the
Marines, it was said.
Maj. Gen. Pedro Del Vale, 1905
Russell road, Alexandria, Va, lst
Division commander, who has been
fighting in the Pacific since the
Guadalcanal campaign, watched his
men from a hilltop vantage point.
He said the Japs were using more
artillery than he had seen them
use Before his Marines began their
assault toward Shuri's outskirts,
Gen. Del Vale, an old artilleryman,
ordered night-long preparatory
naval and artillery barrage and
tanks were thrown into the battle.
I'd 1t. Clyde P. Guy. 1911 Kill
bourne place NV, Marine tank
platoon commander, said the Nips
tried to knock out the tanks with
artillery and mortar fire and mine
fields.
1t. William G.. Keyworth, 4012
Longfellow street. Hyattsville, pilot
ed a P-38 Lightning in a recent
strafing attack on japanese shipping
off Indo-China. The strike resulted
in the probable sinking of a large
freighter-transport, the damaging
of similar ship and four smaller
freighters, and the burning of a float
plane.
Serving aboard a destroyer escort
of the Atlantic Fleet marked a high
point in the Navy experiences of
Francis n. Vehue, chief pharma-
cist's mate, U. S. N. R., when he
assisted with an emergency ap-
pendectomy performed in a rough
sea. The 38-year-old Navyman lives
at 936 Madison street NV.
1st Sergt. Gilbert L. Winders, jr.,
120 Seventeenth street NE, of the
6623d Regulating Company was
studying to be Baptist minister
when he went into the Army. It
has been his policy when his men
were in trouble to call them in for
a discussion of each difficulty. AS
result the 6623d has one of the
best disciplinary records overseas.
Sergt. Winders was thrown from
his MOTORCYCLE recently and is now
in hospital in Neples with badly
dislocated shoulder, according to his
father.
1t. Charles r. Branson, "a, pilot
on the Liberator Wolf has COM
pleted 40 missions against the Japs.
The crew escaped injury and during
the combat tour the wolf" was
damaged only once by antiaircraft
fire. 1t. Branson's wife lives at 419
Mellon street Sc.
Maj. Joseph J. De Raad, former
Secret Service agent assigned to the
White House detain for protection of
the President, is intelligence and
security officer and provost marshal
at the Air Transport Commands
Paris Airport. His home is at 1926
Valley drive, Alexandria.
Corpl. William H. Baton, 632
Ridge road Sc, is a member of the
18th Corps Bomb Disposal Unit,
which cleared the way for 18th
Corps troops in the drive through
Bataan and the assault on Corregi-
dor. When the main bridge, charged
with Jap demolitions, was holding
back the advance, Corpl. Baton and
two other picked men faced enemy
fire while making the bridge safe
for the infantrymen. He is a spe-
cialist on all types of Jap bombs
and mines.
Now stationed in Europe. Mai.
John d. Burrows, formerly of 6216
Thirty-second place NV. is now
personnel director of his 442d Troop
Carrier Group.
COrpl. Robert X. Austin, 20, of
5000 Thirteenth street NV. has ar
rived overseas to join the 5th AAF's
old famed Jolly Roger" Liberator
outfit in the Philippines. An ar
morer gunner, he will fly operational
missions over Formosa and other in
=