Charles Nelson's Dress Blue Uniform
Charles Nelson's Dress Grey Uniform
Museum Artifacts
- US Navy Dress Blue Uniform
- US Navy Dress Grey Uniform
- US Navy Dress White Uniform
- US Navy Khaki Uniform
The following is excerpted from the biography of Charles F. Nelson. It is reprinted with permission from his son, C.Nelson, Jr.
Charles F. "Chuck" Nelson – Memoirs
In my senior year I finally got serious about studying because I needed to get my grade average up and that's what I was doing on the Sunday afternoon of Pearl Harbor Day. My good buddy Ed Sutherland had a very unique job for a 17-year-old high school student. His girlfriend's father owned WKBZ, the only radio station in Muskegon, and Ed was hired to do a 15-minute broadcast of our Central Campus news, three evenings a week. But Ed also opened the studio on Sundays to play music all day and read any news that came across the teletype machine. He had plenty of time to study during music recordings and that is why I was there; to help each other with some advanced algebra problems, which we were doing until the teletype started printing out the notice of the Jap attack on Pearl Harbor. Ed immediately read the news which was the first announcement to the people of Muskegon concerning the attack. Ed and I didn't even know where Hawaii was, let alone Pearl Harbor, but we soon found out!!!!
It must have been early Feb, 1942, when a Naval Aviator, just back from Pacific war duty, came to our school and met with a group of seniors. He told us some war stories and impressed us with how the Navy needed to replace casualties and train new pilots for an expanding naval air force needed to win back our control in the Pacific. In order to fill the need for a great number of pilots, the Navy had to change some long-standing requirements to qualify enlistees for pilot training. The main change was in requiring two years of college, making high school graduates eligible at age 18.
I was very impressed with the recruiter, and I especially admired his stature in his Navy-blue dress uniform with gold wings and service ribbons. So, I decided right then and there that I wanted to wear that uniform with gold wings. High school graduation was June 15, and I went to the Navy recruiting office the next day. It's interesting to note that President George H. W. Bush graduated from high school and had his 18th birthday on June 15, so he enlisted in the Navy V5 program on June 16, 1942, the same as I did. As it turned out, we were both at NAS Corpus Christi where we got our wings in 1943. The "Prez" got his wings one day before his 19th birthday, making him the youngest Navy pilot to ever get his wings at age 18.
After enlisting I had to wait for an opening in Pre-Flight School before I was officially in uniform and saluting, "yes sir, no sir". So, in the meantime the Navy arranged a head-start program in Civilian Pilot Training. Michigan State College had set up a course for CPT and I was assigned to an 8-week session starting in July and finishing Sept 9th. We had ground school courses that covered 10 different subjects ranging from mathematics to meteorology as seen in the attachment below. Unfortunately, there was no logbook or record of flights kept or issued so I don't know how many hours I had of flight time or what the steps of instruction consisted of.
The CPT course was supposed to have 35 to 50 hours of flight time, depending I guess on how long it took to complete each step of instruction. The only required maneuver I recall was putting the plane in a stall and recovering after spinning nose down for a turn or two. It was quite an experience for a kid who had never been in a plane before. Another remembrance that I now recall is that my flight instructor was a gal not a guy which I think was a rare situation for 1942 in that flying was pretty much a man's world back then. Can't recall her name and don't know how good a pilot she was because she was the only instructor I had, but she got me through CPT safely and on time; so, thank you Mam.
Flight Instruction was provided by Francis Flight School at a small airfield with grass runways. All CPT programs used the Piper Cub which was the most popular light aircraft ever built. Early models in the 1930s started with 40 HP engines, but they upgraded to 50 HP and then finally to 65 HP by 1940. When I was flying the Cub I had no knowledge of the engine size or where it came from, but in my recent research it has been interesting to learn that it was built by Continental Motors in Muskegon where we had family connections.
After finishing CPT, I went home to wait for the call to Preflight School which came on the 1st of October. But home address had changed; Mother and Hans had bought a nicer, larger place at 1347 Fourth St, one block away from 206 Washington where I had lived for 10+ years. During those 3 weeks I kept busy by working on a construction crew that was building the new Continental Aviation and Engineering facility on Getty St. It was a good physical conditioning experience in that I was a "hod carrier", carrying steel reinforcement rod to the wire tiers. I don't recall the wages, but it was the best hourly pay I ever had. The one problem I had was with a union steward who kept bugging me to join the union. The joining fee was $2.00, but I kept refusing until I quit to answer the Navy call to report for Preflight training.
In April of 1942 the Navy commissioned The University of Iowa, along with three other universities, to become pre-flight schools for the purpose of physically conditioning cadets with three months of rigorous training in football, boxing, swimming and running an obstacle course. Instruction was also provided in basic aerial navigation and communications. I was in the third class, starting 1st of Oct and finishing 2 days before Christmas, which was very fortunate in that I had 10 days of home leave over the holidays, before reporting for flight training. First stop at Iowa was the uniform issue which consisted of Khaki trousers and shirts for daily work and dress cadet blues for formal wear.
It was a very unique situation in that the Navy took over all of the school facilities and the U of Iowa football team which they promptly renamed the "Seahawks". The "varsity" football team was made up of cadets who had been big time players at major universities, along with some coaches and instructors who had been commissioned to be physical instructors. The head coach during the 1942 season was the famous Bernie Bierman from U of Minnesota. The team played 10 games, a mixture of Big 10 teams and other major schools, and won 7. But oddly, played only one home game which I saw on Nov 21, when the Seahawks beat Nebraska 46 – 0.
I had never played football in high school, so when I suited up at Iowa I really got knocked around. Coach Bierman was afraid I might get killed or put out of service so he got me transferred to cross country running.
The obstacle course was quite a challenge. It had to be completed in six minutes in order to qualify for weekend liberty. I missed my first week but managed to qualify the rest of my trials.
Swimming was very tough for some cadets who had never been near water and didn't know how to swim. Most learned how but it was especially challenging to have to complete the final test which was an abandon ship drill designed to swim underwater and get away from burning oil. It consisted of wearing a khaki shirt and trousers, jumping off a 20 ft. platform, staying submerged and swimming underwater for 50 ft. before surfacing. Then floating on your back and removing trousers and shirt, and knotting and tying clothing as instructed to make flotation gear. There were some cadets who didn't want to jump off the platform, let alone swim under water. They were transferred to another naval or marine service.
One final note: Astronaut John Glenn was in the class before me at Iowa Pre-flight, and I learned this when I met him in Barbados circa 1969 and we exchanged notes about our Navy flight training.
Glenview Naval Air Station was a new airfield constructed in 1942, just north of Chicago, and a few miles from Lake Michigan. I arrived the first week of January after having had home leave over Christmas and New Years.
The most important first item issued to me was my Aviators Flight Log Book which I cherish today because it shows every flight I took during my naval career by date, location, type of aircraft, hours duration and comments relative to the flight. My book shows that my first flight was on Jan 10, in the N3N and it lasted 1.5 hours. I had 6 more flights in Jan for a total of 8.8 hours, then on Feb 1, I soloed. I finished primary training on April 13, and my log shows 85 flights totaling 123.4 hours.
One flight that stands out in my memory was passing the night flying test. The test started when my instructor had me take off on a dark airstrip which had 10 smudge pots lined up to show the direction of the runway. Then when airborne I was told to circle the field and make an approach to land alongside of the smudge pots. The instructor told me to touch down by time I got to the 4th pot and if that didn't happen, then go around again. I landed OK and taxied back to the head of the runway where the instructor climbed out and told me to line up for my solo flight. The solo flight went OK, but like all flights in midwinter the flights were all in freezing temperatures and we were dressed in very cumbersome flight gear.
We wore fur lined helmets, jackets, pants, boots and gauntlets. For night flights we carried a Very pistol or Signal pistol with various colored cartridges to signal a distress situation. It would have been practically impossible to use the signal pistol while wearing the fur lined gauntlets and with no light to select a color of cartridge.
Two weeks before I finished primary training at Glenview on April 15, we had a sad happening in the family involving Mother's cousin Foster Anderson. He was an Army Air cadet who was killed in a training flight in California. His body was brought back to Chicago for a closed coffin funeral which was attended by Aunts Nioma and Sylvia from Detroit and Mother from Muskegon. Mother brought Barbara and I met them all at the church. That was the last time we were together until I got home on leave in July 1944 after my 1st tour in the Pacific. I can only imagine now how traumatic it had to have been for Mother worrying about me in flight training.
I arrived at NAS Corpus Christi in early May and after a brief base orientation, I started an intensive flight schedule flying multiple flights every day. After 6 flights totaling 7.2 hours with instructors, I soloed. Then during the following 6 days I had 10 solo flights, for a total of 25.6 hours in the SNV before I was suspended from flying for 30 days due to appendicitis.
Back then appendicitis was considered a major surgery that required 30 days of bed rest for recovery. When my suspension was revoked, I was pushed full time into make-up activities; the 1st being the one mile swim test. It consisted of counting laps in an Olympic size pool and I passed OK. Starting on July 1, I was back on the SNV flight line where I had 8 check flights with instructors before being transferred to PBY training on July 14. Thus commenced my seaplane flying and I never flew another land based plane during my Navy career.
I had 36 flights in the PBY-3 totaling 115 hours. The flights were a combination of practicing landings and takeoffs and studying navigation. Sept 6th concluded my flying time at Corpus Christi, and after finishing classroom work I graduated on Sept 15.
During early stages of flight training cadets were given the option of joining the Marines and graduating as a 2nd Lt. or staying Navy and being commissioned an Ensign, that's why you see the mixture of uniforms in the graduating groups. When cadets completed their required flight syllabus and ground school they were put in a graduating pool that scheduled graduations every 3 or 4 days when there were about 100 ready to graduate. My group had 99 graduates and instead of putting them all in one photograph we had 3 group pictures which makes better viewing of individuals.
So, at graduation I was commissioned an Ensign USNR, and designated a Naval Aviator with the responsibilities of an officer and a gentleman.
L to R. Bob Lee, Charles Nelson, c. late 1943
Ralph Nelson, Charles Nelson.
Sept 15, 1943, Graduation, NAS Corpus Christi. USN
Graduation Photo - FIRST ROW: 2nd Lt. Ellsworth, le~ W., 5C, Ellensburg, Wash.; Ensign Ernst,Andrew M., 5C, Chattanooga, Tenn., Ensign Nelson, Charles F., 4E, Muskegon, Mich., Ensign Cooper, John J., 5C, Vincennes, Ind.; 2nd Lt. Hubbs, L. B., 68
From Corpus Christi I was sent to NAS North Island at San Diego where I was put in a transitional training group where I did 143 hours of additional training in PBY's and qualified as a Patrol Plane Second Pilot.
The very best happening in all of my Navy career was in San Diego when Bob Lee was assigned to my training group, and we became great friends with identical orders throughout the remainder of the war, and throughout all of our post war days.
In early January, Bob and I received orders for the two of us to take passage on a merchant ship sailing from Los Angeles to Hawaii, and report to VPB-13. We spent the night before departure at "Top of the Long Beach Hilton".
My Aviators Flight Log Book shows only dates and locations of flights so I don't have a record showing when Bob and I arrived in Hawaii aboard the merchant ship, but it was late January when our orders directed us to report to Squadron VP13 at NAS Kaneohe Bay on the east coast of Hawaii. When we checked in at VP13 headquarters there were no planes or flight crews; all 14 planes and crews were at Midway Island engaged in night bombing runs over Wake Island which was 1100 miles from Midway.
This was a historical event in naval air history in that it proved the PB2Y could fly long distant night bombing missions and accurately find the target via celestial navigation. Wake was hit 3 nights in a row starting Jan 30, and all crews succeeded in dropping their 8500-pound bomb load on target. The flights took about 16 hours so they could all have daylight take offs and landings.
The raids were planned by Admiral Price who wanted to prove the capabilities of the PB2Y, and he accompanied the squadron on the Wake Island raids, riding in Lt Cdr. Tom Connolly's lead plane. It is most interesting to note that as a result of these bombing raids the squadron's designation was changed from VP-13 (Patrol Plane) to VPB-13, meaning Patrol Bomber.
Fast forward to 2005 when there were 16 old pilots from VPB 13 still able to gather and they decided to each write his war story and publish them in a book for posterity. Some wrote about their part in the Wake Island raids.
The painting on the cover is a story in itself. It is hanging in the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola, Florida. The story of the artist and more details about the raid are as follows:
When the squadron returned to Kaneohe from the Wake Island raids, I was assigned to Bob Cullinan's crew, and I had my first ride in a PB2Y Coronado on Feb 16, 1944. I had 3 training flights at Kaneohe and then on Feb 25 our crew departed for the war zone! First stop was Johnston Island, a refueling stop on our way to Tarawa where I had my first view of smoking devastation. The next day we went on to Kwajalein where the marines had just secured the island, leaving it a smoking mess. This was a refueling stop on our way to Eniwetok, which became the front-line battle station from which the navy started its push across the Pacific.
Bob Cullinan's crew was in the first echelon of three planes to land at Eniwetok to make up the patrol flights in search of enemy ships and aircraft. Our first patrol was on March 2nd and from then on we flew 12-hour patrols practically every other day. Our fifth patrol on March 13 became the most exciting day of my Navy career. I recorded it in detail 60 years later when 16 of our remaining pilots decided to publish the above book recording our individual stories. So, I will reprint my story here as follows:
Charles Nelson Flight Log
Japanese Betty Bomber Destroyed. Film by Charles Nelson
Chuck Nelson
Roger Wolf's crew got the first Betty on March 7th, during the first week that VPB-13 flew patrols from Eniwetok. It was my fortune, soon after joining the squadron, to be one of the pilots in Bob Cullinan's crew that shot down the second Betty on our fourth patrol flown from Eniwetok. Those were exciting and challenging days for all VPB-13 crew members with the realization from actual combat that the big Coronado flying boat could match up with Japan's fast, twin engine medium bomber. I was in awe of the big plane and of the capabilities of the well-trained crew members, most of whom had already experienced action in this awesome war. Bob Lee and I were the newest and greenest pilots in the squadron, fresh from the Operational Training Unit in San Diego. We had identical orders to report for VPB-13 duty then based at Kaneohe Naval Air Station on Oahu in Hawaii.
We arrived there during the time that twelve of the squadron's crews were out at Midway Island participating in the massive bombing of Wake Island that was occupied by the Japanese. When the planes returned from Midway, I was assigned to Bob Cullinan's crew, and thus began my service with VPB-13 that continued until the war's end. Bob Lee and I left Okinawa, our final seaplane base, on the very day that the war officially ended in Tokyo Bay.
I wasn't only new and green. I was just 19 years old and the youngest pilot in the squadron, so it is understandable that I was awestruck by the talents and capabilities of my seniors. I think I was extremely fortunate in being assigned to VPB-13 because the squadron had the best trained and most competent pilots of any flying boat squadron. It was a great privilege to learn from them and serve with them.
Bob Cullinan's crew departed Kaneohe for Johnston Island on February 26, 1944. We flew to Eniwetok atoll with stops at Tarawa and Kwajalein. We arrived at Eniwetok on February 29th in the first echelon of our squadron's Coronados. We were based aboard the USS Chincoteague that was anchored in the lagoon off Parry Island, one of the chain of islands in the atoll offering our Navy protected anchorage.
On March 2nd we flew our first eight-hour patrol which was a 600-mile sector to the west, then on March 5th we repeated that same flight. On March 10th our patrol sector was increased to 800 miles which increased flying time to 12 hours. That's what we were doing on March 13th when we encountered our first Betty. We were on the return leg, flying at 5000 ft. when the Betty was spotted below us at 500 ft. We were approximately 200 miles north of Truk and the Jap plane was on a southerly course heading for its home base. Bob Cullinan sounded the battle alarm to alert all crew members that he was starting to attack, and he immediately nosed over into a steep dive giving the bow guns direct aim at the Jap engines. Then he zig-zagged overhead to bring all guns into firing position.
The Betty's pilot made a good crash landing which enabled the burning plane to stay afloat -- momentarily -- but our repeated strafing passes, with all of our guns firing, assured that there would be no survivors nor salvageable remains. Only after returning to base did we discover that the Betty's top turret gun had managed to pour several 7.7 mm slugs through our port wing, just inches outboard of the unprotected fuel cells.
Just before the Betty was sighted I had exchanged co-pilot's position, where I had been, with Bill Mitchell. As a result, I was on the flight deck and could look forward over the bow turret. When the Betty came into view, I grabbed the K20 camera and started shooting pictures of the action.
Three of the pictures were published on April 22nd in The Honolulu Advertiser with the caption "Death of a Jap Bomber".
On March 15th, our very next patrol, we were flying the same 800-mile sector on the same time schedule, and on the return leg at the same location 200 miles north of Truk, our crew again spotted a Betty in a position identical to our first encounter on March 13th. We were at 5000 ft and the Betty was crossing our path at 500 ft. This time Bob Cullinan was super anxious for another victory, and he nosed over into a full power dive.
I was the designated navigator on this patrol and I was positioned at the navigator's table on the flight deck. As we went into the dive, I held on to the navigation table and watched the air speed indicator rise to 255 knots at my last recollection before being jolted by violent shuttering of the plane as Bob pulled out of the dive. Our top speed was later determined to be 270 knots and the horrible vibration we experienced was due to loss of aileron control surfaces.
The starboard aileron was torn off completely and the port aileron had its fabric covering peeled off. It was a mighty struggle for Bob Cullinan and Bill Mitchell to maintain control of the plane and keep us in a safe flying mode. During the dive our bow gunner had opened fire, but no hit was noted. Luckily for us, the Betty continued on its course and did not attempt to engage us. If the Jap had turned and attacked us, we would have been a sitting duck with no maneuverability. Bob and Bill together were able to maintain level flight by manipulating the four throttles and kicking rudder. Yet, as we started the 400-mile trip home, it was questionable if we could maintain flight control and stay on course. An open sea landing would have been impossible with the lack of controls.
At one point immediately after Bob assessed our predicament, he ordered everybody to prepare to "abandon ship". Luckily for all he elected not to attempt an open sea landing. It would have been disastrous without controls to make a stall landing, and if any of us survived, we would have been swimming in Jap territory 400 miles from home. It was a four-hour prayer all the way back to Eniwetok! All that time we worried just how Bob Cullinan would be able to land our crippled Coronado and keep us in one piece.
Certainly, it could not be a conventional Navy stall landing. Instead, Bob made a long, straight-in approach at 120 knots with flaps and floats up, skimming the smooth water and keeping our wings level until settling safely down. This "hot landing" attested to Bob Cullinan's skills as an accomplished PB2Y Patrol Plane Commander.
Photos taken by Chuck Nelson with K20 Navy Aerial Camera, from side hatches of our Coronado during return flight to Eniwetok.
I flew with Bob Cullinan's crew until early April; then, for whatever reason never explained to me, I was transferred to Roger Wolf's crew. Roger was the squadron gunnery officer and the senior Patrol Plane Commander (PPC) below Skipper Connelly.
I sort of surmised that Roger was disappointed in not having pictures of his encounter with the Betty on March 7th, and I guessed he was hoping and even planning to get another one and for that he wanted to have picture proof. As it turned out, Roger never had a second opportunity to shoot down a Betty. I feel grateful that I was privileged to fly with him for the remainder of my first tour.
We returned to the States on July 3rd and reformed our squadron into new crews for the second tour. I flew with Bob Peach on the 2nd tour until he was rotated home from Okinawa. But with less seniority, I remained and finished my tour of duty as co-pilot for Lou Hudspeth.
A sad note on our reforming and training in San Diego: Bob Cullinan and his new crew were all killed in a crash on October 17, 1944, while returning from an all-night flight to simulate a Trans Pac, in preparation for flying to Hawaii. The flight was returning to San Diego which was closed in by fog. Bob elected to circle to the southwest where he crashed on top of Los Coronados Island. I was a duty officer that morning and had the sad task of accompanying a crash boat to retrieve remains.
We continued to fly patrol flights out of Eniwetok until the end of June, then the whole squadron was ordered to return to San Diego to pick up new equipment, refurbish the planes, reassign new crews after some senior PPCs were transferred, and train new crews.
Roger Wolf was assigned to a new duty outside of VPB-13, so my last flights with him were our transpac from Hawaii to San Francisco, which was a harrowing 17.2 hour flight due to head winds. We were low on fuel when we reached the coast which was fogged in, but fortunately Roger was able to pick up a radio signal that got us over the Golden Gate Bridge and into a foggy landing in S.F. Bay, on the 4th of July.
The next day we flew to San Diego and commenced the squadron reorganization. The first order of business was to grant each member of the squadron a 30-day leave. This was a wonderful occasion to be able to go home for 30 days right in the middle of the war. The big event was Bob Lee and Elaine decided to get married at her father's church in Spring Prairie, Wisconsin. So, it worked out very well in that I was able to borrow Barbara's father's car and take Barbara and my mother to the wedding. We sailed across Lake Michigan on a car ferry which transported rail cars and automobiles and had stateroom accommodations for passengers. It was an extra special occasion in that Bob's brother Knute, a Naval Aviator very senior to Bob and me, was on leave from his Pacific tour and he was Bob's best man. The three Navy guys looked pretty sharp in their summer whites.
Back in San Diego, we started daily training flights from mid Aug until mid Nov when we departed for Hawaii to start our 2nd tour. It was on this flight that I logged my 1000 hours of flight time.
On Nov 1st I was officially assigned to Bob Peach's crew. It was Nov 19 when we flew to Hawaii, en route to Saipan. We had a 7 day stop-over at NAS Kaneohe Bay on Oahu, where we had 3 days of gunnery practice and 3 free days.
I don't remember the details of how I learned my brother Ralph was in an army unit stationed on Maui, but it turned into a very special Nelson Brothers Reunion. Somehow, I was able to hitch rides on navy planes to and from Maui. When I got there, I don't remember how, but I was able to borrow a jeep and drive to Ralph's encampment. He got permission to leave camp for the day and we drove around the island and had a great visit.
Ralph was 2 years ahead of me in high school and he graduated in June 1940. He left home immediately after graduation to travel and seek a job. It was an odd situation in that he did not communicate with Mother for a very long time and we didn't actually know where he was until Mother got notice that he had enlisted in the Army. So, meeting in Hawaii, was only the 2nd time we had seen each other in the five years since he left home. That other time must have been Christmas of 1942 when I was home on leave after finishing pre-flight and Ralph was in basic training.
So, after the reunion, I was on my way to Saipan which was the front line of action in the Navy's push across the Pacific. We flew patrol/search flights out of Saipan during Dec, then moved to the great fleet anchorage in Ulithi Atoll on Jan 9th. This was the greatest gathering of warships in history, staging for the invasion of Okinawa. We were fortunate in being headquartered aboard the new seaplane tender USS Kenneth Whiting, which was designed to service seaplanes and accommodate flight crews, and it was essentially a floating hotel.
We flew patrols out of Ulithi, from Jan until mid-April when we followed the fleet movement to Okinawa. During our time at Ulithi there were some memorable events:
On Jan 21 a cold front came through the area creating a typhoon and Admiral Halsey ordered us to find it so all ships at sea could prepare for it.
We found it and to get an exact fix on it our PPC Bob Peach elected to fly into the eye of it. We started into the black wall at 5000 ft and immediately got into a downdraft that dropped us like a high-speed elevator. Bob pulled nose up and poured full power to keep the plane in level flight position and we dropped to within 100 feet of the water. We were fortunate to be able to move on into the eye of the typhoon where it was completely calm and bright sunlight. We were able to climb up to a high altitude that enabled us to get over or through the wall and exit safely. (Note: a typhoon is the same as a hurricane in the Atlantic but called a typhoon in the Pacific.)
At Ulithi as well as at all the other seaplane anchorages we had buoys to tie up to, and we had to keep one pilot and several crew members aboard when there was probable danger from bad weather or enemy swimmers with grenades.
On March 11th, I had the duty of night watch on our plane because high winds required us to prevent the plane from dragging or breaking away from the buoy by turning up two engines. This was the night that two kamikazes flew in after dark. One, a twin-engine bomber, hit the aircraft carrier USS RANDOLPH on the starboard side aft just below the flight deck, killing 25 men and wounding 106. What I saw was a huge ball of fire lighting up the area amongst the many ships at anchor. The other, a twin-engine kamikaze bomber, evidently mistook a small island rimming the atoll for a ship and crashed into it.
On April 4th we flew to Saipan to change crew personnel and get ready to move to Okinawa. This was my last flight with Bob Peach in that he was reassigned to other duty outside of our squadron. He was replaced by Lou Hudspeth who became my PPC for the remainder of the war.
I am going to digress here and tell about Bob Peach after the war. In late 1945 Bob founded Mohawk Airline as a tiny air taxi service and grew it into a major regional airline of which he was President and major stockholder. In 1969 when I was preparing to leave Esso Chemicals in Puerto Rico, and searching for a new job opportunity, I contacted Bob to see if I might fit somehow in Mohawk, but there was nothing to consider. Then in April 1971, I read in Time magazine where Bob died of a self-inflicted gun shot. There is much more detail to be found in Google.
After forming the new crew in Saipan harbor, we spent 10 days there making training flights and gunnery runs, then on Apr 26th we flew to Kerama Retto, just west of Okinawa, which was a staging area for the action on Okinawa. This atoll rimmed by small islands provided an ideal seadrome for our planes and a protective harbor for ship maintenance and staging. The Kenneth Whiting arrived the day before us and had our landing area and buoys all arranged. The evening of the next day, Apr 27th, a ship in the fleet anchorage was hit by a kamikaze and erupted into a huge ball of fire.
It was the USS Pickney, a multi service ship with many duties ranging from supply to hospital services and arranging burials ashore. As we flew in and out of Kerama Retto during the following days, we saw the burned-out hull and were reminded that we were in the war zone and that kamikazes were a daily threat.
The next day, Apr 28th, we started a constant schedule of patrols to the north along the chain of islands leading to Korea and the coast of Japan. The very 1st flight on the 28th was a very new, never tried before torpedo night flight looking for shipping along the coast of Korea. I don't know who dreamed it up but none of our pilots had ever tried it before. It consisted of taking off with a 1000 lb. torpedo hanging by a special bracket from the port wing and using JATO to assist take off. JATO was a thrust device consisting of a 200 lb. cylinder filled with solid rocket fuel. They were mounted on the side of the fuselage and controlled/discharged by the pilot as needed for extra thrust during take off.
This first-time experimental mission consisted of two 3 plane echelons taking off at sundown, flying in loose formation in the black of night searching for ship movement.
Our planes could not use running lights as we approached the target area for fear of fire from enemy planes or shipping; thus we could not hold formation and our planes were flying helter-skelter all through the target area. No shipping was detected on radar screens and it was the consensus of the PPCs to eject their torpedoes and return to base. This was not a proud experience for VPB-13.
But from then on during May, June, July, and August we had important flights that contributed to the war effort. One interesting duty was to take off at sundown and fly to an area 100 miles north of Okinawa and commence what we called picket duty. We flew back and forth, east to west, setting up a fence from which we could detect flights of kamikazes coming from the north and headed for targets at Kerama Retto or Okinawa. Being at higher altitude we could pick up the suicide bombers before any of ships doing picket duty and alert the target areas. Kamikazes would come in big groups of forty or more.
On Apr 26, our "hotel", the Kenneth Whiting was the target of a kamikaze. It was noon and Bob Lee and I had just finished lunch when we heard a big crash, followed by an explosion that rocked our ship. Two kamikazes had snuck into our seadrome, first one targeted our sister ship the USS Curtis and its bomb ripped two holes in her hull and exploded on the 3rd deck, killing 35 and wounding 21 of her crew. We were fortunate in that an alert gunner just happened to be at his station and he was able to hit the kamikaze and explode its bomb just as it approached our starboard side, scattering the remnants all over our deck.
My mother kept all of the letters I had ever sent to her and after she passed away, I found several bundles which I refer to as I write my memoirs.
My flights during June and July were pretty much a repeat of May, mostly night flights to search along the coasts of Japan and Korea. We would take off before dark and return after sunrise to avoid night take-offs and landings. On one mission when we returned to Kerama Retto, the whole atoll was smoked in, concealing all of the ships and the landing area.
There had been a kamikaze alert and the atoll was totally smoked in to conceal the ships/targets. We were running low on fuel and could not wait for the smoke to clear so we had to make an open sea landing which was very difficult for the big Coronado when the sea was churning big swells and treacherous waves. But again, I was fortunate in flying copilot for Lou Hudspeth who did a masterful landing and we were able to taxi about 10 miles into safe harbor. Several weeks later one of our new replacement crews experienced the same smoked-in condition and attempted an open sea landing which was disastrous. The PPC and seven were killed and the copilot and two crewmen were injured.
August was filled with big events that concluded my WW2 service.
Aug 6: the Atomic Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima
Aug 9: 2nd A-bomb dropped on Nagasaki and B29 "Boxcar" was low on fuel so it refueled on Okinawa
Aug 15: Japan surrendered.
Aug 27: Replacement crew arrived and my crew was released to go home. Bob Lee was copilot in Norm Olson's crew and they were next in line to be relieved. I elected to delay my departure until Bob and I could come back home together. So, I joined their crew and did one last flight which was a patrol along the China coast on Aug 31.
Coming home turned out to be a hitchhiking game in that we officers were on our own to find whatever transportation we could arrange. So, on Sept 3rd, Norm Olson, Bob and I got on a PB2Y to Saipan. Four days later we got space on a NATS PB2Y to Honolulu.
We were in Hawaii 12 days waiting for transport to San Diego, which turned out to be a small aircraft carrier, the USS Card, which was being used to transport troops. The flight deck was covered with 775 cots from bow to stern, and it was a matter of pick and choose your spot to sack out, officers didn't have any separate accommodations. There were so many troops that the chow lines were endless and by the time you finished a meal it was time to get back in line.
We arrived in San Diego on Sept 24, according to the date shown on the attached newspaper clipping which is deteriorated a bit. I don't know how long I was in San Diego, arranging transport home, but I'm sure the first activity ashore was a phone call to Barbara to tell her I would be on the first train to Chicago. It must have been about Oct 10 when I arrived in Chicago, because that is the date on my "release to inactive duty".
Barbara was there to meet me. She had taken the train from Muskegon, and her sister Jean "chaperoned" her. They were staying with their cousin Vern Van Kirsten who was stationed there on Naval duty. The only vivid memory I have of our meeting in Chicago was of Barbara and I walking to Lincoln Park where we found a nice bench with a pretty view of the lake. That's where I gave Barb her diamond. And now that I think about the ring, I can recall where it came from. On my stop in Hawaii, I bought it in the Navy PX. It was a fine quality .66 karat diamond that cost $340.00.
It was a 10-day whirlwind of activity getting ready for our wedding and not without some anxious moments like the wedding license being held up due to my blood test being questioned by the health office in Lansing. That finally got cleared up on the 18th. Barbara and my mother had started planning long before I got home, so guest lists and venues were all worked out.
It was decided that we would be wed in the Samuel Lutheran church where I had been baptized and confirmed because Barbara's family did not have a particular church preference. Pastor Swanson had given Barbara some lessons in the doctrine of the Lutheran Church and she became a member, making our family lifelong members of the Lutheran Church.
It was a wonderful wedding and grand reception and it can best be told by printing copies of newspaper reporting and showing pictures, but I should detail the wedding party as follows:
Barbara's older sister Audrey was maid of honor; her sister Jean and best friend Barbara Gorman were bridesmaids; Bob Lee was my best man and his wife Elaine was the organist; my cousin Ruthie Booker was soloist. Ushers were classmates who followed me into Naval Aviation: Fred Walters finished flight training and was an Ensign; Bob Ritcheski was an Aviation Cadet.
It was the biggest, most elegant party that either of our families ever had prior to October 20, 1945. It came about because Jack Reese, President of Continental Motors, belonged to Muskegon Country Club. His wife Pat Reese was very fond of Barbara and she wanted to be sort of the surrogate mother who helped or took charge of reception arrangements, as well as arranging for the flowers and candles in the church. I am sure that Barbara's father paid for a lot of the expenses because he later told me that he could have bought Barbara and I a car for what the flowers cost.
Honeymoon: we left the reception in Barb's Dad's 1941 Buick and headed for Holland where we stayed in route to Chicago. We spent 3 days at a nice hotel in Lincoln Park that catered to veterans, then headed home to married life.
Honolulu Newspaper with News of Betty Destruction
L.toR. Bob Ritcheski, Barbara Gorman, Bob Lee, Audrey Russell, Barbara, Charles Nelson, Jean Winters, Fred Walters
