There was one pilot who seemed more at home flying the iconic P-40 than all the rest: Colonel John “Jack” Chennault. Pilots were frustrated by cloud cover that blanketed their ground targets and their home airfields. In Alaska, the air war was just as much about taking the fight to the Japanese who occupied Attu and Kiska as it was surviving a flight in unfathomably bad conditions. Shooting down German fighters while outnumbered or saving their buddy just in the nick of time made for good press and boosted morale. Many enjoyed celebrity akin to our modern-day movie stars. While on war bond-selling tours back on the homefront, the pilots were swamped by civilians eager to shake hands or to grab an autograph. Their stories became the stuff of legend. He took part in the invasion of Italy and was killed in action on June 1st, 1944, just three days before Allied forces liberated Rome, ending the Italian Campaign.Īn Aleutian Flying Tiger, one of several that were under the command of Jack Chennault.Ĭourtesy of Mac McGalliard Flying with the Other Chennaultĭuring World War II, Flying Aces grabbed headlines in papers across the United States. Corporal George Fox, US Army, from Unga, Alaska, enlisted before the war began in 1941. The only known Aleut/Unangax̂ soldier killed during World War II will finally receive a veteran headstone from the Department of Veterans Affairs to honor his service. Jake Hatcher, 104, of Princeton, West Virginia ***FLASH*** Leon Herbert “Lee” Rathburn, 100, of Williamsburg, VirginiaĪlbert Southwick, 100, of Leominster, Massachusetts Otto Clifford Daniels, 102, of Huntington, West Virginia US Navy Robert Edward Dempsey, 99, of Lexington, Kentucky Stafford Chester Mead, Sr, 97, of Holyoke, Massachusetts Christlieb, 96, of Newville, Pennsylvania Harold “Bud” Kysar, Electricians Mate, USS Brazos, 100 TAPS US Armyĭavid Garland Crawford, 95, of Wasco, CaliforniaĬharles Arthur Welbaum, 95, of Alpena, MichiganĪlden Bevre, 97, of Abercrombie, North Dakota Karen Abel, Joshua Bell, and Rachel Mason, editors of The WilliwawĬongratulations to our centenarian veterans! Also, if you’re seeking information about the Aleutian Campaign, please let us know about that too and we’ll do our best to get you pointed in the right direction. We invite you to share your story or the story of a loved one. This edition of The Williwaw highlights some stories of pilots and planes from the homefront to the frontlines as the Allies struggled to achieve – and then maintain – air superiority over the Aleutian Islands.Īs always, we hope to hear from you, the reader. Williwaws are hard on personnel on the ground to be sure, but dealing with a Williwaw while flying? Well.that’s more of a challenge. If living on the Aleutian Islands was tough for allied servicemen, flying over and around them was even more of a challenge. Bombing and scouting missions, which had mixed success rates, were key in determining where the Japanese had dug in. In the months leading up to the Battle for Attu and the recapture of Kiska, air power played a central role. Pilots in the 54th Troop Carrier Squadron with their unarmed C-47s moved men, equipment, and supplies from island to island. These aircraft, along with P-40 Warhawks (or Kittyhawks, as they were called by the Canadian airmen who flew them), P-38 Lightnings, PBY and PBY-5 Catalinas, OS2U Kingfishers, B-18 Bolos, B-26 Marauders, PB4Y-2 Privateers, B-17 Flying Fortresses, and even one B-29 carried crews on critical missions over the Aleutian Islands and beyond, bringing the war to the Japanese. The Willow Run Bomber plant in Dearborn, Michigan led the pack, turning out one fully constructed B-24 Liberator bomber every 63 minutes. Aircraft manufacturers competed to put out the best planes they could as quickly as they could. Planes from the 18th Fighter Squadron, 11th Air Force, Attu Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, 1945.Īir power proved its worth in the Great War (World War I) and was used to great effect in World War II.
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