I was interested in aviation it was ever since I see an airplane and I joined the
Army Air Corps because I knew that's where I wanted to be. I was 19 when
invested and 20 on the raid. They needed volunteers for a special mission
I was a mechanic on the ground and I wanted to do some flying so I was able
to get on that crew. That 95th Bomb Squadron and the 17th Bomb Group was the
first group in the Army Air Corps to begin training in B-25s.
They had more experience so all of the raiders were picked out of that Bomb
Group. We did very intensive training so they could be prepared to take off an
aircraft carrier at very short distance.
The 18th of April we run into a Japanese picket ship out there. We were
afraid that they had radio to Japan that the task force out there so we had to
take off immediately. They just announced over the loudspeaker, "Pilots man your
planes." That's when we had to get ready to go. I didn't have time to be
nervous. We're still concentrating on what we
were doing. As we approached Tokyo and there was a quite a bit of anti-aircraft
fire over the city when we reached there but it wasn't accurate, our target was as
nippon steel factory in Tokyo. We dropped air of four bombs on that and
got out of there soon as we could. Then we followed the coast of Japan and then
turned west to China. It was nearly dark and raining and the pilot spotted a
strip of beach so he thought I could set the airplane down on. I think you
misjudge the distance because it was pretty dark. So we hit the water with the
wheels down. Immediately turned us upside down. The other four of the crew were thrown
out through the nose the airplane. I was in the back. I was knocked unconscious
for a while. Finally realized that there was water coming in what I thought was
about of the airplane. I tried to get out there but then realized it was upside
down and so I was able to work my back to the bottom of the escape hatch and open
that and get out on the bottom of the airplane. By that time the other four of
the crew had gotten up onto the beach. The whole front of the airplane with a
pilot compartment and navigator and bomber
air compartment were smashed flat back against the leading edge of the wing. So if they
hadn't been thrown out they'd have never got out alive. First thing we saw was a
few people up on the bank, they tried to help us to get up on the bank
and away from the airplane and it's guerrilla leader on it on the island
there they borught some stretchers - some pallets -so they could carry them the
other four because they couldn't walk. Then it took up most the night and most of
next day to get across that island, it was a pretty good sized island. The evening of
the second day we finally reached free territory in China. Crew number 15 had
been a good water landing on an island near an island not farther from the
coast than we were and the guerrillas were operating on that island too so
they got them brought them to the island that we were on. They had the only doctor
that was on the raid on that crew.
He stayed with the crew and I went on with the other four of crew number 15. We traveled by sedan,
sharing every mode of transportation you can think of. Most of the time walking
for day after day. Finally got to where they were able to ride in a rigshell so all
one morning. Then I got to the place then looked across that draw there and there
was a lot of mobiles waiting for us. The Chinese treated us royally well
over there. We had done something that they hadn't been able to do for four
years fighting the Japanese and that was to bomb the Japanese homeland. Even
though they didn't have very much they give us the best. I guess I was ordered
the Silver Star for taking care of the other members of the crew. I had to be
prepared for something like that but I didn't think it was necessary. You have
to do what you have to do in a situation like that.