This if the final chapter of what he wrote. These are the links to the first part of the story. It is all firsthand from a kid who had to grow up as soon as he graduated from high school to commanding men and learning to fly what was then the most complex plane ever built, and very similar to the ones that dropped the Atomic Bombs on Japan.
My Uncle’s Contribution To WWII – A B-29 Pilot
My Uncle’s Contribution To WWII – A B29 Pilot – Part 2, Pearl Harbor To Tokyo
We flew three Prisoner of War missions wherein we dropped food, clothing, and medical supplies to our prisoners in their prison camps. One of the conditions stipulated in the Japanese surrender was that they must clearly mark all of the Prisoners of War camps with a large red cross on the roof, or in the yard, so it could be seen by aircraft flying over. We flew to camps located in Formosa (now called Taiwan), Shikoku and Tokyo. After dropping the POW supplies in Tokyo, we flew at approximately 500 feet over the remains of the city at our leisure, as did several other B-29 crews. The devastation of the city was unbelievable.
On October 2, 1945, our crew was assigned to be in the first group of airplanes to start home in Sunset Project #5. I flew airplane numbered A Square 47 named “Sweat’erOut” to Kwajalein, Oahu, and Fairfield-Suisun Field at Sacramento, California, landing October 5, 1945. Approximately two hours out, we had to feather a prop because an engine was running out of oil. Accordingly, my last landing in a B-29 was a three-engine landing. That was my last flight in a United States Army B-29.
The entire military establishment was in a state of extreme confusion after the War ended. It had millions of men in uniform, and most wanted to get out, but not all. I elected to remain in the U.S.Army because I was married and had no skill other than knowing how to fly. I was given 45 days of Rest, Relaxation and Recuperation leave and told to report to my unit, the 73rd Bomb Wing (VH) at March Field, Riverside, California, on December 4, 1945. That date was extended to January 10, 1946. Orders were changed while I was on leave, and we were now told to report to McDill Field, Tampa, Florida on January 10, 1946…but I didn’t get the change notice. Margaret and I bought our first car, a used one, from Holler Chevrolet on West Central Boulevard in Orlando. It was a 1942 black two-door Chevrolet Cabriolet. We drove it from home on leave in Orlando to Riverside, California, carrying my brother John as far as White Sands, New Mexico, where he was to be stationed. We rented a bedroom living accommodation with an Indian family in Riverside, Calif. before I got the word that we should be in Tampa, Florida. We hopped in our car and drove rapidly back across the United States to Tampa.
While I was based at McDill Field in Tampa, there was a surplus of officers with nothing to do, and I elected to attend an officer’s maintenance-training course across the field. I also got a part-time job ferrying new Luscombe Silvaires from their factory in Garland, Texas, near Dallas, to a privately owned Fixed Base Operator at Clearwater, Florida, for $100.00 each ferry trip. I made four or five ferry flights for him. On one flight, I landed in Orlando to spend the night, and the next day I took Margaret and my sister Mary for a ride in the brand new Luscombe Silvaire. Because it was a two-seat airplane, I had to make a second flight to take my sister up. It was the first time either of them had ever flown. It was while I was ferrying these airplanes that I became aware that Eastern Air Lines was hiring pilots in Miami.
My last flight in a U.S. Army airplane was a four-hour ride (required to be eligible for flight pay) in a B-25 on July 9, 1946.
July 18, 1946, I was transferred to Ft Bragg, North Carolina, to be separated from the U.S. Army Air Corps. My date of discharge was effective September 30, 1946.
I had served in the Army for a total period of four years and six months. First, I was an enlisted man for six months, an Aviation Cadet for nine months, and an officer for three years, six months, and six days. I was 23 years old when my military career ended.
The three Medals and decorations I was awarded were for what I consider rather modest accomplishments:
I was awarded the Air Medal with one oak leaf cluster (in lieu of a second Air Medal)
I was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two stars (for two different battles in which I participated)
I was awarded the American Campaign Medal for having been in a branch of the military service.
To be employed by any airline, a pilot must have a Flight Instrument Rating endorsement on his civilian flying certificate. On July 24, 1946, I started flight training for my instrument rating in a Fairchild 24 light airplane at the Cannon-Mills airport located in east Orlando. It was located approximately where the 100 block of South Semoran Boulevard runs today. I obtained the instrument rating on September 19, 1946. I was hired as a pilot by Eastern Air Lines on October 6, 1946, six days after my military terminal leave ended. At Eastern, I flew for 38 years until I reached the mandatory retirement age of 60 on my birthday, January 14, 1983.
P S I was recalled to Active Duty with the newly created United States Air Force on June 1, 1951 during the Korean War. Because my civilian employment was with an airline, I was assigned to the military airline, called Military Air Transport Service, based in Mobile, Alabama, at the Brookley Air Force Base. MATS was the acronym of the military’s airline. I flew the huge unpressurized C-74 Globemaster (equipped with the R-4360 engine) airplanes across the Atlantic Ocean usually to Tripoli, Lybia but occasionally to England or Germany. I was released from Active Duty one year and four months later on September 12, 195,2 and returned to our home in Coral Gables, Florida, to resume my civilian career as a pilot with Eastern Air Lines, for whom I flew the next 38 years.
Interestingly enough, in May of 2001, I was qualified to fly as co-pilot of the only existing B-29 that still flies, owned by the Commemorative Air Force of Midland, Texas. It was 56 years since I last flew in that type of airplane.
Delusions of Adequacy 