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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 1943)
Jhm OHZGON CTATTL2MA2I, Salem, Oryon. Thursday 2 Marauder Making The crippled B-28 Marauder, set down by her pUot "on tie trass . beside the runway at about 125 miles per hour in a most perfect belly landing," returned damaged, but repairable, to her English air base, carrying back to eomparathre safety a crew of American men, including, one from Salem. j Crippled VS Marauder Makes Perfect Belly Landing After Raid With Salem Man in Crew By CAPTAIN KELMAR K. LeMASTER It was morning in England. A formation of Marauders from this 8th Air Force medium bombardment group had gone on "ops to the Lalle-Vendeville airdrome in France. They were covered by an escort of Spitfires from the RAF Fighter Com , mand, as they always are, and we knew they could expect fighter opposition, as .well as a heavy anti-aircraft barrage from the strong ground defenses at Lille We were all uneasy and anxiously awaiting their return. It seems always so when the boys are out on "ops". Nobody is able to settle down to anything and many minutes before the air planes are due back, officers and men will gather by the perimeter track at the edge of the field to watch and listen for their return. One Plane Missing This is the way it was that mor ning,1 I was standing with a group of officers in front of the Briefing Hut and watching with the rest. Presently someone said, "there they- come" and pointed . to the southeast. There were two boxes of them looking miniature far up against the sky. I counted eighteen in the lead box they were all there. But in the second box I only counted seventeen and I counted again because thirty-six had gone out. Everyone was silent during that moment of counting and for a moment afterward. The formation was making a sweeping circle to the left over the field, losing altitude as they went Some one -. remarked, "there's one mis sing." No one said anything. 4? Then we beard a high pitched whine, loud above the thunder from the planes overhead, and -low to the south,, streaking straight for the field,' was a lone Marauder. We knew by the sound of the engine that he was in trou ble and the rest st the formation was forgotten and all eyes were glued on the stricken ship. As he passed almost directly over our heads, a red flare shot up from him and floated down. He made a tight circle over the field and presently the hose wheel came down into place. Slowly, as he continued to circle, the left main gear came down, but that was all. He widened hiscircle now, climbing as he went. The ' main formation kept w h e e I i n g high . above the field waiting for the crippled airplane to land. Finally, after what seemed eter city to us. we saw the nose wheel fold slowly back up into place. We . knew if the left main gear could - be made to back up, chances on a belly landing would be pretty good. At last it drew slowly back up out of sight and we breathed a little easier.. Perfect Belly Landing Then the nilot made a wide circle ana. squared away lor a landing. As he approached the end oi uw iieia unomer rea ziare went up-and he brought' her in. He set her down on the grass beside the runway at about 125 miles per hour in a most perfect belly land ing. He held her straight and she came skidding to a . stop with cloud : of dust streaming out be . hind. A wild cheer went, up from us who were watching. The , am bulance and ; crash trucks : went streaking over, but they weren't needed. None of the crew , had been injured by the landing and damage to the ship was slight. : That is the way it looked to us who were "sweating it out" from . the ground. ; Here is the story as I gotw it "from the pilot. Second Lt. I. C Meyers, Chisholm, Minn, and his co-pilot, Second Lt H. B. Bennett, , Goldendale, Wash. Lt Meyers started the account: ' "We were about half way from the coast of ' France to the target on the way in, somewhere in the vicinity of ' St Omer, when our formation ran into an intense barrage of heavy flak. Two or three bursts caught us from beneath, f under our - left wing and shot out the propellor control on out left engine and our hydraulic system. The propellor went into fixed pitch and started to wind up dangerously fast, ren dering that engine practically use- T TTviirwur T didn't dare cu' the engine out, because- with the controls out of commission I bad no way to feather the propellor and it otherwise would have cre ated a dangerous drag, v : "Br diving the ship slightly managed to keep pretty well up with .the formation and continue the bomb run. We " put our six Belly Landing I Belly-Lander - SceMd Li. Philip D. Hlnunel, son of Mrs. Grace M. Hlmmet 653 North High street, Salem, wm navUtter and bombardier on the B-2f Marauder, member of the ! crew of which Cast. Kel mar K. IMaster writes la the accompanying article. Army Public Relations photo. of the bombs from our forma tion, right in among the hangars at the end of that German airfield and they were blown sky high. "About that time it didn't look as if we were going to get out of France. It took every drop of hydraulic fliud left in the system to close the bomb bay doors and as we pulled away from the target we sent up a red distress flare. Immediately five Spitfires from our escort came in. One took up a position very close on each wing, two directly behind us and one above. They were almost in the cockpit with us they were so close. We were, of course, rapidly falling behind the main forma tion." Here Lt. Bennett interjected, those Spitfires are the" prettiest things I have ever seen. We sure love the British . boys who fly them." Lt Meyers continued, "We managed to maintain an altitude of about 8000 feet until we reached the coast of France and then we let it down to gain speed. X had to use maximum manifold pres sure on the good engine, greatly increasing the gas consumption, and as a result we were nearly out of gas when we reached our base." Hydraulic System Balks Here Lt Bennett took up the Story.: "When we got back over our field I cut in the emergency hydraulic system and started to I pump ; the landing gear down. I managed to get the nose wheel down first and then the left main gear, but the right main gear wouldn't respond. X had trouble getting those wheels back up be cause : we were losing hydraulic fluid all the time. It looked for a while as if we weren't going to make it and woudl have to jump, but I thought of all the war bonds the folks back home had bought to build that $280,000 plane so X kept working at it Be sides we had a special attachment to the ship, especially "that right engine which had taken a hell of a lot of punishment getting us out ' of France. I finally got the nose wheel in place and the left main gear far enough up to chance a belly landing. Crew Stays With Ship ; ? "LA. Meyers asked the crew if vino tx J - V All - : ? AS ltd. CIlAil . Dr.T.XXa.N J. D..CkJJ - CHINESE Cerbailsts : til Narth Liberty rjpstaira Portland General Electric Co Otflc open Saturday - only 10 am. to J pjn.: 8 T pjn Con- '. mltiiinn. Blood Dreaaur -ono onw i testa are tr eo of etaargo. Proeneed I since 1S1T - - ' .'! :-. - - HQ they would rather Jump before be tried to bring her in on her belly, and they all said they would ride her down with their pilot" "Meyers didn't tell yon that when we were hit by that flak a fragment came through ., and caught him in the left leg. He was too busy to examine his injury J J, to see just how badly he was hit Iso he told me to keep an eye on him and if he started to act queer V Jv to take over, but it wasnt nec 4 essary. - As you saw he made a L. ficent landing. ' Meyers wound is not serious, and he said as he left the room, "There's one thing sure I've got the best damned crew in the Euro pean theatre of operations. . I looked at the plane later, aft er they had brought her into the hangar and ,,, she isn't damaged badly. A new set of propellers and some repairs i to her under side where she slid and she'll be in the air again as good as new. One of the engineers said the job would " take a week or ten days. ; War Writer's Biggest -Thrill By MAX HILL ' AP Features NEW YORK Two guards stood beside : the entrance to the courtroom, taking their i duties seriously. Another . policeman sat beside me, his hands resting loose ly on his legs. Obviously he was ready to thwart any attempt at es cape, t :;.-; ;; i; - My face and head were covered with the cone-shaped rice-straw dunce cap all prisoners wore ev ery time they stepped out of their cells. : i- 1- : i r. v i -jf - I was in the court for sentence, and had been waiting for hours in a damp and dark basement celL All this happened in Tokyo, five months after Pearl Harbor, while X was a prisoner in solitary con finement . f ' v: Each time I was taken to the court not far from the, Imperial palace, I rode from Sugamo pris on with some forty Japanese pris oners who were roped together and handcuffed and then cram med into the bus. i- f Two weeks before I had been tried and convicted of "sending stories detrimental to Japan's di plomacy to The Associated Press in New York, ? ; Japan's legal system is based on the Napoleonic code, and I was sure the chief of the three judges would follow the recommendation of the procurator, which was: Eighteen months in prison! The officer rapped iny j 1 e g , grounted at me. I stood up stiffly, The three judges filed in. ; - In slow, dignified Japanese, the center judge read the charge, and his conclusions. " ! ... Then he quickly announced the sentence was to V be - eighteen months, as recommended, but that he would suspend execution of his order for three years, r . - Suddenly the sun seemed brighter and it was worthwhile living, even in Tokyo, the key city of our enemy. I was taken back to prison, but was included in the diplomatic exchange ; a few days later. 1 had returned to freedom from what accurately might be called a living death. By JOHN A. MOROSO, 3rd WITH THE ATLANTIC FLEET The admiral radioed us to go and sink some French de stroyers coming out of the harbor of Casablanca. . '-. We already had fought a fierce battle with them but our skipper, Captain Francis Compton Dene- brink, was elated. We headed to ward the enemy ships, 12 miles away. Suddenly enemy shells began whizzing - over our ship, j They struck , all ;.- around and splashed foam 30 feet high. Back at his battle station amid ships G. G. Herring, commander and executive officer, noticed that we had been heading on a straight course. i:,, -: V -- As we started turning to port he spotted the telltale bubble of four or five torpedoes." : - They were headed at us. I looked at them and I looked at the bow of our ship as it s w u n g r nd. I did not think they could miss. iut we did turn and those tin fish passed by. I watched them as they sped through the water and X thumbed my nose at them. ; , Seconds later we began exchan ging shells with some French cruisers and destroyers. We fought another battle later, ' but the memory of those torpedoes racing through the water lingered on as the outstanding - event of that bloody November ' 8, when we Invaded Morocco. - i i i i i i Comber Trip to Berlin Drop explosives on Hider! Yoa I and other wexnea can do it br I faring used rooking fan for gun powder. Even wich rationing, you can. save a spoonful a day. gusli each caaful to your butcher. l : j ? - - - Where They Are- T7 hat They Are Doing '- V Robert Norton, above, son of Mr. ana jars, ju, ju. nam n route 4, Salem, has returned to Far rag at naval training station in Idaho after being at home on furlough at the close of his re cruit training. He was student In Salem high school prior to entry into the naval service. r Leaving soon for training at Camp 'Allen, Va, are a number of men from Salem and vicinity who have enlisted through the Sa lem naval " recruiting station in the ; Seabees. They include: Eau Claire V J. ; Byers, storekeeper Woodburn; A L Fast electrician, Dallas; C :l. Fortenberry, ar- penter, Salem; P. A. Hagen, boat swain. SUverton; AJ T. Pettit car penter. Independence; W. R. Mas- sey machinist Salem; G. I Mc- Oincey, carpenter, Gaston; E. T. Weaver, construction, Indepen" dence; and John Edward Hill, con struction, Salemi Kent R. McYey. third class av iation radioman who is an aer ial gunner, is spending ten days leave visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Roger McVey of 1343 Sixth street West Salem. McVey enlist ed through the Salem navy re cruiting station a year ago last September and : received his recruit-training at San Diego. He completed radio schooling at Mem phis, Tenn, and will report for duty with the Pacific fleet Accepted as apprentice seamen in the navy and to be trained at Camp Farragut Idaho, are Clair John Vandehey, Woodburn, and Gerald Thornton HalL Salem. The two enlisted throueh Chief Quar termaster Robert B. Fallon at the local recruiting station. TeeSgi'Taul Pennington of a fighter squadron, stationed at Sa linas, California, wrote his par ents. Mr. and Mrs.; Glen Penning ton of route 5, that he lost all his possessions in an apartment fire. Pfe. Claire M. 1 Miller, marine corps, has finished his basic train ing at San Diego and is at home with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. W. P. Miller, his wife and six-month old daughter. He will leave late this week, returning to San Diego to take further training. David Steiner Berrer. son of Ma j. and Mrs. Armin E Berger, 2145 South Cottage street, recent ly graduated from the aviation ra dio school at the Jacksonville, Fla- naval station,, and was pro moted to private first class in the marine corps. He entered the mar ine corps January 28," 1943, and received his ; recruit " training r at San Diego before being transfer red to : the naval air technical training center. He is now a quali fied aviation 'radioman and will probably see service with a marine aviation detachment. OrviDe Sparrow, sea of Mr. and Mrs. William Sparrow, who has been in the navy for a year has been stationed at the US naval air station on Whidby island as a pharmacist's mate, third class. Af ter a leave, which be is spending at the home of his parents, he will go for further training to Tulane university. New Orleans. He for merly was a student at Willamette university.- ' HOLLYWOOD DRIVE Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Forgard have had as their guests their son, George, who is a chief warrant officer stationed now at Chicago, and his wife from Seattle. He was stationed at Seat tle for some time and Mrs. For- romwnere Ned Buxton was home on fur lough last wee), And you ought to see the fuss the town made, over him. Seems like almost everybody wanted to give a party or a testimonial dinner, or stage something special In the way of celebration. Of coarse, Ned acted gratefnl, Bat he told me later, all he really wanted was to alt $ow with a few old friends, enjoy a glasa of Wee or two, natd talk abont oM times again. - I guess that's how many sol diers feeL They don't want a lot il I i! Ko.73efaSerie$ gard will remain there until he is permanently stationed. SWEGLE FJbey Sisemore is at the home of his parents. Mr. and Mrs. I. Sizemore, on Sunny- view avenue for a short furlough. He is in the army air corps at a southern training station. His mo ther has been 111 and he hopes to have his furlough extended. MISSION BOTTOM BUI Meit- hof, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Meithof of Hopmere, went to Portland Friday to take examina tions for entrance into the army. He was sworn in and will leave for Fort Lewis on November 5. He hopes to enter the air corps. Before going,, Meithof is harvest ing his potato crop. V-" Orblllo George Molt third class I aviation - machinist's mate from Corpus : Christie, Texas,, is home I on a few days leave from the nav- I al air corps training station. He arrived, Tuesday i- and will visit with his parents, Mr, and Mrs. J. O. MulL 1138 Norway, until Oc tober 29. Mull was employed in the Statesman mailing department and for Southern Pacific before enlisting. This is his second leave. Mr. and Sirs. G. J. Backe, who live on Monroe avenue and have two sons in the service, have re ceived letters for the past two months from their son, William, describing life on a south Pacific island. He is in the navy and is stationed where it is .very warm, i the water on their shores being 80 degrees. He has. been working on water distillation. The men make all their drinking water from sea water. They are on duty 12 housr! per day. He writes, "The marines I use more of our water than we do." The men take their showers from barrels on a platform be tween a couple of palm trees. Eat ing is : not a pleasant experience. They sit around on the ground and try to get the food before the flies do. They eat many coconuts and drink the juice from several ev- ery day. Most of them live in tents ! under palms. If they have some doth, they are able to obtain na tives to build- a house for them. ! They traded some of their' under wear for some mats for their tents, he wrote. Backe's sister mailed him several yards of material hop ing he may have his house. Sororities Pledge 71 at Linfield ' McMINNVILLE, Oct 20 -iJPy-1 Pledging of 71 girls was announced today i by . Linfield college sorori ties,' with Phi Beta Mu taking the largest pj edge class of 20. Pledges included: Phi Beta Mu Mary Lou Mac- Lean, Mc Minn vill e; Jeanne Remme, Dayton; Janet Haynes, Yamhill. Kappa Alpha Phi Louise i Lawson, Amity; Phyllis Mandigo, Dayton; Florence Fairhill, Flor ence Pool, McMinnville. Sigma Kappa Phi Ellen Cross, Betty Maxwell, Alys Jeanne Fink, Kathleen Kelly, Florence West- phall, all McMinnville. Zeta Chi Esther Calkins, Mc Minnville; Marie Noris, Amity. Grand Island Club Slates Meeting GRAND ISLAND The first meeting of the seeason for the Grand Island Community club will "be held Saturday night j School children, directed by the teachers, Mrs. Will Duren and Mrs. James Richardson, will give the program. Musical numbers will be featured. Mr. and Mrs. Roy E. WiH and Mr. and Mrs. Louis Will and two children - motored to Jennings Lodge , recently to , compliment their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Leon ard Will on their 34th wedding an- ! niversary. Cycle Rider Fined ....... SILVERTON - J. Amstutz paid I a S3 fine in Judge Bert Terry's ; court Saturday on a charge of careless riding of a motorcycle in j downtown streets. . ' . Treated f or Fracture i SILVERTON Mrs. Edwin B. Hyatt is at the SQverton hospital being treated for a fractured left lef sustained in a fall at her home at 501 Whittier street , here I sit . . Ay Joe Marsh of fuss made over them, with formal celebrating and such. What they realty like are the simple treasures one of Mom's home-cooked meals, visiting with friends over a glasa of beer enjoying things that mean home and comfort and security. Front where T sit, onr biggest Job, apart from helping win the war. Is Baakiag aare those things are waiting for ear saea when they come back home for good. OryriglU 193, Brewing btdrf FommJariim Tilililaxy Censor Not to Y7rite Comment on Mail WASHINGTON. Oct. 20-iPy- A military censor has no right to add his comment witty or other wise- to mail he examines. Announcing this, the war de- Jpartment asked anyone finding I remarks added br the censor in mail received from soldiers to re- UAH TY We sr deffeil off tholr now Fell clothos, Kuppcnhchacr hes cicintclncd their ffatnoos quality standards. ' . -. i IMI I From sheep developed bf careful breeding and climatic fnnriffiQM. comes the wool for Kuppcbhcimcr clothes. 67 fears designing experience behind these clothes! One style mzj be cut in 222 difler ent sizes to fit all figures. - CIC3PPGCJC3GDf.1GQ Sails 050.00 5i Topciels ' 8420 If ym ND trnhuj CiOOO $m :PX;.: ; MIsiiin9s SIlndDip ' . ; - " ; MOXLEY AND HUNTINGTON ' " ' . 1 The Store of Style, Quality and Value r ; : J 416 STATE STREET BUY M 0 RE I port the incident to the adjutant general, sending along the letter : and envelope, "so that the .point of origin-and the identity of the offending censor may be determ ined for disciplinary action. Censorship of communications to and from persons under mili tary jurisdiction, the' department said, "is a necessity in wartime to prevent. disclosure of informa tion which would give aid and comfort to the enemy. - ; "The war department has nev- ABY K UP P E ,rr ( 'L (guarantee All Koppenheimer fabrics and foundation materials pass , : texts foe strain, friction, sun j light, water and perspiration. A I Only the quantity and quality of handcrafting in these clothes could achieve such fit; distinction, serviceability.. VAR BONDS A Tric!i ia Hospital ROSEDALE T. D. Trick, wh- was ill at his home last week, is' in the general hospital, Salem, for observation. Mr.-Trick is-president f lhi T?Ad Trni'lrvsl nf Farmers Union. , er intended that privacy of the mailjshould be invaded beyond this absolute necessity for secur ity." . ; N H E I M E 1 1 R ihatiaovcry 190 in this dryer! has part of Kuppenheuner "temper ing." Improves fabrics in fin ish, tailoring qualities, ' Not mere presting but shaping with the hand iron, gives lasting contours to the collar; shoulders, and chest, and snore N D ST A 11 PS J - P hundred, pounders, with the rest
