The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1945-06-21
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GOD IS MY
a. CO~PILOT
Col. Robert l.SCOff wNu ae.sAss
Col. Robert l.SCOff

and take the seat. After this had
gone on during the entire meal, the
General finally turned to Major Shu
and asked what was going on-what
all these staring people meant? Ma
Jor Shu replied that here in Kwey-
ang the people had never seen
foreign devil, and the Governor had
given them permission to come in
and look at one.
General Chennault's other house
boys were Wang Cook" who had
been on the US Gunboat Panay,
and "Gunboat," who had served in
the American Navy for three years.
The General used to take me hunt
ing with him, and I came to under
stand that throughout these hunting
trips he was giving me lessons in
tactics, lessons he had learned the
hard way against the Japanese.
Without my knowing it, he would, in
effect, criticize my method of for
mer attacks and advise me about
better ways to do the job. I used
to listen to him for hours as he told
of cases in which he had got his
own ship shot up by going in too
close, and then, after he learned
how and knew that his longer range
fifty-calibre guns would out-shoot the
Jap, had accomplished the same
destruction on the enemy without
getting his own ship shot to pieces.
These critiques taught me exactly
a ~ -
his ever hurting my pride by telling
me that I was wrong and could ac-
complish more by fighting in his
way. S1sas. SO - sssassssss g. gse4sc -es.a-,y~
Coming home some nights from
the exercise of our hunts together,
/ would think Of my wife and little
girl far away In Georgia, and get
very homesick. Once I looked at
the General and told him how
wished that I could press a button
and kill all the Japanese, to end
the war, so that we could all go
home. He thought for second or
two and then looked back, smiling.
Jaw now, Scotty," he said, 1--WE
don't want to do that. We've got to
learn to hate this enemy. Think of
how much fun it is to kill them
Slow" Yes, sir, the Generals busi-
ness was killing Japs.
Then we'd 60 home in the dark
ness, and Wang Cook would fix us
peppery dove-pie from the Gener-
aps doves and some canned oysters
out of the loot of Rangoon.
Col. Merriam c. Cooper was the
Chief of Staff to the General. His
business was war, too. Cooper had
been one of the greatest heroes of
the First World War, and was one
of the greatest soldiers I have ever
seen. never discovered when it
was he slept. AT any time of night,
he was apt to come into my room,
when he visited us in Running
from his usual headquarters in
Chungking. Or when I'd 60 to see
him, could find him smoking his
ever-present pipe at any hour. Coop
er had served in the American Air
Force In the last war, and when the
war was over he had kept right on
fighting. He had enlisted with the
Poles in the Russian-P Polish war, and
had been second in command of
the Kosciusko Squadron. After lead
ing many dangerous strafing raids,
he was awarded Poland's highest
military decorations. Later he made
reputation as an explorer in Per-
sia, Siam, and Africa. Following
an active part in the formation of
Pan-American Airways, he became
one of the best known moving-pic-
ture producers in America.
Cooper was soldier through and
through, one of the most intelligent
men that could hope to meet, and
the perfect Chief of Staff for Gen.
eral Chennault. Through his con-
slant attention to our espionage in
eastern China we learned of the
japanese Task Forces coming
through Hongkong on their way to
the Solomons and Saigon, and also
Of the large amount of shipping in
Victoria harbor.
Now Cooper was working tireless-
ly to plan our greatest raid against
the Japanese. I remember vividly
how he toiled for six days and six
nights at the Generals house on
the logistics for our proposed at
tack on the largest convoy that had
come through Hongkong. Morning
after morning, when I went in to
breakfast, the floor around the table
would be ankle-deep with walnut"
tobacco from Cooper's pipe, but the
plans would be those of master.
General Chennault and Colonel Coop
er made, in fact, the perfect tacti-
cal team. Everything was ready
for the bombing raid by the middle
of October, and We merely waited
for word from the East that the har.
Dor between Kowloon and Hongkong
was filed with Japs.
General Haynes had come to Chi
ma to lead General Chennault's
bombers when he left the leader
ship of the Ferry Command. He
had hurt the Jap plenty with his pre-
cision bombing, and had built I'D a
great bombing force, mainly
through the inspiration of his per.
sonal leadership on the most dan
gerous missions.
Radio Tokyo had recently been
'panning" Haynes, referring to him
as ''the old broken-down transport
pilot" In way, this was music to
our ears, for it meant that the Japa-
nese were being hurt by his bomb
ings or they would not have re-
sorted to such propaganda. But it
made General Haynes SO mad that
he could have torn the Jap to pieces
with his bare hands. After all, he
l. 4.