Search for Richard Bong's Plane-- Part 3

Richard Bong's Medal of Honor reads: "For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action in the Southwest Pacific area from October 10 to November 15, 1944.

"Though assigned to duty as gunnery instructor and neither required nor expected to perform combat duty, Major Bong voluntarily and at his own urgent request engaged in repeated combat missions, including unusually hazardous sorties over Balikpapan, Borneo, and the Leyte area of the Philippines.

"His aggressiveness and daring resulted in his shooting down enemy airplanes totaling eight during this period."

Bong also earned the Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, seven Distinguished Flying Crosses and 15 Air Medals.

--GreGen

Pearl Harbor Survivor Jack Holder Dies-- Part 3: Became a Pilot in Pacific and European Theaters

From where he was on Ford Island, he could see the damage wrought by the attack.  He saw the USS Arizona, USS West Virginia,  USS Tennessee, USS Nevada, USS Oklahoma and USS California, battleships all,  on fire and sinking to the bottom of Pearl Harbor.

He survived World War II in tact and as the war progressed, so did Holder's Navy career.  He went into training to fly aircraft and by June 1942, he was behind the stick of a fighter, meeting the Japanese approach to Midway Island where he got his vengeance for the Pearl Harbor attack.

Missions over Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands were next.  Then he trained to fly the B-24 Liberator bomber and was transferred to the European Theater.

For his distinguished Navy service, Holder was awarded two  Distinguished Flying Crosses, six Air Medals,  a Presidential Unit Citation and six commendaton medals before being honorably discharged  in 1948.

After the war, he became a commercial and corporate airline pilot and retired to Arizona where he died February 28, 2023.  He will eventually be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Quite A Life.  --GreGen

Kenneth Taylor, Pearl Harbor Hero-- Part 5: George Welch and After the War

George Welch flew  more than 300 missions in the Pacific Theater during the war and is credited with shooting down at least 12 Japanese planes.  After the war he became a test pilot and died in 1954 in a test flight of a F-100 Super Sabre fighter jet.

Taylor stayed in the Air Force after the war and retired in 1967 and then was with the Alaska Air National Guard, retiring as a brigadier general in 1971.

His other awards and decorations include the Air Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, tyhe Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, two Bronze Service Stars.

After he left the military, he worked as an aviation insurance underwriter for Lloyd's of London until 1985 and died in 2006.

Taylor's son, Kenneth Taylor Jr., followed in his father's footsteps, serving as a gunship and cargo pilot in the Vietnam War, accumulating more than 6,600 flying hours and 500 combat hours and eventually rose to the rank of brigadier general.

A well deserved honor to be inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame.

--GreGen

WW II Service of George H.W. Bush-- Part 2: Back to the San Jacinto and Discharge

In November 1944, George Bush returned to the USS San Jacinto an participated in operations in the Philippines until his squadron was replaced and sent home to the United States.  By 1944, he had flown 58 combat missions.for which he received the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals and the Presidential  Unit Citation awarded to the San Jacinto.

He was then reassigned to a training wing for torpedo bomber  crews at the Norfolk Navy base, Virginia.  His final assignment was to the new torpedo squadron VT-153 based at Naval in Station Gross Ile, Michigan.

He was honorably discharged from the Navy  in September 1945, one month after the surrender of Japan.

While he was still in the Navy, he married Barbara Pierce in Rye, New York, on January 6, 1945.

--GreGen

Fourth Mission of the Day-- Part 4: Col. Blakeslee Had 500 Missions and 1,000 Combat Hours

By the war's end, the Fourth Fighter group was credited with downing 1,020 German aircraft.  As an individual, Colonel Blakeslee flew nearly 500 missions and had about 1,000 combat hours to his credit.  This is believed to be more missions and hours than any other American fighter pilot of World War II.

In all, Colonel Blakeslee received two Distinguished Service Crosses, seven Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Silver Stars, six Air Medals and the British Distinguished Flying Cross.  A decade later, he also received the Legion of Merit, another Distinguished Flying Cross and four Air Medals for his service in the Korean War.

Nice Haul.  Well-Deserved.  --GreGen

"The Mighty 8th"-- Part 4: 262 Fighter Aces and Still Most Powerful Air Striking Force in the World

There were 261 fighter aces in the 8th AF in World War II.  (A fighter ace is generally considered as having shot down five or more enemy planes in aerial combat.)

To honor these brave acts and others, the Eight Air Force was awarded 17 Medals of Honor in World War II.  They were also awarded 20 Distinguished Service Crosses, 852 Silver Stars, 7,000 Purple Hearts, 46,000 Distinguished Flying Crosses and 442,000 Air Medals.

Even more awards were made after the war.  They still remain uncounted.

The 8th AF has continued in active service since its inception, with its units serving in every armed conflict the United States has engaged ever since.

It presently consists of most of the SAC units in the eastern half of  the United States, plus England, Germany, Spain and Greece, with about 50,000 persons assigned.  A recent 8th AF Commander has stated that it is still the most powerful air striking force in the world.

--GreGen

Marijuana "Reefers" Sold, Air Medal, Labor Unrest

From the July 30, 2013, Wilmington (NC) Star-News "Back Then."

Seventy years ago.

JULY 25, 1943:  Three men were in jail for selling marijuana cigarettes to soldiers and civilians in the vicinity of Camp Butner near Durham.

Undercover agents bought 32 "Reefers" at 35 cents apiece.

JULY 30, 1943:  The Air Medal was presented by FDR to Lt. (jg) Lloyd D. Hollingsworth for meritorious achievement as a seaplane pilot during the invasion of North Africa in November 1942.  He is the son of Margaret Hollingsworth and currently listed as MIA.

JULY 31, 1943:  There are Labor Relations problems at the Wilmington Shipyard and across the country.    The War Labor Board denied a general wage increase to more than one million shipyard workers at 188 shipyards across the country.