The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1945-05-18
CHAPTER XVI

Z We figured that some important an
nouncement was about to be made,
and out there in the hostel area
everything was quiet. The amber
liquid was divided among some forty
men, and each Of us got a few
drops in a Chinese teacup-but 1t
was enough for the ceremony.
The General grinned at us and
said, "We've got the Japs worried
now, we've hit everywhere except
what he thought we'd attack. To-
morrow is the Day." We could hard
ly keep from cheering. But we held
up cur trimming cups" and just
said, ITO you, General" The drops
never tasted better.
That night, after the announce
ment, we closed the post and kept
all men from going into town. This
would cause talk in the right places.
Colonel Cooper went into Kweilin
and discreetly passed out the news
that. we were ready for the main
attack. Somehow he arranged for
just the right information to begin
its roundabout journey to the Jap
anese.
The seed had now been sown.
On November ~ the largest force
of bombers we had ever used in Chi
ma, escorted by the largest force OF
fighters, rolled down the runway at
Kweilin. There were fourteen bomb
ers, with twenty-five P-40s for es-
cort. We had also left a strong
force on the ground at Kweilin, just
in case the Jap tried something
while we were away. I led the
headquarters section Of the fighter
escort and made up the reserve. My
position in the escort would be three
thousand feet above the bombers.
Down below me thousand feet was
Johnny Alison with his fight Of
eight, on the right flank of Morgan's
bombers. Colonel Bruce Holloway
had the flight on the left flank, an
ether thousand feet lower. Colonel
Cooper was riding in the lead bomb
er as intelligence officer, and that
day was going to demonstrate the
teamwork that he had striven for,
between the fighters and the bomb
erS.
Cooper had been so anxious to ac-
company our raids that he seemed
keenly disappointed whenever other
duties interfered. He was threaten
ing today to take over one of the tur-
rets in the lead bomber and shoot
down the first Jap. I joked with
Coop on the way to our fighters that
morning, and told him that we in the
fighters were so glad to have him
along that we were going to let one
Jap through, just so he could shoot it
down and get the pilots ears for his
little boy. We laughed as we sep
arated.
The large formation-large for us
in China-assembled over the air
drome and took a course North in
the direction of Hankow. We want
ed reports from other spies in Kwei-
lin to get started, for this mission
was planned mainly to get the Jap
Air Force into the air where we
could get at it. We usually evaded
towns as we began our attacks, but
today we went low over Kweilin,
and then to the North. When we
were beyond the prying and ready
ears Of any spies, we turned to a
direct heading for Hongkong.
Now we climbed above high over
cast to twenty-thousand feet, and
settled down for the three hundred;
miles ahead. In ffty-five minutes
the clouds began to break and scat
ter, and we approached enemy ter
ritory with a cloudless sky and per-
feet visibility. Over to the right
now caught the CLINT of the sun on
the junction Of the three rivers that
meet near Canton in a figure like a
trident. Far ahead saw the hills
lof Hongkong Island and the ever
present fog banks out in the Pacific.
We crossed the East River that
led down to Canton, and the bomb
ers turned ninety degrees to the
right, away from Hongkong-and we
swept towards Canton. For again
we were going where the enemy
were not expecting us. The Cen
eral was about to outguess the Japa-
nese as always.
I could imagine the small aerial
screen over Hongkong watching and
waiting, while on the ground at Kai
TAX in Kowloon, ON Sanchau Island.
ut Tien Ho and White Cloud in Can.
ton, the enemy Zeros were waiting
10 take on after we had passed Can
eDn. 10 come and get as over Hong
kong % 10 intercept us ON the way
home. We bored IN towards our tar
gets shipping on the East River al
'Cant@ and at WhaAgpoo Docks. We
had special reports that two freight
ers were unloading new Zeros and
spare airplane engines at Canton
that morning. ItN
just South of Tien Ho airdronne.
we split the bomber formation, and
one Of The fighter echelons went with
each OF the three bomber flights.
each with an assigned target. NV
flight stayed with the lead bomber
fgrznaticn. and saw our target, an