Category: Second World War

An Echo of His Final Mission: 2 Lt. James Michael Garvin, Shot Down November 29, 1943 – A New Photograph

I’m presently working on a number of posts which are taking a measure of time to complete.  In the meantime, here’s a very brief “interlude”: A short post “segue-ing” from the story of Major Milton Joel, whose all-too-brief life and military career I covered in a series of posts created from November of 2020 though early 2021.  Barring the eventual and highly improbable discovery of the Major’s P-38H (42-67020, “CG * A” , the un-nicknamed “flying wolf”) there’s at present little more to tell of his story. 

But sometimes, it helps to return to what has gone before…

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Case in point…  I recently searched for further information about the pilots involved in the 38th Fighter Squadron’s aerial engagement with the Luftwaffe over the Netherlands on November 29, 1943.  And?  I was pleasantly surprised to find material pertaining to two of the pilots who were killed in action on that late November Monday: Second Lieutenants Albert Anthony Albino, and, James Michael Garvin, the latter of whom was Major Joel’s wingman.  Though there’s no information that actually adds new detail to my account of the events of that day, the pictures are evocative in their own right.

This post specifically pertains to Lieutenant Garvin, and shows images and documents at the “My Mother’s Gordon Heritage” Family Tree at Ancestry.com. 

It’s best to begin at the beginning:  Here’s Lieutenant Garvin’s Draft Card.  It was completed on October 16, 1940, when he was twenty-five years old.  While the card lists his date of birth as July 3, 1915, according to the postwar “Application for Headstone or Marker” for his grave, completed by his mother Eliza (I suppose short for Elizabeth?), James Garvin was born on July 4, 1915, and enlisted in the military on January 11, 1941.  At the time of his death on November 29, 1943, he was therefore twenty-eight years of age, unusually old (in relative terms!) for a non-career USAAF fighter pilot, and notably older than Major Joel himself, who on that date was twenty-four.       

This image of Aviation Cadet Garvin was taken in Arizona in 1943.  Based on the news article below the picture, the photo was probably taken at Williams Field, where he was commissioned on March 10 of that year.  

I don’t know the name of the newspaper that served the Lieutenant’s home town of Marcus, Iowa, but notice of his “Missing in Action” status appeared there in December of 1943.  Given the approximate one-month time lag – for American WW II servicemen – between the date when a soldier or sailor had become a casualty (killed, wounded, or missing) and the release of this information to the news media by the War Department, I assume that this article was published in the latter part of December.  

Notice of confirmation of Lt. Garvin’s death appears in the following news article, which probably appeared in mid-March to April of 1944, the War Department having received notice of his death via the International Red Cross, from a communication to that organization by the German government.  Though some sources report that he was shot down in the vicinity of the Leda Canal, east of the city of Leer, Germany, in reality, having somehow escaped the air battle which claimed four other 38th Fighter Squadron P-38s, his fighter crashed at Hondschoote, France, while (as I believe) he was attempting to return to England alone, at low altitude, in bad weather.  (See here and here.)    

Lieutenant Garvin was buried at his home town of Marcus in late June of 1949.  (As for Lt. Albino, I hope to show the newly-discovered picture of him in the future…)

Politics as History I… Ken Burns’ PBS Documentary “The U.S. and the Holocaust”: “America’s Holocaust failure through the lens of 21st-century politics”, by Jonathan S. Tobin

In the present there are always echoes of the past.

Case in point, Ken Burns’ PBS documentary “The U.S. and the Holocaust“. 

Much commentary has appeared concerning this three-part series, with doubtless more to follow.  But, among this ongoing flurry of opinion pieces and reviews, the following essay from September 16 by Jonathan S. Tobin at the Jewish News Syndicate (linked below), especially stands out.  I’ve quoted three key passages (the italics are my own, not Tobin’s!) that are particularly incisive, my only quibble being that the word “leftist”, or the phrase “professional managerial class” would be vastly more apropos than “liberal”.  

(Digressing…  I’m currently working on a whole bunch of blog posts, which are quite lengthy (typical for this blog, eh?!), some of which pertain to aspects of Jewish military service I’ve not previously addressed.  I hope to bring these posts to fruition in the relatively (?!?) near future.  Well, I hope!)  

America’s Holocaust failure through the lens of 21st-century politics

The inescapable conclusion is that Burns and his team are,
as is the case with even the best of his films
(and some of his efforts like “The Civil War,” “Baseball,” “New York” and “Jazz”
are among the greatest documentaries ever produced),
interested in both telling a compelling story
and in reinforcing the pre-existing biases of public television networks’ liberal viewing audience
and the issues that matter most to them.

… the attempt to frame the Holocaust as a function of general intolerance is always a mistake.
Anti-Semitism isn’t merely hateful sentiments;
it’s a political organizing principle that has attached itself to a number of different ideologies.
Then it was Nazism,
today it is the Islamism embraced by an Iran that seeks a nuclear weapon
with which another Holocaust can be perpetrated.
The answer to such threats isn’t open borders for America,
amnesty for illegal immigrants
or even more people reading The Diary of Anne Frank.
The only way to deter a future genocide of the Jews
is Jewish empowerment and their ability to defend themselves,
something they would only gain after the war with the creation of the state of Israel.

Yet contrary to the film’s conclusion,
the Holocaust tells us little or nothing
about what to do about America’s contemporary immigration debates.
The fact that a CNN interview with Burns
led to a discussion in which efforts by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
to ship illegal immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard,
whose liberal residents advocate for open borders,
were compared to the actions of the Nazis
shows just how misleading the filmmaker’s efforts to frame the issue along these lines are.
Nor should it help fuel efforts to falsely label those political opponents
whom the liberal establishment is trying to smear as fascists and Nazis threatening democracy.

Soldiers from New York: Jewish Soldiers in The New York Times, in World War Two: Albert H. Bendix – December 22, 1943 [Updated post…]

[Here’s a new version of an old post – “old” that is, at least by Internet standards.  It’s really, really (did I say really?!) long, like the majority of my posts.  Well, in this world of 2022, somebody’s gotta’ write at length.  I guess that person is me…]

As part of my ongoing series of posts about Jewish WW II servicemen who appeared in The New York Times – whether as military casualties, awards recipients, or as subjects of general news items – “this” post, originally created in August of 2017 and focusing on 2 Lt. Albert Hunt Bendix of the United States Army Air Force – has now been expanded and corrected.  It now more broadly reflects the service of Jewish airmen and soldiers who were military casualties December 22, 1943, the late December Wednesday when Lt. Bendix did not return from a combat mission to Germany.  For those men who were members of the United States Army Air Force, the post now includes – where available – images of the emblems of the squadrons to which they were assigned.  

So first, to start with Lt. Bendix himself…

From the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Lieutenant Bendix (0-683894) was the navigator of a B-17 Flying Fortress, and lost his life during a mission to the city of Munster.  Reported Missing in Action in a Casualty List published on February 8, 1944, his brief obituary, transcribed below, appeared in the Times on September 21, 1945. 

Albert’s parents were Harry Hunt and Olga (Coyne) Bendix; his sisters and brother Mrs. Annette Mack, Mrs. Maxine Bloom, and Harry, Jr.  According to biographical information at FindAGrave.com, his grandfather Theodore Bendix, “…was musical director of “The Spring Maid” with Mizzi [actually, “Mitzi”] Hajos.”

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Lieut. Albert Hunt Bendix, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Bendix of 140 Riverside Drive, navigator of a B-17 in the Eighth Air Force and winner of the Air Medal, who was listed as missing in action Jan. 10, 1944, has been reported officially dead.  He was 26 years old.

Lieutenant Bendix was shot down over Muenster, Germany, on his eighth mission on Dec. 22, 1943.  He had been associated with an insurance brokerage concern in this city.  He entered the Army in 1940.

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Here’s the location of the Bendix family’s residence: 140 Riverside Drive in Manhattan, an image originally from (and no longer at!) RealtyHop.com.

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Albert was a crew member aboard B-17G 42-37773, of the 563rd Bomb Squadron, 388th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force, piloted by 2 Lt. Webster Merriam Bull (0-745609; from Omaha, Ne.).  

42-37773, nicknamed Full House, last seen with its #1 engine feathered, crashed into the Ijsselmeer, near Edam, Holland, shortly after the 388th’s formation had dropped its bombs and was enroute back to England.

Of the plane’s ten crewmen, two survived:  They were left waist gunner S/Sgt. John F. Rogowski (32381701; left waist gunner, from Buffalo, N.Y.), and tail gunner S/Sgt. Thomas Glenn Wesson, Jr. (14182114; tail gunner, from Florence, Al.), both of whom parachuted just before the aircraft crashed at sea.  Captured, they spent the remainder of the war as POWs at Stalag 17B Braunau Gneikendorf, near Krems Austria.  The bomber’s other eight crewmen parachuted at too low an altitude, or, succumbed to the coldness of the December sea. 

As reported in Missing Air Crew Report 3148, “Lt. Bull’s wing man report[s] that he dropped slowly behind the formation about 5 to 10 minutes after bombs away on the return route.  One of the men dropped back with him a considerable distance behind the group.  Bull feathered his #1 engine and called to his wing man over the radio, telling him to rejoin the formation, as he would be unable to do so.  Bull’s A/C was last seen somewhere over Holland.  Going down into the overcast under control and escorted by 4 P-47s.” 

Besides Lt. Bendix and Bull, and Sergeants Rogowski and Wesson, Full House’s crew included:

Hobbs, Leavitt Patrick, 2 Lt., 0-680636 – Co-Pilot – (San Rafael, Ca.) – KIA
Gunderson, Loran Arthur, 2 Lt., 0-744274 – Bombardier – (Chicago, Il.) – KIA
Pasque, Angelo, T/Sgt., 39165858 – Flight Engineer – (Los Angeles, Ca.) – KIA
Riley, Howard William, T/Sgt., 16150364 – Radio Operator – (Detroit, Mi.) – KIA
Rush, Chester Noah, Sgt., 39250775 – Gunner (Ball Turret) – (St. Louis, Mo.) – KIA
Marsilio, Rudolph Ceaser, S/Sgt., 13126890 – Gunner (Right Waist) – (Philadelphia, Pa.) – KIA

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This excellent in-flight photo of Full House, from the American Air Museum in Britain website, was taken on December 20, 1943, two days before the plane’s loss…

…while this image, showing the bomber flying through flak bursts, is from the 388th Bomb Group Database.  

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Born on November 22, 1916, Albert was buried – at Block I, Section 28, Plot 197, Grave 2 – at Riverside Cemetery, in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, on May 13, 1949.  His name is listed on page 273 of Volume II of American Jews in World War II. His matzeva, photographed by FindAGrave contributor dalya d, is shown below:

Full information about the loss of Full House and its crew can be found in this remarkably detailed account at the ZZAirwar (Zuyder Zee Air War) website. 

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Other Jewish military casualties on December 22, 1943 (25 Kislev 5704) are listed below.  

For those who lost their lives on this date…
– .ת.נ.צ.ב.ה. –
…Tehé Nafshó Tzrurá Bitzrór Haḥayím
May his soul be bound up in the bond of everlasting life.

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306th Bomb Group, 367th Bomb Squadron

Sall, Henry, S/Sgt., 32177039, Gunner (Right Waist), Air Medal, 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart, 17 missions
Mr. Andrew Sall (brother), 535 Graham Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y.
MACR 1716; B-17F, 42-3363 (“GY * G”, “Punchy”); Pilot – 1 Lt. James E. Winter; 10 crewmen – 3 survivors; Luftgaukommando Report KU 547
Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands – Plot P, Row 20, Grave 1
Casualty Lists 1/23/44, 8/24/44
American Jews in World War II – 425

Though believed to have been shot down by German fighters, there are no specific eyewitness statement about Punchy’s loss in MACR 1716.  However, the report lists the aircraft as having been last sighted by Second Lieutenants John J. Stolz and Charles O. Smith, and, First Lieutenant Martin Newstreet.  

Of the plane’s ten crew members, there were three survivors: 

2 Lt. Robert F. Jones – Navigator
T/Sgt. David M. Hovis – Flight Engineer
S/Sgt. Otis F. Thomas – Tail Gunner

According to Lt. Jones, Lt. Winter was last seen, “At the controls of the plane.”  He was believed to have been attempting, “…to get the plane under control so the other crew members could bail out.”  “The interphone system was knocked out by [a] flak burst in nose of plane about 5 min. before we were finished off by fighter planes.  All casualties either dead, or, wounded and unable to escape by parachute.”

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445th Bomb Group, 701st Bomb Squadron

Silverman, Conrad, 2 Lt., 0-685748, Navigator, Purple Heart
Brooklyn, N.Y. – 12/18/15
Mr. and Mrs. Tobias and Fannie Silverman (parents), Beatrice, Estelle, and Leo Silverman (sisters and brother), 1060 52nd St., Brooklyn, N.Y.
MACR 16098; B-24H 42-7520 (not 42-64438!), “Snow Goose”; Pilot – 2 Lt. Norman H. Nelson; 10 crewmen – no survivors; Luftgaukommando Report AV 447/44
Crashed near Bolsward, Netherlands
Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, Louisville, Ky. – Section E 101
Brooklyn Eagle 7/25/43, 2/26/44
Casualty Lists 1/23/44, 2/27/44
American Jews in World War II – 444

Two months after the loss of Snow Goose, the following article about Lt. Silverman appeared in the Brooklyn Eagle.

Won’t Accept Death Of Brother in Nazi Raid
February 26, 1944

Sister of Lt. Silverman, an Army Nurse Overseas, Searching for Further Details

Beatrice Silverman, sister of Lt. Conrad Silverman, officially listed as killed in a raid over Germany, refuses to take news of his death as final and is conducting a personal investigation for further details.  She is a lieutenant in the army nursing corps and stationed overseas.

Silverman is 27.  He was in the infantry first and later transferred to the air corps as a navigator.  He was shipped across in November, 1943.

Two other members of her family are in the armed forces – Estelle, a navy nurse, and Leo, a major in the army.  Conrad attended New Utrecht High School and Brooklyn College.  The family lives at 1060 52nd St.

Postwar “fill-in” Missing Air Crew Report 16098, which incorrectly denotes the serial number of Snow Goose as 42-64438, carries only the cryptic statement, “Ship #438 [sic] attacked by fighters at time of bombs away.  It was last seen going down out of control and no chutes were observed.” 

In 2008, a monument in memory of Snow Goose’s crew was erected at the bomber’s crash site, seen in this flickr photostream image of Edwin van Bloois.  As mentioned by Mr. van Bloois and unknown to the Army Air Force in December of 1943, “Above Friesland, the B-24 was attacked by a German night fighter and in the dramatic fire fight that followed the crew tried desperately to shoot down its belligerent.  The crew tried to land the plane but crashed near Bolsward.  The bombs were not dropped before the landing and exploded during the crash.” 

In early May of 2013 (nineteen years ago already?!…), two nieces of Lt. Nelson paid homage to their uncle at the bomber’s crash site, in an event – seen in the video below – reported upon by GPTV.  While the video is unaccompanied by English-language translation (oh, well…), the caption, translated via OogleTranslate, is as follows, “In many places, 2 minutes of silence was observed on Saturday evening at a war memorial.  One such monument commemorates the crash of the B-24 bomber Snow Goose in Bolsward.  The monument was placed in 2008.  Ten young men were killed in the crash.  On Saturday a number of relatives of one of the fallen crew members came to Bolsward.  Two nieces of Norman Nelson. Joanne Nelson and Lynda Brown-Nelson.”

Additional information about the December 22 mission and Snow Goose can be found at the websites of the 445th Bomb Group, and, Teunis Schuurman.

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446th Bomb Group, 704th Bomb Squadron

Jacobson, Sydney Charles, 2 Lt., 0-742719, Pilot (Bomber), Purple Heart, 2 Missions
Mrs. Eleanor A. Jacobson (wife), 1777 Somerset St., Providence, R.I.
MACR 2008; B-24H 42-7613 (“FL * H”, “Mi Akin Ass”); 10 crewmen – 7 survivors
Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, Louisville, Ky. – Section F 29
American Jews in World War II – 562

Akin to the Snow Goose, the Missing Air Crew Report for Mi Akin Ass is entirely vague about what actually happened to the bomber, for which there are no eyewitness accounts, other than the generic statement, “Information not available, undoubtedly due to enemy action.  Aircraft last seen apparently under control entering overcast.” 

What is present in the MACR are co-pilot 1 Lt. Robert Dale Bingham’s postwar comments about the fate of the three crewmen who did not survive the mission: Lt. Jacobson, Bombardier 2 Lt. Wade H. Krauss, and Flight Engineer S/Sgt. Orley E. Kjelgren, who are buried in common grave F-29 at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery.  Lt. Bingham’s comments follow.  While certainly informative about the fate of all three men, when it comes to Lt. Jacobson, they reveal something else about Robert D. Bingham, and that with immediate clarity.

Circumstances of bail out of crew members for whom no individual questionnaire is attached: No knowledge other than that none jumped the bail out signal, all was regular.  I just didn’t happen to actually see a crew member jump.

What members of crew were in the aircraft when it struck the ground?  Have no positive knowledge but believe 2nd Lt. Wade H. Krauss and Kjelgren, Orley E. S/Sgt.

Bombardier Krauss:

Any hearsay information: He did not fire a shot at attacking aircraft, he had turret turned to one side & did not move it or himself when Lt. Cranford attempted to get him to bail out by pounding on turret glass to attract his attention.

Flight Engineer Kjelgren:

Any hearsay information: Lt. Cranford claims to have seen a leg through trap door calculated to have been Kjelgren, Orley E., from position last seen in.

Pilot Jacobson:

Did he bail out: Uncertain.

Last contact or conversation just prior to or at time of loss of plane: I told of and pointed to fire in bomb bay.

Was he injured: Not at last contact with him.

Where was he last seen: Stepping out onto flight deck.

Any hearsay information: The radio operator, S/Sgt. Mahan told me on ground that S.C. Jacobson stepped out on flight deck & attempted to put on parachute but that it opened & was in his arms.  Later Sgt. Evans (tail gunner) told me that he was seen to attempt a jump only to have chute catch on plane.

Any explanation of his fate based in part of wholly on supposition: I believe the above to be true as he did leave the controls without warning and take to the flight deck in a big rush as if to be in a hurry to get out.  He was a smart boy & a Jew, it seems to fit.”  

Well now.  What Robert Bingham really suggested was that Lt. Jacobson’s actions in attempting to abandon his aircraft were not the actions of Lt. Sydney C. Jacobson the man, but instead “a Jew” named Sydney Jacobson, for whom Bingham’s use of the word “smart” is far more indictment than compliment.  In a larger sense, while an attitude of comradeship and solidarity was not at all uncommon among Army Air Force air crews (many, many accounts in Missing Air Crew Reports attest to this, often in riveting, dramatic, and tragic detail), this was not universally so.  Yet, having reviewed all the Missing Air Crew Reports, I can state that comments such as Bingham’s are extraordinarily few in number.

One of the seven survivors of Mi Akin Ass was the plane’s left waist gunner, Sergeant Sidney H. Raiken (16155375), the son of Harry (1/3/82-1/31/58) and Fanny (Robin) Raiken, and brother of Florence, who hailed from 2718 North 40th Street, in Milwaukee.  Captured, he spent the remainder of the war at Stalag Luft 4.  His name appeared in a list of liberated POWs released by the War Department on June 6, 1945, and in 1947, on page 585 of American Jews in World War II, wherein it’s indicated that he was awarded the Purple Heart.  The absence of his receipt of the Air Medal (and Oak Leaf Clusters for that medal) suggests that he flew less than five combat missions.  

Sidney Raiken’s account of his final mission – below – is excerpted from Evelyn R. Lewis’ book The War Stories of Sidney H. Raiken.  Two discrepancies are present in his account.  Note that he mentions, “the ball turret gunner to the left of me,” and, words to the effect that he (himself?!) had to shut down one of the plane’s engines.  Given his crew position as left waist gunner, the “ball gunner” referred to was almost certainly the right waist gunner (S/Sgt. Joseph P. McDonald), the ball turret gunner – not directly visible from the waist gun position – having been S/Sgt. Scott F. Swinburn.  Shutting down one of the bomber’s engines probably refers to an action taken by Lieutenants Jacobson or Bingham.

Flying along and this ball gunner on the left of me, I didn’t even know him, but flying along, it was cold, I looked at him.  He had ice on the eyelashes.  Periodically, we would cock the gun because of the cold [to] be sure it’s working so it wouldn’t freeze up.  So it was difficult to do.  You didn’t have much to brace on, and your oxygen hose went down your chest here.  So this guy next to me, he couldn’t cock his gun so he had to have a brace against his chest.  So what he does is disconnect his oxygen mask, which is the worst thing you could do.  So it was just lucky that I turned around that instant because here he is, slumped over the gun, no oxygen, 25,000 feet.  So what I did was I gave him a… I put on his oxygen hose again, connected it, and gave him a pure shot of oxygen which we could do.  And he came to, but another minute he would have been gone.

We’re in formation coming back and the wing is starting to vibrate pretty badly, so I had to shut off one engine.  And a couple minutes later another, the wing started vibrating again.  I had to shut off another engine.  So we’re operating on two engines so we start drifting back from the formation and we were no more than 100 yards from formation when a black night fighter, Me 110 was on my side with the wing up and right in front of me here’s this black wing with the German crosses on and I told the ball gunner, I says, “Well why didn’t you tell me he was coming?  I could have taken a shot at him and he says, “I was just too scared.”

That was our first time we were under fire attack.  So here the fighters are coming in, so the pilot would call out.  He’d say, “Three coming in at 11 o’clock out of the sun.”  And you’d turn your body so it would be toward 11 o’clock to give the least amount of area.  And they kept coming in and I noticed the plane started burning and the pilot was kind of trying to hit the cloud cover almost in a dive.  And I couldn’t get at the fire because it was pretty hard to get to and started burning there and I guess the bomb bay must have been all aflame too and I don’t know just what happened but the thing was burning to the extent and I didn’t hear any orders to leave so we scrambled to the rear hatch and just left; the ball gunner and I left.  We found out that the plane exploded just a couple minutes after that so the ball gunner, like I said before, was above me as we drifted down.  You got that story.

Right after that first Me 110 made a pass at us, subsequent passes of these fighters, I noticed my gloves were all ripped apart.  I had the thumbs on the gun and the first thing I knew my gloves were in shreds, both of them.  I couldn’t feel anything.  I didn’t know what was going on and I didn’t realize that my two hands were wounded and, of course, it dawned on me after I bailed out that not only was my hands wounded, but my bone was sticking out of the one hand.

And it was a lucky thing I didn’t put on that flack jacket.  We had a bullet proof vest that weighed a ton, it was made out of layers of steel and had I put that on I would have been a dead man because not only were my hands wounded but my leather jacket was all kinds of ripped apart, the flaps were gone, things like that.  Found out later that they were shooting 20mm shells that exploded inside the airplane, like a grenade and I was just lucky it was just my finger.  I wasn’t blinded or killed, something like that.  If I wore a bullet proof vest, instead of knocking the flaps off my leather jacket and all that, it would have went inside the vest.  The vest just protected you in the front and the rear but not on the side, so the shot would have gone inside the vest, but that thing weighed a ton, we didn’t wear them. 

Going out the lower hatch, the ball gunner is out of the bubble on the bottom and they are leaving.  The lower hatch opens easily.  We go out.  Nothing is happening.  I am tugging at the handle and nothing is happening and then it dawns on me that I am pulling the wrong handle.  I don’t know how far I fell freefall and I pulled the red handle.  It was the red handle that opened, and I start drifting down and at that point I saw the ball gunner was above me.   …

Sidney Raiken passed away on December 1, 2002, and is buried at Mount Sinai Memorial Park, Los Angeles, Ca.

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448th Bomb Group, 714th Bomb Squadron

There were no survivors from the 11 crew members of B-24H 42-52105, an apparently un-nicknamed Liberator piloted by 2 Lt. David E. Manning.  The crew included 2 Lt. Jerome Slepin, the bomber’s navigator, and S/Sgt. Irving Mazur, its left waist gunner.

Unlike other bomber losses on December 22, 1943, an eyewitness account does exist pertaining to this plane’s loss.  As stated in MACR 3313 by First Lieutenant Karl M. Schlund, pilot of nearby B-24H 42-7683 (“Sweet Sioux“), “I was flying the #2 position in a three ship element of which Lt. Manning was in the #3 position which Lt. Hughey was leading.  Over the target area which was Osnabruck, Germany Lt. Manning’s ship was seen going thru heavy flak.  A minute or so later his ship left the formation and was last seen going thru the cloud cover with enemy fighters attacking his ship as it went down.  The ship appeared to be under control.  No chutes were seen leaving the ship.”  The events pertaining to the bomber’s loss are diagrammed at zzairwar.  

Only five members of the bomber’s crew were ever found, and thus, have places of burial.  Along with Lt. Slepin, these men were:

2 Lt. Robert F. Palicki (Co-Pilot)
2 Lt. Arne O. Bergrum (Bombardier)
2 Lt. Byron E. Lanphear (Observer)
Sgt. William S. Pennypacker (Right Waist Gunner)

This plane’s loss is covered in Luftgaukommando Report AV 879/44 (which specifically pertains to Lt. Slepin), and, reports U 2611, U 2658, and U 2742. 

Lt. Slepin’s parents were William (2/7/93-2/20/76) and Eva (Rosenberg) Slepin (12/2/96-7/26/57), and his family, including brothers Louis and Richard, resided at 929 Park Avenue in New York City.  His father was in some way – what way, I don’t know – associated with the Trutex Dress Company at 1385 Broadway in Manhattan.  His name having appeared in casualty lists issued by the War Department on January 23, 1944 (Missing in Action), and September 19, 1944 (confirmed Killed in Action), he is buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery, in Margraten, Holland, at Plot B, Row 18, Grave 18.  His name can be found on page 447 of American Jews in World War II, where his sole award is listed as the Purple Heart.  He was born in 1922.

S/Sgt. Mazur was another New Yorker, albeit a Brooklyn type of New Yorker.  His father was Samuel A. Mazur, who resided at 2000 84th Street, and his brother was Sidney, who lived at 206 Quenton Road.  Born in 1921, his name appeared in the same January 23, 1944, casualty list as that of Lt. Slepin, and on page 390 of American Jews in World War II, where he is listed as having been awarded the Air Medal and Purple Heart, suggesting that he had completed between 5 and 10 combat missions.  His name is commemorated at the Tablets of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, at Margraten, Holland.   

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Killed (Non-Battle)

En Route to European or Mediterranean Theater of War

As shown in many of my prior blog posts, and especially as revealed in literature about WW II military aviation, whether online, at (for example) Aviation Archeology, or in printed format, in the form of Anthony J. Mireles magisterial three-volume work Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945, a tremendous number of Second World War United States aircraft and personnel losses occurred within and near the continental United States during activity neither directly nor immediately associated with contact with the enemy.  (I’m sure something analogous could be said for the air forces of other nations that took part in the war, though other than for RAF Bomber Command, I don’t know how well, of if, this has been documented.)

One such incident occurred near West Palm Beach, Florida, on December 22, 1943, and involved the loss of a B-24 Liberator departing on a ferry mission to Europe.  Piloted by 2 Lt. Samuel G. Dean, the bomber, carrying 14 crew and passengers, crashed 3 miles northwest of Morrison Army Airfield shortly after taking off.  As described by Anthony Mireles in Volume I (page 622) of Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, “The airplane was taking off [0200 hours] on a ferry mission to the European War Theater when it collided with treetops about three-quarters of a mile from the end of the northwest runway.  The collision apparently caused the failure of at least two engines, the pieces of which were found near the trees.  The airplane climbed slightly after the initial impact and, losing power, veered to the left and crashed about three miles from the end of the northwest runway.  The B-24 crashed into swampy terrain … Lt. Cáceres [2 Lt. Radames E. Cáceres] and S/Sgt. [Howard G.] Sewell were found alive in the wreckage.  Lt. Cáceres died at 1930 EWT.  S/Sgt. Sewell died on 12/23/43 at 1350 EWT.”

Eliot Kleinberg’s story of the bomber’s loss, accompanied by illustrations, and, biographical profiles of the plane’s crew and passengers, appeared in the Palm Beach Post on May 25, 2014 (since updated on May 26, 2022), under the title “The Forgotten 14: A Story Never Told“.  As of September, 2022, his story is still – fortunately! – accessible online.

Among the bomber’s crew was aerial gunner S/Sgt. Louis Karp (Leezer bar Yakov Yosef) (32629703) from the Bronx.  Born in Manhattan on September 14, 1918, he was the son of Jacob and Jennie Karp, his family residing at 1343 Findley Avenue.  Buried at Mount Lebanon Cemetery, Glendale, N.Y.  (Society Workmen’s Circle, Block WC, Section 5, Line 27, Grave 7), his name appears on page 357 of American Jews in World War Two, with a simple notation indicating that he lost his life in a non-combat event.  

“Louis Karp in West Palm Beach in December, 1943” (Karp Family Photo, from “The Forgotten 14”)

“In an undated photograph believed to be from the 1940s, Louis Karp’s mother Jennie makes one of her nearly weekly visits to his grave in New York.  When Louis died, she had two other sons in the war.  When another was shot down and believed killed, she asked the President to bring the other home.”  (Karp Family Photo, from “The Forgotten 14”)

This 2017 image of Sgt. Karp’s matzeva is by FindAGrave contributor S. Daino.

____________________

United States Army Air Force, 15th Air Force

“The only information I gave them was my name, rank and serial number.”

And, a related story…

Louis had five siblings – Edith, Julius, Maurice, Milton, and Morris – his four brothers all serving in the military, though “The Forgotten 14” states that Morris, then in Europe, was returned from there to complete his military service in the continental United States.  However, Julius an aerial gunner like his brother, left the United States for Europe on December 25, 1943 (ironically departing from Morrison Field), and was assigned to the 2nd Bomb Group, a B-17-equipped bombardment group of the 15th Air Force.   

Julius wrote an account of his military service entitled (well, pretty appropriately!) The Julius Karp Story, which gives a substantive overview of his military experiences, and very briefly touches his pre-war and post-war life. 

Initially assigned to the 2nd Bomb Group’s 20th Bomb Squadron…

…Julius was wounded on February 24, 1944 – during “Big Week” – and was awarded the Silver Star for his actions that day.  His award citation reads: “For gallantry in action while participating as Right Waist Gunner on a B-17 type aircraft during a bombing mission against an important enemy aircraft factory at Styer, Austria, on 24 February 1944, his formation was intercepted and heavily attacked by approximately 150 enemy fighters.  In the ensuing engagement the aircraft was severely damaged and Sergeant Karp received a serious and painful wound in the left leg from the enemy plane cannon fire.  Despite the pain and shock he continued to man his guns in gallant defense of his plane and crew, beating off successive attacks until he lost consciousness from loss of blood and lack of oxygen.  By his conspicuous courage and unselfishness in his determination to carry out his mission regardless of all hazards together with his gallantry and devotion to duty in the fulfillment of his personal responsibility, Sergeant Karp has distinguished himself and the Armed Forces of the United States of America.”

On a date unknown during his service in the 2nd Bomb Group, Julius was apparently transferred to the Group’s 49th Bomb Squadron…

…which may – or may not? – have been related to the following incident: “…if you were Jewish in the service at that time, you had to sort of keep to yourself because there was anti-Semitism among the Americans at times too.  One pilot I flew with did something wrong on the flight and I told him so.  I was the flight engineer.  When we got back, he called me a “damned Jew”.  I went to my commanding officer and told him about this and I refused to fly with them again.  He agreed and grounded me for a few days and then put me with another crew.  The next day, the crew that I had flown with was shot down.” 

In any event, Julius Karp was shot down on his 48th mission.

This occurred during a bombardment mission to Blechhammer South, Germany, on August 7, 1944.  Flying in a B-17G piloted by 1 Lt. Dwight F. Hastings, his aircraft was struck by anti-aircraft fire.  The entire crew parachuted east of and over the target, Lt. Hastings last of all.  According to navigator 2 Lt. James A. Shaw, “[Hastings] was last man to leave and believe he should receive commendation the way he stuck to the controls up to the last.”  The loss of this un-nicknamed aircraft, 44-6176, is covered in Missing Air Crew Report 7470 and Luftgaukommando Report KSU / ME 1890.

Nine of the bomber’s ten crew members survived.  Ball turret gunner S/Sgt. Howard J. Kidney was definitely uninjured when he left the aircraft, but did not survive, other crewmen (in 1946, at least) being uncertain of his actual fate.  Lt. Shaw reported having been told by a German guard at Mechnitz, that Kidney was shot while descending in his parachute, or (as related to him by the radio operator and left waist gunner), that Kidney may have been killed during an escape attempt with Russian POWs.  The former is the most likely eventuality, as the pertinent Luftgaukommando Report includes the (deliberately?) ambiguous statement that the Sergeant “met his death by being shot down in an air attack”, thus, intentionally not specifying how he died.  

A notable aspect of Sgt. Karp’s memoir concerns his capture and interrogation, specifically in terms of both his refusal to answer his captors’ questions, and, in reference to his identity as a Jew.  As stated in his essay, “We were searched and locked up until some SS troopers arrived to question us.  The only food they gave us was some black bread and water.  I was there for three days when I was taken to a railroad yard and put in a pig box car and shipped to Frankfurt for more questioning by SS troopers.  They asked me again and again where we were flying and what our mission was.  The only information I gave them was my name, rank and serial number.  They got angry and made me get undressed and put me in another room.  They poured ice water on me.  After a while they told me to get dressed and I was taken again to another room.  The guard looked at my dog tag and asked me what religion I was.  I had an H on my dog tags for Hebrew, but I smashed the H with pliers before I went over seas.  I had heard rumors that they were killing Jews.  I told them I was Protestant.”

Well…  There is a difference between what Julius recorded and what has been preserved.  As seen in this image of Julius’ dog-tag, one of the items within Luftgaukommando Report KSU / ME 1890 (accessed via the National Archives) the dog-tag, obviously bearing an “H” for Hebrew, is intact and undamaged, appearing much the same as it did when worn nearly eight decades ago.  

However, the “Angaben über Gefangennahme eines Angehörigen der feidnlichen Luftwaffe” – the “Report of the Capture of Enemy Air Force Personnel” in KSU / ME 1890 – does corroborate at least part of Julius’ account of his interrogation.  

This full translation of the report (note that it was completed on August 10, three days after Julius’ capture) reveals that Julius refused to give his date of birth, and similarly, “To all other questions Prisoner of War refused to make any statement.”

This photo, from mid-summer of 1945, shows a pensive Julius with his sister Edith (the only girl in the family?), and mother Jennie at Louis’ grave, shortly after Julius’ return to the United States.

Born in Manhattan on June 11, 1922, Julius passed away on February 9, 2011.  The photo below, from 2006, accompanies his February 10, 2011 obituary in the Houston Chron News.  

____________________

Prisoners of War

44th Bomb Group, 66th Bomb Squadron

Fleischman, Abel, S/Sgt., 32509819, Radio Operator, Air Medal, Purple Heart
POW at Stalag Luft 4 (Gross-Tychow) and Stalag Luft 1 (Barth)
Mr. William Fleischman (father), 1634 Sterling Place, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Born 3/5/21 – Died 9/23/98
MACR 1713; B-24H 42-7533; Pilot – 1 Lt. Warren W. Oakley; 10 crewmen – 3 survivors; Luftgaukommando Report KU 539
Casualty Lists 1/23/44 (Missing in Action), 4/21/44 (Prisoner of War), 6/8/45 (Liberated)
American Jews in World War II – 311

This account of the survival of S/Sgt. Fleischman, flight engineer T/Sgt. John F. Byers, and navigator 1 Lt. Frank D. Powers comes from Will Lundy’s 44th Bomb Group Roll of Honor and Casualties.  As he reported in MACR 1713, six of the crew’s seven fatalities were entirely uninjured, but were unable to exit the falling aircraft because of the force of its final spin.  Lt. Christian was able to escape from the plane, but his parachute malfunctioned.  

The second 66th Squadron aircraft lost was piloted by 1st Lt. Warren W. Oakley and Richard K. Collins.  The MACR contains this information: Aircraft #533 was reported as lagging in the rear of the formation just after target with bomb bay doors still open.  Different crews observed this aircraft at various times between 1400 and 1431 hours and each one reported that it was losing altitude but apparently under control.  Aircraft #548 (Heskett’s) had been flying on the right wing and Heskett reported that he pulled alongside #533 to determine why they were not keeping up with the formation.  (It was later learned that #533 had lost three superchargers.)  Oakley motioned for him to go ahead and catch the formation.  At 1431, the tail gunner of #548, saw the ship begin to spiral down below into the clouds.  It was not believed likely that any of the crew survived as no chutes were seen to open.

A crew member, Sgt. Abel Fleischman, tells his account: “I was flying spare radio operator on this crew.  First of all, we were hit by flak, and then jumped by about five to seven fighters.  We couldn’t unload our bombs as they were stuck as were the bomb bay doors.  Our bombardier, Christian, asked the pilot if he should unload them by hand, but the pilot said, ‘No.  We are over enemy-occupied land.’ “The fighters knocked all or at least part of our tail off.  After Byers (engineer) came out of the top turret and bailed out, I think we started to go into a spin, but I managed to get out as well.  Just Byers and I got out.  [Editor’s note: One more crewmember, Lt. Frank Powers, also got out.] “Miller’s crew also went down the same day – that was my original crew with whom I trained.  I landed by parachute in Holland (near Den Ham).  After hiding out a couple of hours, was captured and taken to a Dutch hospital for about six weeks.  Then to Frankfurt, Stalag Luft 6, 4, and l.”

Lt. Frank D. Powers, navigator, adds, “We were a squadron leader and made our target.  But we lost two engines on the return, our wingmen abandoned us, and flak or fighters hit the tail surfaces – and we spiraled down, out of control.  T/Sgt.  Christian, the bombardier, and I had no warning of how serious the problem was, so we stayed with the plane.  (Pilots were so busy trying to regain control they couldn’t ring the bail out warning.) We thought that Warren Oakley would regain control.  Byers and the radio operator (Fleischman) knew about the tail damage and they abandoned ship at high altitude.  Had Byers warned us, we probably all would have made it.  Christian, bless him, helped me put on my parachute and was killed by the jump.  We were so low, less than 800 feet at that time, that Christian’s chute never fully opened.

“Before the local policemen arrived, a young man of about 25 or so, came up to me and in good English, said ‘I congratulate you – all of your friends are dead.’ At that time I did not know we were in the Netherlands and had the fleeting thought that he was a German and was going to inflict a terrible beating on me.

“Then a policeman, a young man about my age, 22, arrived and his sympathy was with me, but with the surrounding families knowing that I was there, he had to phone the German authorities and release me to them.”

I contacted the widow of John F. Byers, who gave me the following information: “John told me much of what Abel Fleishman told you.  He also thought that they were the only two to get out.  John was too big to wear his chute in the turret, so he grabbed it and snapped it on, but when he tried to pull the ripcord, he had it on upside down.  In his own words, it scared the hell out of him, but as you know, it worked.  He landed in a plowed field somewhere in Holland, went in to the top of his boots, and hurt his knee.  Some men were there almost as soon as he landed – they helped him to a barn, then hid him in the hay, under gobs of hay.  Soon S.S. men came with pitch forks, but he was hidden deep enough that they missed him.  When they left, one of the Dutch men got him on a bicycle, took him in to town and to a doctor (Den Ham?).  He stayed there over a Pub or bar until they could move him a few days later.”

John managed to avoid capture for a considerable period, had many close calls – too many to include in this report.  Then an informer notified the S.S. and he was captured and became a POW.

P.C. Meijer, Dutch historian from Den Ham, Netherlands, has sent data about his investigation of this crew.  “Last week I found the place where the Liberator came down, and met a farmer who lives near the place.  The farmer, Mr. Bril, said he remembered all what happened, he was outdoors when the plane came in at low speed and was just above the roof of the barn.  At first, he thought it was a belly landing, but it hit very hard.  Then immediately, he saw an American come running toward him (Powers, who had just parachuted) and was yelling, ‘Bomb! Bomb!’ and making gestures to lie down – and he did.  The aircraft exploded immediately and it was like a fireworks display with the ammunition exploding, fire, flares, etc.  Pieces of the plane were strewn about.  The explosions made a large crater seven meters deep and 20 meters in diameter, broke the windows in his house, and blew the doors open.

“One crew member landed about 30 meters from his house – Powers.  People later told him that another chutist, Fleischman, came down southwest of his farm, and he hid in the woods and was soon captured.  And the third chutist, Byers, was found and hidden by the other farmers in the area.  In a very short time, the Germans arrived to take Powers prisoner, but they could not understand English, so brought in a teacher who spoke English to interpret for them.  Later, he was taken away…”

In 1985, during the 40th anniversary celebration of the liberation of their country, the people of Den Ham honored this crew with speeches, flowers, photographs – they are remembered!

On September 10, 1945, this two-sentence news item pertaining to Sgt. Fleischman’s military service appeared in the Brooklyn Eagle.

T/Sgt. Abel Fleischman of 1634 Sterling Place has reported to the air force redistribution station, Atlantic City, N.J., after 22 months in Europe as a B-24 radio gunner. He wears the Air Medal and Purple Heart.

Abel Fleischman died on September 23, 1998, and is buried at Florida National Cemetery, in Bushnell, Florida.  

__________

91st Bomb Group, 322nd Bomb Squadron

Harris, George D., S/Sgt., 12180643, Radio Operator, Air Medal
POW at Stalag Luft 3 (Sagan) and Stalag 7A (Moosburg)
Mr. Joseph Harris (father), 562 West 164th St., New York, N.Y.
MACR 1715; B-17G 42-37738 (“LG * T”; Miss AMERICA); Pilot – 2 Lt. Edward M. Steel; 10 crewmen – 9 survivors
Casualty Lists 2/26/44, 5/29/45
American Jews in World War II – 341

Missing Air Crew Report 1715, like other MACRs covering bomber losses this day, is very brief:  “Aircraft B-17G 42-37738 was seen at 1440 hours, 52-33 N, 05-03 E, 25,300 feet, leaving the formation and slowly losing altitude but continuing on course under control.  Subject aircraft was badly shot up.”  

Nine of Miss AMERICA’s ten crew members survived the mission.  Ball turret gunner Sgt. Gerald Dutton Glaze – the subject of an extensive “write-up” by Lt. Steel in a Casualty Questionnaire within MACR 1715 – was confirmed by fellow crewmen to have successfully left the aircraft, but he was never seen again.  At Dulag Luft, a German interrogator reported to 2 Lt. Robert E. Emmick (the plane’s navigator) that Glaze had been killed, but did not elaborate.  It was suggested by some of his fellow crew members that his parachute may have failed, or, he was murdered by German soldiers or civilians.  In any event, his body was definitely recovered and identified, for his dog-tag was displayed to one of the nine survivors while the latter were at Dulag Luft.  As of 2022, Sgt. Glaze remains missing. 

This image (Joe Harlick photo N3257 / image UPL 45480 from the American Air Museum in Britain) shows the nose art of Miss AMERICA…

…while this diagram, in MACR 1715, sketched by former co-pilot William P. Meyers in 1945 or 1946, shows the last course of Miss AMERICA, which passed over Texel Island.  “Left formation 6 mi. from coast turning to 170 [degrees] along which course No. 1-7 bailed out, then turned south while remainder of crew left the plane.  Plane was in gentle bank to right when I left it, and No. 9, Sgt. Lane, reported he saw it blow up.  I was delaying pulling rip-cord and could not observe because of motion of body.”

__________

389th bomb Group, 566th Bomb Squadron

Ross, Samuel, S/Sgt., 12158089, Gunner (Right Waist)
POW at Stalag 17B (Gneixendorf)
Mr. Martin H. Ross (father), 181 Hawthorne St., Brooklyn, N.Y.
Born 3/24/24
MACR 2047; B-24D 42-40706; Pilot – 1 Lt. Paul J. Lambert; 10 crewmen – 9 survivors; Luftgaukommando Report KU 545
Casualty List 6/19/45
American Jews in World War II – Not Listed

MACR 2047 is absent of eyewitness accounts of the loss of B-24D 42-40706, but Casualty Questionnaires indicates that the aircraft’s position in the 389th Bomb Group’s formation was “coffin corner”, or, “extreme right rear”, the plane having left the formation just before reaching the Initial Point.  Postwar questionnaires in the MACR reveal that power was lost in two engines.  By the time it was realized that neither of these engines could be restarted, the aircraft was at too low an altitude for the crew to bail out, necessitating a crash-landing.  This occurred near Osnabruck, Germany, two miles from the town of Mettingen.  Though the MACR is not specific, it seems that the plane was attacked by fighters. 

The entire crew were able to take up crash positions, with the pilots in their seats, four men on the flight deck, and the four remaining crewmen in the rear of the aircraft.  Tail gunner S/Sgt. Charles E. Smith died the evening of December 22 as a result of injuries sustained during the landing, while left waist gunner S/Sgt. Melvin V. Wile, like Sgt. Ross previously wounded by gunfire from German fighter planes (also having been injured in the crash landing) recovered from his injuries after spending two months in hospital. 

__________

92nd Bomb Group, 407th Bomb Squadron

Wolfson, Seymour Nathan, Sgt., 35380868, Gunner (Left Waist)
POW at Stalag 17B (Gneixendorf)
Mr. and Mrs. Morris and Sarah A. Wolfson (parents), 110 West Ross St., Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Mrs. Gerald DeBaer (sister), 893 Stadelman Ave., Akron, Oh.
Born 1918
MACR 1711; B-17F 42-3184 (“PY * Q”; “USS ALIQUIPPA”); Pilot – 2 Lt. Henry J. Roeber; 10 crewmen – all survived; Luftgaukommando Report KU 536; Bergung Report 293
Casualty Lists 3/13/44, 6/21/45
American Jews in World War II – Not Listed

Unlike some of the other losses recounted above, there were three direct eyewitnesses to the loss of USS ALIQUIPPA, all having been crew members – navigator, ball turret gunner, and tail gunner – of B-17F 42-30716, the Aliquippa’s left wingman, the latter leading the 92nd’s high squadron (the 92nd leading the wing). 

The ALIQUIPPA dropped down and under 42-30716, losing altitude.  Smoke was seen to emerge from the 42-3184’s #4 (outer right) engine, and the aircraft began losing altitude.  Then, the bomber’s #1 (outer left) engine began smoking, with the crew firing green flares.  Escorting P-38s approached the ailing B-17.  When last seen, the bomber was under control, descending into clouds at 12,000 feet, while covered by P-47s.

It was assumed that the aircraft ditched, but fortunately, the bomber actually bellied-in at the De Haar Farm, near “Aselo” (Azelo), east-southeast of Bornerbroek, in the province of Overijssel, Holland, at 14:30 hours.  With – so it seems from the MACR – no injuries to the crew.

Numerous photographs of the bomber – I would assume clandestinely taken at very great risk by a Dutch civilian! – can be viewed at a Facebook page of the Almelo Canadian Militaria Collection – 1940-1945 (Canadese Militaria & Almelo 1940 – 1945), specifically Bornerbroek USS Aliquippa.  The images have been provided by Frits Lamberts of the Nederlands Photo Museum, while text associated with this page states, “Op 22 december 1943 storte bij Bornerbroek een B17 bommenwerper neer van de USAAF.  Het vliegtuig een Boeing B-17F met registratie letters PY-Q en serienummer 42-3182 behoorde toe aan het 327ste Bomb Squadron [error] van de 92ste Bomb Group.

Het was diezelfde morgen opgestegen van basis podington voor een aanval op Osnabruck om 14:15 vloog het nog in formatie boven Nordhorn, een kwartier later kwam het toestel in moeilijkheden en maakte met de buitenste motoren in brand een geslaagde noodlanding in het weiland bij boerderij “De Haar” aan de Doodsweg in Bornerbroek.

Vier bemanningsleden wisten te vluchten, maar niet voordat ze in het toestel eerst alles hadden vernield, de rest van de crew had het vliegtuig al eerder verlaten per parachute.”

Translation?

“On December 22, 1943, a USAAF B17 bomber crashed near Bornerbroek.  The aircraft, a Boeing B-17F with registration letters PY-Q and serial number 42-3182, belonged to the 327th Bomb Squadron [error] of the 92nd Bomb Group.

It had taken off that same morning from base Podington for an attack on Osnabruck at 14:15 it was still flying in formation over Nordhorn, fifteen minutes later the aircraft ran into difficulties and made a successful emergency landing with the outer engines on fire in the meadow near the farm “De Haar” at the Doodsweg in Bornerbroek.

Four crew members managed to flee, but not before destroying everything in the aircraft, the rest of the crew had already left the aircraft by parachute.”

Sergeant Wolfson was captured by “Custom Officers” in the town of Itterbeck, along with 2 Lt. George Sokolsky (bombardier), 2 Lt. Donald J. McPhee (navigator), and, S/Sgt. Hubert F. O’Neill (radio operator), though the KU Report doesn’t specify if these men parachuted from the plane, or, remained aboard during the crash-landing.  Given the fact that neither pilot nor co-pilot is among this group of four, this suggests to me that these four men were among those who parachuted from the bomber.    

Here are four of the thirteen photos of USS ALIQUIPPA at the Bornerbroek USS Aliquippa Facebook page:

In these two images, German soldiers can be seen guarding and inspecting the plane.  Assuming that the crew wrecked the interior of the plane to such a degree as to render it’s repair impossible, no damage is actually visible in these photos except for all four propellers having been bent in the belly-landing.  

Duitse militairen bewaken de USS Aliquippa gestoken in de buitgemaakte bomberjacks die waren achtergelaten door de bemamming.  “German soldiers guard the USS Aliquippa [dressed] in the captured bomber jackets left behind by the crew.

MACR 1711 includes a copy of the Salvage (“Bergung“) Report (number 293) pertaining to the recovery of the downed bomber.  In terms of physical format and general appearance this document is very similar to Luftgaukommando Reports filed for USAAF bomber losses during 1944 and 1945 – for example having data fields for the types and serial numbers of engines and radio equipment – but it isn’t actually a Luftgaukommando Report, per se.    

So, here’s a translation of the Salvage Report…

United States Army

Unlike the majority of men whose biographies are presented in this post, Second Lieutenant Harold J. Glickman (0-1546994) was not an aviator:  He served in the 9th General Hospital in the Army ground forces, and died of illness on Goodenough Island, New Guinea.  Buried in Manila at the Manila American Cemetery (Plot L, Row 14, Grave 42), his name appears in American Jews in World War II on page 322, with a simple notation indicating that – like Sergeant Louis Karp of the Army Air Force – he died under non-combat circumstances.

Born in Manhattan on February 19, 1913, he was the husband of Pearl P. Glickman, the couple residing at 3340 Fenton Ave. in New York City.  His parents were Meyer and Leah J. Glickman, whose wartime addresses – all in the Bronx – were 1) 1162 Sherman Ave., 2) 1109 Morris Ave., and 3) 2482 Valentine Ave.  After the war’s end, Leah resided at 5307 Chandler Ave., in Baltimore, Maryland. 

United States Navy

Another Jewish non-combat casualty on December 22, 1943, was a member of the United States Navy: He was Ensign (Aviation Cadet) Irving Spivak, then assigned to training unit VN8D-8B, at NAS Pensacola, Florida.  

As reported in this article from The Pensacola Journal on December 23, 1943, Ensign Spivak was killed in the crash of a PBY Catalina seaplane during a night-time training mission:  

Four Killed and Three Missing In Plane Crash

Four persons are dead and three are missing as the result of three crashes involving Pensacola Naval Air Training Center personnel, it was announced yesterday by the center’s public relations office. 

Three fliers were killed and two are missing in the crash of a plane from Squadron 8B of Bronson Field, five miles south of Bronson Field on Perdido Bay at 8:30 P.M. Wednesday.  The dead are: Ensign Morton Van Cragg [sic – should be “Morton Van Praag, Jr.”], USNR, the pilot who is survived by his wife & mother of Kansas City, Kan. and Cadets Douglas A. Thompson, USNR, son of Mr. & Mr. T.E. Thompson of Devils Lake, S.D., and Charles Edward Sikora, son of Mrs. T.M. Sikora, Sheridan Wy.  Missing are: Cadets Irving Spivak, USNR, son of Samuel P. Spivak of Syracuse, N.Y. and Cadet Thomas G. Wolf, USN, son of Mrs. Florence Rothering of St. Paul, Mn.  A search for the missing is being conducted.  Bodies of Thompson & Sikora will be sent to their homes at 1:30 today with escorts. 

The above news article was found in the 1994 Newsletter of the PBY Catalina International Association – a.k.a. “PBY-CIA” – (specifically, Volume 6, Number 1, page 8), and is mentioned in passing in the organization’s 1990 Newsletter (Volume 2, Number 4, page 9).   

Born in Syracuse, New York, on October 20, 1917, Ensign Spivak was the son of Samuel P. (6/15/91-11/11/67) and Esther (4/97-7/5/43) Spivak, of 239 Fellows Ave., or, 315 East Raynor Ave., in that city, and his sister was Mrs. Melvyn Lessen.  News about his death in the December 22 accident appeared in The Times-Union (Albany) on 12/25/43, and Syracuse Herald Journal (1/19/44), while postwar, his name was mentioned in the Post-Standard on 4/14/46 and 5/30/48.  A Graduate of the University of Syracuse Class of 1942, his name appears in American Jews in World War II on page 452.   

Soviet Union / U.S.S.R. (C.C.C.Р.)
Red Army [РККА (Рабоче-крестьянская Красная армия)]

Akselrod, Ekusim Moiseevich (Аксельрод, Екусим Моисеевич)
Lieutenant [Лейтенант]
Infantry (Platoon Commander) [Командира Взвода]
122nd Guards Rifle Regiment, 41st Guards Rifle Division
Born 1924, city of Nevel

Barembaum, Evgeniy Semenovich (Барембаум, Евгений Семенович)
Lieutenant [Лейтенант]
Infantry (Platoon Commander) [Командира Взвода]
1506th Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment
Born 1913, city of Ashkhabad

Bindler, Gersh Yoodelivich / Yoorevich (Биндлер, Герш Юделивич / Юрьевич)
Lieutenant [Лейтенант]
Infantry (Company Commander – Military Communications Section) [Командир Роты Связи Войсковой Части]
Military Unit 37226, 342nd Rifle Regiment, 136th Rifle Division
Born 1917, city of Minsk

Brodetskiy, Valf / Volf Khananovich (Бродецкий, Вальф / Вольф Хананович)
Sergeant Major [Старшина]
Killed during artillery shelling [Убит При Артиллерийского Обстрела]
3rd Tank Battalion, 175th Tank Brigade
Armor (Turret Gunner) [Башнии Стрелок]
Born 1910, Kalininskiy Raion

Eydelshteyn (Eldeyshteyn), Boris Isaakovich (Эйдельштеин ((Эльдейштейн), Борис Исаакович)
Captain [Капитан]
Infantry (Battalion Commander) [Командир Батальона]
620th Rifle Regiment, 164th Rifle Division
Born 1912, city of Ovruch, Zhitomir Oblast, Ukraine
Buried in Luchinki, Vitebsk Oblast, Belorussia

Lvov, Yakov Khaimovich / Khananovich (Львов, Яков Хаимович / Хананович)
Junior Lieutenant [Младший Лейтенант]
Infantry (Machine Gun Platoon Commander) [Командир Пулеметного Взвода]
62nd Rifle Division
Born 1911
Buried at Cherkassiy Raion, Cherkassiy Oblast, Ukraine

Ruvinskiy / Ruvizhskiy, Samuil Abramovich (Рувинский / Рувижский, Самуил Абрамович)
Guards Junior Lieutenant [Гвардии Младший Лейтенант]
Infantry (Machine Gun Platoon Commander) [Командир Пулеметного Взвода]
68th Guards Rifle Division
Born 1923, city of Mariupol

Shrabshteyn / Shraybshteyn, Emanuil Mironovich (Шрабштейн / Шрайбштейн, Эмануил Миронович)
Lieutenant [Лейтенант]
Infantry – Platoon Commander (Gunnery Company) [Командир Взвода Пульроты]
77th Rifle Division, 105th Rifle Regiment, Military Unit / Military Post 26786
Born 1924, city of Brovariy, Kiev Oblast, Ukraine
Buried Yasnaya Polyana, Hornostaivka Raion, Nikolaevskiy (Nikolayevsky District Ulyanovsk) Oblast, Ukraine

Sloosar, Yakov Abramovich (Слюсарь, Яков Абрамович)
Senior Lieutenant [Старший Лейтенант]
Infantry (Battery Commander) [Командир Батареи]
758th Rifle Regiment, 88th Rifle Division, Western Front
Born 1924, Platonovo, Tatarskiy Raion, Novosibirsk Oblast
Buried in Ripenki, Vitebsk Oblast, Belorussia

Tselman, Leonid Vladimirovich (Цельман, Леонид Владимирович)
Colonel [Полковник]
Infantry – Chief – Division Headquarters [Начальник Штаба Дивизии]
315th Rifle Division
Wounded in action 12/15/43; Died of wounds [умер от ран] 12/22/43 at Evacuation Hospital [Звакуационный Госпиталь] Number 1019
From Yaroslavl Oblast
Buried at city of Ufa, Ufimskiy Raion, Bashkir ASSR (Bashkortostan)

Vaks, Semen Solomonovich (Вакс, Семен Соломонович)
Junior Lieutenant [Младший Лейтенант]
Infantry – Platoon Commander (Mortar Platoon) [Командир Взвода [Минометной Роты]]
105th Rifle Regiment, 77th Rifle Division
Born 1924, city of Kremenchug

Vilenskiy, Izrail Grigorevich (Виленский, Израиль Григорьевич)
Guards Lieutenant [Гвардии Лейтенант]
Infantry (Platoon Commander) [Командира Взвода]
137th Guards Rifle Regiment, 47th Guards Rifle Division
Born 1899 (!!), city of Sosnitsiy

England

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

In the same way that the names of Sgt. Louis Karp and Ensign Irving Spivak appear on this day of December 22, 1943 in the context of military activity that did not involve direct contact with the enemy, so does that of Flight Sergeant Arthur Lipshitz (Aharon bar Avraham Yitzchak haKohen) 1383809, of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. 

Born in Whitechapel in 1922, he was the son of Abraham Isaac and Zelda Lipshitz, the family residing at 19 Northfield Road, Stoke Newington, London, N16.  He was the youngest of six children, his siblings comprising Anne, Betsy, Chaim, Jacob, Morris, and Sarah.

The image below is a recent (verrrry recent – July, 2022 recent) Oogle street view of Northfield Road in Stoke Newington, with address #19 (white frame around black door) behind the stone fence in the center of the image.  (At least, assuming my virtual navigation of London streets via Oogle maps is correct…)  

A navigator, F/Sgt. Lipshitz received the Distinguished Flying Medal while serving in No. 10 Squadron RAF. 

On the evening of December 22-23, 1943, he was a member of a crew of six aboard Wellington 1c (W5714) of No. 15 Operational Training Unit, piloted by F/O Donald Eugene Raymond, RCAF, which departed at 1832 hours from RAF Hampstead Norris on a night navigation exercise.  As recounted in Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses (Volume VII, p 267), “After midnight, a call for assistance was made and the first class fix, which placed the aircraft at 50° 02’ N 06° 46’ W, was acknowledged.  At 0058 hrs, a second call asking for urgent help was received and a second class fix, at 50° 00’ N 06° 50’ W, was duly sent.  This was not acknowledged and the final call from the aircraft came at 0121 hrs with the wireless operator holding down his key, the transmission gradually fading away.”  The aircraft was presumed to have crashed into the sea west of the Isles of Scilly.  Of the crew, only F/Sgt. Lipshitz body was ever found.  He is buried at Edmonton Federation Jewish Cemetery, Middlesex, England (Section V, Row 8, Grave 2).  

While some visitors to this blog may be well-familiar with the Wellington bomber, for those who aren’t (probably very many, in this year of 2022) the painting below, of Wellington III X3662 of No. 115 Squadron RAF, is a nice representative image of the general appearance of this aircraft.

These two Oogle maps show the last location of Wellington W5714.  This first map displays the aircraft’s position relative to Ireland, England, and the English Channel…

…while this larger-scale map shows the aircraft’s position relative to the Scilly Islands and southwestern tip of Cornwall.  What the image does not show – and no mere map can possibly convey – and for which words are utterly inadequate – were the enormous odds bearing against the survival of the crew of W5714 that late December evening: A night-time ditching; trying to escape from a sinking (even if intact?) aircraft in pitch-darkness; the negligible odds of surviving the chilling winter waters of the English Channel, even if within a dinghy.  

Aside from F/Sgt. Lipshitz and F/O Raymond, Wellington W5714’s crew comprised:  

Sgt. Arthur Charles Reece Miles – Navigator (2nd)
F/Sgt. Geoffrey Alfred Hebblewhite RAAF – Wireless Operator
Sgt. Charles Griggs – Air Gunner
Sgt. Frederick William Mittonette – Air Gunner

Here’s the “Report on Flying Accident or Forced Landing Not Attributable to Enemy Action” for Wellington W5714.  It’s from F/Sgt. Hebblewhite’s Casualty File at the National Archives of Australia.  The Report indicates that F/Sgt. Lipshitz had accumulated over 210 flight hours in Wellington aircraft, but is otherwise absent (as it will always be absent) of specific information about the fate of W5714.  

This article about F/Sgt. Lipshitz appeared in the Jewish Chronicle on May 21, 1943.  It’s from F/Sgt. Lipshitz’s biographical profile , which appears under “RAF” at Cathe Hewitt’s website Remembering the Jews of WW 2.  A transcript follows. 

The Distinguished Flying Medal has been awarded, in recognition of gallantry and devotion to duty in the execution of air operations, to Sergeant Arthur Lipshitz, R.A.F., No. 10 Squadron.  His citation states:

“Sergeant Lipshitz had taken part in a large number of operational sorites.  As a navigator, he has never failed to fly his aircraft to the target area and back.  Although his aircraft has been seriously damaged by anti-aircraft fire on several occasions, this airman’s enthusiasm for operation flying has remained undiminished.  Sergeant Lipshitz has a splendid record of courage and devotion to duty.”

Sgt. Lipshitz, who is 20, is the son of Mrs. Z. Lipshitz, of 19, Northfield Road, Stamford Hill, N.16, and of the late A.I. Lipshitz, Hebrew teacher at the Canon Street Road Synagogue.  The Sgt. was a member of the choir of the New Synagogue, Stamford Gill, and a member of the Stamford Hill Jewish Boys’ Club and of Habonim.  In civil life he was a salesman, and he volunteered for the R.A.F. at the age of 18. 

Also in F/Sgt. Lipshitz’s biographical profile is this photographic portrait, the very image used in the above Jewish Chronicle article.

F/Sgt. Lipshitz’s also name appeared in the Jewish Chronicle on December 31, 1943, and, February 25, 1944, while his name is listed page 214 of Henry Morris’ We Will Remember Them. 

This image of F/Sgt. Lipshitz’s mateva is by FindAGrave contributor darealjolo.  

“MAY HIS SACRIFICE NOT HAVE BEEN IN VAIN”

Canada

Captain Charles Krakauer was a medical officer – by civilian profession, a physician and surgeon – in the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment of the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps.  Born in Toronto on May 24, 1915, he was the son of Isaac and Mona Krakauer, his parents residing at 61 Henry Street, in Toronto.  Killed in action on December 22, 1943, he is buried at the Moro River Canadian War Cemetery in Chieti, Italy, in plot IV, E, 12.  His name appeared in The Jewish Chronicle on January 21, 1944, and can be found on page 40 of Volume II (“Casualties”) of Canadian Jews in World War II.  

This portrait of Captain Krakauer is from the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

____________________

Amidst my other posts, I’ll continue updating my existing posts about Jewish soldiers in The New York Times, and, create new posts in this series, as well. 

There have been many, and there may be many more.

____________________

References

Books

Chorley, W.R., Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses – Operational Training Units 1940-1947 (Volume 7), Midland Publishing, Hinckley, England, 2002

Dublin, Louis I., and Kohs, Samuel C., American Jews in World War II – The Story of 550,000 Fighters for Freedom, The Dial Press, New York, N.Y., 1947

Lewis, Evelyn R., The War Stories of Sidney H. Raiken, Smashwords Edition (ISBN 9781005359706), at SCRIBD, July 31, 2021

Lundy, Will, 44th Bomb Group Roll of Honor and Casualties, Green Harbor Publications, 1987, 2004

Maryanovskiy, M.F., Pivovarova, N.A., Sobol, I.S. (editors), Memorial Book of Jewish Soldiers Who Died in Battles Against Nazism – 1941-1945, Union of Jewish War Invalids and Veterans, Moscow, Russian Federation

Mireles, Anthony J., Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945 – Volume 2: July 1943 – July 1944, McFarland & Company Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina, 2006

Morris, Henry, Edited by Gerald Smith, We Will Remember Them – A Record of the Jews Who Died in the Armed Forces of the Crown 1939 – 1945, Brassey’s, London, United Kingdom, 1989

Richards, Charles W., The Second Was First, Maverick Publishing, Bend, Or., 1999

Canadian Jews in World War II – Part II: Casualties, Canadian Jewish Congress, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 1948

A Newspaper Article

Kleinberg, Eliot, The Forgotten 14: A Story Never Told, The Palm Beach Post, May 25, 2014, updated May 26, 2022 (“On Dec. 22, 1943, the Army Air Corps sent 14 flyboys to a ‘secret’ destination in a bomber that took off from what is now PBIA.  Minutes later, a fiery crash took their lives.  But they got scant attention in the press, until 70 years later, when a Post reporter stumbled across the story and set out to tell their tale.”)

Some Websites

B-17G 42-37773…

…at American Air Museum in Britain

…at Zuyder Zee Air War (ZZAirwar)

F/Sgt. Arthur Lipshitz…

Number 15 Operational Training Unit, at RAF Web

Isles of Scilly

Remembering the Jews of WW 2

Merchant Navy

Navy

Royal Air Force

Arthur’s brother Jacob writes memoirs of the family’s origins and life

Arthur’s sister Anne’s memoirs of the family life

571 as of August 18, 2022 April 30, 2017

Soldiers from New York: Jewish Soldiers in The New York Times, in World War Two: Captain William Hays Davidow [A Pilot’s Reminiscences]

WW II Army Air Force Captain William Hays Davidow, a pilot in the 12th Ferry Group and relative of Arthur Hays Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times, was the ironic subject of an article item published in that newspaper on January 27, 1943.  The impetus for that news item’s appearance was Captain Davidow’s sad death in a take-off accident at Accra only six days earlier, on January 21, 1943. 

In the above-linked post about Captain Davidow, I presented the small measure of information still that exists about him now, in 2022, seventy-nine years later.  Given the passages of almost eight decades since the accident in which he lost his life, coupled with the fact that he left no descendants, his correspondence, military records, and related memorabilia probably no longer exists.

At least, that’s what I assumed as of December of 2021, when I last updated that post! 

But fortunately, I stand to have been corrected.

Recently, while researching the Air Force History Index, I was intrigued to come across an entry for an document entitled, “Interview with Capt. W.H. Davidow”, the abstract for which states that the document is an “Interview with Capt Davidow, Pan American World Airway, Covering Clipper Operations in South American, Africa, Middle East, India, and China.”  The interview is on AFHRA Microfilm Roll A1272, the document being one of several (I don’t know how many!) categorized under the subject heading, “Intelligence, Army Air Forces”.

Now, that was unexpected.

Comprising twenty-two pages of typewritten text, the document is headed, “Current Intelligence Section, A-2”, and is dated September 23, 1942, and consists of a series of questions by a “Colonel Coiner” to Captain Davidow.  Though Colonel Coiner’s full name does not appear in the interview, I think he was Richard T. Coiner, Jr., who eventually rose to the rank of Major General in the Air Force.   

Information supporting this suggestion comes from (Major General) Coiner’s biography, which states, “In January 1941, he organized the 19th Transportation Squadron which he commanded until October of the same year when he was named assistant executive to the assistant secretary of war for air.  In March 1944 he became the executive.”, and, “From March 1943 until February 1944, he was in Tampa, Fla., first as flying safety officer, Third Air Force, and later at McDill Field as commander of the 21st Bomb Group and then the 397th Bomb Group which he led in its move to England.”  The central theme being, that within the time period during which he met Captain Davidow – September of 1942 – he was involved in transportation and flying safety, rather than combat, the latter commencing for him after February of 1944.  A West Point graduate like his father, he passed away at the age of 70 in 1980, and is buried at Mission Burial Park South, in San Antonio, Texas.  

______________________________

But first, to re-introduce Captain Davidow, here’s some biographical information about him, extracted from and identical to that appearing in the above-mentioned “first” blog post:

This image of Captain Davidow standing in front a PT-17 Stearman biplane, presumably a semi-official portrait taken during his pilot training, appeared in the Scarsdale Inquirer on November 6, 1942.

A more formal portrait of William Davidow as a Flying Cadet, from the United States National Archives collection of “Photographic Prints of Air Cadets and Officers, Air Crew, and Notables in the History of Aviation“.  (RG 18-PU)  Lt. Davidow received his wings on August 15, 1941. 

This portrait of William Davidow appeared both in the Times’ obituary and the Lafayette College Book of Remembrance, the latter profiling alumni of Lafayette College (in Easton, Pennsylvania) who lost their lives in World War Two.

______________________________

And so, getting back to the interview?

It’s transcribed verbatim, below.

Immediately apparent is the unsurprising but notable fact that the interview focuses on flying, per se, rather than aerial combat, of which – by virtue of Captain Davidow’s assignment as a ferry pilot, geography, and the time-frame of late-1942 – there’s absolutely none.  In terms of enemy opposition in general, the only mention is that of being fired upon by the Vichy French while coming in to land at Fort Lamay.  (“Fort Lamay”?  I think that’s an alternate spelling of Fort-Lamy, which if so (!?) is currently N’Djamena, in the country of Chad, in central Africa.)  In a larger sense, the document is an overview of the challenges of flying – in terms of geography, weather conditions, navigation, communications, and the psychological and physical impact of such activity on pilots, in primitive conditions – throughout Africa, and secondarily in south Asia, during an era when flying did not have the naively unwarranted quality of taken-for-grantedness that it does now, in 2022.  (At least, for now.)        

The document sheds light on Captain Davidow’s sense of conscientiousness and his love of flying, but by definition and nature reveals nothing about him as a “man” … in terms of his personality, beliefs, and opinions.  Those thoughts, as they have for all men; as they eventually will for all men, have receded into history. 

To enable better comprehension of the interview, I’ve hyperlinked some place names and acronyms, and have provided current or alternate spellings for the names of less commonly known geographic features, cities, or locales.  These appear as italicized deep red text, just like “this”.

And so, without further delay…

______________________________

September 23, 1942

Current Intelligence Section, A-2

INTERVIEW WITH CAPTAIN W.H. DAVIDOW

PAN-AMERICAN

oOoOo

Lt. Colonel Coiner: These four captains have just returned from Accra.  We are going to ask Captain Davidow, who is to be the spokesman for the group, to tell us about some of their experiences and their operations with Pan-American-African on that route.  I believe you fellows also went to India once, didn’t you?

Answer: Yes.

Lt. Colonel Coiner: That was part of the operations.  Captain Davidow will lead off and bring us up to the present and the other gentlemen will make such comments as they think appropriate.

Captain Davidow: Well, gentlemen, I will start off with the very beginning.  When they first came to get us to go over on this job we were stationed at different fields throughout the country.  They came and asked for volunteers to go over for six months, on leave from active duty, to establish this line through Africa.  The four of us here today went over from _____ [this word left blank in original document!] School.  We were instructors there.  We went with Pan-American as co-pilots.

We left from New York by Clipper.  We went down to South America – Natal, and over to Lagos, and then to Accra.  Accra was then very different from what it is now.  We had about six planes over there and operations were very slow.  We only ran one or two trips a week, depending on what we had to move.  We didn’t have any brake drums on the planes.  One plane would come in and slip the brake drums.  They would service the plane that just arrived and take our another one.

Conditions over there at first were very bad.  We got over there in the fall just after the rainy season.  Malaria held up operations quite a bit.  We had no adequate medical facilities at that time, but we managed to get through that all right.

Gradually we got more and more personnel over there – more pilots, more planes.  First we would just fly from Accra to Takoradi [Sekondi-Takoradi] and Khartoum and over to Bathurst.  As time went on we extended our lines up into Cairo and eventually on over to Karachi, running a schedule three times a week, then seven times a week.  When we left they were running something like six planes a day over to Freetown and up the line to Cairo, Tehran, and over to Karachi.

Maintenance problems over there were very tough at first.  We didn’t have a supply of anything in any great number.  Everybody did a pretty swell job and pitched in.

At first a bunch of us – about 12 – were flying with the R.A.F., who didn’t have too much to do.  They had an over-supply of pilots.  We ferried some Hurricanes and Blenheims from their base at Takoradi to Cairo.

As we got more planes war was declared, cutting out pilot supply off.  We couldn’t get any more pilots from the Army.  All the men coming over were called back.  When our six months were up, they asked us if we wouldn’t stay on.  Then we were flying about 145 hours a month.  We were flying almost every day.  Some months all but two or three days we would fly.  They tried to get pilots over to us.  We got some pilots – civilian trained boys – who went in as co-pilots.  That is what they are using over there now.  All the original Army men are checked out.  The co-pilots are all C.P.T. [CP.T.P. – Civilian Pilot Training Program] boys with anywhere from 200 hours on up.

As it stood when we left, operations were running a regular schedule up into Cairo and then, as conditions warranted, branching off and going somewhere else.  About the time they were having a lot of trouble out in Burma, a group of our boys with 12 planes were called for by the 10th A.F. to act as transport group out there.  They operated all over throughout Burma and China – Leiwing, Lashio, and out of Dinjan, evacuating the Burmese and any supplies around in there.  Some of the stories they brought back are pretty remarkable.  Three or four of the boys took off with 75 people in DC-3s.  They are supposed to have 21 people on board.  With this load they flew over mountain peaks, no oxygen, 23,000 or 24,000 feet altitude, icing conditions, on instruments, no de-icers.  They take all de-icers off.  They brought back some pretty interesting information on what a DC-3 could do.

There was nothing very stereotyped about the work there.  A job would come up – they would come in and get a bunch of us and say, “We have such and such a job to do.  Let’s go.”  Just a little while ago, up in the Western Desert, they needed some fuses and 37mm shells in a hurry.  I think they had a 48 hours supply left.  Rommel was coming in from Mersa Matruh and they didn’t know whether they were going to stop him.  They woke the boys up in Accra and sent them down to Lagos, where they picked up the fuses.  They flew from Accra to Cairo in 24 or 25 hours, which is a distance of 3,500 miles.  They set a record for that run.  Of course, the British were there to pick up the fuses and get them on up.  That is fairly typical of the stuff they had to do over there.

We got some P-40s in for the A.V.G. [American Volunteer Group] when they were very hard up out in Burma.  A group of our men ferried them out.  I went as far as Cairo on that.  We flew those all the way up across the desert and into Dinjan and down into Kunming.  We only lost one plane which was bombed on the way on the ground.  Most of the trips we made with no equipment whatsoever in case we met up with the enemy.

On operations out of Accra our crew consisted of two men on board, the pilot and the co-pilot.  No navigator or radio operator.  The first group of us that got over there about eleven months ago learned the route pretty well.  When we started off we had no radio communications at all, no ground-air communications.  All we had was a map which was 1/2,000,000 and not too accurate.  We had very fine weather.  There is very good weather in the fall and right through to the early spring before you get the rainy season.  No clouds at all.   We were pretty lucky we got to know the route.  Now we have radio at every station and by now we have a D/F signal which they turn on for you when requested, at every one of our stations, Accra, Lagos, and Khartoum.  They don’t give you anything in Cairo because of Rommel being so close.  They give us a warning if an air raid is on.

A few months ago we started operations at night.  There were a lot of difficulties caused by it.  We had no facilities for that.  If we were caught in bad weather and the radio compass went out, we had no way of knowing where we were.  Operations were confined to take off at night and flying into daylight so when we got there we had a fair chance of knowing where you were regardless of the weather conditions.  They had flown the route actually landing at night.  A couple of times they had a little trouble in finding the destination.  All of the towers are blacked out.  I have come into Kano just after dark and I was close enough to know where I was.  If I had been down here (map) on my way up I would have had nothing to check on on a dark night.  The native camp fires are all over.  There were no beacons and then we didn’t have radio.  You can’t just tell – if your dead reckoning is perfect you hit it on the nose.

Weather information over there is very unreliable due to the fact that we have no meteorological stations through the area to give pressure readings and reports daily.  We do have stations at Fishermans Lake [Lake Piso or Lake Pisu], Monrovia, and Accra and Khartoum.  The rest of them are R.A.F. stations.  I would say that their weather reports, on the whole, are fairly unreliable.  We can never put too much faith in them.  We use them for indications: We go ahead and take a look at it – if it looks good we keep on going … if it looks bad, we go back.  The only kind of bad weather you get are the line squalls which can be very severe.  In late spring and summer this whole run is made completely on instruments.  Ewe make that almost every day.  You take off at Accra and climb up over the overcast and go all the way down on instruments and when you get there come in on D/F.  If you get a 200 foot ceiling that is fair.  If you get a 300 or 350 foot ceiling, it is good.  You take off again and come back on instruments.  It isn’t very rough; just rain and thick soup.

Weather up here (around Egypt) is mostly sand-storms.  Like thunderstorms, with a lot of sand in them.  That is about the most rugged thing you meet.  That is something we never do try to go through.  I tried landing in one at night and it was about the closest I ever came in getting messed up.

Our ground personnel was [sic] very inexperienced at first.  We had a bunch of college boys – young boys with no experience with airplanes, or airplane work.  They were smart and eager, but they didn’t know very much.  You would think sometimes they would give you a fair analysis of the situation that could be depended on.  That time I came into Khartoum an hour after dark, they told me there was a 30 mile wind with a little blowing sand.  It was dark and all I had was a flare.  I landed in a 50 mile cross wind in a sandstorm.  I learned a lot.  You learned not to trust anything over there except mostly yourself.

The food situation has been all right.  We had very good food for the first six months.  The second six months the supplies never did come through the way they should have.  A lot of stuff spoiled at first because preparations at Accra were not completed at the time the personnel arrived.  The generating systems weren’t set up.  The housing was bad – no screens and no medical equipment.  Sanitary conditions weren’t exactly what they should have been.  A lot of meat spoiled and things like that.  We always got plenty to eat.  Sometimes, though, it was what you might call exotic fare, but on the whole, everything went very well.  We all pitched in and everything improved.  By the time we left it was a very well-run organization, with trips going out.  We kept planes in the air all the time with minimum maintenance.  Our loads average up to 90%.  Very seldom do you take off without a full load.  At first most of them were over-loaded.

If there are any questions at all, I’ll try to answer them.

Question: Your pilots that have been flying across the ocean – did they report seeing any submarines?

Answer: I won’t say many, sir.  I guess about ten or twelve.  I saw one myself one day I was coming back from Bathurst.  I saw one right off Monrovia.

Question: Do they make any attempt to get away from Pan-American ships?

Answer: The one I saw, sir, I don’t know about the others, but one boy said he was fired on.  That was pooh-pooed by a lot of the British and Army men over there.  They thought it might be that he had been seeing things.  The one I saw was sub-surface at periscope depth.  I could see the outline of the sub.  IU came down fairly close to make sure it was a sub.

Question: Did it dive?

Answer: No sir.  It just kept going.  He was headed for Marshall where there were 25 ships in the harbor.  He was coming down the coast about eight miles off shore.  Of course, we didn’t have any guns or anything.  I didn’t have any code or any radio operator.  I just went back and radioed by voice.  I didn’t think I could get them, but I did.  I spoke to Accra and Kano, 1,700 miles away.  I reported a sub headed for Marshall.  They sent out word for the R.A.F.  We never heard what happened.  That is the way most of it goes.  We spot very few.  We fly down the coast here all the time.  There was the one I saw and one other.  Of the Air Ferries and the Army boys coming across, one said he saw four at one time all together.  But those cases are fairly isolated.

Question: The reason we asked is that we heard they made no effort to avoid the Clippers at all.

Answer: I don’t believe they did submerge when they saw them.

Question: Are your ships camouflaged like Army ships?

Answer: They were, sir, after December 7.  At first they were silver.  Some of them were painted desert tan, a sort of yellow, almost.  Now they are all green – dark green.  It doesn’t help very much in the desert, but it does in flying over this country (map) here.

One other thing I forgot to say – one thing that bothered us a lot – after we had this built up and we were getting 25, 35 or 40 ships on field at a time, B-24s – and up to 40 or 60 P-40s – I don’t remember how many planes, but one night we had about 90 planes on the field and we had four little pop guns for defense and they were handled by native troops of the English Army.  We had no defense whatsoever as far as combat aircraft went.  Colonel Harden said, “If they don’t come in and bomb us tonight, they are a lot stupider than I think they are.”  We didn’t have a thing.  We never had any planes capable of going up and engaging any enemy aircraft at all.  They could have come in any afternoon, or the middle of the day, and knocked down our operations, that is our headquarters there, which would have disrupted the line for I don’t know how long.

Question: We hear the weather is much worse in Monrovia than Accra.  Why would that be?

Answer: I don’t know, sir.  All weather charts list heavy rain all the way down and right at Accra there is a little clear circle.  It’s pretty bad right in through there, it’s true.  In the last three months, before I got back, I hadn’t been into Marshall on a clear day.

It was a circus coming in there.  You would have planes coming across the ocean.  You would get in there at 1,000 feet and call the radio and ask them if it was clear to come in for a landing.  “Yes, the wind is calm in any direction you want.”  Just a boy on the radio.  I remember one time when he told me that.  I took plenty of time to get an approach set and came in and made a landing.  No sooner was I on the ground than four planes came right down on the field.  They had been right up there with me.  One of them was on the field ready to take off.  He took off half way down the runway.  He looked up and saw a plane landing in the opposite direction on the same runway and so he headed off the runway and burned up.

There was a little confusion down there in had weather before we had any sort of control.

Question: There is a small circle of good weather at Accra?

Answer: Yes, along the West coast there.

Question: Have they got a good control officer in Monrovia now?

Answer: I think the main trouble was that the radio was located in a spot where he couldn’t possibly see the field and wouldn’t be able to see whether it was clear or not.  If he didn’t hear anybody else coming in – and many pilots didn’t report or check in with the tower – he would say it was clear for a take-off.  They probably have a tower out there now, so that they have a view of the field.  It was a pretty bad situation out there then.

Question: Is the emergency landing field at Roberts Port [Robertsport] valuable to you at all?

Answer: We use it a lot, sir.  The Clippers all come in at Fisherman’s Lake.  We had a good runway there – one end was unusable, because it was raining so much.  We would go over there to pick up freight – high priority freight – and passengers coming in by Clipper.  That is about twenty minutes flight from Montreal.  We would stop at Marshall going over to Fisherman’s Lake on a little runway – nothing but one single sand runway, and pick them up there.  If it rains a lot you can’t use it very well.  We use it as a regular field, not an emergency field.

Question: What is the largest plane that has been taken in there?

Answer: We took a DC-3 in there with 30 inches of mercury on a damp day.  I wouldn’t want to fly in anything heavier.  It is just sand.  We had a couple of planes stuck there for awhile.  In really bad weather we get a lot of rain there.  There is no surfacing at all.

Question: What is the Lagos-Calcutta Ferry?

Answer: I don’t know, sir.  We operate into Karachi.  From Karachi on the regular operations are by Trans-India transport.  C.N.A.C. [China National Aviation Corporation] picks it up from there, I think.  The only operations we used to do – we tried going through here (map) for awhile – the Southern Route through Arabia.  I went through there once and I almost got interned.  I made the mistake of staying overnight in a tent and almost got interned.  The Sultan wanted to know why I was there.  They closed that route – or they had when I left.  We ran occasionally to Calcutta [also “Kolkata”].  Ferry some DC-3s out there and stuff like that.  I think Pan-American comes in and fly [sic] their planes all the way there themselves.  Some of them get out as far as Kunming.

Question: What is your opinion of the route across the north of the Belgian Congo?  In case the other line is cut off?

Answer: I have never flown over that country, sir.  All of our operations have been up in here (map).  I don’t know what the fields are.  I know Captain Greenwood surveyed some of that stuff.  The airfields when he went there were quite small – in fact he barely got in and out of them.

Question: Do you have any suggestions to make on these operations – things that would make it easier or things that have been done wrong and should be corrected?

Answer: It would help a great deal if we could get competent weather information from men who know their job.  Of course, a place like Marshall, with a control system like they have, should be corrected.  I guess it is by now.  The main trouble at first, from the entrance of the war on, was such a shortage of personnel of our own and of the Army over there.  Men were taking over jobs they knew nothing about.  Army control officers would be boys who had been meteorologists here and made second lieutenants and were sent over, and the only personnel around some major control officer at a field.  The pilots coming through – the Army pilots – didn’t feel they were competent personnel to give orders and to advise them as to what conditions were along the route as far as briefing and everything else went.  They were probably excellent meteorologists, or whatever their special field was.  I think that condition no longer exists the way it was then.

Question: How about communications?  Air-ground radio?

Answer: It started off very poorly.  We all had to break in and just before we left it had gotten quite good.  Occasionally you would have a little trouble.  The thing is so important over there – it’s the only navigation aid we have – if a plane get off course, there are so few little check points throughout there.  You may go 300 miles without seeing a check point.  You come in on D/F.  If you call the station and can’t get him – the operator is asleep or busy, or on another wire.  There is a terrific amount of traffic and not enough channels.  They are using voice and C.W. [continuous wave Morse Code] on the same channel.  They are handling it very well considering the equipment.  They need more of it.  The airway are jammed most of the time.

Question: How about maps now?  Are they better maps?

Answer: The same maps.

Question: Are they putting out any photographs of the route to people at all now?

Answer: No, they haven’t any at all.  They are planning to make up new maps though.  They requested all captains of the ships to write up a list of their own personal check points, just where they are located, and turn them in to the chief pilot’s office so they may draw up more accurate maps.

Question: I have heard that a lot of the civilian maintenance personnel belonging to Pan-American-Africa are coming back.  Do you think that they would go back if they were asked to go?

Answer: I have heard they would, sir.  The top foreman over there, who has been over there ever since they got organized – I saw in New York – said all the boys wanted to come back almost 100% for at least a vacation.  They were all stuck in one spot and while there most of them were working up to 18 hours a day.  In places like Khartoum, were it gets to be 135o, they would work all day in the sun until they just dropped, literally.  They lost weight and were in pretty rotten shape.  They did a wonderful job and had a swell spirit de corps.  They wanted to get home.  If they went into the Army now, the Army told them they would try to give them leave as soon as possible.  They don’t feel they want to get into the Army until they know exactly.  I hear they are coming home and Ryan, the foreman, said he thinks at least 90% of them are perfectly willing to go back if they are asked.

Question: What is the general character of the country between Accra and Khartoum as you fly over it?

Answer: Right in here (map) we fly over water.  (All this with map:)  This is all jungle.  This is Vichy territory.  All of this in here is jungle.  You come on up here.  About in here it starts to think out a little – more bush.  It stays bush country all in through here to Port Lamy [N’Djamena], getting dryer and hotter all the time.  When you get up to El Fashir [Al Fashir, Al-Fashir or El Fasher] it starts to get desert with occasional bush.  Sandy country.  From Khartoum on up to Cairo, of course, it is nothing but sand and rock.  As far as the terrain goes, in here you have quite a mountain range, goes up to 12,000 feet.  You have in between Kano and Lagos various hills, not going up that high.  Down south of it, southeast, there are some mountains there.  This is all just flat desert, nothing to distinguish it very much.

Question: How do you fly that country from Khartoum to Cairo?  Did you ever lose any planes on that route – get lost with all that sand and crap?

Answer: You can’t get lost, sir, if you remember which side of the Nile you are on.  The Nile goes right on up.  We go straight up.  Here you meet the Nile.  You meet it again here and here and at Cairo.  If you don’t meet it here for awhile, you keep heading in left.  If you don’t meet it up here you lose heading in right.

Question: There aren’t any check points?

Answer: The worst place is between Khartoum and El Fashir.  There you have nothing.  Our check points here – the first place you get a check point is a little mountain 45 minutes out.  Then the sand turns white in a spot out here.  That is a check point.  That is the last check point you have until you hit El Fashir.  That is 525 miles, two check points.  Actually only one, the mountain is almost at Khartoum.  That is the place where we had the most trouble when we had no radio.  El Fashir is a tiny little town, must [sic] little black mud huts along the river bank.  It is not a river, but a little stream.  Streams like that are every 50 yards throughout the country.  If you don’t get within five or ten miles of El Fashir, you have no idea where you are.  Of course, going up the other way, you always hit the Nile.  I know a bunch of our pilots wandered around for a couple of hours trying to find the place.  All the airports are so hard to distinguish.  You can fly right over top of an airport and never see it.  They are not actually towns, just a group of huts, and they look like any other river bank.  Most of the river banks in the summer are black with black shrubs.  The huts look the same in the air.  You can’t see them at all.

Question: Did you have any contact with the Vichy French?

Answer: Yes, at Fort Lamy.  Of course, they used to shoot at us.

Question: I mean, did you get a chance to talk to them?

Answer: Yes, but I don’t speak good French.

Question: What, in general, was their attitude toward the Americans?

Answer: They like us.  They are a fine bunch.  We had several in Fort Lamay.  Our of our planes operated with the French for awhile up into the desert.

Question: You are talking about the Free French.  How about the Vichy French?

Answer: No contact at all with them.  The Free French and not the Vichy French shot at us.  They had been bombed and they fired at us even if we were coming in to land.

Wait a minute, I was shot at, and I think somebody else reported they were shot at.

Question: In Vichy territory.

Answer: We were supposed to stay away from all Vichy territories.

Question: There aren’t any spots for emergency landings on the Western end of the route are there?

Answer: Only the coast, sir – the beach.

They have little fields in between Lagos and Kano.  They have one field at Oshogbo  [Osogbo (also Oṣogbo, rarely Oshogbo]] which you practically never see.  It is always overcast, but it is there and a very good field.  In here (map) you have little tiny clearings in the sand that are spotted on some maps and aren’t spotted on others.  All the way up they have little cleared places and they have been used.  B-24s and B-25s have come down there and waited for daylight to find out where they were and go again.  Up here (map), of course, you land almost anywhere you want to.  They have a fair number of little auxiliary fields, but you can’t bring good equipment in really safely.  They are there, but I don’t think you could find them when you needed them.

Question: Do you know from where the airplanes took off that bombed Fort Lamy?

Answer: I don’t believe so, sir.  They think they came from Zinder [also Sinder].  That is where they though they came from at one time – I don’t know whether they ever verified this.

It was just one plane that came.  Everybody was at lunch.  It just flew in and dropped its bombs.

Question: Did you have any trouble over there because the route wasn’t militarized, or have you had any thoughts on that at all?

Answer: I never experienced any personally, but I think the only difficulties were due to a civilian agency working along with the Army in later stages.  That comes up anytime you have one group that thinks it is doing a swell job and there is a little rivalry in between.  There was a liaison problem there.  But as far as we were concerned, we were half and half anyway.

The only thing was they were needing pilots badly there for operations expected of them.  Just couldn’t get them anywhere.  They were getting a few now and then – also maintenance men and new equipment.  That was the chief problem as far as operations and line and equipment.  They were doing the best they could.  They expected to double their operations and couldn’t do it as a civilian company.  Couldn’t just go out and hire the people.

Question: Merely personnel and supply problem rather than personal?

Answer: That was the whole trouble.

Soldiers from New York: Jewish Soldiers in The New York Times, in World War Two: May 4, 1945 – United States Navy – Naval Aviator Saul Chernoff – II [Revised post…!]

[First created on April 6, 2022, this post has now been updated … read on! …

As you can read just below – as the very “opening line” of this post, “Sometimes, it is a good thing to be wrong.” 

I penned that sentence as a result of having received – to my happy surprise and great appreciation – information and numerous photographs about Lt. JG Saul Chernoff, as a result of the appearance of the December, 2021 post Soldiers from New York: Jewish Soldiers in The New York Times, in World War Two: May 4, 1945 – United States Navy – Naval Aviator Saul Chernoff.  From Donna and Susan, Lt. JG Chernoff’s nieces, this material transformed their uncle’s identity from that of a mere “name and serial number” to a person with a fully three-dimensional life in history, and has been the basis for “this” second post, which was created in early April of 2022.

With that, Donna has clarified an aspect of their Uncle’s story about which was a little “off” – geographically speaking, that is.  This pertains to the photograph of Saul and his sister Lillian.  The correction appears below, in the same dark red text as used for this – and the preceding – paragraphs.  Scroll on down!…]

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Sometimes, it is a good thing to be wrong.

My recent post about Lt. (jg) Saul “Sonny” Chernoff, an F4U Corsair fighter pilot in Navy fighter squadron VBF-85, who scored three aerial victories on May 4, 1945 and was killed in action almost a month later, concluded on this ambiguous note:  “I have no further specifics about Lt. (jg) Saul Chernoff.  Perhaps he crashed at sea, just off the Ibusuki Seaplane Base; perhaps somewhere on the Satsuma Peninsula.  To the best of my knowledge, he was never a POW.  Even if he had been captured, his chance of survival to the war’s end, even during these closing three months of the Pacific War, in the context of the fate of Allied fliers captured by the Japanese, would only have been about 1 in 2.” 

I also noted – in lieu of other information – that, “Saul Chernoff’s name appears on page 288 of American Jews in World War II, where he is listed as having been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, and Purple Heart.  His name also appears in both volumes of the 1946 publication Combat Connected Naval Casualties of World War II.  In Volume I, his name appears on page 99 as being “Missing in Action or During Operational War Missions”, while in Volume II, his name can be found on page 12, where he is listed as “Reported in California as Missing”.”

And there, I supposed, things would remain: That nothing more would be known about Lt. (jg) Chernoff besides the appearance of his name in military records from a war – the Second World War – that ended nearly eighty years ago. 

After all, time has a way of carrying – sometimes gently; sometimes abruptly; always irrevocably – recollections of the past to horizons beyond the grasp and memory of man.  So as for Saul Chernoff the person, nothing more, I thought, would ever be known.

And so, if sometimes it is good to be wrong, this is one such time…

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Not long after the post appeared, I was more than startled to be contacted by Susan, Donna, Sandra, Nancy, and Larry, Saul Chernoff’s nieces and nephew.  Though fate never gave them the opportunity to know their uncle personally, awareness of his “place” in their family had never been lost, and continues to this day.  Perhaps, the memory of man (and, the memory of a man) can more strongly defy the grasp of time than we might imagine.  

As a result of Susan and Donna’s efforts, and especially Susan’s fine job of image scanning, this follow-up post includes images of the Chernoff family, and, Saul himself.  Also included are images of photos and documents from other sources.  Through these, it’s possible to have a glimpse of Lt. (jg) Chernoff as a pilot, and simply, a person.

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First, from the Jackson – McKane Family Tree at Ancestry.com, this image shows Saul’s father Morris in a Denver Park in 1917.  My knowledge of military aircraft surpassing my familiarity with automobiles by several order of magnitude (!), I don’t know what kind of car this is.  But, well, it is a car.  (That’s a start!)

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The next ten images of Saul and his family are Susan’s ultra-high-resolution scans of family photographs.

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Morris Chernoff and his children in 1926:  Three-year-old Saul and his five-year-old sister Lillian stand on the running board of their father’s car, somewhere in Los Angeles.  

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Saul and Lillian, with their parents Sima and Morris, some-unknown-where in the Los Angeles area, during the late 1930s.     

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The next three images – the first, below, of Saul and Lillian, and the latter two only of Saul – were taken on the same day and same location.  The obvious clues:  Saul wearing the same striped shirt in each picture, each picture sharing the same background with an advertising banner for a realtor, and, the overall lighting conditions.  The words “Holly Vista” on the sign pertain to a neighborhood in San Bernardino, east of Los Angeles.

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Donna’s update: “You guessed that the pictures of Saul with his sister/our mom and with his model plane were taken in San Bernadino, based on the sign that said Holly Vista.  But if you look in the background of the pic of Saul and our mom, you’ll see a sign for Schwab’s Pharmacy.  Their house was located across the street from Schwab’s on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, on the edge of the Sunset Strip.  It’s a pretty iconic place; read about it here: A Look Back: L.A.’s Schwab’s Pharmacy Was More Than A Drugstore.”  

Well, that was interesting!  As a sometime movie-buff, I’m certain that I heard in passing “of” Schwab’s Pharmacy over the years, but I had little knowledge of its historical and cultural significance.  And so, even just a brief perusal of the Internet revealed an abundance of information and photos of Schwab’s, let alone the personalities connected to it.  Though this fascinating topic lies far beyond the scope of this blog, here are three representative images of Schwab’s, and, its present (former, really) location on Sunset Boulevard.  

A high-resolution image of Schwab’s storefront, taken some time before 1949. 

Schwab’s in the early 1950s, uploaded to Pinterest by Betsy Thompson.  This image appears to be a frame from an 8mm or 16mm movie, or, a 35mm Kodachrome slide.  To the right of Schwab’s is Googie’s Coffee Shop, designed in 1949.

Schwab’s (on the right) and adjacent businesses, in the 1930s. 

According to Wikipedia, “Schwab’s was closed in October of 1983.  On October 6, 1988, the building was demolished to make way for a shopping complex and multiplex theater.”  A May, 2022 Oogle Street view of Schwab’s former location appears below.

From the YouTube channel of NASS Video Restoration, in the video “California 1952, Sunset Blvd: Hollywood to Sunset Strip in color [60fps,Remastered] w/added sound”, Schwab’s and Coogie’s are visible at the right center from 8:27 to 8:35.   

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And so, back Saul’s story…

“Builds Models”

It seems that the event prompting the three above photos was Saul’s proud display of a powered model airplane, of which he was the builder, as indicated in the class yearbook for the Hollywood High School class of 1940…

…which indicates the interest that eventually led him to become a fighter pilot.

As for Saul’s model, it’s interesting to note that at least in terms of the popular culture of the ’30s, the phrase “airplane model” typically denoted flying, powered model aircraft, constructed of balsa and other light-weight material.  This was a some two decades before that phrase connoted non-flying (very non-flying!) models constructed from kits comprised of injection-molded polystyrene pieces, and intended purely for static display.  We’re talking some years before the advent of Monogram, Revell, AMT, MPC, Jo-Han, Renwal, Pyro, Lindberg, Aurora, Hawk, and the many plastic kit manufacturers that have come and gone, as well as the few – like Tamiya – that have survived and grown, or – like Airfix – reemerged phoenix-like, over the past few decades.

Saul’s airplane, still under construction (note that only the upper side of the wing leading edges are “skinned”) appears to be powered by a one-cylinder engine, with a control mechanism or fuel tank in the center of the fuselage. 

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Since, sadly, any and all documents about Saul’s aviation training and military career no longer exist, nothing is known about the location and occasion of the following photo, which “speaks for itself”, or more aptly put, “shows for itself”:  Saul is seated in the rear of a biplane.  I don’t know if – in light of his interest in aviation – Saul attained a pilot’s license before WW II, or, his aviation training occurred solely in the Navy.  But, I think this photo suggests the latter, for it looks like he’s wearing attire and equipment associated with military aviation.

As for the type of aircraft this is, I have no idea.  I was unable to find any images of this aircraft in either United States Navy Aircraft since 1911, or Navy Air Colors, suggesting that it’s a civilian aircraft.  Key identifying features are the radial engine, all metal fuselage with cylindrical front section, and a sort of notch in the lower wing near where it joins the fuselage.  

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Location and time completely unknown, I guess that this image shows Saul’s pilot training class … at the inception of training?  In any event, Saul is fourth from right, in the second row…  

…and here he is in close-up.

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A step forward in time:  Again undated; again names unknown; again location unknown, Saul has progressed further in training.  On a sunny day, a Grumman F4F Wildcat serves as a backdrop for Saul (p r o b a b l y rear row, second from right) and seven other pilots.

While the clothing and equipment worn by the pilots is largely the same, note the square pouches attached to the Mae Wests (life vests) worn by Saul, and the pilots to his right and left.  These are Life Jacket Dye Marker packets, which were used (still used today) by aviators or naval personnel lost at sea, to assist searchers and observers in rescue ships and aircraft to more easily pinpoint their location from a distance.  When opened, a Dye Marker packet releases a fluorescent bye that imparts a brilliant green color to water adjacent to the release point – in marked contrast to the shades of blue and gray typically associated with the sea – thus facilitating spotting a person’s location from either distance or altitude.  Used by flying personnel in both the Army Air Force and Navy, and the air arms of other Allied nations, there were variations in the design and markings of the packets (I guess the operating instructions were very simple, anyway), but the general appearance was consistent through the war.

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One version of the below image, of the pilots and enlisted men of VF-85 as seen in December of 1944, appears in my first post about Lt. JG Chernoff, where it’s taken (and improved a little via Photoshop) from the War History of VF-85 at Fold3.com.

However, this copy this of image – as seen in this post – is of greatly (really; vastly) higher resolution, contrast, and overall quality.  Susan scanned it at a resolution of 600 dpi.  (It’s big – 6 MB.)  The fact that a copy of this photo remained in the possession of Saul’s family suggests that other individuals in the picture received their own copy.  

Saul is tenth from left in the second row from the front, directly to the left of the F4U’s lowermost propeller blade. 

The name of the men in the picture are listed below.  

Front Row (sitting)

Ens. Bean, Roy N.
Ens. Hatfield, Elvin H.
Ens. Siddall, Frank S.
Ens. Edwin, Norman L.
Ens. Kirkham, Charles N. (KIA June 2, 1945)
Ens. Noel, Richard L.
Lt. Cdr. Gilmour
Lt. Cdr. Ford, Warren W.
Lt. Cdr. Roberts
Lt. Tilton, Eugene B.
Ens. Lawhon, David W.
Ens. Dunn, John C.
Ens. Bloomfield, Robert A.
Ens. Solomon, Leonard E.
Ens. Egolf, James O.
Lt. Irgens, Donald L.
Lt. (jg) Lamphar
Ens. Huber, Joseph A.

Second Row

Lt. (jg) Blair, George M.
Lt. (jg) Robbins, Joe D.
Ens. Moos, Kennard “A.”
Lt. (jg) Edwards, (William H.?)
Ens. Moore, John H.
Ens. Meltebeke, Raymond L.
Lt. (jg) Callan, Allie W.
Lt. (jg) Nichols, James B.
Lt. Wollum, Donald G.
Ens. Chernoff, Saul
Ens. Shinn, William G.
Ens. Marr, William H. (KIA June 2, 1945)
Ens. Clark, John G.
Lt. (jg) Sovanski, Lawrence
Ens. McCraken, Billie R.
Ens. Fuog, Howard W.
Ens. Yirrell, Francis
Lt. Goodnow, Robert G.
Ens. Loeffler, John D.

Third Row

Lt. (jg) Webster, Bayard
Lt. Fuller, Roy A. (KIA June 2, 1945)
Ens. Kling, Nelson P.
Ens. Kennedy, Harold R. (KIA June 2, 1945)
Ens. Pierce, James W.
Lt. Vickery, Arthur E.
Ens. Bruening, Floyd W.
Lt. (jg) Black, James B.
Lt. (jg) Horne, Hugh R. or Joseph S.
Lt. (jg) Whitney, Robert C.
Lt. (jg) Horne, Hugh R. or Joseph S.
Ens. McPhee, Duncan C.
Ens. Harrington, Henry M.
Ens. Clarke, William “R.”
Ens. Meyers, Donald E.
Ens. Fitzgerald, Louis A.
Lt. (jg) Spring
Lt. (jg) DeMott, Richard W.
Ens. Sabin, Donald G.

Enlisted Men (on Wing)

Schmidt
Goessling
ART 1C Curry, Roland H.
AMM 2C Thompson, Claud W.
AMM 1C Stransky, Lloyd J.
AMM 2C Kusmer, Erwin L.
AEM 1C Lewis, Frank H.
AM 1C Callahan, William J., Jr.
ACMM Young, Kenneth D.
ACRM Wright, Wilbur T.
Y 1C Hager, Franklin T.
AMMP 1C Brackett, William A.
AMM 3C Keegan, Joseph J.
PR 2C Kinner, Wilbert K.
AOM 3C Tanner, Charles L.
AOM 1C Richardson, William L.
ACOM Klein, Irving

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As mentioned in the first post, Saul was married.  His wife, Georgette Dorothy Kamm, resided with her family at 139 Main Street, in Northport, Long Island, New York.

Searching on Ancestry.com yielded her graduation portrait from the yearbook of the 1943 class of Northport High School…   

…while here’s a low-resolution close-up of her portrait.  

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Here’s the couple’s wedding announcement, from the Northport Journal of October 6, 1944, found via FultonHistory.

CHERNOFF-KAMM

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph M. Kamm of 628 East Main Street announce the marriage of their daughter Georgette Dorothy to Mr. Paul [sic] Chernoff, Ensign, U.S.N. Air Corps on last Sunday, October 1.

Ensign and Mrs. Chernoff will make their home in Hollywood, Calif.

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With Georgette wearing her wedding ring, the married couple pose for a photo, probably in the Los Angeles area.

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On March 8, 1946, about nine months after Lt. (jg) Chernoff was killed, the Northport Journal carried the following news item, also via FultonHistory:

The Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross for action over Okinawa and Iwo Jima have been awarded Lieut. (jg) Saul Chernoff, USNR, who has been missing in action since June 21, 1945.  His wife is the former Miss Georgette Kamm, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Kamm of Main Street, who is at present [still, in 1946] with her husband’s people in California.

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The image below, at at SAS – Special Aircraft Service (digital aviation art) posted by “Lagarto” on May 19, 2019 – shows the Ibusuki Seaplane Base under attack by United States Navy aircraft on April 16, 1945.  If you examine the picture very closely, you’ll see an SB2C Helldiver dive-bomber banking to the right, in the upper center of the image.  Five aircraft, possibly Kawashini H8K “Emily” (二式大型飛行艇) Type 2 Large-Size Flying Boats, are visible on the concrete apron at the lower right center of the picture.  

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Of the six VF-85 / VBF-85 pilots killed in action on June 2, 1945 during the squadron’s air battle with N1K2-J fighters of Japan’s 343rd Naval Air Group, Saul was the only pilot whose body was recovered, and who thus has a place of burial.  This document, from the Casualty File for VF-85 / VBF-85, covers his recovery and identification, his Corsair evidently having crashed somewhere near the Ibusuki Seaplane Base, perhaps in the vicinity of Uomidake Peak.  Though the document indicates that searchers found the wreck of his Corsair, unfortunately, the specific location is not given.     

The page is transcribed below. 

November 8, 1948

Report of Investigation Division, Legal Section, GHQ, SCAP.

Remains of Lt. CHERNOFF recovered and identified.
Investigations, conducted to date, indicate no atrocity involved in the death of the pilot concerned in this case.  Case closed.

Chernoff – Saul – Presumed Dead to Determined Dead

Reference: Reports of William R. Gill, dated 22 April 1948 and 21 February 1948.

DETAILS:

At Tokyo:

Previous Investigation Division Reports indicate that according to information received from Graves Registration, Unknown X-779 has been identified and confirmed by the Office of the QM General as Lt. Saul CHERNOFF, USNR.

Lt. CHERNOFF’s remains were recovered at Kagoshima-ken, Kumotsuki-gun, Neshime-machi, by Graves Registration team and was [sic] reinterred at the U.S. Cemetery in Yokohama.  The remains have been listed as Unknown X-779 prior to identification, and have been investigated under Graves Registration Case History No. 610.

Graves Registration report further stated that the Engine Number of the recovered plane coincides with the plane, piloted by Lt. CHERNOFF and dental charts also compared favorably.  Investigations conducted by this office indicate that there has been no indication of an atrocity committed in the death of Lt. Saul CHERNOFF.

Copies of all reports written on cases concerning the Kyushu Area are directed to Inv. Div. File 1505 which is a central reference for the Kyushu Area plane crashes.

On another document…

February 17, 1948 Supplementary Determination of Death

The Japanese records and the records of this Bureau agree as to date and place of crash.  The search and recovery team investigating the crash cite noted the following numbers on the engine plate: “Pratt and Whitney Aircraft, Contract No. A/S/2344, Mfg. No. P-22541”.  This corresponds with the engine number of the plane in which Lieutenant CHERNOFF was flying. 

The Casualty File for VF-85 / VBF-85 is one of many such sets of documents covering US Navy WW II aircraft and aircrew losses.  It’s in NARA Records Group 24, specifically records of the “Casualty Branch / Casualty Assistance Branch of the Personal Affairs Division”. 

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Saul was buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on June 16, 1949. 

His mother Sima died just under one year later, and was buried alongside him.  They share the same matzeva, as seen in this image by FindAGrave contributor dml. 

In terms of military aviation history, with a natural focus on the design of warplanes, aerial combat strategies, aerial aces, victories and losses, camouflage and markings, military aviation heraldry, “nose art”, flying equipment, the sub-types and serial numbers of aircraft, and yet more (well, the subject is interesting) it seems that something quite fundamental is easily be lost: The fact that behind all these facets of tactics and technology is the impact of war, even upon the side of the victors.  The more one delves into the “human” side of conflict, this becomes all the more apparent. 

And so…  

The timing between Saul’s death in 1945, his 1949 burial, and his mother’s passing only one year further, was more than a mere coincidence. 

Saul’s sister Lillian related to her children that Sima’s passing was literally, “…of a ‘broken heart’, so in some ways she was another casualty of the war.” 

Lillian’s specifically recalled her mother’s reaction to the news of Saul’s Missing in Action status: “After my mother got news that my brother got shot down, she took off one day and she didn’t tell us where she was going, and what she did was on her own she went to San Diego to go on the boat that my brother had been on to see where he had slept.  So she was very very traumatized by my brother being killed.  And she really didn’t have any desire to go on.”

Saul’s father Morris died at the age of eighty, in 1970.  

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Born on May 24, 1925, Georgette remained in California.  In time she remarried.  She died in Alameda on September 2, 1994.

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In many, many (did I say many?) of my prior posts, I’ve made reference to or commented about the 1947 publication of the dual-books American Jews in World War II, one volume of which is a state by state compilation of the names of American Jewish servicemen who were killed or wounded in action, and / or received military awards.  These entries are based on information recorded on color-coded index cards by the National Jewish Welfare Board, which list a serviceman’s name, rank, branch of service, (sometimes) serial number, (some other times) theater of service, awards, next of kin, and residential or correspondence address.  Paralleling the example given for Major Milton Joel, here are the two cards filed for Lt. (jg) Chernoff:  One pertaining to his “Death in Action” status, and the other denoting his receipt of the Air Medal and Purple Heart.  

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This is the page (page 288) from Volume II of American Jews in World War II which lists Saul’s name: At bottom right, under “New York”, rather than “California”, reflective of his wife’s original residential address.

Here Are Some Books

Doll, Thomas E., Jackson, Berkley R., and Riley, William A., Navy Air Colors – United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Aircraft Camouflage and Markings – Vol. 1 1911-1945, Squadron/Signal Publications, Carrollton, Tx., 1983

Dublin, Louis I., and Kohs, Samuel C., American Jews in World War II – The Story of 550,000 Fighters for Freedom, The Dial Press, New York, N.Y., 1947

Green, William, Famous Fighters of the Second World War, Hanover House, N.Y., 1958 (Kawashini Shiden pp. 111-116)

Green, William, Famous Fighters of the Second World War – Volume II, Doubleday and Company, Inc., Garden City, N.Y., 1969 (Chance Vought Corsair pp. 79-92)

Sakaida, Henry, and Takaki, Koji, Genda’s Blade – Japan’s Squadron of Aces 343 Kokutai, Classic Publications, Surrey, England, 2003

Swanborough, Gordon, and Bowers, Peter M., United States Navy Aircraft since 1911, Funk & Wagnalls, New York, N.Y., 1968

Young, Edward M. (Illustrated by Gareth Hector), F4U Corsair vs. Ki-84 “Frank” Pacific Theater 1945, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, England, 2016 

Specific Reference Works – No Author Listed

Combat Connected Naval Casualties, World War II, by States, United States Navy Department Office of Information, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1946

A Bunch of Websites

History of Bomber Fighting Squadron Eighty-Five, at VBF85.com

Fighting Squadron Eighty-Five – May 15, 1944 – September 25, 1945, at VBF85.com

VBF-85 Cruise Book, at VBF85.com

Morris Chernoff’s Scrapbook, 1916-1938, at University of Denver Archives

Holly Vista, at Neighborhoods.com 

Aircraft Action Reports, Reports of Air Operations, War Diaries, and War Histories – at Fold3.com

VF-85 / VBF-85 Aircraft Action Report (Fighter Sweep over Airfields at Kagoshima, Chiran, and Izumi, Kyushu, Japan) – 2 June 1945

USS Shangri-La Report of Air Operations against Kyushu, Japan

USS Shangri-La War Diary – Report of Air Operations Against Kyushu

USS Shangri-La War History

War History, VP 13, 12 7 41–10 1 44 & War History, VPB 13, 10 1 44–12 21 45

Soldiers from New York: Jewish Soldiers in The New York Times, in World War Two: Corporal Philip Arkuss – January 11, 1945 [Updated post…  “New and Improved!”]

[I recently re-posted information about Jewish military casualties on July 12, 1945, based on a news item about Captain Edmond Joseph Arbib – killed in a flying accident on that date – which was published in The New York Times on July 18, 1945. 

Akin to that updated post is this similarly updated post, pertaining to Jewish military casualties on January 11, 1945.  When originally created, on May 11, 2017, this post was limited to information about two members of the United States Army Air Force (Cpl. Philip Arkuss and Lt. Edward Heiss), based on a news item about Corporal Philip Arkuss – in particular – which appeared in the Times on March 8, 1945.  Paralleling my recent post about Captain Arbib, “this” revised post is of a much larger scope, and presents information about some other Jewish military casualties on the day in question: January 11, 1945.]

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Corporal Philip Arkuss

Thursday, January 11, 1945 – 27 Tevet 5705

Tehé Nafshó Tzrurá Bitzrór Haḥayím

May his soul be bound up in the bond of everlasting life.

Corporal Philip Arkuss (32802439) served in the 100th Bomb Squadron of the 42nd Bomb Group, a B-25 Mitchell equipped combat group of the 13th Air Force, then stationed at Sansapor, New Guinea.  His name appeared in a Casualty List published in the Times on March 8, 1945, and his photograph and obituary were published in that newspaper twelve days later, on March 20. 

Cpl. Arkuss’ aircraft, B-25J 43-27979, piloted by 2 Lt. John W. Magnum, was shot down by anti-aircraft fire during a low-level bombing and strafing mission to Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia.  (Formerly the Netherlands East Indies.)  The plane was at too low an altitude for the crew to escape by parachute, though their chance of survival if captured would have been miniscule, at best.  

Mangum, John Wesley, 2 Lt. – Pilot (0-751383) – Dallas, Tx.
Acker, Clarence Ward “Buck”, 2 Lt. – Co-Pilot (0-765211) – Dallas, Tx.
Quinn, Thomas F., 1 Lt. – Navigator (0-569858) – Chicago, Il.
Snyder, Carl V.E., Sgt. – Flight Engineer (35867076) – Franklin County, Oh.
Hough, Wallace E., Cpl. – Gunner (12199927) – St. Lawrence County, N.Y.

“The strafers RON’d [rendezvoused] at Morotai, and repeated the performance the following day.  Capt. J.W. Thomason was the leader of the 69th; Capt. R.J. Weston, the 70th; Lieut. John M. Erdman, the 75th; Lieut. Tom J. Brown, the 100th; and Capt. Gordon M. Dana, the 390th.  It was another knockout punch; 300-pound demos exploded inside at least two buildings, sending debris up to the level of the planes, and tracers went everywhere, wiping out AA gun crews and personnel who had run to cover.  But still the AA did its damage.  Lieut. J.R. Sathern was hit and had to crash-land wheels-up at Morotai.  All the crew walked away.  Hit in the right engine just after releasing, Lieut. John W. Mangum of the 100th crashed into a 6000 foot ridge west of the target, with no possibility of escape for the crew.”

The MACR (Missing Air Crew Report) covering the loss of this plane and crew is presented below.  The number of this MACR – 15661 – indicates that the document is a “fill-in” MACR, filed after the war ended.

Course: Off Marr on Cannal through Dampier Strait to Cape Waka at the southern tip of Sanana Island to Mono_i Island to the initial point of Sampara River mouth, then direct to the target on a true heading of 210 degrees.  Retirement right divert to Morotai.  From Morotai direct to home base.

It is believed that Aircraft B-25, 43-27979 was hit in the right engine just after dropping its bombs in the target area.  The plane was observed to slowly settle while on fire.  It crashed and exploded on a ridge 6,000 feet west of the target area P-1 at Kendari.  The bomb doors were still open when the plane exploded.  There was no chance for any of the crew to escape alive.  (Ref. Mission Report #245).

According to American Jews in World War Two, Philip received the Purple Heart, but, no other military awards are listed for him.  If this is correct, it would suggest that he had flown less than five combat missions at the time of his death. 

This photo from The Crusaders provides a representative view of a 42nd Bomb Group B-25J “solid nose” Mitchell bomber in natural metal (that is, uncamouflaged aluminum), unlike most of the Group’s bombers, which were finished in olive drab and neutral gray.  This example sports the 42nd Bomb Group’s simple markings comprised of the Group’s insignia of a Crusader shield painted on the center of the fin and rudder, and the top of the vertical tails trimmed in yellow.  Interestingly, the plane’s serial number (44-30285) appears twice: Upper in the original factory-painted location, and lower in repainted stylized numbers.  Crusader B-25s carried no plane-in-squadron identification numbers or letters.

B-25J 44-30285 survived the war.

Here’s the emblem of the 13th Air Force…

…while this excellent image of the 42nd Bomb Group’s insignia with repainted serial number, characteristic of late-war Crusader Mitchells, is from World War Photos.  This B-25J (44-29775) also survived WW II.  

This image of the insignia of the 100th Bomb Squadron – crossed lion paws on a blue field – is from Maurer and Maurer’s Combat Squadrons of the Air Force – World War Two.  Images or scans of the original insignia do not (as of 2022) appear on the Internet.  

This small-scale Oogle map shows the general location of the city of Kendari, in Southeast Sulawesi, in the Celebes Islands.  The city lies in the very center of this image. 

Oogling in for a closer look, this map shows the location of the 42nd Bomb Group’s destination and target for the January 11 mission: Kendari Airfield (or Kendari II), now known as the Bandara Haluoleo airport, southwest of Kendari.  The red oval designates the general location of the crash site of 43-27979, based on latitude and longitude coordinates in MACR 15661.

Oogling yet closer…  The Mangum crew’s Mitchell crashed into a ridge west of Kendari II, not actually at the airfield itself.    

This Oogle air photo – at the same scale as the above map – shows the plane’s probable crash location, again indicated by a red oval.  The precise location of the crash would presumably be available in IDPFs (Individual Deceased Personnel Files) for any and all of the plane’s six crewmen.

The plane’s entire crew was buried in a collective grave in Section E (plot 145-146) of Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, in Louisville, Kentucky on August 16, 1949.  An image of the crew’s collective grave marker, taken by FindAGrave contributors John and Kim Galloway, is shown below:

Here is Cpl. Arkuss’ obituary, as it appeared in the Times on March 20:

Former New Opera Player Dies on Celebes Mission

On Christmas Day Corp. Philip Arkuss of 170 Claremont Ave. entertained several thousand servicemen at his base by playing a violin he had purchased from a “buddy” after he went overseas.  Before entering the service he had been with the New Opera Company and with “Porgy and Bess,” and had won a Philharmonic scholarship.  He was 23 years old.

His widow, Olga Bayrack Arkuss, has received a War Department telegram reporting that he was killed on Jan. 11 in action over the Celebes Islands.  He was a radio operator – gunner in a B-25 bomber that was shot down by Japanese anti-aircraft while flying low and crashed into a mountainside.

He had entered the service in February, 1943, training in Florida, South Dakota and South Carolina and went overseas in October of last year.  Before entering the service he had been concert master of a United Service Organization’s Symphony Orchestra that toured the country.

Besides his widow he is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Arkuss, and a brother, Albert.

This 2017 Oogle Street view shows the location of the Arkuss family’s WW II home: 170 Claremont Ave., in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan…

…while this street scene of 170 Claremont Ave. is from streeteasy.com.

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Other Jewish casualties in the 100th Bomb Squadron include Sergeant James Edward Levin (14065044; Flight Engineer; MACR 15979; B-25J 43-36015), from Charleston, S.C., whose crew was lost on April 8, 1945; Second Lieutenant Joseph B. Rosenberg (0-685730; Navigator; MACR 13501; B-25J 43-27976), from New York, N.Y., whose aircraft was lost on March 10, 1945; and Flight Officer Ralph E. Roth (T-128789; Navigator; B-25J; MACR 14132; 43-27848) from South Bend, In., whose Mitchell crashed on April 14, 1945. 

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Some other Jewish military casualties on January 11, 1945 (27 Tevet 5705) were…

Tehé Nafshó Tzrurá Bitzrór Haḥayím

May his soul be bound up in the bond of everlasting life.

On the 11th of January, 1945, two bombers were lost from the twenty-five Calcutta based 58th Bomb Wing B-29 Superfortresses that struck dry-dock facilities at Singapore.  

One of these aircraft was B-29 42-24704, piloted by Lt. Col. Donald J. Humphrey.  There were eight survivors from the eleven crew members in this 793rd Bomb Squadron, 468th Bomb Group plane, the loss of which is covered in Missing Air Crew Report 10879, and at Pacific Wrecks.  Of the eight, four survived as POWs.  

In total, the crew of the other B-29, 42-65226 (the loss of which is covered in MACR 10878), plane-in-squadron number 54, did not fare so well:  Of the eleven men in this plane, only three would survive the war.  While two minutes from the target and on its bomb-run, the aircraft, piloted by Major Joseph H. Wilson, Jr., was either directly struck by anti-aircraft fire, or (as later speculated by Major Wilson himself) an aerial bomb, and exploded. 

As described in Missing Air Crew Report…

About 5 miles NE of primary target, time 0203Z, 4 objects believed to be chutes were seen in air close together, at 14,000’.  No B-29 was seen in immediate vicinity.

While on Bomb Run, about 20-25 miles N of primary target, pilot of a/c 580 saw an a/c explode directly over target.  The explosion emitted large orange flame, then the a/c seemed to disintegrate.   Observers could not be sure that this a/c was a B-29.

Contact with a/c 226 of this Squadron was last made in the vicinity of the IP.  Up to this point, 3 other aircraft had voice radio contact with 226; during this time between Assembly Point and IP, 226 was talking with these a/c , all of them attempting to get together for formation bomb run.  After leaving IP no one had any contact with 226, and subsequent efforts to call him from the local ground station were unsuccessful. 

01 15 N – 103 53 E was approximate position of a/c 226 when last contacted by voice radio.

Plane 54’s crew comprised:  

Wilson, Joseph H., Jr., Major – Aircraft Commander (0-413209) – Gainesville, Ga. – Survived (Evaded)
Fitzgerald, Russell G., 1 Lt. – Co-Pilot (0-808350) – West Medway, Ma. – Survived (Evaded)
Osterdahl, Carroll Nels, 1 Lt. – Navigator (0-739573) – Santa Barbara, Ca. – Captured; Murdered 2/10/45
Heiss, Edward, 1 Lt. – Bombardier, 0-688085, Brooklyn, N.Y. – Captured; Murdered 2/10/45
Vail, Charles E., 1 Lt. – Flight Engineer (0-860970) – What Cheer, Iowa – KIA
Yowell, Robert William, 1 Lt. – Radar Operator (0-862033) – Peola Mills, Va. – Captured; Murdered 2/10/45
Roberts, Jerry D., S/Sgt. – Radio Operator (18226784) – Jacksonville, Tx. – Survived (Evaded)
Wolk, Philip, Sgt., 32805025 – Gunner (Central), Bronx, N.Y. – KIA
Gumbert, Boyd Morris, S/Sgt. – Gunner (Right Blister) (13131774) – New Kensington, Pa. – KIA
Ellis, Samuel Burton, Jr., S/Sgt. – Gunner (Left Blister) (34687577) – Pitts, Ga. – Captured; Murdered 2/10/45
Holt, Alarick Arnold, T/Sgt. – Gunner (Tail) (37160988) – Lindstrom, Mn. – KIA

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Here’s the emblem of he 20th Air Force…

…while this example of the emblem of the 677th Bomb Squadron is from Military Aviation Artifacts.  

 

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As highlighted above, only three of the plane’s crew would eventually return:  Besides Major Wilson, the other two survivors were co-pilot 1 Lt. Russell G. Fitzgerald and radio operator S/Sgt. Jerry D. Roberts.

Sgt. Wolk, Flight Engineer 1 Lt. Charles E. Vail, aerial gunner (right blister) S/Sgt. Boyd M. Gumbert, and, tail gunner T/Sgt. Alerick A. Holt presumably died in the explosion or crash of the aircraft. 

Lt. Heiss, navigator 1 Lt. Carroll N. Osterdahl, radar operator 1 Lt. Robert W. Yowell, and aerial gunner (left) S/Sgt. Samuel B. Ellis, Jr. all survived the explosion and – like Wilson, Fitzgerald, and Roberts – parachuted to safety. 

But…  According to postwar statements by Major Wilson and Sgt. Roberts, Heiss and Yowell were captured by the Japanese while attempting to reach the headquarters of a local Chinese guerilla unit, possibly with the connivance of a certain Manuel Fernandez, a “plantation worker who may have been playing both ends of the game for his own personal enrichment”.  Other (web) sources suggest that Lt. Osterdahl and Sgt. Ellis were also captured. 

In any event, these four men were killed murdered by their captors (specifically, a “Sub-Lieut. Koayashi” and a “W/O Toyama” of the 10th Special Base Unit) on February 10, almost a month after they were shot down.   

A copy of the Detail of the Trial Record of members of the 10th Special Base Unit is available via ocf.berkeley.edu.  I’ve transcribed and edited the document, which you can access here.

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Akin to the loss of B-17G 44-6861, the loss of B-29 42-65226 marks an incident (well, there were a few) where a missing aircraft had earlier been photographically captured in an official Army Air Force photograph.  This image, Army Air Force photo A-55427AC / A1014, taken a little less than two months before the loss of the Wilson / Fitzgerald crew, is captioned:  “Boeing B-29 Superfortress of the 20th Bomber Command fly [sic] over the Himalaya Mountain range in an area now commonly referred to as “The Hump”.  Photo was taken enroute to target at Omura, Japan, 11/21/44.  In this photo cloud formations obscure the mountainous background.  [penciled in…] “444th Bomb Group.“

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MACR 10878 includes postwar affidavit by Sgt. Roberts and an interview of Major Wilson. 

Here’s Sergeant Wilson’s affidavit, taken on June 18, 1946 at Barksdale Field, Louisiana, while he was serving in Squadron A-1 of the 2621st Army Air Force Base Unit. 

On January 11, 1945, we were scheduled for a mission to attack Singapore, Malaya.  Upon going to briefing in the morning in question, our regular Engineer assigned our crew was attached to a rest camp, which caused a vacancy to exist on our crew.  On this morning, First Lieutenant Charles E. Vail, 0-860971, was assigned to our crew as Aerial Engineer.  My assigned position on the crew was radio operator, which placed me directly across from the engineer in the plane. 

After briefing and take off about two minutes from the target, and while on the bomb run, there was an explosion, causing the ship to be blown to bits and six of us were blown out of the ship.  This knowledge was gained from the other members of the crew, as I was rendered unconscious at the time of the explosion.

The first thing I can remember is that I came to in the air and my parachute was open.  While descending, I noticed bits of the ship falling.  To the best of my knowledge, the location was about two miles from the target outside of Singapore. 

Upon reaching the ground, members of a guerilla band rescued me and on this same day at about sundown, I joined the bombardier, Lt. Heiss.  Early the next morning about three o’clock, we joined two other members of our crew, the pilot, Major Wilson, and the radar man, 1st Lt. Yowell.

While enroute to guerilla headquarters, we approached a Japanese sentry post, at which time the leader of the guerilla band that we were with placed Major Wilson and myself under cover of bushes and surrounding trees, and made a statement that he was going to try to get Lt. Heiss and Lt. Yowell past the sentry post, since they were uninjured and we were classified as stretcher cases.  He said if he could manage to get the two through without being caught, he would return for us.  After a lapse of approximately four days, a member of the guerilla band returned, at which time he told us that Lt. Heiss and Lt. Yowell had been captured by the Japanese upon crossing the road.  After a lapse of approximately two weeks, we received word that Lt. Heiss and Lt. Yowell had been executed, along with a third person whose identity is unknown to me, but it was believed by the guerilla band that he was captured immediately upon landing from bailing out of one of the airplanes in the formation.  To the best of my knowledge, we were the only ship that had been hit at that particular time.

The guerilla leader made a statement while we were stationed with him that this third member who had been executed was taken down the main street of Singapore and that the Japs were flogging him and that the man who was being flogged kept crying out, “Good for me, bad for you,” buy which they determined that he was an American because of his language.  According to the guerilla band’s information gathered from the Japs, they accounted for only four bodies in the plane, they captured three men, and the three of us made a total of ten men, which would leave another crew member still unaccounted for.

About five weeks after our accident, we joined the co-pilot of our crew, Lt. Fitzgerald, who had survived the crash and had joined natives.  He had not seen any of the crew members until we joined him. 

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Here’s a transcript of an interview of Major Wilson as recorded and transcribed by 1 Lt. H.P. Romanoff, the Assistant Post Intelligence Officer, Headquarters, at Army Air Force Overseas Replacement Depot and AAF Redistribution Station No. 5, Greensboro, North Carolina.  The statement specifically concerns the fate of 1 Lt. Charles E. Vail, though Major Wilson’s statements are relevant to the fates of other crew members.

Wilson stated that he was the pilot of the B-29 and that Vail was not the regular flight engineer, this being his first assignment.

Wilson stated that take-off was from Duddkhundi, India, for target at the Salita Naval Base, Singapore, on 11 January 1945.  While on the bomb run the aircraft was hit by either flak or an aerial bomb.  The aircraft exploded.  As a result of the explosion, a hole was blown in the plastic nose of the aircraft.  While trying to regain control of the aircraft, Wilson saw several black objects going rapidly through the hole in the plastic nose.  It seemed as if the objects were being thrown through as a result of the force of the explosion.  Wilson’s safety belt was tight.  This gave him an opportunity to look back just prior to being thrown himself.  He noted that Vail’s seat was empty.

Prior to the above, Wilson last saw Vail just prior to the bomb run.  On this occasion he had instructed Vail to check the fuel.

After being thrown from the aircraft, Wilson parachuted safely to the ground.

Upon receiving the ground, Wilson and four other members of his crew (1st Lt. Russell Fitzgerald, co-pilot; 1st Lt. Edward Heiss, bombardier; 1st Lt. Robert Yowell, radar operator, and S/Sgt. Jerry D. Roberts, radio operator) were gathered together that night by Chinese natives.  The latter had information that another person had been captured by the Japanese and was quite badly beaten before being taken to Singapore.  The identity of this person is unknown. 

Later that night, 1st Lt. Heiss and 1st. Lt. Yowell were captured by the Japanese and taken to either Singapore or Johore, Bahru, India.

HEARSAY INFORMATION: Later on, while assisting Major Wilson in evasive tactics, Chinese guerillas and an Indian dresser (one who works as a first-aid man on a rubber plantation), Manuel Fernandez (employed at S__gai, Plantation Esate, Massai Johore) stated that two First Lieutenants and one other person were publicly tortured to death at either Singapore or Johore.  Major Wilson feel that Vail could have been one of the three persons.  Ity is believed that Fernandez may be able to confirm this because of his close proximity to the Japs.  However, it is further believed by Major Wilson that while anti-Jap, Fernandez may have been playing both ends of the game for his own personal enrichment.  It is quite possible that Fernandez has been interrogated by the British.

Major Wilson further stated that he heard four men of his crew were found dead at the scene of the B-29 crash and that three others, in addition to Fitzgerald and Roberts, had been captured.

Major Wilson also stated that a good source of information is a Chinese guerilla named Chen Tien, alias Chai Chek.  This person is one of the guerilla leaders from Singapore who could speak English.  Chen Tien is known to British Intelligence, having worked for them while in the jungle.

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These three Oogle Maps show the general – presumed – location of the crash of B-29 42-65226.  This first map shows the location of Singapore: Just off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula.  

Oogling in for a closer look, the red oval shows the bomber’s probable crash location:  Not in Singapore per se, but just beyond, between Plentong and Johor Bahru.  This estimate is based on longitude and latitude coordinates in the Missing Air Crew Report, as well as statements by witnesses to the aircraft’s loss, and, accounts by the three survivors.  

One more map, giving an even closer (!) view of the B-29’s likely crash location.  If correct (I think correct…), the crash site is now an area of residential and commercial development.  Including a shopping center.  

Life numerous American Jewish WW II servicemen, the name of Lieutenant Edward Heiss, the plane’s bombardier, is absent from the many-times-mentioned-at-this-blog book, American Jews in World War Two. 

Born in New York in 1918, he was the son of Samuel (1887-10/3/60) and Pepi (Scherzer) (1/26/89-10/15/88) Heiss, and brother of Seymour and Sylvia, the family residing at 503 East 2nd St., in Brooklyn.  The recipient of the Air Medal and Purple Heart, he flew 12 combat missions.  A symbolic matzeva exists for him Mount Moriah Cemetery, in Fairview, New Jersey, and his name is Commemorated at the Tablets of the Missing in the Manila American Cemetery, Manila.

Several images of Lt. Heiss and his family members, as well as a photo of what I believe (?) to be his crew, can be found in the blogs posts “On Memorial Day, Remembrance of my Uncle Eddie is a blessing”, and “Memorial Day – In Honor of My Uncle Eddie,” created in his memory, at Divah World, from which these pictures have been taken.  

This portrait of Edward was probably taken during training…

…while this portrait was presumably taken upon his graduation from bombardier school. 

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With his mother Pepi, and sister Sylvia?

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With his father Samuel and mother Pepi.

This image of Lt. Heiss’ symbolic / commemorative matzeva is by FindAGrave contributor dalya d.  There’s a stone there.  Someone visited.  Perhaps they said kaddish?

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Here’s – I think – Lt. Heiss’ crew – with Lt. Heiss circled.  Since the aircraft serving as a backdrop is a B-17 Flying Fortress, this photo would definitely have been taken while the crew was undergoing training in the United States.  The men standing to the right and left of Lt. Heiss would presumably have been the pilot, co-pilot, navigator, and flight engineer, while the enlisted personnel kneel in front.  Judging by appearances – see photo below – I think the officer to Lt. Heiss’ right is 1 Lt. Robert W. Yowell.

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1 Lt. Robert William Yowell of Peola Mills, Va., (0-862033) was the B-29’s Radar Operator.  This image of Lt. Yowell, from the Library of Virginia, was contributed to his FindAGrave profile by DebH.  

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This image, from the Olson Family Tree at Ancestry.com, shows the bomber’s navigator, 1 Lt. Carroll Nels Osterdahl, Navigator (0-739573), of Santa Barbara, Ca.

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Sergeant Philip Wolk, the B-29’s central fire control gunner, is mentioned in American Jews in World War Two, where his name appears on page 475.  He’s listed as having received only the Purple Heart, which would suggest that’d he completed less than five combat missions prior to his death on January 11.

Sergeant Wolk was married:  His wife was Bette, whose address was listed as 2810 Wallace Avenue, in the Bronx; his mother was Bertha, who by 1940 married Jacob Kleinman, and his siblings Alice and Bernard.  He was buried at Mount Zion Cemetery, Maspeth, N.Y. (Path 30 Right, Gate 2, Grave 1, Kadish Brooklyn Society) on June 21, 1950.  

_____

From Boeing’s B-29 Maintenance and Familiarization Manuel (HS1006A-HS1006D), this cutaway shows the interior details of a B-29’s aft pressurized compartment.  The forward section of the compartment (to the left) has stations for the aircraft’s port and starboard gunners, and, an upper station with an elevated seat for the bomber’s central fire control gunner, who had the ability to selectively control any one (or any number, in combination) of the bomber’s gun turrets.  Each of the three aerial gunner’s positions features a hemispherical plexiglass sighting / observation dome, with its own gunsight.  The rear section of this compartment (to the right) contains the rear upper gun turret, and, a toilet and rest bunks, the latter two accommodations rather necessary (!) due to the duration of missions capable of being flown by B-29s.  

__________

As the B-29’s central fire control gunner, Sgt. Wolk would have occupied the elevated seat in this compartment.  This image, coincidentally from The Pictorial History of the 444th Bombardment Group, Very Heavy Special, shows a “CFC” gunner in his crew position, photographed from the vantage point of one of the two side gunner positions.  As determined postwar, Sgt. Wolk never escaped the falling B-29.

United States Army (Ground Forces)

Killed in Action, Died of Wounds, or, Died While Prisoners of War

Axelrod, Seymour M., PFC, 42076821, Purple Heart, 1 Oak Leaf Cluster
78th Infantry Division, 309th Infantry Regiment, A Company
Mrs. Rose Axelrod (mother), 703 E. 5th St., New York, N.Y.
Born 1926
Place of burial unknown
American Jews in World War II – 268

____________________

Barr, Sidney Fred (Shlomo “Yidel” bar Yehiel), PFC, 33735600, Purple Heart
70th Infantry Division, 276th Infantry Regiment, L Company
Mr. Isaac Barr (father), 4950 Albany Ave., Chicago, Il.
Born Chicago, Il., 1925
Waldheim Jewish Cemetery, Forest Park, Chicago, Il. – Gate 203 (Proskover Society)
American Jews in World War II – 93

These two images of PFC Barr’s matzeva are by FindAGrave contributor Jim Craig.

____________________

Bellman, Alexander, PFC, 32312426, Purple Heart
63rd Infantry Division, 254th Infantry Regiment, K Company
Mr. Benny Bellman (father), 1725 Fulton Ave., Bronx, N.Y.
Born 8/8/18
Long Island National Cemetery, Farmingdale, N.Y. – Section H, Grave 9787
Casualty Lists 2/24/45, 3/24/45
American Jews in World War II – 272

____________________

Einhorn, Stanton Lewis Arthur (Shmuel Yehudah Asher bar Dov HaLevi), PFC, 33772037, Purple Heart
90th Infantry Division, 357th Infantry Regiment, Company E or G
Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin (9/11/86-6/20/74) and Minnie (Haber) (12/19/94-3/20/91) Einhorn (parents)
Edgar, Harold, and Cpl. Marvin D. Einhorn (brothers)
6642 Lincoln Drive, Philadelphia, Pa.
Born Philadelphia, Pa., 12/4/25
Roosevelt Memorial Park, Trevose, Pa. – Lot D3, Plot 31A, Grave 3; Buried 8/15/48
Casualty List 12/4/25
Jewish Exponent 3/16/45, 8/20/48
Philadelphia Inquirer 3/8/45, 8/14/48
Philadelphia Record 3/8/45
American Jews in World War II – 518

____________________

Fink, Harold, Sgt., 18073450, Purple Heart, in France
70th Infantry Division, 275th Infantry Regiment, G Company
Mr. and Mrs. Hyman (4/3/93-11/3/37) and Minnie (Levine) (5/18/97-8/15/91) Fink (parents), 2202 East Alabama St., Houston, Tx.
Ethel Cecile, Hortense, and Jack Joel (sisters and brother)
Born Brenham, Tx., 1923
Epinal American Cemetery, Epinal, France – Plot B, Row 39, Grave 24
American Jews in World War II – 571

This portrait of Sgt. Fink, from the Class of 1940 San Jacinto High School yearbook, is via FindAGrave contributor Patrick Lee.  

____________________

Goldsmith, Jack, S/Sgt., 32432720, Purple Heart, at Darnatel, France
Mr. and Mrs. William and Lena Goldsmith (parents), 710 Fairmount Place, Bronx, N.Y.
Irwin J. Goldsmith and Mrs. Bess (Goldsmith) Zuckerman (brother and sister)
Born 1917
Place of burial unknown – Buried 3/26/49
New York Times (Obituary Section) 3/26/49
American Jews in World War II – 327

____________________

Gorod, Sherman, PFC, 16169183, Purple Heart
14th Armored Division, 68th Armored Infantry Battalion
Mr. and Mrs. Abraham (5/1/87-5/61) and Sadie (Grawoig) (3/15/85-12/71) Gorod (parents), 311 East 69th St., Chicago, Il.
Born Chicago, Il., 3/16/24
Oak Woods Cemetery, Chicago, Il. – Buried 7/30/48 (Graveside Service)
Chicago Tribune 7/30/48
American Jews in World War II – 101

The Schwartz Family Tree, at Ancestry.com, includes this Class of 1942 Parker High School yearbook portrait of PFC Gorod. 

____________________

Hart, Rudolph I., PFC, 32700046, Purple Heart
103rd Infantry Division, 411th Infantry Regiment, K Company
Mr. Maurice Hart (uncle), 132 Bella Vista Ave., Tuckahoe, N.Y.
Born New York, N.Y.
Epinal American Cemetery, Epinal, France – Plot B, Row 22, Grave 54
Casualty List 4/3/45
The Herald Statesman (Yonkers) 4/2/45
American Jews in World War II – 341

____________________

Levinsky, Stanley M. (Shmuel Moshe bar Ben Tsion), PFC, 13125947, Purple Heart, 1 Oak Leaf Cluster
35th Infantry Division, 134th Infantry Regiment, K Company
Wounded in action previously; approximately 6/17/44
Mr. and Mrs. Barney (1892-1949) and Pauline (1893-1977) Levinsky (parents), 237 S. 57th St., Philadelphia, Pa.
Born 6/1/22
Har Zion Cemetery, Collingdale, Pa. – Section A, Lot 550, Grave 1
Jewish Exponent 8/25/44, 3/2/45
Philadelphia Record 8/17/44, 2/20/45
American Jews in World War II – 536

____________________

Levy, Joseph Leonard, Pvt., 13141950, Purple Heart
90th Infantry Division, 357th Infantry Regiment
Mr. Benjamin Levy (father), 1439 Kennedy St., NW, Washington, D.C.
Luxembourg American Cemetery, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg – Plot E, Row 5, Grave 31
American Jews in World War II – 78

________________________________________

Sergeant Seymour Millstone and PFC Stanley Rubenstein were two of the seventy-six men – from the contingent of 350 American POWS sent from Stalag 9B (Bad Orb) to the Berga am Elster slave labor camp and assigned to Arbeitskommando 625 – who died, directly or indirectly during their imprisonment at Berga, or on the forced of the surviving POWs from the camp later.  I’ve mentioned this event in blog posts about First Lieutenant Sidney Diamond, Pvt. Edward A. Gilpin, and Captain Arthur H. Bijur, while you can read about it in much more depth in an essay by William J. Shapiro, veteran of the 70th Infantry Division, at the Jewish Virtual Library.

Sergeant Millstone died on March 25, and PFC Rubenstein on April 4.  They were among the twenty-six POWS who died while actually at Berga, per se.  Forty-nine POW deaths occurred immediately commencing with the forced march of POWs from the camp on April 6 (not April 3, as described elsewhere), through April 23, 1945, only two weeks before the war in Europe ended.  Aaron “Teddy” Rosenberg (Aharon bar Zev Ha Cahan) of Jacksonville, Florida, initially made a complete recovery from the effects of his imprisonment, but rapidly and irreversibly relapsed.  He died in the United States on June 27, 1945, a little over two months after liberation.    

Millstone, Seymour, Sgt., 36696896
79th Infantry Division, 315th Infantry Regiment
Captured
Died (in reality, murdered) while POW 3/25/45
POW at Stalag 9B (Bad Orb), and, Berga am Elster (German POW # 27542)
Mr. and Mrs. Philip and Alice (Resnick) Millstone (parents); Miss Phyllis Millstone (sister), 1623 South Herman Ave., Chicago, 3, Il.         
Also 201 South 8th St., Las Vegas, Nv.
Born Cleveland, Oh., 7/23/25
Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Holland – Plot N, Row 15, Grave 12
American Jews in World War II – 110

This newspaper item about Sgt. Millstone’s POW status is by FindAGrave contributor Jaap Vermeer.

This portrait of Sgt. Millstone is via Ancestry.com.

____________________

Rubenstein, Stanley (Yehosha bar Eliahu Shmuel), PFC, 33977622, Purple Heart
79th Infantry Division, 315th Infantry Regiment
Captured
POW at Stalag 9B (Bad Orb), and, Berga am Elster (German POW # 27465)
Died (murdered, in reality) while POW 4/4/45
Mr. and Mrs. Simeon and Sarah (Finkelstein) Rubenstein (parents), Earl (brother), 1171 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Born New York, N.Y., 9/14/24
Long Island National Cemetery, Farmingdale, N.Y. – Section J, Grave 14645; Buried 4/13/49
New York Times – Obituary Page (Memorial Section) 9/14/45
New York Times – Obituary Page 4/10/49
American Jews in World War II – 423

________________________________________

In researching this story some years back at the United States National Archives (I considered writing a book about this story.  But, I decided not to.  That’s another story.)  Well anyway, to quote an earlier blog post:

The books – both released in 2005 – are:  Soldiers and Slaves : American POWs Trapped by the Nazis’ Final Gamble, by Roger Cohen and Michael Prichard, and, Given Up For Dead : American GIs in the Nazi Concentration Camp at Berga, by Flint Whitlock.  A review of Whitlock’s book by John Robert White can be found at H-Net Reviews, under the title Fitting Berga into the History of World War II and the Holocaust.  

The documentary, Berga: Soldiers of Another War, was the subject of reviews and discussions by the International Documentary Association (Kevin Lewis – Remembering the POWs of ‘Berga’: Guggenheim’s Final Film Celebrates His Army Unit) and The New York Times (Ned Martel – G.I.s Condemned to Slave Labor in the Holocaust).  The last project of documentary film-maker Charles Guggenheim, Soldiers of Another War was released in May of 2003, eight months after his death.)

____________________

In any effort, as part of my research, I discovered that the names of the POWs at Berga had been recorded in two lists that differ appreciably in depth and format. 

One list is quite simple in organization, and has information fields for a POW’s surname and given name, German POW number, rank, date of birth, vocation or profession, height in meters, and eye color. 

The other list is much more complex; its “header” page (scanned from a photocopy) is shown below, followed by a German-language transcription and English-language translation.     

USA
350 U.S.A.

(Datum) 16.2.45
28.März 1945

Zu= und Abgänge

des Kriegsgefangenen = Lagers IX B
Abgangs Meldung Nr.    1937     für Stalag IX B
Zugangsmeldung            176       für Stalag IX C

Bemerkungen:
1. Die liste ist zugleich die Meldung über die ausgegebenen Erknunngsmarken.
2. Die Abgänge sind hinter den Zugangen geschlossen einzutragen.
3. ”Matrikel-Nr.” = Nr. der Stammrolle ufw. des Kr. Gef. in seinem Heimatlande.

An die
“Wehrmachtauskunftstelle fur Kriegerverluste und Kriegsgefangene”
Berlin

_____

USA
350 U.S.A.

(Date) 2/16/45
28 March 1945

Arrivals and Departures

of the prisoner of war = Camp IX B
Departure Report No. 1937 for Stalag IX B
Entry message 176 for Stalag IX C

Remarks:
1. The list is at the same time the notification of the identification marks issued.
2. The departures are to be entered closed behind the arrivals.
3. “Matriculation No.” = Number of the master role etc. [military serial number] of the prisoner of war in his home country.

To the
“Wehrmacht Information Center for Lost Soldiers and Prisoners of War”
Berlin

____________________

The image below, also scanned from a paper photocopy, shows the final of the 44 pages comprising this “larger” list, with the names of Stanley Rubenstein, Seymour Millstone, and Jack Bornkind (Yakov bar Nachum), who died on April 23, literally moments before a group of POWs were liberated by American forces, being the 348th, 349th, and 350th entries.  

Note that the data fields include the soldier’s German-assigned POW number, surname, first name, date of birth, parent’s surnames, residential address and name of “contact”, Army serial number, and place/date of capture.  Ironically, on neither list does the soldier’s religion or ethnicity actually appear.  However, on the “smaller” of the two lists (not shown here) the names of the Jewish POWs comprise the first 77 entries, while in this “larger” list – overall at least – surnames / religions / nationalities are generally (generally) arranged at random. 

Finally, an opinion:  While I’ve used the word “died” to describe the fate of Seymour Millstone and Stanley Rubenstein, in moral, ethical, and philosophical fact, they and the seventy-four others who did not survive either imprisonment at Berga, or, the death march afterwards (and in the case of Aaron T. Rosenberg, its after-effects) were, simply and honestly, murdered.

____________________

Schreier, Bernard S., PFC, 32811465, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart
78th Infantry Division, 309th Infantry Regiment
Mr. and Mrs. Charles (12/20/90-5/25/64) and Pauline Schreier (parents), 424 Grand Concourse, New York, N.Y.
Born Bronx, N.Y., 5/27/23
Ardennes American Cemetery, Neupre, Belgium – Plot D, Row 8, Grave 54
Casualty List 11/1/1945
American Jews in World War II – 433

____________________

Schwartz, Norman, T/5, 32805024, Engineer, Purple Heart, in Belgium
87th Infantry Division, 312th Engineer Combat Battalion
Mr. Max Schwartz (father), 780 Pelham Parkway, New York, N.Y.
Born 1924
Casualty List 3/15/45
Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, St. Louis, Mo. – Section 82, Grave 1J; Buried 3/9/50
American Jews in World War II – 436

This image of the collective grave of T/5 Schwartz and eight comrades – all presumably killed in the same January 11, 1945 incident – is by FindAGrave contributor Eric Kreft.  

____________________

Tannenbaum, Henry (“Hershy”) Irving (Yitzhak Tzvi bar Ezra Yisrael), Pvt., 33752792, Purple Heart, 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, in Belgium
83rd Infantry Division, 331st Infantry Regiment, F Company, 2nd Battalion
Mrs. Bertha (Fiedel) Tannenbaum (wife), Samuel Victor (son), 110 Division Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y.
Mr. and Mrs. Abraham and Molly Tannenbaum (parents), Leon and Sadie (brother and sister)
Born Brooklyn, N.Y., 2/29/16
Mount Hebron Cemetery, Flushing, N.Y. – Williamsburg Bikur Cholim Society, Block 25, Reference 9, Section G, Line 8, Grave 11
War Department Release 12/19/44
The Jewish War Veteran, Spring, 1989
American Jews in World War II – 459

You can read more about Pvt. Tannenbaum, the battle in which he lost hi life, and especially the impact of his death on his family, in this moving essay by his son, Samuel Victor, at the American WW II Orphans Network. 

Or, to quote William Faulkner in Requiem for a Nun, “The past is never dead.  It’s not even past.”

These three photos of Private Tenenbaum, his wife and son, and matzeva, are via FindAGrave contributor THR (from Samuel Tannenbaum).  

__________

Henry Tannenbaum, his wife Bertha, and their son Samuel, at Livingston Manor, New York, in July of 1944.

xxxxx

__________

Wounded in Action

Firestone, Berel (Beryl), T/4, 12154917, Radio Operator, Purple Heart, in Luzon, Philippines
Miss Lynn Spear (fiancee), 34-20 83rd St., Jackson Heights, N.Y.
Mr. Maurice Firestone (father), Boston, Ma.
Born 1923
Casualty List 3/17/45
Long Island Star Journal 3/17/45
American Jews in World War II – 309

____________________

Orlow, Michael H.M., PFC, 33791740, Purple Heart, 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, in Luxembourg
Mrs. Dora Orlow (wife), 1639 W. Huntingdon St., Philadelphia, Pa.
Mr. Morris Orlow (father), Miriam (sister)
Born 1911
Jewish Exponent 3/9/45
American Jews in World War II – 542

____________________

On November 11 of the year 2010, an article by David Rubin appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer.  Probably not-so-coincidentally published on Armistice Day – the (92nd) anniversary of the end of World War One, otherwise known as the “Great War” – the article recounts the WW II military service of Rubin’s uncle Robert C. Paul, who served as an infantryman in the European Theater of War.  Though a single article, Rubin’s reminiscence is in reality two parallel stories:  It focuses on his uncle’s experience in the army as recounted through correspondence with his immediate family, and then segues into the war’s unsurprisingly indelible impact on Robert Paul’s life over subsequent decades.  While this impact was immediately physical (his uncle was on January 11, 1945 wounded by shrapnel in the right foot and side), on different and perhaps deeper level it was political; perhaps psychological; perhaps spiritual; perhaps more.  

A transcript of David Rubin’s article follows, in turn followed by some accompanying images scanned from the print (remember that thing called print?!) edition of the Inquirer.  

A World War II Soldier’s Letters Bring Back the Horrors of War

As a member of the Ninth Infantry Division, it was my cousin Bobby’s lot to be tethered to the front line in some of World War II’s most fearsome fighting.

Normandy.  The Huertgen Forest.  The Battle of the Bulge.

He rarely mentioned any of it.

But when he lay in the hospital, dying of cancer in the spring of 2009, he couldn’t stop talking.  And the morphine made his accounts suspect.  It wasn’t clear what he’d seen, what he’d dreamed.

When an uncle sent me a box a few months ago stuffed with my cousin’s letters from the war, I finally had the opportunity to learn about the events that shaped him, and that helped tear him apart.

At first Bobby wrote home so often his letters didn’t bear the date, just the day.

“Thurs,” begins an early correspondence to his mother from infantry camp.  “The boys thank you for the food.  Even C rations would taste good.”

Pvt. Robert C. Paul was undergoing training at Fort Meade, Md.  He was writing back home to his mother, my great-aunt Ethel.

“My moonshiner friends built a blazing fire in the downpour and I kept warm for a while.  But then I had to fix my booby traps.”

The year was 1943.  Bobby was 19, a bespectacled twig at 5-foot-9 and 130 pounds.  When he was drafted, he’d just finished his third year at Harvard College.

Bobby always thanked his good fortune to be paired with Southern boys who were crack shots.  He was an unlikely warrior, a sensitive soul who loved Abbott and Costello movies, Walt Whitman poems, and his mother’s fruitcake.

He was, by his own account, the world’s worst soldier, the very label one of his drill sergeants pinned on him.

“Fine,” went Bobby’s reply.  “Then send me home.”

Instead, they sent him to Normandy on July 1, 1944, three weeks after the invasion.  Bobby’s father was dying of kidney disease, and after a short leave my cousin caught up with the 39th Infantry Regiment, the fighting already in progress.

Most of his letters are written in pencil and scrawled on stationery from the USO, the Army, the Marine Corps, whatever he had handy.  He reported to his mother, a fellow cinema fan, on the movies he saw on leave.  He asked his father about baseball, hockey, and the ponies.  He hungered for news about his many cousins and friends back home.

The chatty tone ended with the letter dated Oct. 16, 1944:

“Here it is blue Monday and I am in Paris.  It took a shell to get me here.  I am all right, feeling better physically than mentally.  I got it in my left arm, but it is not too bad.  I’ll be none the worse for it when I get better.”

He tried to assure his parents that the hospital was modern, the doctors first rate.  He didn’t want anyone worrying, or blaming themselves for letting him ship out, as though they’d had a choice.

“This is devilish business and one has to have faith,” he wrote.  “I thought that the battle would make me a stronger person, but I realize how weak I still am.  When the shock of combat has worn off, I realize that it is but a bluff, that mask of bravery that I have been carrying on under.”

Bobby’s recovery took a couple of months.  He had been back with his company in the Huertgen Forest for just a matter of days when he was mortared again.

His wounds that time were serious, despite the Army telegram that reported he’d been injured only “slightly.”

The shell landed Jan. 11, 1945, in Belgium near the German border.  Shrapnel blew off bits of three toes on Bobby’s right foot and raked his thighs and arms.  He was evacuated to a hospital in England.

He tried to dwell on the positive when he wrote his mother on Red Cross stationery:

“I was very fortunate this time because I was wearing glasses and had no helmet on when I got hit.  It was around midnight and they had to use a snow buggy to get me out.  The company medics are the heroes of this war because they take care of the wounded regardless of the risks.  They go through everything with nothing but a red cross for protection.”

Now Bobby talked about how the war was going from his perspective, how although everyone was talking about the Russian offensive, he felt the Germans were too stubborn, too tough to quit so soon.

He’d fought for seven months, across France to the Ardennes, then helped capture Roetgen, the first German town conquered in the war.  He was exhausted.

With the war winding down, he must have sensed he would not see combat again – he’d be sent home after five months in the hospital to recuperate at Camp Edwards in Massachusetts.  He received his discharge from there that summer, a 21-year-old private first class awarded the Purple Heart.

For the rest of his life, Bobby would rally support for antiwar movements.  He never let my brother and me play with guns.

“The experience I went through wasn’t pleasant,” he wrote from his English hospital to his mother.  “It didn’t prove anything, but it was part of my sacrifice for my country.  I haven’t done much, but some of my critics should have been over here.  This is the infantry’s war, but they will get no credit when the war is over.  The rear echelon boys who have it made will be the toasts of the town.  I’ll be glad enough to just get back to you, but I will know that I did my part.”

When we were about to clean out his house in Sharon, Mass., a year ago last spring, Bobby wanted to make sure we grabbed the Nazi flag because some people might not understand why he’d kept it.  I wrote a column about my dilemma: What’s the right thing to do with it?

We wound up giving it to the town’s historical society, with his obituary and my column.  They’re all on display today, Veterans Day.  The woman who runs the society said they describe the flag as a souvenir from the war.

I have to think Bobby would laugh at that notion, as though the Nazi flag were some trinket, like a miniature Eiffel Tower, and not the symbol of the evil that made him reach so far down inside himself, not the reminder of the blood and the screams and the terror he endured.

Or maybe his voice would rise excitedly, and he’d yell, because little things would often upset him.

Reading his letters, I have a better sense why.

Here’s a biographical record about Robert C. Paul:

Paul, Robert Carlton (Reuven Caleb bar Shimon HaLevi), PFC, 31358523, Purple Heart, 1 Oak Leaf Cluster
9th Infantry Division, 39th Infantry Regiment, I Company
Wounded January 11, 1945; Slightly wounded in action previously (approximately October 15, 1944)
Mr. and Mrs. Sidney R. and Ethel (Shapiro) Paul (parents), 133 South Main St., Sharon, Ma.
Born April 22, 1924; Died March 9, 2009; Buried at Rabbi Isaac Elchonon Cemetery, Everett, Massachusetts
Philadelphia Inquirer – November 11, 2010
American Jews in World War II – Not Listed

____________________

Robert Paul, probably as seen in his high school graduation portrait. 

__________

Here’s an example of state-of-the-art communication in a world refreshingly prior email and Facebook (Facebook? – gag!):  A Western Union telegram.  In this case, the War Department’s message of January 31, 1945, to PFC Paul’s father Sidney, informing him of Robert’s wounding on January 11, 1945.  Very unusual for a telegram, the text takes the form of a handwritten message, rather than typed text.  A transcription follows… 

Sidney R. Paul
133 So Main St.
Sharon, Mass.

Regret to inform you, your son Private First Class Robert C. Paul was slightly wounded in action 11 January Belgium.  Mail address follows direct from hospital with details.

Ulio, The Adjutant General

__________

One message generates another.  Evidently, Robert’s mother sent an inquiry to the War Department upon receipt of the January 31 communication.  Her reply yielded this message, generated in the typical telegram format of lines of typed text glued to the Western Union stationary.  

PTA 415 54/55 GOVT = WUX WASHINGTON DC 1 449P
MRS SIDNEY R PAUL =
                             133 SOUTH MAIN ST SHARON MASS RTE BSN=
REURTEL NO INFORMATION RECEIVED CONCERNING CONDITION OF YOUR SON PVT FIRST CLASS ROBERT C PAUL SINCE PREVIOUS COMMUNICATION REPORT RECEIVED DID NOT GIVE NATURE OR EXTENT OF WOUNDS REPORTS OF HIS CONDITION WILL BE PROMPTLY FORWARDED TO YOU UPON RECEIPT ASSURE YOU OUR SICK AND WOUNDED SOLDIERS ARE RECEIVING BEST POSSIBLE MEDICAL CARE =
                                         J A ULIO THE ADJUTANT GENERAL

__________

The soldier has returned: This V-Mail letter of February 22, 1945, was sent by Robert to his mother while he was recovering from his wounds at “U.S. Hospital Plant 4103”.  

Dear Mother:

I am beginning to find one-sided correspondence overwhelming.  There isn’t much to write about with my routine pleasantly unexciting.  I can report that I am getting along quite nicely.  I can use a wheelchair and can hop around the ward for short distances, so I am not bed-bound.  I am not able to get to the cinema yet, but I don’t think it will be long now.  The Pacific war now seems to be getting rougher every day.  Byrnes is crouching down on everybody & everything.  But I know that you will carry on.  You should[n’t?] be forced to resort to K-rations & foxholes.  Take care of Father & yourself and give my regards to all the family. 

Hugs & Kisses
Bobby

The “Byrnes” referred to in the above letter was James F. Byrnes, head of the Office of Economic Stabilization and the Office of War Mobilization.

__________

Somewhere in the United States, Robert on crutches during his recovery.  

____________________

Pick, Harold R., Sgt., 36649783, Purple Heart
79th Infantry Division, 315th Infantry Regiment
Captured; POW at Stalag 9B (Bad Orb)
Mrs. Ida Pick (mother), 533 Addison St., Chicago, Il.
Casualty List 5/16/45
American Jews in World War II – 112

____________________

Weisbein, David, PFC, 33811447, Purple Heart, in Belgium
Mrs. Sarah Weisbein (wife); Ellen (daughter), 2519 S. Marshall St., Philadelphia, Pa.
Born 1913
Jewish Exponent 3/23/45
Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Record 3/10/45
American Jews in World War II – 559

________________________________________

Some other Jewish military casualties on January 11, 1945, include the following…

Soviet Union / U.S.S.R. (C.C.C.Р.)
Red Army [РККА (Рабоче-крестьянская Красная армия)]

Killed in Action

Davidovna, Aleksandra Abramovna (Давидовна, Александра Абрамовна), Lieutenant (Лейтенант)
Senior Nurse (Female Soldier) (Старшая Медицинская Сестра)
Mobile Field Hospital 3537
Wounded 1/10/45; Died of wounds 1/11/45 at Mobile Surgical Field Hospital 171
Born 1923, city of Moscow
Mother: Vera Semenovna “Meldenson” (Mendelson?)

Freylikhman, Motel Shlemovich (Фрейлахман, Мотель Шлемович), Lieutenant (Лейтенант)
Infantry – Senior Medic (Фельдшер Старшии)
66th Guards Rifle Division, Medical Services
Born 1923, Zhytomyr Oblast
Father: Shlema Zayvelovich

Fuksman, Abram Borisovich (Фуксман, Абрам Борисович), Lieutenant (Лейтенант)
Armor – Self-Propelled Gun Commander (Командир Самоходной Установки)
38th Artillery Regiment, Military Post 22131 “E”
Died of disease / illness at Clearing and Evacuation Hospital 1353
Born 1905, Chelyabinsk or Zhitomir
Wife: Anna Sheleevna Shterman

Krasnoshchek, Khaim Tsalevich (Краснощек, Хаим Цалевич), Lieutenant (Лейтенант)
Infantry – Battery Commander (Командир Батареи)
100th Artillery Regiment
Father: Tsal Mardukhovich Krasnoshchek

Milkher, Genrikh Abramovich (Мильхер, Генрих Абрамович), Lieutenant (Лейтенант)
Infantry – Rifle Company Platoon Commander (Командир Взвода Стрелкового Роты)
1st Polish Army, 4th Rifle Division, 12th Rifle Regiment
Born 1918, Warsaw

Sagalovich, Naum Isaakovich (Сагалович, Наум Исаакович), Lieutenant (Лейтенант)
Infantry – Firing Platoon Commander (Командир Огневого Взвода)
100th Howitzer Artillery Regiment
Missing in Action
Born 1905
Wife: Mariya Izrailovna Shenderovna

Taymufet, Mayor Gertsovich (Таймуфет, Майор Герцович), Guards Red Army Man (Гвардии Красноармеец)
Armor – Sapper (Сапер)
27th Guards Autonomous Heavy Tank Regiment, Sapper Platoon
Missing at Pruvayni, Latvia
Estra Moiseevna Taymufet (mother), Stalinskiy Oblast, Kamenets-Podolsk, Stalina Village, House 120
Born 1922, city of Kamenets-Podolsk
Mother: Estra Moiseevna Taymufet

Polish People’s Army

Killed in Action

Cymer, Henryk, Cpl.
12th Infantry Regiment
Mr. Jakub Cymer (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Armies in World War II, Volume I – 14

____________________

Gryner, Jozef, Pvt.
12th Infantry Regiment
Mr. Abram Gryner (father)
Born 1918
Aleksandrow Cemetery, Lodzkie, Poland – Q A1 R 3 No. 1
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Armies in World War II, Volume I – 26

____________________

Milcher, Henryk, 2 Lt., at Warsaw, Poland
12th Infantry Regiment
Mr. Abrahama Milcher (father)
Born Mazowieckie, Warsaw, Poland, 1919
Warsaw, Aleksandrow Street Cemetery, Warsaw, Poland
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Armies in World War II, Volume I – 49

____________________

Robert, Bronislaw, Cpl.
10th Infantry Regiment
Mr. Dawid Robert (father)
Warsaw, Aleksandrow Street Cemetery, Warsaw, Poland – Q A2, R 12 No. 2
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Armies in World War II, Volume I – 58

France – Armée de Terre

Killed in Action

Rosenberger, Hans, Sergent-Chef (“AC-21P-146645”), at Obenheim, Bas-Rhin, France
Bataillon de Marche No. 24
Born 6/11/08
Carre communal “Kogenheim”, Kogenheim, Bas-Rhin, France – Tombe individuelle, No. 2
(First name from SGA “Seconde guerre mondiale” web site – SGA “Sepultures de Guerre” web site gives name as “Jean”.  SGA “Seconde guerre mondiale” web site lists Unite as “1ere D.F.L.”, while SGA “Sepultures de Guerre” web site lists Unite as “B.M. 24”.)

And to conclude (! – ?), here are some references…

Books (Author Listed)

Dublin, Louis I., and Kohs, Samuel C., American Jews in World War II – The Story of 550,000 Fighters for Freedom, The Dial Press, New York, N.Y., 1947

Maurer, Maurer, Combat Squadrons of the Air Force – World War Two, Albert F. Simpson Historical Research Center and Officer of Air Force History, Headquarters, USAF, 1982

Russell of Liverpool, Edward F.L.R., Baron, The Knights of Bushido: A History of Japanese War Crimes During World War II, Skyhorse Publishing, New York, N.Y., 2008

Meirtchak, Benjamin, Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Armies in World War II: I – Jewish Soldiers and Officers of the Polish People’s Army Killed and Missing in Action 1943-1945, World Federation of Jewish Fighters Partisans and Camp Inmates: Association of Jewish War Veterans of the Polish Armies in Israel, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1994

Smith, Paul T., The Pacific Crusaders, Mohave Books, Ca., 1980

Rust, Kenn C., Thirteenth Air Force Story, Historical Aviation Album, Temple City, Ca., 1981

Books (No Specific Author)

The Crusaders: A History of the 42nd Bombardment Group (M), 1946, Army & Navy Pictorial publishers, 234 Main St., Baton Rouge, La.

The Pictorial History of the 444th Bombardment Group, Very Heavy Special, 1947

A Bunch of Websites…

B-25J 43-27979 and Her Crew, at…

Pacific Wrecks

B-29 42-665226 and Her Crew, at…

Pacific Wrecks

Divah World blog

677th Bomb Squadron, 444th Bomb Group

12 O’Clock High! – Luftwaffe and Allied Air Forces Discussion Forum (under “Japanese and Allied Air Forces in the Far East”)

Dark and Bizarre Stories

Fukudome War Crime Trials, at…

World War II Document Archive – Pacific Theater Document Archive formerly at wcsc.berkeley.edu (no longer available)

Trial Record of Singapore War Crimes Case No. 235/1102 (Vice Admiral FUKUDOME Shigeru, Rear Admiral ASAKURA Bunji, Commander INO Eiichi, Vice Admiral IMAMURA Osamu, Captain MATSUDA Gengo, and Capt SAITO Yakichi), held on 9, 12, 17-20, 23 and 27 Feb 1948, at www.ocf.berkeley.edu

Pvt. Henry I. Tannenbaum, at…

American WW II Orphans Network
Geni.com
Thomas D. Curry and the men of F Company, 331st Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division

PFC Robert C. Paul, at…

Rubin, Daniel, “A World War II Soldier’s Letters Bring Back the Horrors of War”, The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 11, 2011 (formerly here; no longer available)

384

The Four-Year-Mission: First Lieutenant Bernard R.J. Barab, Missing in Action on November 26, 1944 – Fate Resolved in 1950

(For some time, I haven’t posted anything “here” at TheyWereSoldiers, or at my other two blogs, WordsEnvisioned and ThePastPresented.  This reflects my tendency to release posts on a variety of topics simultaneously, rather than – one, by one, by one – incrementally.  So, there’s much in my queue, which I hope to complete and release in the (relatively?!?) near future.  

In the meantime, here’s a very brief post.  (Well, brief for me, for I tend to write lengthily, blasphemous by the standards of the year 2022!) 

The post is inspired by the reminiscences of William S. Lyons, who vividly recalled witnessing the loss of two fellow 357th Fighter Squadron pilots in a mid-air collision during a fighter escort mission to Misburg, Germany, on November 26, 1944.  They were 1 Lt. Bernard R.J. Barab and 2 Lt. Charles W. Kelley.  Barab was killed as a result of the collision and Kelley was murdered one day after being captured.  I was able to present nominal information about Barab and Kelley in the latter post, but now – after having dug deep and deeper into my files – I’m able to recount Barab’s life in a fuller, way, showing the “man” as well as the “pilot”.

This comes by the way of a series of newspaper articles which (I think…?) were published in The Press of Atlantic City during and after WW II.  The images of these articles, displayed and transcripted below, were made from paper photocopies (not PDFs!) of the articles, which were provided to me by the Atlantic City Free Public Library in the 1990s.  Yeah, I have had these articles for a long time!

The articles are presented chronologically, commencing with Barab’s 1942 assignment as an Aviation Cadet at Maxwell Field in, through the resolution of his fate eight years later, in 1950.  Through these stories, aspects of his life and family are revealed that naturally would not – by definition or relevancy – be apparent in the historical records of the 357th Fighter Squadron:  His enlistment in the Army Air Force three weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, his participation in basketball at Atlantic City High School, and of particular note, his assignment as a flight instructor – rather than combat duty – at Napier Field upon receiving his wings.  Which, I think, would suggest excellent flying skills.

Though the articles mention his having shot down a “jet” in October of 1944, I believe this is incorrect, for USAF Study 85 credits him with a single aerial victory – on November 26, 1944; probably an Me 109 or FW 190 – the latter as accurately mentioned in the articles.  Though I don’t have the records of the 357th FS before me, perhaps the downing of an Me-262 in reality involved participation in aerial combat where a jet was downed by another 357th pilot.  If so, perhaps on that occasion he served as a wingman to the pilot who actually attained the victory.

The final article, from February of 1950, reflects information in Luftgaukommando Report J 2624, which lists the crash location of Lt. Barab’s Mustang, OS * A, as being in a swamp five kilometers north of Darfeld, Germany.  The physical difficulty of actually retrieving P-51D 44-13574, which was submerged to a depth of fifteen feet, was the probable cause of the several-years-delay in resolving Lt. Barab’s fate. 

But, resolved his fate was, and he is buried at the American Cemetery at Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium.  According to the American Battle Monuments Commission, Lt. Barab was awarded the Air Medal and one Oak Leaf Cluster (no mention of the Purple Heart?) so he probably flew approximately ten combat missions.

______________________________

Perrin, Barab Taking Pilot Courses In South

April 20, 1942

Maxwell Field, Alabama – Among the thousands of aviation cadets now taking pre-flight courses at the huge Air Corps Replacement Training Center (Air Crew) at Maxwell Field, Alabama, are two from Atlantic City, New Jersey, as follows:  John Pershing Perrin of 21 N. Vermont Ave. and Bernard Ralph James Barab of 2 South States Ave.

Cadet Perrin is the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Louis Perrin.  He is a former student at Rutgers University.

Cadet Barab is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Barab, and prior to his appointment as a cadet in the U.S. Army Air Corps was a student at Ursinus College.

When these cadets finish the course at Maxwell Field, they will be sent to one of the many  primary flying schools in the Southeast Air Corps Training Center to begin the first phase of their pilot training.

______________________________

Lts. Barab, Perrin, Get Their Wings

January 20, 1943

Sgt. Samuel Barab and Mrs. Barab have just returned from Napier Field, Dothan, Ala., where they went to see their son, Lt. Bernard James Barab, graduate from the first class in 1943, get his “wings.”  Lt. John Perrin, of Ventor City, was in the same class.

Lt. Barab is a graduate of the local high school where he starred as a basketball player, being member of the champion five that made athletic history in the Glenn Falls, N.Y. game.  When the war broke out he was a sophomore in Ursinus College.  He quit his academic studies to enlist in the Army Air Corps in New York City.  Subsequently he received his training in Augusta, Ga., and in Alabama where he qualified to operate pursuit and fighter planes.  He received his commission on Jan. 14.

______________________________

January 29, 1943

2nd Lt. Bernard Ralph James Barab, son of Mrs. Mary Barab, of 927 Atlantic Ave., has been assigned to duty as flying instructor at that Army Air Forces Advanced Flying School at Napier Field, Nothan, Ala.  Lt. Barab is a graduate of Atlantic City High School and attended Ursinus College.  He completed the Army flying training and was commissioned a second lieutenant Jan 14 at Napier Field.

______________________________

April 4, 1943

2nd Lt. Barney Barab, son of Police Sgt. and Mrs. Samuel Barab, has returned to his duties following a brief furlough with his parents.

Lt. Barab, a graduate of Atlantic City High School, is a flying instructor in the Army Air Corps, and is stationed at Napier Field, Dothan, Ala.  He was a sophomore in Ursinus College, when he joined the Air Corps 14 months ago.

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Lt. Barab Flies Home To Visit Mother

July 31, 1943

Lt. Bernard Barab paid a surprise visit to his mother, Mrs. Mary Barab, 927 Atlantic Ave., yesterday flying to Atlantic City from Napier Field, Ala., where he is an instructor in advanced combat flying for the Army Air Forces.

He has a 24-hour leave before the start of a new class at Napier Field and will return today, reporting for duty on Sunday.  He covered the ___-mile trip in six hours.

Lt. Barab was graduated from Atlantic City High School and attended Ursinus College for two years before enlisting in the armed forces.  He received his training at Maxwell Field, Ala.  He is remembered as an outstanding basketball star at Atlantic High.

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Lt. Barab Wins Promotion

August 28, 1943

The promotion of 2nd Lt. Bernard R.J. Barab, 927 Atlantic Ave., this city to first lieutenant was announced last night by the War Department at Washington.  Lt. Barab was in a list of 17 New Jersey officers to be advanced in rank.

He is the son of Police Sgt. Sam Barab.  He graduated from the Atlantic City High School and attended Ursinus College.

______________________________

September 10, 1944

Lt. Bernard Barab, son of Sgt. Samuel and Mrs. Mary Barab of this city recently completed an orientation course overseas prior to going in combat.  He was a member of the Atlantic City Beach Patrol prior to entering the service.

______________________________

Lt. Barab Downs Nazi Plane in Big Air Battle

November 27, 1944

Lt. Bernard R.J. Barab, former Atlantic City lifeguard and Atlantic City High School basketball star, brought down his first German plane yesterday during an air battle over Misburg, Germany, according to an Associated Press dispatch.

At least 122 German fighters were shot down in the battle, one of the biggest between the Luftwaffe and the U.S. Eighth Air Force.

Lt. Barab is the son of Police Lt. Samuel Barab, of 127 Ocean Ave., who will retire Dec. 16 after 21 years on the Atlantic City Police Force, and of Mrs. Mary Barab, of 2 S. Bartram Ave.,

He enlisted in the Air Forces on Dec. 28, 1941, after graduating from Atlantic City High School and attending Pennington Prep and Ursinus College.  He was commissioned on Jan., 14, 1943, and served as an instructor for 18 months, going overseas last August.

In letters to relatives here, he said that he had been over Berlin several times and had been through several “buzz-bomb” attacks.

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Barab Listed As Missing Over Germany

Seven From This Area Reported As Wounded

December 30, 1944

First Lt. Bernard R.J. Barab, son of Police Lt. Samuel and Mrs. Mary Barab, was reported as missing in action in notification from the War Department received here yesterday.

The former Atlantic City life-guard and Atlantic City High School basketball star was listed as “missing in action” over Germany since Nov. 26, the same date on which he brought down his first Nazi plane in a tremendous air battle over Misburg.

*****

The battle over Misburg in which Lt. Barab is presumed to be missing was one of the largest between the Luftwaffe and the U.S. Eighth Air Force, costing the Germans 122 planes.

Lt. Barab graduated from Atlantic City High School and attended Pennington Prep and Ursinus College.  He enlisted in the Army Air Forces on De., 28, 1941, and was commissioned on Jan. 14, 1943.  He served as an instructor for 18 months before going overseas in August of this year.

His father recently retired after 21 years on the Atlantic City police force.  His mother resides at 2 S. Bartram Ave

______________________________

Barab, Stuebgen Officially Dead

Confirmation Received By Resort Relatives

October 27, 1945

Relatives here were notified officially yesterday of the deaths in action of two Atlantic City soldiers, both of whom had been reported by the War Department as having been missing in action.

The parents of 1st Lt. Bernard R.J. Barab, son of retired Police Lt. Samuel Barab, 127 Ocean Ave., and Mrs. Mary Barab, 2 Bartram Ave., received word that their son was “officially dead”.

Lt. Barab, a Mustang fighter pilot, had been reported lost in Nov. 1944, while on a mission in the area between Muenster and the Rhineland, Germany.  On the same day he brought down his first Nazi plane during a tremendous air battle over Misburg.

Lt. Barab was graduated from the Atlantic City High School and attended Pennington Preparatory School and Ursinus College.  He enlisted in the Air Forces Dec. 28, 1943, and was commissioned on Jan. 14, 1943.  He served as an instructor for 18 months before going overseas.

His mother, father, two sisters, Eileen and Thelma, survive.

______________________________

Solemn High Mass For Lt. Barab Tomorrow

November 15, 1945

Solemn high requiem mass will be celebrated at 8 A.M. tomorrow, in Holy Spirit Church, for the late 1st Lt. Bernard R.J. Barab, resort airman who was reported as missing in action over Germany on Nov. 26, 1944, the same date on which he brought down his first Nazi plane in a tremendous air battle over Misburg.

Word arrived in this city on Oct. 19 from the War Department that Lt. Barab was officially dead.  Prior to that time, his parents, retired Lt. of Police Samuel Barab, 127 Ocean Ave., and Mrs. Mary Barab, of 2 Bartram Ave., had held out hopes for his ultimate safety.

His mother, father, and two sisters, Eileen and Thelma, survive.

Lt. Barab was graduated from the Atlantic City High School and attended Pennington Preparatory School and Ursinus College.  He enlisted in the Air Forces Dec. 28, 1941, and was commissioned on Jan. 14, 1943.  He served as an instructor for 18 months before going overseas, and was credited as being one of the few American airmen to down a Nazi jet plane.

______________________________

Lt. Barab’s Body Found

February 25, 1950

Word has just been received here that definite identification has been made of the body of First Lt. Bernard R.J. Barab, reported missing in action over Munster, Nov. 26, 1944, his father, retired police lieutenant Samuel Barab, 127 Ocean Ave., revealed last night.

Lt. Barab, well know throughout this area as an outstanding athlete particularly in basketball, was reported officially dead by the War Department in October, 1945.

Identification of the Atlantic City airman was confirmed in a letter from the Office of the Quartermaster General Department of [the] Army, Washington, D.C., this month, Mr. Barab said.  Four identification tags, articles of clothing and a parachute, all bearing Lt. Barab’s name, were in August, 1949, found near a metal plate bearing the serial number of the plane he was flying at the time he was reported missing, the Army letter reported.  The scene is near Darfeld, Germany.  Final verification was sent to Mr. Barab a few days ago.

Mr. Barab granted permission for interment in the U.S. Military Cemetery, Neuville-en-Condroz, near Liege, Belgium.

Bagged Jet Over Germany

One month before his last mission, Lt. Barab shot down a German jet plane.  He was one of the first American airmen credited with bringing down a German jet plane.  (November 26, 1944, the same day he was reported missing, Lt. Barab brought down his first Nazi plane in an air battle over Misburg in which at least 122 German fighters were shot down.)

In 1946, a group of former school chums organized the Lt. Bernard J. Barab Post, 4209, American Legion.  To perpetuate the memory of the former shore basketball player, widely known here as “Bubby,” the Post annually awards a “most valuable player” trophy to an Atlantic City High School player selected by a secret committee composed of sportsmen, officials and former players.  A replica of the main trophy, which remains in the high school with the name of the player inscribed each year, is presented to the player himself.

Mr. Barab presented the colors to the Post named in his son’s honor.  A ladies’ auxiliary recently was formed, also.

Reference (just one reference)

USAF Credits for the Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, World War II, Albert F. Simpson Historical Research Center, Air University, Office of Air Force History, Headquarters, USAF, 1978.

Soldiers from New York: Jewish Soldiers in The New York Times, in World War Two: May 4, 1945 – United States Navy – Naval Aviator Saul Chernoff

My prior posts about Jewish military casualties on May 4, 1945, have covered men who served in army ground forces, the United States Army Air Force, United States Marine Corps, and United States Navy.  However, I’ve retained one last name; one last identity; one last biography … for this “last” post.  The reason being, the sheer abundance of information about the man in question: Lt. (jg) Saul “Sonny” Chernoff of the United States Navy.

There are some vague parallels with the fate of 2 Lt. Wallace Franklin Kaufman, whose “story” has been the basis for this group of posts: 

Kaufman was shot down on May 4, 1945, and survived as a POW of the Japanese, until he was murdered on the following May 24 – three weeks later.  

Chernoff, too, was shot down (during aerial combat with Japanese fighters) on the same May 4, an event depicted – below – on the cover Edward M. Young’s F4U Corsair vs. Ki-84 “Frank” Pacific Theater 1945.  After rescue, Lt. (jg) Chernoff resumed flying combat missions. 

One June 2, 1945 – almost one month later – he was shot down (again) during aerial combat with Japanese fighters (again). 

Sadly, that time he did not survive. 

A chronicle of the events of both days from the Spring of 1945 follows below.  But first, some biographical information:

Born in Los Angeles on January 11, 1923, Saul Chernoff – his given name was originally “Saule” – was the son of Morris (9/2/90-2/4/70) and Sima (Gorelick) (1/15/93-6/11/50) Chernoff (parents), and brother of Lillian.  The family lived at 456 North Gardner Street, in Hollywood, California.  

Married, Saul’s wife was Georgette Dorothy (Kamm) Chernoff, who resided at (or originally hailed from) 139 Main Street, in Northport, Long Island, N.Y.  Another relative may (?) have been A Mr. B. Oxhorn, who resided at 854 South Harvard Boulevard, in Los Angeles.

________________________________________

This is the only good photograph I’ve thus far been able to locate of him.  From Ancestry.com (like everything else…but I digress), this is Saul’s graduation portrait from the Hollywood High School Class of 1940 Yearbook.  

________________________________________

Completely unlike Major Milton Joel, other than a very (very (v e r y)) brief funeral notice in the Los Angeles Times in 1949, substantive information about Saul’s pre-war wife, and military training, is thus far unavailable to me.  (That is, assuming it’s survived some-unknown-where across a span of nearly eight decades.)  Thus, I’ll “jump” directly to his service as a fighter pilot in Navy fighter Squadron VBF-85, alias the “Sky Pirates”.  

The squadron emblem of VBF-85, portraying a sword-wielding one-eyed pirate holding the reins of a descending lightning bolt, set against a murkily moonlit, starry night-time sky, appears in several variations.  This version, also manufactured in cloth form during WW II for use as a jacket patch, is mentioned at VBF-85 as having been used as a decal actually placed about the Squadron’s F4Us, at least relatively early during the Squadron’s combat service.

________________________________________

Probably (?…) taken in December of 1944, this image, from the War History of VF-85 (via Fold3), shows the squadron’s officers and enlisted men posed in front of an F4U.  Names of personnel, left to right, are listed below. 

Front Row (Sitting)

Ens. Bean, Roy N.
Ens. Hatfield, Elvin H.
Ens. Siddall, Frank S.
Ens. Edwin, Norman L.
Ens. Kirkham, Charles N.
Ens. Noel, Richard L.
Lt. Cdr. Gilmour
Lt. Cdr. Ford, Warren W.
Lt. Cdr. Roberts
Lt. Tilton, Eugene B.
Ens. Lawhon, David W.
Ens. Dunn, John C.
Ens. Bloomfield, Robert A.
Ens. Solomon, Leonard E.
Ens. Egolf, James O.
Lt. Irgens, Donald L.
Lt. (jg) Lamphar
Ens. Huber, Joseph A.

Second Row

Lt. (jg) Blair, George M.
Lt. (jg) Robbins, Joe D.
Ens. Moos, Kennard “A.”
Lt. (jg) Edwards, (William H.?)
Ens. Moore, John H.
Ens. Meltebeke, Raymond L.
Lt. (jg) Callan, Allie W.
Lt. (jg) Nichols, James B.
Lt. Wollum, Donald G.
Ens. Chernoff, Saul
Ens. Shinn, William G.
Ens. Marr, William H.
Ens. Clark, John G.
Lt. (jg) Sovanski, Lawrence
Ens. McCraken, Billie R.
Ens. Fuog, Howard W.
Ens. Yirrell, Francis
Lt. Goodnow, Robert G.
Ens. Loeffler, John D.

Third Row

Lt. (jg) Webster, Bayard
Lt. Fuller, Roy A.
Ens. Kling, Nelson P.
Ens. Kennedy, Harold R.
Ens. Pierce, James W.
Lt. Vickery, Arthur E.
Ens. Bruening, Floyd W.
Lt. (jg) Black, James B.
Lt. (jg) Horne, Hugh R. or Joseph S.
Lt. (jg) Whitney, Robert C.
Lt. (jg) Horne, Hugh R. or Joseph S.
Ens. McPhee, Duncan C.
Ens. Harrington, Henry M.
Ens. Clarke, William “R.”
Ens. Meyers, Donald E.
Ens. Fitzgerald, Louis A.
Lt. (jg) Spring
Lt. (jg) DeMott, Richard W.
Ens. Sabin, Donald G.

Enlisted Men on Wing

Schmidt
Goessling
ART 1C Curry, Roland H.
AMM 2C Thompson, Claud W.
AMM 1C Stransky, Lloyd J.
AMM 2C Kusmer, Erwin L.
AEM 1C Lewis, Frank H.
AM 1C Callahan, William J., Jr.
ACMM Young, Kenneth D.
ACRM Wright, Wilbur T.
Y 1C Hager, Franklin T.
AMMP 1C Brackett, William A.
AMM 3C Keegan, Joseph J.
PR 2C Kinner, Wilbert K.
AOM 3C Tanner, Charles L.
AOM 1C Richardson, William L.
ACOM Klein, Irving

____________________

Friday, May 4, 1945

(22 Iyyar 5705)

I first learned “about” Lt. (jg) Chernoff by happenstance, while reviewing Casualty Files pertaining to Allied aviator POWs of the Japanese, as well as Navy War Diaries, at the National Archives in College Park – a few (some? several?!) years back.  Within records for VF-85 / VBF-85, I discovered the squadron’s Aircraft Action Report that was filed for a Combat Air Patrol mission near Okinawa on May 4, 1945, during which the squadron shot down thirteen Japanese aircraft for the loss of two F4Us.

The squadron’s victories comprised:

Five “Type 93 twin-float advanced trainers“: The Yokosuka K5Y intermediate trainer / floatplane (九三式中間練習機), which went by the Allied reporting name of “Willow”.  Though a biplane, the K5Y was still a viable kamikaze weapon, as attested to by the destruction of the USS Callaghan on July 28, 1945, the last Allied ship to be sunk by a kamikaze attack.    

Three “Petes“: The Mitsubishi F1M reconnaissance floatplane (零式水上観測機), otherwise known to Allied pilots by the reporting name “Pete”.

Five “Zeke 52s“: The well-known Mitsubishi A6M (零式艦上戦闘機) carrier fighter, otherwise known – and very well known – as the “Zero”.  (Still known in 2021 and beyond? – That’s another topic entirely.)

These aerial victories were credited as follows:

Lieutenant Lawrence Sovanski: Two Petes
Lieutenant Jack Sidney Jacobs: Two Petes
Lieutenants Sovanski and Jacobs (shared): One Pete
Ensign W.R. Green: Two Petes
Ensign M.M. (Marvin M.?) Fogarty: One Pete
Lt. (jg) David W. Lawhon: Two Zeke 52s
Lt. (jg) Saul Chernoff: Three Zeke 52s.  (Which, may well not have been Zeke 52s after all, as will be revealed below…)

The Squadron’s Aircraft Action Report, prepared by ACI Lt. J.E. Curby, is so well written, flowing so well as a historical and “action” document, that it would be redundant for me to summarize it.  So instead, a transcript of the Report immediately follows this composite image of the Report’s first two pages:

Comparative performance of own and enemy aircraft:

The type 93 trainers could not evade the Corsair.  Speed no more than 150 knots.  Very little protection.

Pete was more maneuverable than Corsairs, but easily overtaken by Corsair.  Could turn inside Corsair.

Zeke-52 could not dive away from Corsair.  Apparently had very little armor for wing tanks since they burned readily.

Twelve VF-85 fighters were sent out on patrol C.A.P. north of Okinawa to intercept any Japanese planes coming from Kyushu.  The planes were vectored out at 0842 to a large bogey.  The engagement which followed was the first for the day fighters of VF-85.

The engagement was divided into two parts.  One third of the planes led by Lieut. J.S. Jacobs, USNR, engaged type 93 seaplane intermediate trainers and “Petes” while the other two thirds fought with Zeke52s.

The Petes and trainers were contacted about seven miles north of Iheya Jima.  The trainers were armed with bombs, but none were observed on the Petes.  The Japanese were apparently on a suicide mission against shipping targets in the Okinawa area.

Lieut. Jacobs saw one of our destroyers under attack by a “Nick”, and as he turned in to attack, the Hick dove into the destroyer before he had an opportunity to fire.  He then observed, with his wingman, Ensign W.R. Green, USNR, about eight seaplanes low on the water.  Lieut. Jacobs immediately attacked, and splashed a twin float seaplane.  He later identified this plane to be a type 93 seaplane intermediate trainer.  Lieut. Jacobs then sighted another one heading for a destroyer and he got a 45 [degree] deflection shot.  It burst into flames but continued into the destroyer.

During this time Ensign Green obtained hits with a full deflection shot on another trainer which began to burn and landed on the water.  Lieut. Jacobs then strafed it and was followed by Lieut. Lawrence Sovanski, USNR, who caused it to explode.

Ensign Green then got on the tail of a Pete and splashed him with a short burst.  A few seconds later he was on the tail of another Pete which he splashed in short order.

Lieut. Sovanski, with his wingman, Ensign M.M. Fogarty, USNR, had also been busy attacking the trainers as soon as they were sighted.  Lieut. Sovanski made on pass at a trainer and scored hits, but failed to splash him.  He then spotted the plane wounded by Ensign Green and Lieut. Jacobs and exploded it.  Just then another Bogey of about eight planes was sighted.  Lieut. Sovanski pulled up and made a stern approach on a 93 trainer.  He burned it with a short burst and it exploded.  He then followed another one but had to hold his fire while another Corsair passed out of his sights; however, a second or two later he opened up and the trainer exploded.

Ensign Fogarty, meanwhile, made a flat side, full deflection run on a Pete.  It burned, hit the water and exploded.

During this entire melee there were fighters from the Yorktown attacking these groups of bogies.

While the above engagement was in progress, Lt. (jg) J.D. Robbins’ (USN) division was engaging some 12 – 16 planes, Zeke-52s, fifteen miles north of the other encounter.  This group was tallyhoed at 17,000 feet.  The flight had been at 22,000 feet.  Unfortunately, the 20mm cannon in three planes in Lt. (jg) Robbins’ division froze up and they were forced to retire from the engagement.  Lt. (jg) Saul Chernoff, USNR, and Lt. (jg) F.S. Siddall were both shot down at this time.  They were both rescued and are in good shape. 

Lt. (jg) Chernoff’s plane was the only one which had all guns operating.  He soon learned that there were two groups of Zekes, the first one consisting of 16-20 planes and the second also consisting of 16-20 planes.  His story is best told in his own words.  (It should be mentioned that he had no intimation that his fellow pilots were having difficulties with their guns, and had left the scene of battle.)

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Continuing with the Aircraft Action Report, here is a transcript of Lt. (jg) Chernoff’s account of the engagement, which appears in the Action Report as a typewritten document:

OKINAWA – Angels 20

4 May 1945

At approximately 0845 we were vectored out on a heading of 030 degrees.  No speed was given and when a request for information was asked, a report was given that the bogey was 40 miles at angels 15.  We went on vector for about ten minutes when Ensign E.L. MYERS, USNR, my wingman, spotted the bogeys behind us and above.  I immediately gave him the lead and followed. 

About a mile from the bogey which appeared to be a large group of Zekes in two formations, Ensign MYERS pressed home his attack.  I don’t believe he saw the second formation as he made his attack on the first group.  I saw he would be in a bad way from the second group, so made an attack on them.  It was a low side attack, coming from underneath.  I don’t believe they saw me as no evasive action was taken.  I gave a short burst to the lead plane and his port wing came off and he spun in.  Still coming up, I gave a short burst to the second plane and he blew up.  I skidded to one side and came down in another run on two more planes.  They started evasive action, making a hard turn to port.  I fired about three bursts and the second man and he, also, blew up.  I closed on the first but couldn’t turn inside of him.  At that time I looked behind and saw three Zekes on my tail so immediately did a split “S”.  Going down I was hit and my engine was smoking very badly and oil completely covered the windshield.  My oil pressure started dropping and then my prop governor went out.  Using my throttle, my R.P.M.s went as high as 5000, and when I cut it off it still read about 3500.  I was followed down to about angels ten by one Zeke who then broke off and left, climbing back up. 

I made several radio transmissions and tuned on my IFF to emergency.  Two fighters from VF-85 drew alongside me and I then made a water landing.  I couldn’t determine the direction of the waves so made a landing between them.  I put my flaps down and held off until my airspeed indicator read 60 kts.  There was quite a jar but I didn’t receive any injury.  My life raft, which I had loosened in the air, fell to the bottom and I couldn’t get it out, so jumped into the water with just my Mae West.  Both planes did a marvelous job of directing L.C.S.-11 to my position which was about 4 ½ miles south-east of Yuron Shima.  They were relieved by another flight of four planes from VBF-85.  After two and a half hours I was picked up.

My mistakes:

1. I forgot to jettison my belly tank.
2. Landed cross wind.
3. Let raft fall to bilge.
4. Jumped into water before inflating Mae West.

S. CHERNOFF

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The Aircraft Action Report does not include a parallel statement concerning the shooting down and survival of Lt. (jg) Siddall.  In any event, Siddall was flying F4U-1D 82746, and Chernoff F4U-1D 82542.  

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This Oogle map shows the approximate location – indicated by Oogle’s emblematic red pointer – where VF-85 intercepted the Japanese attacking force, based on latitude and longitude coordinates listed in the Aircraft Action Report.  The location can be seen to have been approximately 50 miles east of Radar Picket Station 4.  

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But, wait, there’s more…!

Though Lt. (jg) Lawhon and Lt. (jg) Chernoff claimed two and three Zeke 52s, respectively, there is a high probability that this was a case of misidentification, for the Japanese fighters may have been Nakajima Ki-84 Hayates of the 60th Shinbu-Tai (60th Special Attack [kamikaze] Unit (Dai 60 Shinbu-tai / (第六十振武隊).  This clarification comes from Edward M. Young’s F4U Corsair vs. Ki-84 “Frank” Pacific Theater 1945, where it is stated:

On May 4, Maj. Michiaki Tojo, commanding the 103rd Hikō Sentai, led a formation of Hayates from his own unit and the 102nd Hikō Sentai that were charged with escorting a mixed Special Attack airplane formation consisting of Ki-27 “Nates,” Ki-43 “Oscars,” Ki-84 “Franks” and two Ki-45 “Nicks” (Type 2 Two-seat Fighters) to Okinawa.  More “Oscars” from the 65th Hikō Sentai also participated in the mission. 

That same morning VF-85 sent up three divisions on CAP north of Okinawa.  Flying at 20,000ft, Ens. E.L. Myers, wingman to Lt. (jg) Saul Chernoff, saw a formation of what he identified as 12-16 “Zekes,” and Chernoff ordered him to take the lead.  The other members of the division found that the 20mm cannon in their F4U-1Cs had frozen and had to break off the attack.  Chernoff continued, seeing that the Japanese aircraft were in two formations, one higher and one lower.  He decided to attack the higher formation on his own in order to protect Ens. Myers, even though he would be attacking from below.  Another division of VF-85 was climbing rapidly to help.  Chernoff came in on what he identified as a formation of “Zekes” and opened fire with his cannon, knocking the port wing off one airplane.  He fired on a second, which blew up under his fire, then came down to make a run on two more fighters, firing three bursts at one that blew up (these may well have been “Franks,” as the 60th Shinbu-Tai lost three that day and the escort force lost eight). 

As he tried, and failed, to follow the second fighter through a turn, Chernoff noticed three “Zekes” coming down on him from above.  Maj. Tojo had been watching the Special Attack airplanes targeting what he thought was a group of US Navy cruisers and destroyers when he saw two Corsairs come into view below him, one behind the other.  They were firing on the Special Attack airplanes, and apparently did not see him.  The second Corsair, apparently flown by Lt. (jg) F.S. Siddell [sic], came within range and Tojo immediately opened fire and sent it down smoking.  Chernoff did not see Tojo closing behind him, the Ki-84 pilot opening fire and hitting the Corsair’s engine, which began to smoke badly and covered the windscreen with oil.  Chernoff did a split-S to escape, but his Corsair was finished.  Major Tojo was not sure how badly he had damaged the two Corsairs, but wisely did not follow them down.  Chernoff and Siddell were badly hit, but both made water landings and were rescued.  With an experienced pilot at the controls and an altitude advantage, the Hayate had shot down two Corsairs in under a minute. 

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This brief moment in time has been imagined and depicted in a painting by aviation artist Gareth Hector.  Mr. Hector’s composition forms the “bottom half” of his dual cover montage for Mr. Young’s book, issued in 2016 by Osprey Publishing, one of the (thus far) 122 books comprising Osprey’s Duel series.  The cover of Mr. Young’s book, viewable at 96 dpi resolution c/o Mr. Bezos.  

Mr. Hector’s painting depicts Saul – moments after having previously downed three Ki-84s (not Zeke 52s) – diving away in his burning Corsair after having been attacked by Major Michiaki Tojo.  Clearly shown on Saul’s F4U are the white lightning-bolt wing and tail markings of VF-85.  

The caption parallels the excerpt quoted above:  “On May 4, 1945, Maj. Michiaki Tojo, commander of the 103rd Hikō Sentai, led a formation of 30 Ki-84s from the 101st, 102nd and 103rd Hikō Sentai as escorts for a mixed formation of Special Attack airplanes sent to attack US Navy vessels off Okinawa.  The Ki-84s had to zigzag above the slower bomb-laden kamikaze.  Near the island of Iheya Shima, northwest of Okinawa, the formation spotted several American ships and the Special Attack airplanes began their final dives.  Flying above and monitoring the attack, Maj. Tojo suddenly saw two F4U Corsairs below him, intent on intercepting the Special Attack formation.  One Corsair turned to the right and came into firing range.  Apparently unseen, Maj. Tojo opened fire and sent the F4U down smoking.  The leading Corsair, probably flown by Lt. Saul Chernoff of VF-85, also turned to the right and failed to notice the Ki-84s above until Maj. Tojo was in a position to open fire, hitting Chernoff’s engine.  The naval aviator dove away, with his Corsair smoking badly, and successfully ditched.  Chernoff was rescued, only to be killed subsequently on June 2, 1945 when VF-85 clashed with the N1K2-J “Georges” of the 343rd Kokutai over Kyushu.  (Cover artwork by Gareth Hector)”

(Given the way that Mr. Hector’s has depicted this aerial engagement in such a vivid, detailed, well-imagined yet entirely realistic manner, and his composition’s fortunate availability at very high resolution, I took his work one [small] step “beyond” (- quite intentional pun -) and – rather than simply nominally include it within “this” post – retouched it using Photoshop to remove the “upper” half of the montage and eliminate text from this “lower” half, simplifying the scene and giving it a little bit more “oomph”. )

You can view fourteen examples of Mr. Hector’s work at his website, Gareth Hector Military Art, while fifty books featuring his cover illustrations can be viewed here, at Osprey Publishing.  His work is characterized by a visual perspective that captures action at – or just before – its height, a use of lighting and illumination that have an optimum balance, and, an near photographic attention to detail.

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From VBF-85, this photo shows three (plus a wingtip) F4Us, probably in the vicinity of Hawaii, marked with the squadron’s emblematic white lightning bolt on tail and wingtip…  

…while this illustration, by Don Greer (via WarWall) appearing on the cover of Jim Sullivan’s F4U Corsair in Action, provides a much clearer view of VF-85’s / VBF-85’s squadron markings.  Though individual plane-in-squadron numbers are painted on the tail and cowling, unfortunately, these are not recorded in Aircraft Action Reports.  Note that the aircraft carries the Sky Pirates squadron insignia below the cockpit; this insignia reportedly appeared on the squadron’s Corsairs less frequently as the war progressed.  

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Almost one month later, on Saturday, June 2, 1945 (22 Sivan 5705), Lt. (jg) Chernoff was no longer among the living.    

– .ת. נ. צ. ב. ה –
תהא נפשו צרורה בצרור החיים

What happened?

…thirty-two Corsairs from VF-85 / VBF-85 were tasked with a fighter sweep mission to the Chiran, then Kagoshima, and finally, Izumi airfields on the island of Kyushu.  Prior to returning to the Shangri-La and while rendezvousing over Kagoshima Bay (Kagoshima-wan; 鹿児島湾), a radio request was received to provide high cover for an air-sea rescue operation for three downed F6F Hellcat pilots (two from the USS Ticonderoga and one from USS Yorktown) who’d ditched in the bay.  As the Corsairs orbited the area in the vicinity of the Ibusuki Seaplane Base, they were attacked from above by what was estimated to have been 20 to 30 (actually 23) Japanese fighter planes.  The planes were described as a mixture of Franks [Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate; キ84 疾風, “Gale“], Jacks [Mitsubishi J2M Raiden; 雷電, “Lightning Bolt], Oscars [Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa; 隼, “Peregrine falcon” / “Army Type 1 Fighter” 一式戦闘機], and Tojos [Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki; 鍾馗, “Devil Queller”], and even the Judy [Yokosuka D4Y Suisei; 彗星, “Comet” dive-bomber], but in reality the only enemy aircraft encountered by VF-85 / VBF-85 were all N1K2-J Shiden-Kai (紫電改 – “Violet Lightning – Modified”) fighters of the elite 343rd Naval Air Group, which was commanded by Captain Minoru Genda.  The 343rd was comprised of (this quote is from Wikipedia, but okay, it’s valid), “…the best surviving ace fighter pilots the Imperial Navy had at the time.”  

The result?  Well, as aptly stated in the opening paragraph of the Shangri-La War History, “2 June was the one disastrous day for the squadron.”  VF-85’s prior encounters with Japanese warplanes were limited to kamikaze aircraft, as recounted above for the mission of May 4, 1945.

By day’s end, VF 85 / VBF 85 suffered one pilot killed on take-off at the mission’s start, two pilots killed outright in combat, three pilots who ditched (two after their aircraft had been damaged by anti-aircraft fire and / or enemy aircraft; one from lack of fuel) but did not survive to be rescued.  Two pilots managed to return to the Shangri-La in damaged Corsairs, of which one aircraft may (?) have been junked.

The 343rd Naval Air Group lost two pilots in the battle.

As for the three Hellcat pilots floating in Kagoshima Bay?  They were all rescued, as was the complete crew of a seaplane that was lost early in the air-sea rescue effort.

Of VF 85 / VBF 85’s losses, Lt. (jg) Saul Chernoff was the second pilot to have been killed:  He was shot down – “jumped” – outright, at the start of the 343rd Naval Air Group’s attack, after breaking away from his Section Leader in order go to independently attack a Shiden fighter, an action which was noted (though Chernoff’s name isn’t mentioned, the implication is obvious) in VF-85 / VBF-85’s Aircraft Action Report.

The above summary is a distillation of information in documents filed by VF-85 / VBF-85, VH-3 and VPB-13 (the two squadrons involved in the air-sea rescue for the three downed Hellcat pilots), the Shangri-La, histories of VBF-85 and VF-85 published at the war’s end, and, Henry Sakaida and Koji Takaki’s history of the 343rd Naval Air Group, Genda’s Blade, published in 2003.  

The information in these sources is as interesting as much as it is well-written.  Rather than “pick and choose” snippets from these documents, the text is presented below in full…  (Gadzooks.  Veritably, again there I go making another really long post!)  My additional commentary appears inside brackets, italicized, in maroon font.  [Just like this.]

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First, I’ll begin at the “end”, with post-mission comments by the Air Group Commander, in the USS Shangri-La War Diary – Report of Air Operations Against Kyushu:

Comments of Air Group Commander

Fighter Sweep Over Kyushu

Pilots must learn to stay together. In our first real fighter sweep the desire to kill as many Japs as possible caused new pilots to become dispersed. They knew better and admitted it later. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be any way of learning this lesson except by experience.

The Japs still have some first class pilots and airplanes. Prior to these sweeps this group had encountered only Kamikaze pilots who offered no real opposition. This, plus rumors that the Jap air force was definitely low on good pilots, gave us an erroneous appreciation of the situation such that we were greatly surprised in our encounter. The Japs flew tight formations, executed well-timed coordinated attacks and retained an initial altitude advantage. Their initial attack was made through high overcast at 22,000 feet indicating apparent radar control. Some of the planes out dived Corsairs at well over 400 knots IAS and were able to make tight turns in those dives.

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Second, from the Shangri-La War History:

2 June was the one disastrous day for the squadron. A fighter sweep was ordered against airfields on Kyushu. The weather was worse than terrible and added to that the nearest field was over 300 miles away. It was necessary to fly on instruments a good deal of the time to the target and over an hour on the return trip.

The sweep first attacked Izumi airfield where Lieut. L. Sovanski, USNR, Lt. (jg) N.L. Edwin, USNR, both had their planes damaged by flak. The next sweep attacked Chiran airfield, however, in both cases few aircraft were observed. In the meantime, two pilots from the Yorktown were downed in Kagoshima Wan. Comdr. W.W. Ford, USN, took charge of aiding them. A Coronado attempted to land near one of the pilots, but on landing damaged its propeller rendered the plane useless. Another Coronado orbited the area. A Dumbo (PBM) finally arrived and rescued the downed pilots and also the crew of the Coronado.

During this time the high cover for the downed pilots was jumped by Franks, Jacks, Oscars and Judys, [a statement to this effect is repeated in further documents] all first line planes piloted by experienced pilots.  [Though the Ki-43 Hayabusa would serve throughout the duration of the war, by 1945 it had been superseded in performance, armament, and other features by later Japanese fighters, such as the Ki-84 Hayate.]  Lt. (jg) W.R. Clarke, USNR, shot down one Jack and one Oscar, and Lieut. G.M. Blair, USNR, damaged a Jack. However, the enemy took heavy tool on our fighters. Lieut. R.A. Fuller, USNR, was shot down by antiaircraft fire over Ibusuki auxiliary seaplane base. Lt. (jg) Saul Chernoff, USNR, was shot down by an enemy plane. The planes of Lt. W. Atkinson, USNR, and Lt. (jg) H.R. Kennedy, USNR, were so badly damaged that they had to make forced water landings. Lt. (jg) C.N. Kirkham, USNR, orbited Lt. (jg) Kennedy in the hope of effecting his rescue and remained with him until he, too, was forced to make a water landing due to lack of fuel. All three pilots were in their rafts, but due to the foul weather none of the pilots were recovered. Lt. (jg) C.N. Kirkham, USNR, has been recommended for the Navy Cross for his heroism.

In addition, two other planes were so badly damaged they had to be jettisoned and one plane was forced to ditch near a destroyer due to lack of gasoline.

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Lieutenant (jg) Saul Chernoff was shot down in the attack over Ibusuki. Lieutenant Wallace Atkinson, Jr. – struck by Japanese fire in the same encounter – crashed with his plane near Kuchino Shima. Flak bursts off the Ibusuki seaplane base sent Lieutenant Roy A. Fuller into the sea.

Two other pilots who failed to return had managed to survive the dynamic air battle but were lost enroute to the ship. When Lieutenant (jg) Harold R. Kennedy was unable to keep his plane in flight because of previously sustained damaged, Lieutenant (jg) Charles N. Kirkham – while orbiting the position where his comrade had fallen – ran out of gas and landed in the water. Neither was recovered.

In addition, there were two plane losses without personnel casualties. One pilot was picked up when his fighter was forced down at sea by fuel exhaustion. Another managed to fly his F4U back to the carrier for a landing despite severe damage by enemy fire, but the plane was cannibalized and jettisoned over the side.

The squadrons of Air Group 85 took a great deal more than they gave that day. Against the quick surprise blows of the Japanese, their own retaliatory punches seemed vainly ineffectual. For the gallant fight which they waged and the heavy casualties which they suffered they extorted a disproportionate toll of two planes downed, one probably destroyed and one damaged.

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Third, from the History of Bomber Fighting Squadron Eighty-Five:

Black Saturday for Fighting Squadron EIGHTY-FIVE. The day started out with a 0500 CAP, Irgens’ and Whitney’s divisions. At 0600, CAG Sherrill led a fighter sweep on Kyushu airfields. The weather was extremely bad – the worst we had ever operated in – and the nearest field was over 300 miles from the force.

The hop got off to a bad start when “Bill” Marr, VBF, went in on take off. He was lost when he tried to swim to a destroyer that was picking him up. “Bill” Clarke took off and filled in GAG’s division.

The strike group consisted of 32 planes and the divisions were led by Comdr. Cherrill, Comdr. Ford, Lieut. Comdr. Hubert, Lieuts. Fuller, Sovanski, Blair, Callan and Jacobs.  [That’s eight sections; I guess 4 planes per section?]  The sweep went in over the coast of Kyushu at about 9,000 feet. The first attack was on Chiran Airfield, a partial attack in which only three divisions participated. A rendezvous was made and the group headed for Kagoshima and Izumi Fields in Northern Kyushu. Again another partial attack was made on Izumi, most of the divisions maintaining their altitude to carry out the flight instructions of getting the Jap planes that might be in the air.

At Kagoshima Field, a flak barrage damaged the planes of Larry Sovanski and “Red” Edwin. A retirement was made from this field to Kagoshima Wan, where two Yorktown pilots were in the water. Lieut. Comdr. Ford took charge of aiding them, establishing contact with the Dumbo planes.

The five remaining divisions were orbiting at about 8,000 feet. Fuller’s division was ordered to join the Captain to assist in the rescue – one Dumbo had crashed on landing and a second one was expected to arrive. In letting down, Fuller led his division in an attack against Ibusuki Auxiliary Seaplane Base. He was hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed.

The four divisions remaining as top cover were then jumped by a group of some 20-30 Japs flying Franks, Jacks, Oscars and Tojos. [Similar to earlier statement.]  The enemy attack was unobserved until it was pressed home.  Sovanski, Callan, Kennedy, Edwin and Atkinson were hit in this attack and Chernoff was shot down. Kennedy was thought to have been wounded.

In the melee which followed, “Bill” Clarke shot down one “Jack” and one “Oscar” and George Blair damaged one “Frank”, Sovanski’s and Callan’s divisions retired as soon as possible and headed for the base. On the way, Kennedy made a rough water landing, but got into his raft. Kirkham stayed with Kennedy and attempted to effect a rescue. He remained until he ran out of gas and then landed beside Kennedy.

The rest of the group retired, about one and one half hours of the flight, back being on instruments. Atkinson lost all oil pressure and was forced to make a water landing. Toenges landed in the water beside a destroyer of the screen when he ran out of gas, and was immediately recovered. Kennedy, Kirkham and Atkinson were not recovered because of a storm which came up that afternoon. Sovanski’s tail hook ‘snapped on landing and Fitzgerald, who followed him aboard, made a two turn ground loop on the deck without getting a barrier.

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Fourth, the Aircraft Action Report of VF-85 / VBF-85.  But (!) a caveat (!!):

Well, though I couldn’t find the Aircraft Action Report for VF-85 and VBF-85 at Fold3.com despite searches using a variety of key-words and time-frames (gee why am I not surprised?) I w a s able to find the Report in Japan’s National Diet Library Digital Collections, where it’s titled “Aircraft Action Report No. VF85#27 VBF85#25 CVG85#20 1945/06/02 : Report No. 2-d(64): USS Shangri La, USSBS Index Section 7“., under the “Level” 文書名:Records of the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey = 米国戦略爆撃調査団文書 ; Entry 55, Security-Classified Carrier-Based Navy and Marine Corps Aircraft Action Reports, 1944-1945. 

And so, here is a composite image of the Report’s first two pages:

[Note the following statement at the bottom of the second sheet:]

COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE, OWN AND ENEMY AIRCRAFT.

Jack: Speed about same as Corsair, apparently well armored. Good diving characteristics, self sealing tanks, more maneuverable than Corsair.
George: Outdive and outclimb Corsair, appear faster.
Oscar: Turn inside Corsair.
Tojo: More maneuverable, dives faster.
Frank: Faster than Corsair, outdives and outclimbs Corsair.

[Despite mention of the Jack, Oscar, Tojo, and Frank, the only Japanese fighter encountered by VF-85 / VBF-85 on this mission was the N1K2-J Shiden-Kai (Allied code name “George”).  Though – at first glance – a striking example of misidentification, the assumption that other types of Japanese fighters had been encountered does makes sense, given the context and nature of the aerial engagement.  The main and common characteristics of these Japanese warplanes was that they were radial-engine, single-seat, low-wing monoplanes, having (except the Jack) a 360-degree-vision pilot’s canopy.  Thus, given the element of complete surprise incurred by VF-85 / VBF-85, the intensity of the aerial battle, and the fact that the Navy pilots were up against Japanese pilots of equal or greater combat experience, an error in identification was not at all surprising.]   

So, here’s the subsequent and substantial text of the report:

Aircraft Action Report – 2 June 1945

After a delightful breakfast of baked beans, well done toast, grape fruit juice and scrambled eggs, [interesting, how the Report starts with mention of breakfast, and ends with mention of lunch – see below!] 29 fighter pilots from VF-85, 2 fighter pilots from VBF-85 and CAG-85 took off at 0600-I from the U.S.S. SHANGRI-LA, for a fighter sweep against airfields on Southern Kyushu. The sweep was under the leadership of CAG-85, Commander W.A. SHERRILL, U.S.N. The Fighting Squadron was led by Lt. Cdr. W.W. FORD U.S.N. Each plane carried two 150 gallon Universal wing tanks.

The sweep started off badly. Lt. (jg) W.H. MARR, A1, USNR., in one of the first planes to take off, crashed on take-off. He was able to get out of the plane and obtain a life raft, but just as he was about to be picked up by the guard destroyer he disappeared under the surface and was not seen again.

At the time of the launching the ship was approximately 400 miles from the farthest field to be attacked. The weather to Kyushu was poor with a ceiling varying from 300 to 400 feet and visibility from 50 feet to two miles. During most of the trip it was necessary to fly on instruments. A cold front was encountered on the way. The weather over the target areas was better than on the trip up, overcast 3000 to 4000 feet, visibility good.

The group hit Chiran airfield at about 0800, strafing planes in the revetments, many of which were believed to be dummies. Damage was not assessable. No planes were seen to burn. Moderate heavy and medium antiaircraft fire was encountered. Evasive action was taken and none of our planes were damaged. The heavy antiaircraft fire was accurate in altitude but not in deflection.

The group then effected a rendezvous south of Kyushu and proceeded to Kagoshima airfield. Some planes were observed around the perimeter of the field but attack was not made as the targets did not seem worth while.

Izumi airfield was the next target. The group orbited the field several times. Moderate medium antiaircraft fire was encountered, one of our planes being hit. One half the group searched the field and one division strafed the only plane observed on the field, a twin engined job. It did not burn but was seriously damaged. Empty three-sided huts near the runways were observed, indicating their use for covering aircraft.

While returning at about 0900 toward Kagoshima, a request was received to orbit two downed pilots in Kagoshima Wan. One was northeast of Ibusuki auxiliary seaplane base and one southeast of the same base. Commander SHERRILL and his division orbited the pilot in the northeast position and Lt. Cdr. FORD and Lt. Cdr. T.R. HUBERT, USN and their divisions orbited the pilot in the southeast position.

The weather began closing in and in a short while the ceiling was between 300 to 400 feet and visibility poor. The remainder of the fighters wore orbiting at approximately 8000 feet below a second overcast. There was another overcast at about 18000 feet.

Lieutenant R.A. FULLER, A1, USNR, and his division wore over Ibusuki auxiliary seaplane base when he observed some Emilies [Kawashini H8K seaplane] on the water. He was at about 4500 feet going about 180 knots. He asked for permission to strafe but was told to join in orbiting the downed pilots. He pushed over and after a very short time in his dive very accurate medium antiaircraft fire came up and hit him. He crashed in the bay. The rest of his division pulled out of the dive and acted as cover for the orbiting planes.

At approximately 0920 two PB2Ys arrived, one of which made a landing in Kagoshima Wan to rescue the downed pilot [Koeller] in the southeast position. He tore off his port wing float and lost his port outboard propeller upon landing, and was unable to take off. A second PB2Y orbited over the same area. Finally, at about 0930 a Dumbo PBM landed successfully and picked up the pilot and the crew of the PB2Y. Enemy planes were reported over the orbiting aircraft. Commander SHERRILL and his division climbed to 4500 feet, then to 8000 feet. Zekes and Tojos attacked from about 10000 feet from 12 o’clock high, then fell back to 6 o’clock and established section weaves. None were hit.

Three Tojos made a run from 2 o’clock on CAG who was on the starboard side. His wingman, Lt. (jg) J.C. DUNN, Al, USNR., turned into the Tojos and got a good burst head on. The Tojo smoked and some flame was seen coming from the engine wall. He dove into the clouds and was not observed again. Five or six other planes made section runs on CAG’s division but caused no damage. After each pass the enemy joined up for another pass.

At about this time Jap pilots in Franks, Oscars, Tojos and Jacks, [again] approximately between 20 to 30 in all, began attacking from 16,000 foot.

Unfortunately, after the first attack several of our planes split up and had a hot time of it. The Japs were most aggressive and were experienced pilots. They made section passes and attacked only when they had the tactical advantage. However the Japs would not attack when they saw our planes in a defensive weave, even though they had altitude advantage and numerical superiority. Four Franks jumped Lieut. G.M. BLAIR’s division in an overhead pass. His division was at 8000 feet and the Japs attacked from about 14,000 feet, just below the overcasts. One Frank made a head-on pass on Lieut. BLAIR and pressed home its attack. Lieut. BLAIR finally had to break away to avoid colliding with him. Lieut. BLAIR scored some hits but did not seriously damage it. Lt. (jg) Saul CHERNOFF, Al, USNR., flying on Lieut. BLAIR broke off dive [sic] after a Jap. He was apparently jumped from above and was last seen burning and spinning through the overcast at about 4500 feet.

Lieut. BLAIR then tried to get some six or seven other planes to form a Lufbery circle and climb. After gaining about a thousand feet he discovered they had left him. He and his wingman then joined another division.

Lieut. CALLAN’s division was also attacked at this time by four Georges or Franks. Three of the planes in his division were damaged, one seriously, that of Lt. (jg) H.R. KENNEDY, Al, USNR., who subsequently was forced to make a water landing on his way home. Lt. (jg) C.N. KIRKHAM, Al, USNR., flew with him and remained, orbiting him in foul weather and was also forced to ditch when he ran out of gasoline. Neither has been recovered.

Lieut. L. SOVANSKI, Al, USNR., and his division were also jumped by several fighters. His plane was severely damaged (see picture). He was able to make it back to the ship, but with only 10 gallons of gas left at the time of landing aboard.

Lt. (jg) W.R. CLARKE, Al, USNR., after having become separated from CAG’s division after having first been jumped, found an Oscar below him. The Oscar was crossing in front of him. Lt. (jg) CLARKE turned after him and fired from 900 to 1000 feet. The Oscar made a shallow wing-over and then began to climb. Lt. (jg) CLARKE stayed on his tail and continued firing. Part of the Oscar’s cowling came off and it started down. It began burning and went through the overcast out of control enveloped in flames.

Lt. (jg) CLARKE then joined up on Lt. (jg) R.L. MELTEBEKE, Al, USNR., and Lt. (jg) H.W. FUOG, Al, USNR. They were at 4500 feet and observed a Jack about 500 feet above them. Lt. (jg) MELTEBEKE and Lt. (jg) FUOG made a head on attack, but did not damage the Jack. However, Lt. (jg) CLARKE, weaving, got on its tail and had no difficulty in catching it. He scored hits in the engine, cockpit and wing roots. The plane smoked and then burned and was in a radical angle of dive, out of control going through the overcast a short distance above the mountains when last soon. The pilot was seen to parachute.

About this time, 1100, the PBM was able to take off using JATO with its passengers. Lt. Cdr. FORD and the rest of the planes orbiting the Dumbo headed for home. After they had been on course about ten minutes the PB2Y which had remained in the vicinity called for help. Lt. Cdr. FORD turned back and when near the PB2Y was to _____ it had found refuge in the clouds and was safe.

After having stayed over Kyushu for more than an hour and a half longer than planned, the planes headed for home. The weather was terrible, necessitating instrument flying for over an hour. Ceiling was practically zero and visibility zero during this time. Lt. (jg) W. ATKINSON, Al, USNR, was forced to ditch due to loss at-oil pressure, the cause of which is unknown. Lt. (jg) R.F. TOENGES, Al, USNR., ditched near a picket destroyer when he had but 12 gallons of gas left. He had expended an abnormal amount of gas due to the buffeting of his two belly tanks, forcing him to use an excess power setting to maintain formation.

Finally the group returned to the ship after six and three quarter hours in the air in time for a hearty lunch of broth and crackers.  [Hmmm…  I just don’t know.  I think steak, potatoes, and pie would have been richly deserved.]

Lessons learned:

(1) Don’t orbit airfields when a/a is known to be present.
(2) Don’t leave your section leader to become a hero. [This is an obvious reference to Lt. (jg) Chernoff.]
(3) Don’t be taken in by decoys so as to be easy meat for a/a or enemy fighters.
(4) Don’t try to cover without obtaining sufficient altitude to prevent being jumped from above.
(5) If outnumbered or at an altitude disadvantage, immediately start defensive weave.  Japs apparently will not attack.

XIII. MATERIAL DATA.

Two Universal Wing Tanks on ono plane buffeted seriously, causing need for higher power settings. Gas consumption was thereby increased to such an extent that the plane was forced to ditch. Neither tank could be jettisoned.

Although every piece of radio equipment in plane Bureau Number 32290 was hit by 20mm fragments, it continued to operate satisfactorily.

REPORT PREPARED BY:
J. E. CURBY, Lieut. USNR. A.C.I.
APPROVED BY:
W.W. FORD, Lt. Cdr. USN, 6-8-45

____________________

Fifth, excerpts from Chapter 15 (“We learned some lessons today”) of Genda’s Blade, which covers the 343rd’s encounter with VF-85 / VBF-85.  The chapter incorporates excerpts and information from the Aircraft Action Report, as well as reminiscences from surviving Japanese and American pilots.  For brevity (me brief? – !) I’m limiting this excerpt to text pertaining to the Japanese side of the air battle:

… Capt Genda received word that a large group of enemy carrier aircraft had been spotted en route, heading for the southern tip of Kyushu where the Kamikaze airfields were located.

*****

Capt Genda was fully aware of the attacks on Chiran and Kagoshima, but he was not in a hurry to counterattack. “The enemy had overwhelming strength” he wrote in his memoir. “Formations of about 30 aircraft would come in, one after another, within a short interval.  It would not have been effective to have brought our squadron of only 20 or 30 aircraft in front of such large enemy waves, even though the Shiden-Kai group was the cream of the Naval fighter force.  If we hit the first enemy group, we would be surrounded and slaughtered by other groups that would follow in succession.  Therefore, I thought it would be advantageous for us to attack the enemy’s tail end group.  Upon departure following the raid, its formation would be disorderly and its pilots would be in a mood to hurry home.  It would take much more time for the preceding groups to come back to aid the tail end group being attacked by our fighters.”

At 08.45 hrs, Capt Genda decided to put his plan into action.  Lt. Keijiro Hayashi, newly appointed squadron leader of Squadron 407, was ordered to take charge of the interception.  His unit contributed eight fighters.  Flying under his leadership were Lt. Ryoichi Yamada of Squadron 701 with eight aircraft, and Lt. Masaji Matsumura from Squadron 301 with five aircraft.

Lt. Hayashi was a very capable leader and a veteran of the air battles at Balikpapan, Borneo.  A graduate of the Naval Academy, he was a classmate of S301’s Lt. Naoshi Kanno.  Capt Genda was favorably impressed with the new squadron leader.  Hayashi had been an ensign assigned as a navigator to the carrier Akagi when he crossed paths with the CO who was a staff officer of the 1st Fleet Hayashi later commanded S602 at Balikpapan, Borneo, before being transferred along with ten of his men to the 343 Kokutai in mid-May.  He was brought in to replace Lt. Yoshishige Hayashi who was killed in action against B-29s on 21 April.

Twenty-one Shiden-Kais took off at 08.45 hrs. Eight aircraft from Hayashi’s S407 and another two-division group were led by Lt. Ryoichi Yamada from Squadron 701.  A top cover flight of five aircraft was commanded by Lt. Matsumura.  It was airborne within minutes, with a mix of aircraft drawn from all three squadrons.

“It took about 30 to 45 minutes for our Shiden-Kais to reach the southern tip of Kyushu” wrote Genda. “During that time they reached an altitude of 6,000 to 7,000 meters.  I wanted our pilots to be in a good position when encountering the enemy aircraft.  This was ideal though we could not always do it like that every time, as I wanted.”

*****

Twenty-one Shiden-Kais finally arrived over Kanoya at an altitude of almost 6,100 m at 09.55 hrs local time.   he weather was fair and visibility was good.  The sky was virtually cloudless and there were no enemy aircraft to be seen as they approached Kagoshima Bay.  With no fear of being jumped from above, Lt. Hayashi wondered where the Americans had gone.  Suddenly, he saw them far below; 16 gull-winged aircraft heading south to the right of their direction of flight.

Lt. Hayashi, leading Squadrons 407 and 701, dived on the orbiting Corsairs of Cdr Sherrill’s group.  He worried that their excessive diving speed would cause them to overshoot their prey and negate the element of surprise.  But the Corsairs scattered as Hayashi’s formation came screaming down from twelve o’clock high, with a 2,000 ft altitude advantage.

“For a few minutes, we maintained discipline and organization, but soon there were sections and singles all over the sky,” recalled Blair. “My transmitter was out so I could not give any directions.  My wingman, John Moore, stayed right with me, but Chernoff, a substitute section leader, went off on his own to be a hero and was shot down.  [Interesting; almost a quote from the Action Report.]  Moore and I started for altitude and were immediately looking ahead on a Frank (?) section.  We both fired a short burst and at the last second, I broke under the leader, sure he was going to hit me.  I heard his engine as he passed overhead!  The Japs really knew the game.  They’d make section runs about four at a time, leaving eight or 12 above us as cover, and all of them would re-form after each pass.”

“It was a complete surprise attack,” recalled Genda. “The enemy aircraft had no means to cope with it.  Most of them were unable to enter into an ordinary dogfight.  Our Shiden-Kais glued themselves to the enemy’s tails or dived at them and destroyed one after another.  Enemy fighters flamed, wings flew off, and spiraled down…”

*****

The Shiden-Kais of Squadron 301, on cover duty, descended upon a group of eight Corsairs led by LCdrs Ford and Hubert. They were orbiting a downed pilot in the southeast position.  The Japanese believed that these Corsairs were not aware of the other group’s situation.  Genda wrote later. “If they had been alerted and joined in the combat the situation might have changed.  The 301st division rushed into the new group of eight Corsairs.  The fight was as one-sided as the first one.  Five of the eight were shot down.”

*****

On the credit side, Fighting Squadron 85 put in claims for two destroyed, one probable, and two damaged.  The day’s high scorer was Lt(jg) William R. Clarke with two victories, followed by Lt(jg) John C. Dunn with a probable, with a damaged each to Lt. George M. Blair and Lt(jg) Donald P. Grau.

On the Japanese side, two pilots failed to return – CPOs Eiji Mikami from Squadron 301 and Jiro Funakoshi of Squadron 701 [shot down by Lt. (jg) William R. Clarke].  So wild was this encounter, the 343 Kokutai claimed 18 victories, with Lt. Hayashi’s men claiming 13!  [18 victories?!  Not really; not at all.  Overclaiming – not at all uncommon in aerial warfare – in this instance, by a factor of 6.]

*****

During the year 2000, locals in Kagoshima Prefecture were cultivating land in the vicinity of Kanoya and found an aircraft machine gun.  They dug further and discovered a name chop (family seal) inscribed with the name “Mikami.”  Name chops are used by the Japanese to imprint the family seal on documents and letters.  This further confirms that Lt(jg) William R. Clarke hit CPO Jiro Funakoshi, who parachuted into the sea.  His bleached bones were found along the shores of Takeshima and his identity was confirmed by the name written on his life jacket.  He had no relatives and died alone.

____________________

Sixth and Seventh, here are documents pertaining to the rescue of one of the three downed F6F Hellcat pilots, Ensign Roy G. Kueller:

From the War Diary of VH-3:

RESCUE SQUADRON THREE
FLEET POST OFFICE
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

RESCUE OF TWELVE SURVIVORS – 2 June 1945

On 2 June 1945, Lieutenant DORTON and his crew in PBM-5, F-5, departed Kerama Retto at 0545 and were waiting to rendezvous with VF 20 miles east of Suwanose Shima in the northern Ryukyus when they intercepted a report of a fighter pilot down in Kagoshima Bay, southern Kyushu. They proceeded without VF cover and enroute heard a search plane give an ETA of 15 minutes at the position of the survivors.

Enroute, he intercepted a further message that the search plane in attempting this rescue had been damaged due to rough water and subsequently overturned. However, he continued into the bay and landed in 4-5 foot swells and into a 20-knot south wind a half mile off the enemy beach. He encountered anti-aircraft fire from shore batteries while both airborne and waterborne, but succeeded in taxing to the location of the downed personnel. With the original downed fighter pilot and the entire crew of the sunken search plane aboard, he made a rough water JATO take-off and returned safely to base.

The VF pilot was Ensign Roy G. KOELLER, of VBF-9 based aboard the U.S.S. YORKTOWN. He was hit in the right wing and engine by AA while strafing parked aircraft on Kanoya East airfield. He headed south and ditched at 0830 in the middle of the bay. He made a no-flap landing, hitting hard, and lost his raft before he could inflate it. About 20 minutes later, an orbiting VF dropped a wing tank and he clung to that until rescued.

The PB2Y, having intercepted the report of the VP pilot down, had landed in the middle of the bay at 1015. One large swell threw the plane into the air, the left wing dropped and the plane came down, losing the port float, and the port outboard propellor. The plane capsized 10 minutes later while taxing and the crew took to rafts being picked up 25 minutes later. Survivors were…

Lieutenant G.W. HEAD
Lieutenant (j.g.) H.S. MILLER
Ensign R. STRAUS
BAILEY, E.R., AMM2C
BRISLAUN, H.A., AMM3C
COTTELL, C.R., ARM2C
NURNBERG, C.W., AOM3C
WILLIAMS, C.E., ARM1C
JOHNSON, R.F., ARM2C
MYERS, D.N., AMM2C
…and…
COLLINS, C.H., AOM2C

R. P. WATERS, Jr.,
R. P. WATERS, Jr.,
Lieutenant Commander, A, U.S.N.R.,
Air Intelligence Officer.

__________

From the War History of VP-13 / VPB-13:

On 2 June while on a routine patrol along the southern coast of Kyushu, Lieut. George P. Yonkers, USN, and Lieut. George Head, USNR, intercepted radio voice transmissions from fighter pilots off the U.S.S. YORKTOWN who were returning to their ship after a strike in Kyushu. The conversations indicated that they were circling a downed pilot and calling for Dumbo assistance.

Lieut. Yonkers answered the call and learned that two fighter pilots were downed in Kagoshima Wan, a large bay approximately five miles wide and 18 miles long, located at the southern tip of Kyushu. The two PBYs were 30 minutes from the position and informed the fighters that they would lend assistance. When the Coronados arrived on the scene the YORKTOWN pilots informed them that the closest Dumbo plane was 40 minutes away, that they were very low on gas and could remain over the area for approximately 20 minutes more. An added complication was that the area was reported to be heavily fortified. Antiaircraft positions and enemy fighter fields were nearby and without the then existing cover of 35 fighters, rescue would be quite difficult. The downed flier was drifting toward the shore and action had to be taken then or never.

From the air, conditions looked favorable for a landing and at 1000I a decision was made to attempt to get the ladened plane down, rescue the pilot and get off the water without JATO assistance. Two dye markers gave the position of one of the fighter pilots and the 2Ys were informed that another was down 10 miles up the bay. Lieut. Head made an approach and touched the water at 31-17N 130-45E. Tide and wind were in opposite directions and the surface was choppy. Upon contact the plane bounced into the air and stalled out on the left wing. The left wing-tip float and No. 1 propeller were torn off and the fuselage buckled amidships but crew members were at ditching stations and no one was injured. There were 1900 gallons of gasoline aboard the plane. The bombs had been jettisoned.

Meantime, Lieut. Yonkers was circling the area to assure himself that the landing was successful and then intended to go on up the bay and make a landing near the other pilot.

Shortly after the landing a Dumbo PBM from VH-3 arrived on the scene and was given a complete picture of the situation by Lieut. Yonkers and the carrier pilots. In the water below Lieut. Head and his crew had abandoned the plane. Seven men were in a Mk 7 life raft, three were clinging to its side. WILLIAMS, C.E., ARM1C, swam to the side of the fighter pilot and was giving what assistance he could.

The light-weight, JATO equipped air-sea rescue plane circled close to shore, and benefitting from the PB2Y’s experience, landed in less choppy water.

Above the floating raft, gas-nervous fighter pilots wheeled in a protective circle and finally headed in the direction of their carrier hoping to have enough fuel to make a landing. Finally the PB2Y-5 was the only protection the stricken men and their rescuers had. As the last fighter faded into the clouds, enemy shore batteries lost their timidity and opened up.

Just in time the PBM’s engines roared, and four charges of JATO rocketed them into the air with the downed fighter pilot and the eleven man crew of the patrol bomber aboard. They were saved just 22 minutes after their plane had been abandoned. As the rescue plane made its getaway, Lieut. Yonkers made two bombing and strafing runs on the damaged plane leaving it in a sinking condition. When last seen the hull was sinking rapidly with its classified equipment, in from 80 to 100 fathoms of water.

____________________

The Toll

Here is a list of the six VF-85 / VBF-85 pilots killed on June 2, as well as information about Lieutenants Sovanski and Toenges (who returned to the Shangri-La in damaged planes), and, the three F6F pilots who were rescued.  Upon correlating aircraft Bureau Numbers and pilot names between those listed in the Aircraft Action Report, those associated with a set of twenty photos of two damaged Corsairs (see below…), and, Bureau Numbers and pilot names as listed at Aviation Archeology, there are discrepancies for the Corsairs flown by Atkinson, Kennedy, and Sovanski.  

Killed

Atkinson, Wallace Payne, Jr., Lt., 0-157866 – Enemy aircraft damage over Ibusuki seaplane base (affected oil pressure); forced to ditch near Kuchino Shima; Not recovered
VF-85 F4U-1D 82547 or 82751

Chernoff, Saul, Lt. (jg), 0-347306 – Enemy aircraft over Ibusuki seaplane base
VBF-85 F4U-1D 82789

Fuller, Roy Arthur, Lt., 0-106132 – Anti-aircraft over Ibusuki seaplane base
VBF-85 F4U-1D 82298
WW II Memorial

Kennedy, Harold Ray, Lt. (jg), 0-337469 – Enemy aircraft damage (possibly wounded); forced to ditch near Kyushu en-route to Shangri-La; Not recovered
VBF-85 FG-1D 76540 or 82751

Kirkham, Charles Noble, Lt. (jg), 0-347317 – Ran out of fuel while orbiting Kennedy; ditched nearby; Not recovered
VBF-85 FG-1D 76528
WSU Magazine
WW II Memorial

Marr, William Howard, Lt. (jg), 0-338032 – Crashed into sea (spun in) on take-off from USS Shangri-La; drowned.  Pilot seen to get out of plane and into life raft.  Left life raft on approach of destroyer, but disappeared underwater about thirty-five feet from raft in an apparent attempt to swim to destroyer.
VF-85 F4U-1D 82371

Returned in Damaged Planes

Edwin, Norman Leon, Lt. (jg)
VBF-85 FG-1D 87843 (Listed in Aviation Archeology as having been lost 6/8/45 at Kyushu – a typo?)

Sovanski, Lawrence, Lt., 0-121394 – Damaged by anti-aircraft and enemy aircraft; landed aboard carrier and aircraft jettisoned; Recovered
VF-85 F4U-1D Listed in Aviation Archeology as 82547, but probably 82290. 
Born 9/8/15 – Died 3/16/00

Toenges, Robert Frederick, Lt. (jg), 0-337588 – Ran out of fuel en route back to carrier (high fuel consumption due to weather, and could not drop tanks); ditched; Recovered
VBF-85 FG-1D 76477
Born 11/22/23 – Died 11/3/06

Rescued

Head, G.W., Ensign (and 10 crew members) VPB-13, PB2Y-3 7132

Kueller, Roy G., Ensign, VBF-9 (USS Yorktown (CV-10)), F6F-5 78145

Scott, Frank Vaughn, Jr., Lt., VF-87 (USS Ticonderoga (CV-14)), F6F-5P 72853

Hershey, Merle Murray, Lt., VBF-87 (USS Ticonderoga (CV-14)) F6F-5 78633

____________________

One that made it back: Lieutenant Lawrence Sovanski’s damaged F4U-1D, aircraft number “1“, Bureau Number 82290, has just landed on the Shangri-La.  This picture, via VF-85, is from “… VBF-85 XO “Tex” O’Neill’s diary, thanks to his son Kevin O’Neill, and captioned, “Larry Sovanski brings Bernie’s plane back from Kyushu.  You should have seen the other side.”  The plane was subsequently jettisoned.  

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

__________

Also found in “Aircraft Action Report No. VF85#27 VBF85#25 CVG85#20 1945/06/02 : Report No. 2-d(64): USS Shangri La, USSBS Index Section 7“, here are four of the above-mentioned twenty 8 1/2″ x 11” images showing battle damage to two Shangri-La Corsairs after the mission: Aircraft F4U-1 87843 (“Repaired aboard ship.”) and 82290 (“Stripped and stricken from the roll.”). 

The Aircraft Action Report describes the damage to these two plane as comprising:

87843: “Left flap, 1 1/2 foot hole in left aileron, hits by a/a in oil tank.  Knocked out entire right aileron.”

__________

82290: “.50 caliber holes in fuselage, 40mm in root of wing panel, right outboard flap damaged by shrapnel, 1×1/2 foot hole in left aileron by 20mm, HE, below rudder, shrapnel in fuselage, propeller, and cowling.”

____________________

This series of Oogle Maps shows the scene of the action:

This map shows the southern tip of Kyushu, where Ibusuki (designated by the blue oval) in situated on the Satsuma Peninsula, in Kagoshima prefecture.

____________________

Oogling in for a closer view of the Satsuma Peninsula, here’s a topographic / geographic map of the location of the seaplane base, which is now the site of the Ibusuki Naval Air Base Memorial (指宿海軍基地記念館).  Chiringashima Island lies to the northeast.  

____________________

This is an air photo view of the above map, at the same scale.  In 2021, lots of restaurants and places to stay.

____________________

This photo, taken on May 12, 1945, shows Ibusuki Seaplane Base looking north-northeast.  This picture, discovered on EBay, is from a lot of four original photos (no longer available by 12/15/21 – I guess they were sold!) of bombing target photos of Japan, covering Kure Harbor and the Ibusuki Seaplane Base.  Note the Uomidake Cliffs to the left of the base and its access road, and Chiringashima Island to the northeast, which – in this 1945 view and still today, is connected to the mainland – specifically, the Tara Peninsula – by a stretch of sand, which may be known as (I don’t know Japanese, so this text is phonetic and simply taken from Oogle) the “Chiringashima Suna no Michi.”  

____________________

This image of the Ibusuki Seaplane Base, looking southwest, is from Report of Air Operations Against Kyushu Airfields, and was photographed on March 18, 1945. 

____________________

This painting by aviation artist T. Toshino, appearing as “box art” for the Hasegawa Corporation’s 1/32 plastic model kit of the Kawashini N1K2-J fighter, is a striking representation of this excellent fighter plane.  Toshino’s art appropriately depicts – for the purposes of this post – an aircraft of the 343rd Naval Air Group (note the “343” on the rudder), with the dual yellow stripes denoting a plane flown by a “commander”; this plane is depicted a little differently in Donald Thorpe’s book covering the camouflage markings of Japanese naval aircraft.  You can read much more about the floatplane-derived Shiden fighter at Arawasi – Wild Eagles, and (of course) Wikipedia.   

__________

And, from Sakaida and Takaki’s Genda’s Blade, here’s an image of the r e a l white 15.  Caption: “Shiden-Kai 343-A-15 at Matsuyama Airfield on 10 April 1945 just before Squadron 301 departed for its new base at Kanoya.  Lt. Naoshi Kanno frequently flew this aircraft.  As with other units, pilots of the 343 Kokutai flew aircraft on an availability basis.  Poor-quality fuel caused maintenance problems, making the assignment of individual aircraft to units impossible.  However, aircraft marked such as this were reserved for flight leaders.”  (Photo from K. Osuo)

__________

From Genda’s Blade, here are color profiles (by Shigeru Nohara and Thomas Tullis) depicting N1K2-Js of each of the 343rd Kokutai’s three squadrons, designated by Roman letters painted at the top of the aircraft’s rudders as “A” (301st Hikotai), “B” (407th Hikotai), and “C” and 701st (Hikotai), respectively. 

__________

__________

Japanese Losses

Chief Petty Officer Eiji Mikami – Squadron 301
Chief Petty Officer Jiro Funakoshi – Squadron 701 (shot down by Lt. (jg) William R. Clarke)

____________________

____________________

I have no further specifics about Lt. (jg) Saul Chernoff.  Perhaps he crashed at sea, just off the Ibusuki Seaplane Base; perhaps somewhere on the Satsuma Peninsula.  To the best of my knowledge, he was never a POW.  Even if he had been captured, his chance of survival to the war’s end, even during these closing three months of the Pacific War, in the context of the fate of Allied fliers captured by the Japanese, would only have been about 1 in 2.  

Lt. (jg) Chernoff was buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Beth Olam Cemetery,  in Hollywood, California, on January 16, 1949.  (Section 18, Lot 718, Grave G).   His burial announcement appeared in the Los Angeles Times on the same date. 

Saul Chernoff’s name appears on page 288 of American Jews in World War II, where he is listed as having been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, and Purple Heart.  His name also appears in both volumes of the 1946 publication Combat Connected Naval Casualties of World War II.  In Volume I, his name appears on page 99 as being “Missing in Action or During Operational War Missions”, while in Volume II, his name can be found on page 12, where he is listed as “Reported in California as Missing”.  

____________________

____________________

And, another pilot…

In VF-85’s Aircraft Action Report for the mission of May 4, 1945, the name of pilot “Lieut. J.S. Jacobs” makes an appearance.  This man was Jack Sidney Jacobs (0-157472).  Born in Massillon, Ohio, on January 6, 1920, he was the son of Meyer and Eva Jacobs, and the brother of Gwendolyn and Leslie.  His family lived at 6820 Crandon Ave., In Chicago, Illinois. 

Like many American Jewish WW II servicemen – like innumerable other American Jewish WW II servicemen; as alluded to very frequently at this blog – his name never appeared in the 1947 book American Jews in World War Two.

The article below, by Jonah Meadows at patch.com, is apparently the only information about Jack Jacobs present on the Internet.  (Well, at least aside from genealogical information at Ancestry.com.)  Interestingly, note the statement, “One his most harrowing experiences was flying through a typhoon.  Twenty-two people were lost during that mission, including his best friend who was shot down.”  While obviously on no mission did VF-85 lose anywhere near that number of planes and pilots, given the nominal mention of a “typhoon”, the implication of the loss of many planes, and consequently many planes participating in the mission, this comment may actually be a reference – however inaccurately remembered and/or recorded – to the mission of June 2, 1945, which VF-85 / VBF-85 commenced with 31 aircraft.  

Jack Jacobs, U.S. Navy Veteran of World War II, Honoree

Jack was a student at DePaul University and was participating in the Civilian Pilots Training Program and had completed 30 hours of flight time.  The day after Pearl Harbor, Jack joined the U.S. Navy.  After completing psychological testing and physical training at the University of Chicago, Jack was one of Chicago’s Own, a group of seventy enlistees sent to a base in New Orleans for training and then to Jacksonville, Florida.  He was not immediately shipped overseas.  Jack was initially stationed in Pensacola as a flight instructor, training not only American pilots but even members of Britain’s Royal Air Force.  In March of 1945, Jack was sent to the Pacific with Air Group 85.  He was a Lieutenant Senior flying CV-38 [sic] otherwise known as Corsairs, and was a fighter pilot assigned to the Shangri-La, an SS [sic] Class aircraft carrier.  His group provided combat air patrols for 3 destroyers and Jack made 179 carrier landings.  During his service, Jack earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and five Air Medals.  One his most harrowing experiences was flying through a typhoon.  Twenty-two people were lost during that mission [error], including his best friend who was shot down.  Another time, he was returning to the Shangri-la and had only 6 or 7 gallons of fuel left but he was ordered to hold at 10,000 feet as enemy pilots had been spotted in the area.  He was then instructed to hold at 12,000 feet.  Then advised to hold at 30,000 feet.  While temperatures near the carrier’s deck surface were in the 70s, at 30,000 feet temps drop to 30 degrees below freezing.  He was wearing his nylon jumpsuit and began to experience the effects of hypothermia, he started to lose control of his plane but was able to communicate the emergency and his need to land immediately.  The fleet turned around – a protocol that was unheard of – he was able to land in practically making a vertical drop to the carrier deck.  Air Group 85 was part of the massive preparations for an invasion of Japan.  The Shangri-la was only 80 miles away from Hiroshima when the atomic bomb was dropped.  Naval personnel aboard the carrier were only told about a “device the army had.”

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Here Are Some Books

Dublin, Louis I., and Kohs, Samuel C., American Jews in World War II – The Story of 550,000 Fighters for Freedom, The Dial Press, New York, N.Y., 1947

Green, William, Famous Fighters of the Second World War, Hanover House, N.Y., 1958 (Kawashini Shiden pp. 111-116)

Green, William, Famous Fighters of the Second World War – Volume II, Doubleday and Company, Inc., Garden City, N.Y., 1969 (Chance Vought Corsair pp. 79-92; Nakajima Hayate pp. 125-132)

Sakaida, Henry, and Takaki, Koji, Genda’s Blade – Japan’s Squadron of Aces 343 Kokutai, Classic Publications, Surrey, England, 2003 

Thorpe, Donald W., Japanese Army Air Force Camouflage and Markings – World War II, Aero Publishers, Inc., Fallbrook, Ca., 1968

Young, Edward M. (Illustrated by Gareth Hector), F4U Corsair vs. Ki-84 “Frank” Pacific Theater 1945, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, England, 2016 

Specific Reference Works – No Author Listed

Combat Connected Naval Casualties, World War II, by States, United States Navy Department Office of Information, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1946

Nakajima Ki-84, Profile Books Limited, Windsor, Berkshire, England, 1982

History of Bomber Fighting Squadron Eighty-Five, at VBF85.com

Fighting Squadron Eighty-Five – May 15, 1944 – September 25, 1945, at VBF85.com

VBF-85 Cruise Book, at VBF85.com

List of Imperial Japanese Army air-to-surface special attack units, at Wikipedia

Aircraft Action Reports, Reports of Air Operations, War Diaries, and War Histories – at Fold3.com

VF-85 Aircraft Action Report (Target Combat Air Patrol over Okinawa) – 4 May 1945

VF-85 / VBF-85 Aircraft Action Report (Fighter Sweep over Airfields at Kagoshima, Chiran, and Izumi, Kyushu, Japan) – 2 June 1945

USS Shangri-La Report of Air Operations against Kyushu, Japan

USS Shangri-La War Diary – Report of Air Operations Against Kyushu

VH-3 War Diary

USS Shangri-La War History

War History, VP 13, 12 7 41–10 1 44 & War History, VPB 13, 10 1 44–12 21 45

Soldiers from New York: Jewish Soldiers in The New York Times, in World War Two: Captain William Hays Davidow – January 21, 1943 [Doubly updated post… “New and improved! – Twice!”]

[[December 13, 2021 – “Once more, with feeling!”:  Updated yet again!  I recently obtained a copy of the Army Air Force Accident Report covering the loss of P-40F 41-14403, and the death of its pilot, Captain William Hays Davidow.  I’ve included the first two pages of this 14-page document, below.  Much as I surmised or “read between the lines” of the Times’ obituary for Capt. Davidow – I assumed he crashed on take-off or landing – he indeed crashed on take-off, when his Warhawk’s engine cut, forcing him to make an emergency belly-landing, 1/12 miles south of the airdrome.]]

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[Dating back to January of 2018 and updated on November 27 of 2021, this post is now updated:  New pictures and new images.]

Army Air Force Captain William Hays Davidow, a pilot in the 12th Ferry Group, lost his life in the crash of a P-40 Warhawk fighter plane at Accra, British West Africa (now Ghana), on Sunday, January 21, 1943 (15 Sh’vat 5703).  His aircraft, P-40F 41-14403, suffered engine failure on takeoff.

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Here’s an Applish Map showing the coast of Africa (specifically, along the Gulf of Guinea) with Ghana at the center.  Accra is situated on the coastline.   

Appling in for closer look: The city of Accra, with Kotoka International Airport.  Established as a military airport by the British in WW II, this was probably the location of Captain Davidow’s crash.  

An even closer look:  A view of the contemporary international airport.

From NARA’s collection “Black and White and Color Photographs of U.S. Air Force and Predecessor Agencies Activities, Facilities, and Personnel – World War II”, via Fold3, here’s a May, 1943 view of the Accra Air Base Operations Building, certainly much as it would have appeared to Captain Davidow in early 1943.  (Photo 342-FH-3A00701-77499AC)

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The second and third pages of the Accident Report for Capt. Davidow’s loss are shown below.  As seems to be pretty standard for early war Accident Reports, the initial page(s) – below – comprises a very brief handwritten summary (an abstract, as it were) of the report.  This includes the serial number of the report, and, the location of the plane’s loss.    

Accra, British West Africa

1615 GMT                                                                                          43-1-21-502

Immediately after take-off when about 150 – 200 ft. altitude the engine failed.

Pilot made forced landing with gear-up in rough terrain.  The belly tank was sheared off upon contact with the ground.  The plane skidded about 150 ft. hit a tree stump, snapping off the left wing, breaking gas tank & caught on fire.

Fatal to pilot.  Plane completely destroyed.

P.B.H.

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The next page in the document is a standard form (A.A.F. Form No. 14, of May 15, 1942, that is), appropriately dubbed a “Report of Aircraft Accident”.  The form’s data fields cover the date, time, location, and military organization of the plane and pilot (or crew), identifying information about the plane in question, and especially, a record of the pilot’s flight hours.  This is followed, at bottom, by a very brief descriptive summary of the accident.

Note that Captain Davidow, though having amassed a total of over 1,000 flight hours, had only completed 4 hours in P-40s (P-40Fs, to be specific) prior to the accident, which was a test flight.  But, his lack of experience with this aircraft was entirely unrelated to the plane’s loss, which was attributed – at bottom, in faint handwriting – to “100% material” [failure].”  As to w h y the engine failed, other documents in the report offer no explanation.  

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On January 27, an obituary of Captain Davidow appeared in The New York Times, albeit not in association with a Casualty List.  Rather, it was published as a “stand alone” news item on page four in the newspaper’s first section.  The prominence of the obituary – which is shown and transcribed below – was probably due to Captain Davidow’s familial relationship to Arthur Hays Sulzberger, publisher of the Times. 

Born in New York on December 15, 1919, William Davidow was employed by the Times prior to entering the Army Air Force as an Aviation Cadet.

Along with The New York Times, news about Captain Davidow appeared in the Herald Statesman (Yonkers) (1/28/43), the Long Island Daily Press (12/17/40, and 1/29/43), and Nassau Daily Review – Star (6/30/42, 2/5/43) while a tribute in his honor, written by fellow employees at the Times, was published in the German exile newspaper Aufbau on June 11, 1943. 

Captain Davidow is buried in the North African American Cemetery, in Carthage, Tunisia, at Plot C, Row 19, Grave 7.  His name appears on page 295 of American Jews in World War Two.  

His obituary from the Times is presented below…

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Army Flier Is Victim Of a Crash in Africa

SCARSDALE, N.Y., Jan. 26 – Captain William Hays Davidow of the Army Air Forces has been killed in an airplane accident in Africa, the War Department has notified his mother, Mrs. Irwin Friend, of 44 Graham Road, Scarsdale.  [Also 121 East 94th Street, in the Carnegie Hill section of Manhattan – MGM]  There were no further details.

Captain Davidow was born in New York City twenty-three years ago.  He attended Lafayette College for two years, and was a member of the swimming team.  In 1939 he became a member of the merchandise research department of THE NEW YORK TIMES.

In October, 1940, he enlisted in the Air Forces as an aviation cadet, graduating as a pilot in August, 1941.  He was trained at Maxwell Field, Birmingham, Ala.  He went to Africa shortly before Pearl Harbor.

Surviving besides his mother are his father, Leonard H. Davidow of New York, and two sisters, Mrs. Marjorie D. Mathias and Miss Betty Davidow.  Mrs. Arthur Hays Suzlberger of New York is a cousin.

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This image of Captain Davidow standing in front a PT-17 Stearman biplane, presumably a semi-official portrait taken during his pilot training, appeared in the Scarsdale Inquirer on November 6, 1942.

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A more formal portrait of William Davidow as a Flying Cadet, from the United States National Archives collection of “Photographic Prints of Air Cadets and Officers, Air Crew, and Notables in the History of Aviation“.  (RG 18-PU)  Lt. Davidow received his wings on August 15, 1941. 

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This portrait of William Davidow appeared both in the Times’ obituary and the Lafayette College Book of Remembrance, the latter profiling alumni of Lafayette College (in Easton, Pennsylvania) who lost their lives in World War Two.

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Here’s a memorial poem in honor of Captain Davidow from the June 11, 1943 issue of Aufbau, by Ben Samuel, a journalist who contributed many biographical profiles of American Jewish soldiers to the Jewish press during the Second World War.  Though Samuel’s work is invaluable in terms of chronicling the participation of American Jews in the United States’ war effort, unsurprisingly – given the ethos of the era – his writing is largely if not entirely absent of a perception of the nature of the war, in terms of the identity and survival of the Jewish people on a collective basis.  

Jews in
Uniform

By BEN SAMUEL

Obit

     As a tribute to his memory,
his co-workers on the editorial staff of
the New York Times recently
dedicated the following poem to
Captain William Hays Davidow,
Army Air Force, who died in action
“somewhere in Africa” early
in January:

They told us today that Bill had
     been killed,
in action,
in Africa.

It brought the war home to us,
     right into
the office, closer than it’s ever been.

Not rationing…
Not service stars posted in the lobby
Not saying goodbye to the others,
like Bill, who go off every day to
     the war…
Not reading Rex Stout’s preachment
To “hate the enemy”…
Not hearing the sirens wail
every Saturday noon…
Not anything
has brought the war so close to us
as telling us that Bill had been
killed in action
in Africa

You see, Bill was one of us.
We worked with him.
We played with him.
We ate and drank with him.
Complained and griped with him.
Laughed and kidded with him.
Dreamed and hoped with him.
Got drunk with him.
Sobered up with him.
And said so long to him
when he went off to war.

And now they tell us he’s been killed
in action,
in Africa.
That he won’t be coming back
when this show is over.
That he won’t be laughing with us
and eating with us and working
     with us.
and being alive with us.
any more.

And that’s hard to take,
because we loved Bill.
We love him still
We know who killed him, too,
You killed him, Hitler,
You dirty swine,
Damn you!

We thought we knew before
what it was all about.
We didn’t.
But we know now,
Because of Bill.
And it’s going to be tough with you,
Hitler…

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The Davidow family home in Scarsdale, New York, as it appeared in 2017, via Zillow.com.

United States Navy

Two Jewish members of the United States Navy are known to have been involved in military incidents on January 21.  They were Lieutenant Albert Plotkin, killed in a domestic flying accident, and Seaman Bernard Applebaum, who was rescued during the sinking of his ship, but who died of illness in October, 1945.

Plotkin, Albert, Lt., Co-Pilot
Navy Air Transport Squadron VR-3
Aircraft (R4D-1 Skytrain Bureau Number 5051), struck Fremont Peak, near Flagstaff, Arizona; Pilot – Lieutenant Max S. Knudsen; 6 crew and passengers – no survivors
Mrs. Virginia Elizabeth “Betty” (Ogle) Plotkin (wife), New Smyrna, Fl. / Kansas City, Mo.
Mr. and Mrs. Harry Herman and Pearl Plotkin (parents), David and Ruth Plotkin (brother and sister), 90-36 149th St., Jamaica, N.Y.
Born Akron, Ohio, 12/14/16
Buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va. – Section 8, Grave 6169 – Buried 5/23/43
Herald Statesman (Yonkers) (1/28/43)
Long Island Daily Press 12/17/40, 1/29/43
Nassau Daily Review-Star 6/25/41, 3/4/42, 6/30/42, 2/5/43
American Jews in World War Two – 406

The article below appeared on the first page of the January 29, 1943 issue of the the Long Island Daily Press. 

Wreckage of the Skytrain was only discovered four months later, as seen in this article from The Washington Post of May 17, 1943.

Navy Plane Lost Since January Found in Arizona

Flagstaff, Ariz., May 16 (AP) – The wreckage of a Navy cargo plane missing since January 21 with six men aboard was found today by a high school hiking club on the San Francisco peaks.

Sheriff Peery Francis said the plane was “pretty badly torn up,” and that all the bodies had been found.

When the plane was three days overdue on its flight from Kansas City to San Pedro, Calif., the Navy said those aboard were:

Pilot: Lieut. Max S. Knudsen, Kansas City, Mo.; co-pilots, Lieut. Albert Plotkin, Kansas City, Mo.; Lieut. (j.g.) Phillip H. Pitts, Jr., Birmingham, Ala.; Chief Radioman Cullen A. Snyder, Central City, Pa.; Aviation Machinist’s Mate Wilford De Booth [Wilford D. Booth], Cainesville, Mo.; Seaman Second Class, Don J. Steele, Carmichaels, Pa.

These two images of Lt. Plotkin’s matzeva in Arlington National Cemetery are by FindAGrave contributor Anne Cady.  Note that Lt. Plotkin was a Freemason.    

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Applebaum, Bernard (David bar Rav Yakov), Seaman 1st Class, serial number possibly 5791828
Crew Member of Submarine Chaser USS SC-709 (lost off Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia)
Born 1926
Mr. Jacob Applebaum (father), Philip (brother), 16 Henry St., Malden, Ma.
Died (non-combat) at Brooklyn Naval Hospital on 10/26/45; Malden Press 11/2/45
American Jews in World War Two – p. 149
Buried at Meretz (Mont Vale?) Cemetery, Woburn, Ma.

This image of Bernard’s matzeva is by Donna Halper.  

Soviet Union / U.S.S.R. (C.C.C.Р.)
Red Army [РККА (Рабоче-крестьянская Красная армия)]

Among Jewish military casualties on January 21, 1943, were these members of the Red Army:

Eylenkrig, Yakov Isaevich – Lieutenant [Эйленкриг, Яков Исаевич – Лейтенант]
Platoon Commander
314th Rifle Division, 598th Autonomous Sapper Battalion
Disappeared / missing in action, during tank activity under force of artillery shelling [Пропал без вести при содровождении танков при силы артиллерийский обстреле]
Born 1913 or 1916, city of Kiev
Mother I.Ya. Eylenkrig; lived in Kurshabsk raion

Flomin, Natan Abramovich – Captain [Фломин, Натан Абрамович – Капитан] (In battle for Stalingrad)
Battalion Commander
226th Rifle Division, 987th Rifle Regiment
Born 1915; city of Pervomansk, Odessa oblast
Father: A. Yakov Flomin, resided in city of Chkalov
Place of burial: Stalingrad oblast

Grossman, Lev Moiseevich – Lieutenant [Гроссман, Лев Моисеевич – Лейтенант]
Platoon Commander
225th Rifle Division, 695th Rifle Regiment
Died of wounds / Died of disease / illness
Born: 1907; Chkalov region, Kvarkensky district, mine Aydir
Wife: Ida Isaevna Dubenskaya, city of Znamenka, Mosseynaya 66
Russia, Saratov oblast, Kirovsky raion, Resurrection Cemetery (northeastern part, mass grave) / Saratov oblast, city of Saratov, city cemetery

Kleyn, Iosif Lazarevich, Lieutenant – [Клейн, Иосиф Лазаревич, Лейтенант]
Platoon Commander
16th Autonomous Rifle Brigade
Born: 1915; Kongradskiy region, Poltovskaya oblast, Ukraine SSR
Wife: Anna Maksimovna Kleyn, lived in city of Tbilisi
Place of burial: Krasnodar Territory, Northern raion, Severskaya Station, southern margin

Mitelman, Yeshaooiy Volfovich – Lieutenant – [Мительман, Е. Вольфович – Лейтенант]
Platoon Commander
18th Rifle Division, 424th Rifle Regiment
Born: 1920; Dunaevskiy raion, Kaments-Podolsk oblast
Mother: Anna Shmulevna Mitelman; lived in city of Sizran

Pasik, Iosif Mikhaylovich – Lieutenant [Пасик, Иосиф Михайлови – Лейтенант] (In battle for Stalingrad)
Platoon Commander
13th Guards Rifle Division, 34th Guards Rifle Regiment
Born 1922; Satanovskiy raion, Kamenets-Pololsk oblast, Ukraine SSR
Father resided in city of Kazatin
Buried at Mamayev Kurgan – city of Stalingrad, Stalingrad oblast

Pogorelskiy, Samuil Mikhaylovich – Guards Lieutenant [Погорельский, Самуил Михайлович – Гвардии Лейтенант] (In battle for Stalingrad)
Deputy Company Commander (Political Section)
57th Army, 15th Guards Rifle Division, 47th Guards Rifle Regiment
Born 1904; city of Urgench, Kharkovskiy oblast
Wife: Elena G. Podgorelskiy, resided in Kharkovskiy oblast
Buried: City of Volgograd, Sovetsky raion, Peschanka settlement, center, mass grave

Veseliy, David Lazarevich – Junior Lieutenant – [Веселый, Давид Лазаревич – Младший Лейтенант]
Platoon Commander
364th Rifle Division, 1216th Rifle Regiment, 1st Gunnery Company
Born: 1909; Volkovetskiy raion, Kamenets-Podolsk oblast
Mother: Frida Ayzikovna Veselaya; lived in Kamanets-Podolsk oblast

Zilberg (Zilberberg?), Matvey Mironovich – Lieutenant [Зильберг (Зильберберг?), Матвей Миронович – Лейтенант]
Tank Commander
39th Autonomous Tank Brigade
Missing in action in Kamenskiy raion, Rostovskaya oblast
Born: 1922, city of Kiev, Ukraine SSR
Mother: Zinaida Petrovna Zilberg (Zilberberg?), resided in city of Kiev

…while this man, captured on January 21, survived as a prisoner of war and was repatriated from German captivity:

Podolnik, Solomon Semenovich – Lieutenant – [Подольник, Соломон Семенович – Лейтенант]
Deputy Battery Commander (Political Section)
Captured 1/21/43
98th Rifle Division

Some References

Websites

Arthur Hays Sulzberger (Wikipedia)

Captain William H. Davidow incident of January 21, 1943 (Aviation Archeology Database)

Scarsdale Inquirer for November 6, 1942 (Hudson River Valley Heritage Historical Newspapers)

Aufbau, poem honoring Captain William H. Davidow, in issue of June 11, 1943 (German Exile Press newspapers, at Deutsche National Bibliothek)

Submarine Chaser USS SC-709

Wrecksite.com

and

Wikimapia.org

Books

Dublin, Louis I., and Kohs, Samuel C., American Jews in World War II – The Story of 550,000 Fighters for Freedom, The Dial Press, New York, N.Y., 1947.

Lafayette College Book of Remembrance, 1946, Lafayette College, Easton, Pa. (With special thanks to College Archivist Elaine M. Stomber!)

January 1, 2018

Soldiers from New York: Jewish Soldiers in The New York Times, in World War Two: May 4, 1945 – United States Navy and United States Marine Corps

This is the third of four (well, e v e n t u a l l y four) posts covering Jewish military casualties on Friday, May 4, 1945 (by the Hebrew calendar, 22 Iyyar 5705) “this” post pertaining to members of the United States Marine Corps, and, United States Navy.  (I’ve already presented information about ground forces, and, the Army Air Force.)  As you’ll see by scrolling down, of the nine men whose names are listed below, one was a Marine while the other eight were members of the Navy.

The fourth and “final” post in this “May 4, 1945 series” will cover one, and only one, person: naval aviator Lt. (jg) Saul Chernoff, a fighter pilot in VF-85.

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United States Marine Corps

I have no information about the circumstances under which Cpl. Abrams was killed, but based on the time-frame and the identity of his organization – the 5th Marine Regiment – I assume he lost his life during the battle for Okinawa.  

Cpl. Simon Abrams

– .ת. נ. צ. ב. ה –
תהא נפשו צרורה בצרור החיים

Abrams, Simon, Cpl., 472612, Purple Heart
Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division
Born 6/15/14
Mrs. Pauline Abrams (mother), 1671 W. 4th St., Brooklyn, N.Y.
Long Island National Cemetery, Farmingdale, N.Y. – Section J, Grave 15535; Buried 2/10/49
Casualty List 6/25/45
American Jews in World War II – 263

This image of Cpl. Abrams’ matzeva is by FindAGrave contributor Glenn. 

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United States Navy

The commonality of the fate of the men listed below was that all were crewmen of ships that were sunk by kamikaze attacks during the battle for Okinawa.  (Well, two of the did survive to be rescued!)  Specifically, these vessels were the USS LSM(R)-194 (LSM(R) = Landing Ship Medium (Rocket)), and the Destroyers Luce and Morrison.  All three ships – even the LSM(R)-194 – were engaged in radar picket duty off Okinawa, which Wikipedia summarizes as such:   

The radar picket system saw its ultimate development in World War II in the Battle of Okinawa.  A ring of 15 radar picket stations was established around Okinawa to cover all possible approaches to the island and the attacking fleet.  Initially, a typical picket station had one or two destroyers supported by two landing ships, usually landing craft support (large) (LCS(L)) or landing ship medium (rocket) (LSM(R)), for additional AA firepower.  Eventually, the number of destroyers and supporting ships were doubled at the most threatened stations, and combat air patrols were provided as well.  In early 1945, 26 new construction Gearing-class destroyers were ordered as radar pickets without torpedo tubes, to allow for extra radar and AA equipment, but only some of these were ready in time to serve off Okinawa.  Seven destroyer escorts were also completed as radar pickets.

The radar picket mission was vital, but it was also costly to the ships performing it.  Out of 101 destroyers assigned to radar picket stations, 10 were sunk and 32 were damaged by kamikaze attacks.  The 88 LCS(L)s assigned to picket stations had two sunk and 11 damaged by kamikazes, while the 11 LSM(R)s had three sunk and two damaged.

Given the historical, military, and technological significance (let alone the simple human significance!) of this episode in American and Japanese history, there is an abundance of literature – print and now digital – about the topic, which has long been a subject of study and analysis, perhaps with applicability even for the world of 2021.  And, beyond. 

So, some works pertaining to this topic are listed below:

At Naval History and Heritage Command

20 July 1945: Radar Pickets and Methods of Combating Suicide Attacks Off Okinawa

June 2020, by Shawn R. Woodford, Ph.D., Historian, NHHC Histories and Archives Division: The Most Difficult Antiaircraft Problem Yet Faced By the Fleet”: U.S. Navy vs. Kamikazes at Okinawa

By Trent Telenko at Chicagoboyz:

2 April 2020: The Beginning of the Okinawa Campaign — Plus 75 years

7 March 2014: History Friday: Analyzing The Okinawa Kamikaze Strikes & Japanese/US Planning For Operation Olympic

At Navy Matters Blogspot

28 September 2020: Okinawa and Unmanned Vessels (Includes map of Radar Picket stations)

To place the events of this day in a clearer context, these two maps show the locations of the fifteen radar picket stations off Okinawa; it can be seen that the stations are numbered in a clockwise fashion, with “R.P. 1” north-northeast of the island, and “R.P. 15” north-northwest.  Also note that the stations were not located at a uniform distance from Okinawa.  

This map, from Radar Pickets and Methods of Combating Suicide Attacks Off Okinawa, is captioned, “Fifteen radar picket stations are shown.  Stations will be occupied as directed by OTC.  Radar pickets steam within a radius of 5000 yds. of center of station.  The station center of each radar picket is indicated in latitude and longitude, range and bearing from point BOLO. COMPHIBSPAC OP PLAN Ai-45.”  The map also appears in The Beginning of the Okinawa Campaign, with the important caveat, “It is the primary story of radar at Okinawa…and it leaves out most of what really happened there.”

…while this map, from Okinawa and Unmanned Vessels provides another view of the location of the Okinawa Radar Picket Stations…

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USS LSM(R)-194

(Radar Picket Station 1)

“Fire control of weapons aboard the USS LSM(R) 194 was found inadequate for night firing to a degree which made the ship practically defenseless in darkness or in conditions of low visibility.  If rocket ships are to be used for patrol or escort missions as in the past a system of radar fire control will be advisable.”

These four images of LSM(R)-194 are from NavSource.org.

“Underway off Okinawa, circa 26 March to 4 May 1945.  National Archives photo.”

“Port broadside view, passing under the Cooper River Bridge, Charleston, S.C., 2 December 1944.  US Navy Yard Charleston photo 3520-44.”

Ship underway, date and location unknown.

Ship equally underway, date and location equally unknown.

Lieutenant Allan Myers Hirshberg (0-228315), commander of the LSM(R)-194, received the Navy Cross for his actions on this date.  Born in McKeesport, Pa., on April 12, 1921, he was the husband of Sally Hirshberg, who lived at 642 Shaw Ave., in McKeesport.  His parents, Mr. and Mrs. S.H. and Carrie Hirshberg, also residents of McKeesport, lived at 1120 in that city at McCleary Street.  Lt. Hirshberg’s name appears on page 529 of American Jews in World War II.

Several days after the sinking of his ship, Lt. Hirshberg submitted an Action Report covering the events of May 4.  Note that the ship was stationed at above-mentioned Radar Picket Station 1, north-northwest of Okinawa and northwest of Inaya Retto, a direct line distance of 51 miles from Point Bolo (Bolo Airfield) on the coast of the East China Sea.  The report follows…  

USS LSM(R) 194

Summary of action:

…USS LSM(R) 194 was patrolling on radar picket station 1 on longitude 127-50 E and latitude 27-16.6 N in company were the USS Morrison (DD 560), the USS Ingraham (DD 694), and the LCS 21, 31 & 23.  The Morrison was acting OTC for the entire company and the LCS 31 was OTC for the small craft.  The ships were maneuvering in accordance with flaghoist received from DD 560.  The four gunboats were in column formation with a destroyer on each beam of the formation. 

At 0758 (Item) sounded General Quarters as Flash Red Control Green, enemy planes approaching from the north was reported from OTC.  OTC called the CTF 51 requesting more planes.  At that time there were 12 CAPS above.  Subsequently 24 more arrived.  Action commenced at 0815 (Item) with both destroyers hit by suicide planes, the DD 560 taking 3 planes.  The DD 560 immediately listed, lost control and abandoned ship, the ship sinking at 0837 (item). 

Then a Tony crossed LCS 21 and headed toward LSM(R) 194 on starboard beam which opened fire with 40 mm and 5”/38 – latter gun checking fire to avoid hitting LCS.  As the plane came closer the 20mm and 50 cal. opened fire.  The plane was hit and swerved coming aft. to frame 27 where it crash dived the ship.  The plane was carrying a bomb.  Time 0838 (item).  Fires were started in aft steering and engine room.  The boiler blew up.  The handling room was in flames.  Fire and flushing system was ruptured.  Sprinkle systems all turned on but it is questionable that much water was forthcoming.  The after damage control party were all badly burned and Commanding Officer called forward damage control to proceed aft and take over.  The ship immediately started to settle by the stern with a list to starboard before the hose could be rigged to pump out; the ship had settled too far to save, with water washing up on main deck aft. 

The order was given to abandon ship for all hands except 40mm gun crews.  Then ordered 40mm gun crews to abandon ship, following which Commanding Officer abandoned ship.  Ship settled straight down stern first.  About 5 minutes after she went down a terrific explosion occurred.  Three life rafts were employed, the others unavailable due to damage and fire in aft portion of ship.  Commanding Officer and 48 men were picked up by LCS 21 at 0935 (item).  Remainder of men picked up by LCS 23. 

Ordnance:

Armament aboard the USS LSM(R) 194 proved inadequate to protect the ship from a low flying ramming plane.  The aircraft performed evasive maneuvers until the plane was within 1000 yards of the ship.  The 5”/38 dual purpose gun was unable to score hits because of the evasive action of the plane and the fact that the Mk 51 Mod 3 director was not in working order.  The two single mount 40mm guns scored a few hits but failed to effect sufficient damage to destroy the plane.  One 20mm machine gun and one 50 cal. machine gun fired at the plane but also failed to score a sufficient number of hits to destroy the aircraft.

Damage:

Fire in aft steering space, engine room and handling room.  Boiler exploded.  Fire and flushing system ruptured.  Ship holed by suicide plane and bomb frame 27 starboard. 

Conclusion: 

From experience gained during this attack and observation of similar attack on other vessels, twin and quad mount 40mm guns with Mk 51 directors are considered the most satisfactory for this type of attack.  For this reason it is recommended that twin mount 40mm guns with director control be seriously considered when arming future rocket ships.

Fire control of weapons aboard the USS LSM(R) 194 was found inadequate for night firing to a degree which made the ship practically defenseless in darkness or in conditions of low visibility.  If rocket ships are to be used for patrol or escort missions as in the past a system of radar fire control will be advisable. 

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A news article reporting on the survival of Lt. Hirshberg (and Lt. Joseph C. Kerr of the Mannert L. Abele) was published in The Pittsburgh Press on June 3, 1945.  This is the only image I’ve been able to find of the Lieutenant.    

The citation for Lt. Hirshberg’s Navy Cross award, from Military Times, follows:

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant Allen Myers Hirshberg, United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. LANDING SHIP MEDIUM (Rocket) ONE HUNDRED NINETY-FOUR (LSM(R)-194), a close-in fire support ship, in action against enemy Japanese forces during the assault on Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, on 4 May 1945.  After a bomb-laden suicide plane crashed into his ship, Lieutenant Hirshberg directed from the conn the entire damage control and, displaying exceptional courage when it became necessary to abandon ship, remained to supervise the continuous fire of his anti-aircraft batteries against further enemy air attacks.  His outstanding courage and his inspiring leadership of officers and men under his command reflect the highest credit upon Lieutenant Hirshberg and the United States Naval Service.

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Killed in Action

– .ת. נ. צ. ב. ה –
תהא נפשו צרורה בצרור החיים

F1C Herbert Meyerowitz (713252) did not survive the sinking of LSM(R)-194.  The son of Harry Meyerowitz, P.O. Box 2362, in Miami, his name is commemorated at the Tablets of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.  Like many other men profiled in this ongoing series of blog posts, his name never appeared in American Jews in World War II.

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USS Morrison (DD-560)

(Radar Picket Station 1)

“The ship’s logs, quartermaster’s notebooks, and all records pertaining to the war diary were lost in the sinking.”

These two images of the Morrison are from Navsource.  

“…24 February 1944.  She was performing RDF calibration as part of her post-shakedown trials.  The ship is painted in Camouflage Measure 32/13d.”  (National Archives photo 80-G-455511)

As viewed from Gambier Bay (CVE 73), 24 July 1944.  On this date Morrison was operating as a A/S screening unit of TU 52.14.1, operating east of Saipan.  The ship is painted in camouflage Measure 32, Design 13d.  (National Archives photo)

 

As mentioned in Lt. Hirshberg’s account of the sinking of LSM(R)-194, the USS Morrison was also stationed at Radar Picket Station 1.  An account of the ship’s loss can be found in “The “Graveyard Shift”: The Most Dangerous Place off Okinawa“, by Guy Nasuti of the NHHC History and Archives Division, from April of 2020.  Unlike the LSM(R)-194 rocket ship, there is – alas – little definitive official documentation about the destroyer’s loss, for the ship’s war diary and related materials were lost in her sinking.  The following very brief account is extracted from The Mighty “Moe” ——— Birth to Death, which was written by the ship’s senior surviving officer, Commander James R. Hansen; specifically quoted is the document’s last paragraph. 

The USS Morrison (DD560) was sunk 4 May 1945 north of Okinawa Jima, Ryukyu Islands by a coordinated Japanese suicide plane attack.  The ship’s logs, quartermaster’s notebooks, and all records pertaining to the war diary were lost in the sinking. 

A daily account of the Morrison’s employment from 1 April through 4 May has been reconstructed from memory.  During this period the Morrison was operating in the general vicinity of Okinawa Jima in compliance with COM FIFTH FLEET OPPLAN A1-45, OTF 51 OPPLAN AI-45 and OTF 52 OPPLAN A19-45.

The war diary for this period is submitted in order to bring the records up to date and to close out the war diary for the USS Morrison.

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May the 4th dawned bright and blue.  The attack came at about 0715, a force later estimated at about 25 suicide plane.  Our Combat Air Patrol was out to meet them and shot them down faster than the reports could come in to us.  But that was not fast enough.  Some got through.  The first run on us was a strafing run.  We never found out whether or not any of our men were hit.  Our next close escape was occasioned by a bomb dropped a few yards off our starboard beam.  This did no damage.  Close upon this came a suicide plane which crashed into #1 stack and the bridge causing heavy casualties, and putting all radar and radios, and the main battery out of commission.  A few minutes later suicide #2 hit #2 stack, and #3 hit gun #3 and #4 hit gun #5.  Al these were under attack by our planes and under fire from our own guns.  They were hit repeatedly, but could not be stopped.  After the fourth hit, the stern went under the water and the ship began to list badly to starboard.  The word was passed to abandon ship.  One hundred and fifty two men were left behind, either killed or trapped.  The Morrison was no more. 

Killed in Action

– .ת. נ. צ. ב. ה –
תהא נפשו צרורה בצרור החיים

Berson, Abraham Martin, S 1C, 7078872, Purple Heart
Born New York, N.Y., 4/11/22
Mr. Louis W. Berson (father), 2778 East 22nd St., Brooklyn, N.Y.
Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii
American Battle Monuments Commission lists date as 5/5/46
Casualty List 7/6/45
New York Times (Obituary Section – in Memoriam) 5/4/47
American Jews in World War II – 277
The Jewish Veteran, Convention 1990

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Cohen, Max, S 1C, 8873083, Purple Heart
Mrs. Marguerite Cohen (wife), 2909 Montclair Ave., Detroit, Mi.
Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii
American Jews in World War II – Not Listed
American Battle Monuments Commission lists date as 5/5/46
Combat Connected Naval Casualties of WW II lists him as having been “MIA on Operational Mission”.

This portrait of Seaman Abrams, first published in the 1954 Jewish War Veterans of Michigan Golden Book, is one of the images from that publication now viewable via the Jewish War Veterans – Department of Michigan.  

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Neuger, Harold Saul (Hayyim Shmuel bar Yisrael), RDM 3C, 2839051, Purple Heart
Born Cleveland, Oh., 8/17/25
Mr. and Mrs. Sam (Neugröschl) [10/12/88-5/6/58] and Ethel (Manheim) [7/17/91-10/25/73] Neuger (parents), 11407 Kinsman Ave., Cleveland, Oh.
Ensign Sanford Neuger, Sgt. Joseph Neuger, and PFC Stanley Neuger (brothers)
Workmen’s Circle Cemetery, Parma, Ohio – SIOB, Row 2, Grave 1
Casualty List 7/6/45
Cleveland Press & Plain Dealer, July 17, 18, 28 & 29, 1945; 3/4/49
American Jews in World War II – 496

This image of Radarman Neuger’s matzeva is by FindAGrave contributor Tracy Piazza.  Notice that the engraved date is May 5 – not May 4 – 1945.  Given the circumstances of the Morrison’s loss, I don’t know if this is RDM 3C Neuger’s actual place of burial – perhaps he died of wounds on May 5, 1945? – or, a symbolic and commemorative matzeva. 

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Ziner, Sidney, F 2C, 9089221, Purple Heart
Born Bronx, N.Y., 10/21/20
Mr. and Mrs. Jack and Mollie Ziner (parents), 1223 White Plains Road, Bronx, N.Y.
Allen, Herbert, and Lorraine Ziner (brothers and sister)
Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii
City College of New York Class of 1942
American Battle Monuments Commission lists date as 5/5/46
American Jews in World War II – 477

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USS Luce (DD-522)

(Radar Picket Station 9 or 11)

“Two enemy planes avoided the interceptors and attacked her from the portside.  Luce splashed one, but the explosion from the bomb it carried caused a power failure.  Unable to bring her guns to bear in time, she was struck in the after section by the second kamikaze.”

From Naval History and Heritage Command, this 1944 image, U.S. Navy Photograph NH 51451, shows the Luce wearing Camouflage Measure 32, Design 18D.  (Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.)

 

The following account of the Luce’s loss is from the Naval History and Heritage Command.

On 24 March she departed Leyte escorting and screening units of TF 51 which landed heavy artillery on Kelse Shima for the support of the main landings on Okinawa.  She was detached from this duty 1 April and assigned radar picket duty off Kerama Retto.  About 0740, 4 May, Japanese suicide planes were intercepted by the combat air patrol in the vicinity of Luce.  Two enemy planes avoided the interceptors and attacked her from the portside.  Luce splashed one, but the explosion from the bomb it carried caused a power failure.  Unable to bring her guns to bear in time, she was struck in the after section by the second kamikaze.  The port engine was knocked out, engineering spaces flooded, and the rudder jammed.  At 0814 Luce took a heavy list to starboard and the order to abandon ship was passed.  Moments later she slid beneath the surface in a violent explosion carrying 126 of her 312 officers and men with her.

Killed in Action

– .ת. נ. צ. ב. ה –
תהא נפשו צרורה בצרור החיים

Friedman, Sidney, F 1C, 8177304, Purple Heart
Born Philadelphia, Pa., 5/27/24
Mr. and Mrs. Nathan and Ida Friedman (parents), 260 E. Roosevelt Blvd., Philadelphia, Pa.
Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii
Jewish Exponent 7/13/45, 8/10/45
Philadelphia Record 7/8/45
American Jews in World War II – Not Listed

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Survived

Jacobs, Alexander, S 1C, 8115452, Purple Heart
Born New York, N.Y., 2/19/23
Mrs. Esther Jacobs (mother), 236 S. 1st St., New York, N.Y.
Casualty List 7/5/45
American Jews in World War II – 350

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Here are Three Books…

Dublin, Louis I., and Kohs, Samuel C., American Jews in World War II – The Story of 550,000 Fighters for Freedom, The Dial Press, New York, N.Y., 1947

Mackay, Ron, The U.S. Navy’s “Interim” LSM(R)s in World War II: Rocket Ships of the Pacific Amphibious Forces, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, N.C., 2016

Combat Connected Naval Casualties, World War II, by States, United States Navy Department Office of Information, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1946

…and Here are Some Websites

USS LSM(R)-164, at Wikipedia

USS Luce (DD-522), at Wikipedia

USS Morrison (DD-560), at Wikipedia

USS Morrison (DD-560), at Destroyer History Foundation

USS Morrison (DD-560), at Kamikaze Images