During the summer of 1949 we rode a troop train from Raymond , Mississippi Jackson Meridian , Mississippi Birmingham , Alabama Columbus , Georgia
We were then stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia. The first four days we slept in tents, and then we bivouacked in the woods for two nights. It was the first time I had ever slept on the hard ground and the last time. After bivouacking, we worked in a hospital in Fort Benning. One Saturday afternoon a soldier was brought in who had not urinated in about two days. He was in great distress. I couldn’t find a doctor as they had all gone into the Town of Columbus.
Rather than listen to the guy groan and moan, I found a catheter and performed my first catherization. After the guy finished peeing, he grabbed and hugged me. At that time, however, I knew I would never aspire to be Surgeon General of the United States
I had Sunday off at Fort Benning and rode in the rear of a six by six Army truck to Warm Springs, Georgia and visited the little White House where President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died.
The next summer our Guard unit went to Fort McClellan , Alabama Anniston June 25, 1950 , North Korean troops invaded South Korea Anniston Fort McClellan Appalachian Mountains .
The GI Bill of rights was not then in effect. I felt it would be reinstated, and about a year later the GI Bill of rights was reinstated. The Army had started drafting men into the Army, and I was already a member of a National Guard division that had been put on alert status. Also, I did not have enough money to go to a four year college.
I was attracted to the Air Force and decided to enlist, and on July 31, 1950 , I signed up for four years. The next day I was sent to Lackland Air Force Base via the City of New
Orleans from Jackson, Mississippi on the Illinois Central to New Orleans and then on the Sunset Limited on the Southern Pacific to San Antonio, Texas arriving about 1:00 a.m.
We were at Lackland five days and then 28 bus loads of us were transported to Sheppard Air Force Base at Wichita Falls , Texas Johnson City Marble Falls Texas
When we got to Sheppard Field, they put us in barracks that hadn’t been used since World War II. The first week we cleaned the barracks, mowed the grass, and pulled the weeds around the buildings. Then we started marching and going to classes. The classes were similar to college and they had good instructors.
We had one day on the firing range. It was about 10 miles Northwest of Sheppard near the Red River which divided Oklahoma Texas
The worst day at Sheppard was when our whole barracks pulled KP. This was only one time that I was placed on KP during basic training. I had to wash the pots and pans for 5,500 airmen who went through the mess hall three times that day. We worked in the mess hall from 4:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Around mid September 1950, we completed our basic training. We thought the Air Force would give us leave to go home after basic training, but the War had changed that policy.
Some men from my outfit stayed at Sheppard to go to aircraft mechanic’s school. Some men were sent to Keesler AFB for further training with radar, and some were sent to Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio Wichita Falls , Texas Pullman passenger car of a train for transport to Austin , Texas Red River . I enjoyed seeing the cotton fields along the way. They made me homesick. We went through little towns like Bassfield named Henrietta, Ringgold, Nocona, and Whitesboro. Our car was a Pullman Austin 9:00 a.m. we went via bus to Bergstrom Air Force Base.
At Bergstrom they literally didn’t know what to do with us. They assigned most of us temporarily to Food Service. I then pulled KP full time. It was quite different from Sheppard as we didn’t feed very many airmen. Furthermore, we only worked one shift as did the regular personnel. I had run track in college and resumed running. The duty was easy, but I wanted to do something more challenging. I had completed two years of college.
In October, 1950, I got permission to talk to the Acting Base Personnel Officer, Major Joe Herold, and told him that I was interested in getting into cadets and would like to be assigned to operations so I could be around flying pending my taking the test. There were three fighter squadrons in the 27th Fighter Escort Wing, the 522nd, the 523rd, and, the 524th. Each squadron had about 25 F-84E planes. These squadrons had been ferrying F-84s to Europe for NATO. The Wing was a part of 8th Air Force and was in General Curtis LeMay ’s Strategic Air Command. Its prime mission was to escort bombers.
The 27th Fighter Escort Wing was later awarded the Mackay Trophy by General Hoyt S. Vandenburg. The trophy was won for its mass movement across the Atlantic of 180 Republic F-84 Thunderjets, in two flights of 90 each from September 15 through October 30, 1950 during a time when there was not any in flight refueling.
Earlier, on October 1, 1950 , 2nd Lt. William P. Martin of the 522nd Fighter Escort Squadron , suffered a loss of power during takeoff from Wayne-Major airport near Detroit , Michigan
On November 9, 1950 , Bergstrom was put on alert for overseas. November 11, Armistice Day, was the scheduled date of deployment. There was all type of activity on the Base. Military air transports, and civilian air lines landed planes at Bergstrom for shipments overseas. We were not permitted to tell anyone we were going overseas.
On November 10, I completed pulling KP and was taking a shower when the First Sergeant shouted for me to come to the orderly room. That was the last day I had to pull KP. The First Sergeant handed me my orders assigning me to the 522nd Fighter Escort Squadron. I reported to then Major John W. Lafko. Major Lafko was the Operations Officer for the 522nd Squadron. He told me to not unpack my bags as I was going on the first plane to San Diego
The next day I boarded a C- 97 aircraft around noon at Bergstrom and we were soon airborne. We flew over El Paso Tucson Yuma Pacific Ocean . We were then taken to the aircraft carrier Bairoka. This was my first time on a naval ship. Our F-84Es were loaded onto the aircraft carrier and three days later on November 14, 1950 , we departed California USA
The USS Bairoko was a small CVE115 Navy aircraft carrier. The Carrier traveled
At 19.1 knots. At San Diego
Petty Officer’s galley and I volunteered.
We were on the aircraft carrier until November 30 when we arrived at Yokosuka , Japan Hinds Junior College Alabama
Until we got north of Midway Island
In the meantime the Chinese had gotten in the Korean War. The news was posted daily on a bulletin board on the ship. We were going over TDY which meant for temporary duty. However, we knew that with China
On November 23, 1950 I celebrated my first Thanksgiving away from home on the USS Bairoko (CVE115). Its Captain was W.A. Raborn Jr., USN, Commanding Officer; Commander M.C. Reeves, USN Executive Officer, and Lieut. Cmdr, B.C. Beaston, USN Supply Officer. The Thanksgiving dinner menu consisted of Cream of Tomato Soup, Saltines, Shrimp Cocktail, Roast Tom Turkey, Giblet Gravy, Oyster Dressing, Candied Sweet Potatoes , Buttered Peas, Snowflake Potatoes, Stuffed Celery Stalks, Cranberry Sauce, Quartered Lettuce, Russian Dressing, Ripe and Stuffed Olives, Sweet Pickles, Pumpkin Pie, Parker House Rolls, Butter, Mixed Candy, Mixed Nuts in Shells, Coffee, Fresh Milk, Cigarettes and Cigars.
They gave us a Thanksgiving Day Prayer which stated “Most High and Mighty Ruler of the universe, by whom our nation hath been established in and preserved in union; in this feast of harvest we thank Thee also for the fruits of the earth. We thank thee also for the rich land given unto us for an inheritance, and the great power entrusted to the people; for protection from outward dangers, and deliverance from inward strife; for an honorable place among the family of nations, and for the opportunity of increasing service to the world. This day we are especially reminded of thy goodness and we pledge thee thy gratitude anew. Continue, we pray Thee, to keep us and our loved ones safe beneath the shadow of Thy everlasting arm.”
The Navy personnel were all friendly. One of the sailors got me a bunk where his group slept. Many of the airmen slept on cots in the mess hall.
The Pacific is one hell of a big pond. I never fully realized how immense it really was until I went overseas. However, the seas were relatively calm our entire 16 days. I went upon the flight deck and fantail many times and just stared at all that water.
We pulled into Tokyo Bay Tokyo
While I had been at Hinds Jr. College, I had watched a Cuban guy hypnotize some students one night. At Yokota, I decided I could do it. I then got my high school class ring and kept telling a guy named Carter that he had to watch the ring as I waived it before his eyes and that he must listen to my voice. That at number 10 he would close his eyes and go to sleep. When I got to number 10 he closed his eyes and I had told him when he awakened he would take a drink and get drunk. I gave him a drink of water and he got drunker than anyone I had ever seen. When I had counted to 10, another fellow named Bergeron from New Orleans Base Hospital
Buford Blount from Bassfield, Mississippi, was already in Japan and was the commander of a C-119 Troop Carrier Squadron, had written his wife, my first cousin Cecil Glynn, that my outfit was going to be stationed at Kimpo near Seoul. My Mother made me a Black fruit cake for Christmas and it went to Kimpo. We originally were to go to Seoul Taegu
While at Yokota, we were outfitted with winter clothing which would later come in very handy. We got the winter clothing at the nearby base named Tachikawa AFB. Yokota was a nice base and on a clear day one could see the snow on Mt Fuji.
In order to get to Korea Haneda Airport Tokyo
I reported to the only Air Force Officer at Haneda that I could find. He quartered me in a gym known as Beekman’s Gym at Haneda, and I stayed there for about a week. I think I could have spent the War there as I was truly lost in the shuffle. There were a lot of wounded marines in the gym from the Chosin reservoir battle. One marine who was about my age slept on a cot next to mine. His ears had frozen and he was waiting to return to the States. He asked me if I had much experience with my carbine. I told him I had shot it four times at Sheppard Field. He then told me that at times everyone, regardless of their duties had to fight when the situation got tense and that he would teach me all about it. In a few days I could take my carbine apart blindfolded and put it back together. After four days he went back to the States. I then inquired if I could be sent back to Yokota.
Finally I got sent back to Yokota where the mechanics were getting the F-84Es ready for war. It was about a 30 mile trip. I was the only passenger on an Army bus going from Haneda to Yokota. The driver took his sweet time. He visited three whore houses enroute to Yokota. He did business at only one. The other two were too expensive.
It was at Yokota that I got to meet my boss Sergeant Reece Street China Russia Russia Russia
After a week in Yokota, I was sent back to Haneda. On December 6, 1950 , I was flown on a C- 54 to K-2 Air Base near Taegu , South Korea
The South Koreans had erected our tents. Our squadron operations was in a tent with a wooden floor and a pot bellied stove that burned kerosene. It was then that I did my first work in squadron operations. My first assignment by Major Lafko was tracing a map of Korea
Sergeant Street was a great guy. He taught me everything he knew. Each pilot had a flight record. His flight time was kept on a form. In addition his instrument time was
recorded along with his night flying time and type of combat mission. These forms were called Form Fives. We sent them to San Bernardino , California
Our Operations Officer was a wonderful guy to work for, and his name was Major John W. Lafko. He was highly intelligent, had attended Columbia University 3 a.m.
Our Squadron flew its first mission on December 7, 1950 . Street and I lived in the squadron operations tent on the flight line. We both were awake most of the first 15 days, and then we took turns sleeping. Street would sleep one night, while I prepared mission assignments. I would sleep the next night, while Street prepared the mission assignments.
On Christmas Eve 1950 we lost our first pilot, Second Lieutenant Roger Bascom, whose F-84 while on a combat mission crashed near Kopo-ri, Korea, about five miles southwest of Kimpo. Lt Bascom was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal, as were others in our squadron, who were killed in action. A few days later on January 2, 1951 , we lost Captain Charles McWhirk. I was fast learning how dangerous and sad war could be.
K-2 was situated in a valley. To our south there was a high group of mountains. Some of our officers went hunting and killed some pheasants. I never got off the base the entire time I was in Korea
Guy Razzeto of the 524th Fighter Squadron gave me a good account of flying out of K-2 on the pierced steel runway: “K-2 was situated just a few miles from the City of Taegu Taegu Japan
The runways were under constant repair. We had to be alert to the welder’s locations…
Taking off from K-2 was interesting as we were always loaded to the max depending on the temperature. The rough runway and the smoke/haze/smog didn’t allow you to monitor much in the way of engine performance (tail pipe temperature etc.). Walter Craig aborted in front of me one early/dark morning – he didn’t sound off that he was aborting so I didn’t realize it until I could see him in the overrun, about 2,000 feet ahead. I couldn’t jettison my load of armament as it would have hit him, so I just waited until the last second and pulled it over him. He later said my tailpipe nearly hit him in the head.
The wind was normally out of the Northwest so we used runway 31 which aimed you at a little saddleback hill a few miles off of the runway. As we were always trying to accelerate after takeoff, there was a temptation to leave the nose down and go through the saddle – until we found out that there were high tension lines running between the two high spots. We usually turned slightly to the right, down the river, and then climbed out over the mountains to the North.
On occasion, we made JATO assisted takeoffs when we had large/heavy loads. Once the first ships got off, there was so much smoke in the valley that everyone after that had a real instrument takeoff. Luckily, by the time you got to the saddleback hill most of the smoke was behind you. I guess the people in town thought we were cooking on a lot of charcoal burners.
Even though the runways were so substandard we were able to operate there for a few months without too much difficulty. Having our field maintenance back at Itazuke made maintenance more difficult for our maintenance crews. They did a fantastic job in keeping us in safe fully operational airplanes. They did it by working long hours in very difficult working conditions. I could never praise them enough for a job well done. I only flew 25 missions out of K-2. After I had the 25 mission requirement I was assigned to a Forward Controller spot with the 7th ROK Division. When I returned to K-2 two months later the 27th had moved back to Itazuke. I caught a ride to Itazuke and operated out of there until we finished our tour in the Summer of ‘51.”
My first week in Korea Georgia
During the Cuban crisis in the 1960’s I talked to Minter. He was investigating the crash of a U-2 near Lumberton , Mississippi
Minter retired a Major General on July 1, 1977 , and died July 24, 1999 . I am glad that he became a General. Had Major Lafko not got us out of trouble, his career could have been over.
We partitioned the tent with the lumber we stole and made a personal equipment room where the parachutes were stored. Charlie Farside was in charge of the parachutes. Charlie was an enlisted man from Vineland , New Jersey
On December 28, 1950 , I was very homesick but was elated when Major Lafko told me he had Captain Buford Blount on the phone and that Buford wanted to talk to me. Major Lafko let me visit him in his C-119 troop carrier plane parked at Base Operations. Buford told me that they had made some supply drops not far from K-2. He requested Major Lafko to let me have orders to take the weapons carrier to Pusan Millsaps College West Point , Major William Fullilove, of the 524th Squadron also came by for a visit.
As I was leaving, Lieutenant Ralph J. Maglione accosted me and said he understood I had a friend who commanded a squadron of C-119s. Lieutenant Maglione said the officers had a problem; they didn’t have any beer. I told him I would do what I could but would need a quid pro quo (i.e., something for something). He wanted to know what I needed. I told him I needed a promotion. Maglione said he would get me promoted if I could get Buford’s outfit to bring some beer, which they did. I was now the Squadron’s bootlegger. Also, I got promoted and I was made Sergeant in a year.
Later, in early 1951 Maglione got the unlucky card, the ace of spades, and had to go to the front as a forward air controller. Enroute in the weapons carrier to the Base Operations I told Maglione that I would like for him to get me one of those Russian type submachine guns if he got the chance. A few weeks later the outfit to which Maglione was attached was attacked by the Chinese and all the Army Officers were killed. Maglione (an Air Force officer) then took command and told the men “Let’s retake the hill”. Maglione told me that they were shooting at them with a submachine gun and that as he went up the hill he kept thinking that he had promised to get me such a weapon. They retook the hill and he got the gun and was awarded the Silver Star. However, he wasn’t allowed to bring the gun out of Korea
Our pilots were busy as hell flying missions. When they would return from a mission they would be debriefed by Intelligence. I would overhear them. I remember my assistant operations officer, Clark Manning, complaining about the 1st Calvary Army Division leaving so many trucks operable when they were retreating without destroying them. On another occasion around January 21, 1951 , I overheard Captain Allen McGuire telling about an Escort mission to the Yalu River China Suwon Cabool , Missouri
Our planes carried 50 caliber bullets, bombs, napalm and rockets, depending on the mission. On heavy loads they had to have assistance to get airborne and this was through JATO bottles. Our public relations officer, Captain Burton Wilder, had me to go to the end of the runway one day and took my picture waiving to our planes returning from a mission. He later showed me a copy of The New York World Telegram Newspaper depicting the picture.
Major Manning had a very effective mission with napalm. In early January, he was led to a place where there were a lot of enemy soldiers by a Tactical Control plane and gave them the napalm heat treatment that killed over 200 enemy soldiers. Manning was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for that mission. Another of our pilots, Lieutenant Paul Hummel, who flew 130 combat missions had great success on a late afternoon mission with napalm and shooting 50 caliber guns at the enemy. Manning retired from the Air Force and then worked for the State of Texas Nebraska Hawaii
On January 21, 1951 , a MIG15 shot up the airplane being flown by 1st Lt Grant W. Simpson of the 523rd Fighter Escort Squadron causing the plane to burn and the pilot to bail out. Lt Simpson died while a POW. This was the only plane in our Wing that I recall being lost to a MIG15.
Colonel William Bertram of the 523rd Squadron, on January 21,1951 , shot down a MIG 15. Later, on January 23, Lt Jake Kratt of the 523rd shot down two MIG15s and on January 26 a Yak-3 plane.
Captain Billy Edens was an outstanding pilot. Edens Texas Edens Edens Chattanooga , Tennessee
Captain W.O. Cottingham, on March 4, 1951 , had a round of 50 caliber ammunition to enter his aircraft shattering his glass canopy. Though partially blinded by glass fragments which struck his eye, he was able to maintain control of his aircraft and landed at K-2, and, was subsequently the first member of the 27th Fighter Escort Wing to receive the Purple Heart for action in Korea
A few days later, on March 21, 1951 , 1/Lt James L. Savage while on a combat mission over enemy territory received hits on his aircraft which caused a loss of power. Lt Savage bailed out and landed in enemy territory. After a short period of successful evasion towards friendly lines and rescue by a friendly patrol he was treated for his injuries and also received the Purple Heart.
On May 25, 1951 , sixteen Thunderjets of the 27th Fighter Escort Wing had a very successful late afternoon mission. A mosquito observation aircraft sighted some 10,000 enemy troops withdrawing near Inje , Korea
On one mission to MIG Alley, 1st Lt. Alton Pendleton and 2nd Lt. James West both got lost from their wingman and returned safely to K-2. Pendleton wrote a book “Three O’Clock High” which is on the internet and vividly describes that mission.
Not all napalm runs were successful. On June 1, 1951 , 1LT Lester K. Sweat while on a napalm run, was killed when his plane crashed into a hillside near Mundung-ni , North Korea Plant City , Florida
Another pilot in our squadron, 1Lt David Porter Barnes, a West Point graduate, was shot down by anti-aircraft ground fire on April 22,1951, near Kumwha, North Korea, successfully bailed out of his plane, but died June 20, 1951, while a prisoner of war. He was from Crawford , Nebraska
I believe some people actually have premonitions of their death. During World War II, I took some cotton to a gin. The fellow there whom I talked to was William Earl Burkett. He showed me his draft notice and said that was his death warrant. A year later he was killed near Normandy Korea
After I got out of the Air Force, I got to see Maglione again. Fourteen years later, I read in the newspaper that the Thunderbirds were coming to Columbus Air Force Base at Columbus, Mississippi and that their Commander was Lieutenant Colonel Ralph J. Maglione of Nellis Air Force Base. I called Ralph and told him I would see him in Columbus
A few years later I walked in my bank at Lumberton , Mississippi Washington State Washington State
I told McElveen that he just didn’t know enough people and to dial the Pentagon and ask for General Maglione. When Maglione answered I introduced him to McElveen and told him the problem and inquired whether or not he could assist the nephew in getting admitted to the Air Force Academy. He said, “Garraway, is there a cow left in Texas
Maglione told us that he had two appointments in his pocket and that he would help us get the nephew into the academy. About 11 p.m. that night, just after I had gone to sleep, McElveen called and said you really have a friend in Maglione. “Guess what?” A few minutes ago my nephew called me from the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs Seattle
Major General Maglione retired February 1, 1977 and died July 15, 1990 . He was a great friend.
Getting back to Korea Korea January 22, 1951 I was sent to Itazuke Air Force Base at Fukuoka , Japan
told us we may have to throw out some baggage. Fortunately he was able to get above the mountains and we proceeded south without further difficulty. It wasn’t long until we crossed Pusan Sea of Japan . We flew near Nagasaki K2 and started flying combat missions to Korea Reece Street Sergeant Street Korea
I don’t recall the exact date we were closing out our 27th Fighter Wing combat operations in Taegu Korea
early spring of 1951, most probably in the month of May.
I was the senior NCOIC of the 522nd Fighter Squadron, Operations Office and it was my responsibility to send my assistant, Bobby Garraway, ahead of our departing squadron to set up operations at the new location in Itazuke , Japan
The weather appeared to be breaking quite rapidly, much of the compacted snow and ice had already melted, but the ice would reform again every night as the temperature dropped.
Bobby and I both bunked in the Operations Office on the Flight Line, a considerable distance from the remainder of our squadron. We did however have Military Police patrolling the area and considered ourselves quite safe. But, I found that our safety could be jeopardized.
I had been awake since about 3 a.m. on this particular day, and now it was about 10 or 11 p.m. that evening. I had laid down on my bunk and had gone to sleep. Colonel John W. Lafko, our Operations Officer was in the Operations Office with me, making out the next day’s flight schedules.
Colonel Lafko heard a guard call, "halt, who goes there,” right in front of the doorway to the Operations Office tent. Lafko woke me and told me to check it out. I started toward the door and he called to me, "where is your weapon?" I picked up my carbine and started out again, the Colonel asked "is it loaded?" I slipped a clip of ammo into the carbine and pulled the slide back to inject a round of 30 caliber ammo into the chamber. Went out the door and was looking at the back side of a sentry who had challenged 2 "huge" Chinese soldiers that were standing on the opposite side of "The Gory Wagon."
(More on the Gory Wagon to follow)
I walked around behind the Chinese soldiers and poked them in the back side with my rifle, making them put their hands atop their head to form a surrender mode. I called to Colonel Lafko to open the door and assist the capture of the only 2 soldiers that were captured in Korea
Lafko told me to bring them inside the Operations Office, so he could frisk them of any weapons they may have concealed on their person. As he was searching them, I stood behind them with my weapon trained on them in case they started to resist or cause any harm to the Colonel.
The sentry that had originally stopped them had called the Officer of the Day to come. Colonel Lafko has by now emptied their pockets and assured that they did not have any weapons, as the Officer of the Day took them away for further questioning and incarceration.
Both the Colonel and I relax and I press the button on my rifle to unload the clip of ammo, pull back the slide to remove the round that was in the chamber. I laugh, the Colonel asks, "what’s so funny?" I said, "Colonel, we are two lucky people tonight, we just captured 2 enemy soldiers with an empty gun, my carbine was not loaded, the round of ammo did not go into the chamber."
I don’t recall if I was embarrassed or not, but shortly thereafter, while we were in Japan, having a beer at the PX, Colonel Lafko came in and asked if he could join the group. He pulled up a chair beside me and of course the tone of the conversation changed now that our new Commanding Officer, Colonel John W. Lafko, had joined with the enlisted men to relax. Lafko, said to the men, "Has Reece told you guys about the 2 Chinese soldiers that he captured?" "No Sir" was the reply around the table...."tell us, we were not aware of it.” So, he did, but the Colonel added so much to it that was not true. Word of his
story was related to my father by one of the men at the table, Lonnie C. Burchfield of Maryville , Tennessee Far East , and had taken some leave, Burchfield and his girlfriend came to Johnson City Tennessee
dad said to me, "tell me about the Chinese you captured."
We had a "Dodge made Weapons Carrier" assigned to operations. Bobby lettered on the side of the vehicle "THE GLORY WAGON" because we used it primarily to chauffer the pilots to and from their F-84 Thunderjets. Captain Pat Lavy, one of the squadron pilots, rubbed out the "L" making it read, "THE G ORY WAGON".”
I was glad to be out of Korea
On my first day at The Itazuke Strip (there were two bases called Base One and The Strip, about 4 miles apart), I saw a C-119 plane circling the base. It was one of Buford’s planes bringing the goodies. They had landed at K- 2 and they had learned I had been transferred to Itazuke. Buford had them well trained to follow orders. That ended my days of being the squadron’s bootlegger.
Itazuke Strip was a nice base, and the barracks were actually nicer than those at Bergstrom AFB. It was a located about 10 miles from downtown Fukuoka Corregidor when it fell. He survived the war.
I wrote a letter to Miss Ruth Boyd who was my English teacher at Hinds Jr. College after I got to Itazuke. She read it to her class. Two weeks later I received a letter from a student named Peyton who told me that he had been stationed at Itazuke during occupation and had met a nice Japanese girl and urged me to meet her which I did. She was not only nice looking but was highly intelligent and spoke several languages. We would attend French movies and she would tell me in perfect English what was being said.
On one occasion I went with a guy I hardly knew to a cabaret and rented a Geisha girl. There was no sex, just female company. We drank some Nippon beer at the cabaret. After we left the guy I was with confronted two girls while we were waiting for a bus. All of a sudden he grabbed one of the girls and tried to rape her. I grabbed him with a half nelson around his neck and pulled him off of her. After that I never went with anyone I didn’t know to anyplace. You live and learn.
There was a river in Fukuoka
Every time I went into Fukuoka Fukuoka Lumberton , Mississippi Lumberton Jackson , Mississippi
There was a curfew on how long airmen could stay in Fukuoka 12:30 a.m. One night I was delayed and stayed in town all night. The next morning I caught a train out to other base which we called base one and hitched a ride in a truck taking food to our base at the strip. I covered up real good and made it through the Base gate without being discovered. Consequently I was not AWOL.
I witnessed several plane crashes while stationed in Itazuke. One day I learned a plane was in trouble and was trying to make it back to base. I ran out of our operations and watched him try to bring it in as the engine had flamed out. He nearly made it but hit a light pole and the aircraft exploded. I heard they only found one foot intact. On another
occasion I was driving from Base One to our Strip Base and saw the pilot eject from his F-80 fighter but his chute didn’t open and he landed on an anti aircraft gun killing him instantly. I didn’t know either pilot as they were not in our wing. Nevertheless, I hated to see them die this way. On May 1, 1951 our Wing Commander, Colonel Ashley B. Packard and Major Maurice H. Smith, checked out of our squadron operations, boarded their plane, and they were airborne only seven minutes when they crashed and died. As I recall they were in a T-33 headed for Tokyo
I visited Buford Blount at Ashiya Air Base on one occasion. I wore civilian clothes. I rode a bus to Ashiya from Fukuoka Fukuoka
I had an accident in Korea
On May 17, 1951 , our outfit was relieved by the 136th Fighter Bomb Wing. About a month later, we boarded a Capital Airlines plane and flew the Pacific via Wake Island , Hickam Field , Hawaii San Francisco , California Austin , Texas United States Austin Monday, June 25, 1951 , at 4:30 p.m. , when we all rode in convertibles down Congress Avenue Austin
After the parade I met Senator Lyndon Johnson in the Stephen F. Austin Hotel Alabama
Immediately after the parade, I was given a thirty day leave. I felt I had ridden enough airplanes, so I took a Greyhound bus to New Orleans Houston 1:30 p.m. when we arrived in New Orleans Columbia , Mississippi
I spent the next 30 days enjoying Bassfield and my Mother’s cooking. I also dated a Bassfield girl named Carolyn Lott who was attending summer school at what is now known as the University of Southern Mississippi
I started taking in the sights of Austin LaGrange , Texas Texas
The Chicken Ranch was frequented by the University of Texas University of Texas
I had an operation for my deviated septum at Lackland AFB in the summer of 1951. While there I met a Lebanese fellow from Austin Guadalupe Street University of Texas
I also dated a girl at UT who worked on The Daily Texan. Willie Morris also worked on this paper and later was its editor. Willie and my path would later cross many years later. Willie wrote many books, and my favorite book was My Dog Skip.
I enjoyed going to Zilker Park Austin Texas
and I took her out into the country west of Roundrock to what we thought was a secluded place. I spread an Army blanket on the ground and we lay down on the blanket when all of a sudden someone fired a rifle at us and bullets started whizzing past our heads. We got the hell out of there. It was the second and last time someone had shot at me.
I also dated a girl I met at the USO on the base at Bergstrom. She was from Edinburg , Texas
Lt John Mead lost his wife while we were in the war. Mead had a huge Boxer dog that he wanted to take to his Father’s home in Pine Bluff , Arkansas Shreveport Pine Bluff Bassfield , Mississippi Dallas
There was a national air show at Wayne Major Airport Detroit
On December 11, 1951 , all the Officers and Airmen of the 27th Fighter Escort Wing were in a parade as we were being honored for having been awarded the Mackay Trophy. Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt S. Vandenberg presented the MacKay Trophy to the 27th Commander Colonel Raymond Rudell and the four-foot silver urn was displayed in the Officers Club, then the NCO Club and in stores in downtown Austin Atlantic of 180 F-84 planes nearly 6,000 miles during the fall of 1950 in an operation known as Fox Able Three.
General Vandenberg said, “Just a few weeks after the peaceful operation that won this trophy the 27th began to distinguish itself in the Korean War, in the same type fighter that made the long flight to Europe , pilots of the 27th flew more than 12,000 missions and 25,000 combat hours against the Communist enemy. These missions were principally to provide assistance for our ground forces but your pilots also managed to shoot down enemy jet interceptors, Soviet-built MIGs. Some pilots of the 27th flew more than 140 combat missions in Korea
I took geopolitics at the University of Texas
Having a car enabled me to get a three day pass every 90 days. Actually it was a four day pass as we always had Sundays off duty. We were not supposed to go further than 75 miles from Bergstrom AFB. Why not go 600 miles? Consequently, I would leave after 5 p.m. on Thursday and drive all night to Bassfield. I was beating the system and never got into any trouble.
On the weekend of July 4, 1952 , Charlie Farside, Dan Cambalik, Lieutenant Bruce Grant, and I drove to New Orleans Monroeville , Alabama New Orleans New Orleans
The next day my Aunt Beulah Dickson got us introduced to some girls which we took swimming at the Prentiss School Matagorda Island Island . While there I wrote Cleo a letter but apparently it didn’t impress her as she never answered.
On one of my days at Matagorda Island Matagorda Island
I returned to Bergstrom AFB after about ten days on Matagorda Island
In 1952, I took the test for cadets and radar observer at Lackland AFB. Frances Powers also took the test. He later was shot down in a U-2 over Russia Korea Law School
After our return to Bergstrom from our Korean tour our Wing was equipped with F-84Gs. Our planes could also handle nuclear bombs. The F-84G was the first single seat fighter with the ability to carry nuclear weapons. Each pilot, under the war plan, had a target to drop his bomb in the event of war with Russia
On October 7, 1952 , an RB-29 stationed at Yokota Air Force Base, Japan Hokkaido Island , Japan June 13, 1952 the Soviets shot down another RB-29 from Yokota Air Force Base in the Sea of Japan . During these cold war times matters were tense with Russia
All good things have to come to an end. In October 1952, we were alerted again for overseas duty. Our F-84Gs made the crossing of the Pacific utilizing in-flight refueling in a move called Fox Peter Two. This time the rest of us went in a C-54 military air transport plane to Misawa , Japan Wake Island , Haneda and Misawa AFB. Our flight squadron stayed at Misawa AFB about five days and then went to Chitose AFB on Hokkaido Island
Our Wing Commander on this trip to Misawa and Chitose was the famous World War 2 ace, Colonel Don Blakeslee, who shot down 15.5 planes in Europe and who was a great leader of the units he commanded in World War 2. Blakeslee, like LeMay , was a native of Ohio
For the second time in my career with the Air Force, I nearly got a court-martial. On our second day at Chitose AFB, Major Manning. who was the Operations Officer, went downstairs to brief the pilots about our role as air defense for Northern Japan . I was instructed to stay by the hot line telephone to FEAF in Tokyo
A few minutes later after Colonel Lafko came upstairs, he answered the phone and a General in FEAF Headquarters told him he wanted to talk to the guy who had taken the call. I then got on the phone. It was a General. The General wanted to know my name, rank, and serial number, which I gave him as requested. He then told me he was sending a plane from Tokyo
needed to verify. Further, I told the General that I had studied history and that on the island of Oahu on December 7, 1941, a radar observer reportedly told a Lieutenant that he had spotted numerous planes headed toward the Island and the Lieutenant did nothing, which resulted in the Pearl Harbor disaster and that a week later nearly all our planes on the ground at Clark Field in the Philippines were destroyed by the Japanese bombs and that I always said I wouldn’t be afraid to make a decision and act on it.
Colonel Lafko then told the General that he had to back me up, and that the General would need to court-martial both of us. But if he would just get us a good phone - we would do our job. That ended the matter. Lafko was a good leader. The planes headed towards Russia
A few days after we got to Chitose AFB, on October 10, 1952 , we had a practice scramble of two planes; Clark Manning, my Operations Officer, and another guy, Paul Hummel, were supposed to fly. However, Captain Robert Walker talked Manning out of flying the practice scramble and flew it himself. On takeoff, I heard Walker Walker Walker Memphis
On October 19, 1952 , we lost another pilot, Jesse O’Brien, of San Antonio , Texas Texas
The following account in the Times Picayune Newspaper of New Orleans , Louisiana Sunday, January 25, 1953 , stated, “The tragic, agonizing story of a United States
The pilot was Captain Jesse C. O’Brien, of San Antonio , Texas Northern Japan .
Lt. Col. John W. Lafko of Austin Texas, and Poughkeepsie, New York commanding officer of the 522nd Strategic Squadron of F-84 Thunderjets defending Japan, told Saturday of grim evidence of O’Brien’s last terrific struggle to hang on to the parachute. He lost the struggle perhaps within only seconds of safety.
It was on October 19, Lafko said, that O’Brien and a buddy, Lt. Clarence W. Harris, Jr., of Austin San Antonio , Texas Northern Hokkaido , Japan
It was a “scramble” mission in which pilots must run to the planes, don Mae West lifejackets and parachutes and adjust innumerable harness inside their planes and take off within five minutes.
O’Brien was an old hand at harness buckling with him it had become second nature. But on this day he somehow failed to buckle the leg straps of his parachute.
As they swept near the towering volcano, Asahi Dake, in North Central Hokkaido, a compressor in O’Brien’s jet engine exploded. A moment later the plane, at 15,000 feet altitude caught fire, Harris saw the fire and called O’Brien by radio.
The Texan replied coolly: “I’m bailing out.”
The opening jolt of the parachute probably slid O’Brien through the chest harness, Lafko thinks. But evidence indicates that the Texan caught straps of the chest harness as he was falling free-- and held on.
The altitude at that moment was about 10,000 feet.
Harris circled, watching O’Brien descend and radioed American bases for aid.
Harris saw the chute disappear behind a ridge and marked the spot well. Paramedics jumped into the area.
O’Brien’s chute was found snagged in the top of a 90 foot pine tree. The harness, undamaged, dangled to a height of about 50 feet above the ground. The leg straps were unbuckled though the chest straps were locked in position.
There was no sign of O’Brien.
An intensive, four day air and ground search was futile.
On January 17, a lumberjack in the area was startled to see one ungloved hand protruding just above the snow. Lafko traveled by plane, train, snowshoes and skis and arrived on the scene two days later.
He identified the body as Jesse O’Brien.”
While we were at Chitose AFB, Japan Airlines started making flights from Tokyo
In November and December it got very cold at Chitose. I recall it got to 44 degrees below zero. One cold day, Lieutenant Maglione asked me if I would like to take a flying
Trip with his roommate, Victor Ralon, in a T-6 to a radar station about 200 miles south where he was taking some movie film. I told him “yes”.
Ralon and I went to Base Operations, and he checked out the T-6. The Base Ops Officer came out and told him the magneto had been acting up and to watch it. We took off with me holding the movie film we were taking to the radar station.
In a few minutes Ralon spotted an active volcano and we circled above it and could see the fire coming out of it. We then climbed to 6,000 feet without any heat. It was colder than the Dickens. Rather than fly the land route, Ralon flew us across part of the Pacific Ocean as it was the most direct way to the radar station, which was at an unused airfield at Hakodate
When we got to the town near the radar station, Ralon buzzed the town. Had I been lying on the wing I could have touched every light pole. When we got to the radar station he flew the plane between two hangars and then did barrel rolls. Finally, we landed and I handed the film to an airman and we took off again.
We climbed back to 6,000 feet and were crossing the Pacific towards Chitose AFB when he spotted a Japanese ship in the Pacific and told me he would show me how to dive bomb it. Away we went down, down, and down and then he pulled up. We were doing about 6 Gs and I passed out. When I came to we were leveling off.
Then he said we would do a glide dive and we went over the ship so close I could see sailors on its deck and the plane leveled out when all of a sudden the engine went dead. Ralon tried to start the engine. The old starter just ground and ground, but nothing happened. It reminded me of my Dad’s bulldozer on a cold morning. Here though it was 40 below zero. Ralon got on radio with May Day! May Day!
The plane started losing altitude. You would not live 5 minutes in that cold ocean. Finally I pulled my “Mae West” and inflated it and got out of my seat belt. If we crashed the plane into the water I was going to be floating. He tried to start the engine again, and this time it started and the propeller actually hit the top of the waves. I had been calm till then and all of a sudden on the Radio I shouted “Momma”, which was heard over the entire Far East . We didn’t do any other crazy stuff and flew straight to Chitose.
Maglione told me the next day that Ralon told him that this was the most dangerous mission he had ever been on including combat. Ralon now lives in Wyoming
The rest of our time at Chitose AFB was quite boring. We played a lot of ping pong and every night I wrote Cleo. Later in March 1953 we flew back to Bergstrom AFB. I got a leave and on March 19, 1953 , Cleo and I got married. It was the best decision I ever made.
Getting my law degree then became paramount. The Korean War ended in the summer of 1953. The Stars and Stripes newspaper had an article a few weeks later that there was going to be a reduction in force in the Air Force and listed the military occupational specialists that would be discharged. Mine was not one of them. I went to my Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel John W. Lafko, and asked him to help me so I could continue my education. Lieutenant Colonel Lafko had my military occupational skill (MOS) changed to clerk typist, and five days later I was honorably discharged. That weekend, my wife and I drove to Bassfield and spent the night. The next day we drove to Ole Miss where I enrolled in the University of Mississippi
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