TCU's victory over the University of Wisconsin has caused a lot of my friends to have unbeleeevable pleasant/satisfied feelings. Count me among them. The top issue for me, maybe, no maybe to it. It has already happened. I can now stop dwelling on SMU-20 TCU-14 in September 1935. The winner of that game between the nationally ranked Number 1 and Number 2 teams was guaranteed an invitation to the 1936 Rose Bowl. TCU's consolation prize was very good and should have gotten my mind off of SMU-20,TCU-14 but it didn't. The total consolation prize was an invitation to the Sugar Bowl which ended TCU-3, LSU-2. SMU was defeated by Stanford 7 to 0 and TCU was the consensus national champion. I got no satisfaction out of SMU being defeated. They had played the game of their lives and left everything they had on the field at Amon Carter Stadium a month earlier.
Being national champion in 1935 should have done it, but TCU-21, Wisconsin-19 in 2011 did.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
BCS Selection Committee - Cowards
Letter to the Editor:
The powers that be in the BCS have arranged for TCU or Boise State to not go undefeated. The fear that neither would go undefeated if they were paired with any teams other than each other was a risk to be avoided. Don't believe what you read in your newspaper on Jan.8. The winner of the Tositos Fiesta Bowl is the true national champion. Joe Hays 6608 Sheridan Rd. Fort Worth, Texas 76134 817-293 0439
The powers that be in the BCS have arranged for TCU or Boise State to not go undefeated. The fear that neither would go undefeated if they were paired with any teams other than each other was a risk to be avoided. Don't believe what you read in your newspaper on Jan.8. The winner of the Tositos Fiesta Bowl is the true national champion. Joe Hays 6608 Sheridan Rd. Fort Worth, Texas 76134 817-293 0439
Sunday, August 9, 2009
My name is Joe Hays. I served in the United States Army Air Corps for 2 years, 10 months, and 21 days between January, 1943 and November, 1945. My mother saved the letters I wrote home during my time in service. My daughter has those letters in her possession. She believes they show how the U.S.A.A.C. caused a fuzzy faced adolescent to mature into a responsible officer and pilot in less than 3 years, and for that the U.S.A.A.C. should be commended. She has asked me to recall what I can about each mission I flew once I got to England in January, 1945 so that she will have more to work with than just the bare, cold facts. All tidbits, my feelings, and the drama of the events are important to her study. She became aware of the tidbits when I hosted a crew reunion-dinner in my home during a 446th Reunion in Fort Worth in 1989. There was a lot of chatter, reminisces, and different opinions expressed by my crew mates. Also attending was our beloved Chaplin Gannon who observed during the evening: “You were all on the same airplane, but each of you fought a different war.” This statement impressed my daughter.
With the aid of Harold E. Jansen’s The History of the 446th Bomb Group (H) and my radio operator’s diary (John Corrichides) to augment my memory, I believe I can accurately recall each of my missions as I lived them. Each of my crewmates lived each mission differently according to Chaplin Gannon. My recollection will contain no exaggerations nor embellishments as some tales I have read do. Flying a B-24 in combat in the 8th Air Force requires no embellishments to be sufficiently dramatic. One take off in the dark in a B-24 loaded with 6000 pounds of bombs, 2000 pounds of 50 caliber ammunition, wing tanks full of gasoline, and 10 men is drama enough for anybody. Add to the anxiety when you know there is a B-24 thirty seconds ahead of you, another thirty seconds behind you, and hundreds more in the vicinity climbing through the darkness/fog to reach their formation ship. They couldn’t see either. When you reach the formation ship… now you are ready to go fight a war. I can’t use much of John Corrichides diary….he tended to embellish.
Magdeburg – Feb 14, 1945
My first mission was to Magdeburg on Feb. 14, 1945. Seven of my crew mates had already flown one mission, and my pilot, John Vinski, had already flown two (one as a co-pilot and one with an experienced pilot as his co-pilot). My bombardier, Bob Bihn had flown three. Due to a shortage of bombardiers, he flew all 5 missions to Magdeburg before he had even unpacked.
I was upset before I left briefing when I learned our bomb load was Marlene Dietrich propaganda leaflets. I came to England to drop bombs, not propaganda leaflets. Seeing a B-24 ahead of us hit by flak while we were still over the channel was also upsetting. I saw him peal off apparently under control. Our crew saw no flames, smoke, nor parachutes. There was cloud cover over the target (marshalling yards), and there was no close flak. There was flak ahead of us and behind us. Over the target we had a free ride. Bombing results were good. We bombed using PFF equipment.
Our crew nicknamed the entire continental coast “Scholtz’s Battery”. When Scholtz didn’t shoot at us as we went in we tossed him a candy bar as we went out. This became our ritual.
Magdeburg – Feb. 15, 1945
My second mission on Feb. 15, 1945 was also to Magdeburg. It was the 446th B.G.’s fifth in a row to that town. The first four were to marshaling yards. This one was to a synthetic oil factory. There was a 9/10 undercast, but our target was hit. H2X bomb directing equipment was used. Flak was moderate. No 446th planes were lost.
Osnabruk – Feb. 16, 1945
My third mission on Feb. 16, 1945 was to Osnabruk. Weather was uncooperative from take off to landing. Flak was heavy over the target. Three 446 planes were hit. All made it back and landed safely somewhere in England. Our attack of the marshalling yards was successful. While landing we experienced a near miss with another B-24 in the traffic pattern.
Nurnberg – Feb. 21, 1945
My fourth mission was to Nurnberg on Feb. 21, 1945. The briefing officer told us Hitler was planning to move the German capital to Nurnberg since it appeared the German Army could not prevent the Russians from capturing Berlin. It fell to the R.A.F. and the 8th Air Force to see to it there would be no Nurnberg worth moving to. The R.A.F. had bombed Nurnberg all night and were still at it as we were being briefed. The 8th Air Force 3rd Division was to go in as soon as the R.A.F. left. The 8th Air Force 1st Division was go in as soon as the 3rd Division left. We, the 2nd Division, were to go in as soon as the 1st Division left. All 8th Air Force groups were flying maximum effort. As we approached Nurnberg. the contrails were as thick and as wide spread as I had ever seen. It was mandatory for each plane to fly as close to its formation plane as possible . We tried to put our wingtip in the next plane’s waist window in order to avoid a mid air collision. Pulling up and out of formation was an option that we did not take. We were number two position requiring my flying “cross cockpit”. Johnnie and I gave up on my relieving him of any stick time at least an hour before we reached Nurnberg, which was the start of an awfully long, very difficult flight for him. As we approached the Initial Point, the 2nd Air Division leader informed the entire 2nd Division that the B-17’s were not through, and for the 2nd Air Division to make a 3600 turn. We did, and as we approached the I.P. the second time we were told the B-17’s still were not through, and to make another 3600 turn. About half way through the second 3600 turn, the fighter boys left us to go get some gasoline with the promise they would be back as soon as they could. By now I doubt if any two B-24’s were still in formation with anybody. We swarmed to somewhere close to the initial point again, flew a little while, dropped our bombs somewhere on Nurnberg and headed for home.
The contrails thinned out some, and we all found each other in our squadron, and got back in formation a little before we flew directly over the last remaining 4 gun battery near Strasberg in France. Johnny was “bushed” (extremely tired), so I had been flying for about 30 minutes. He had just taken back the controls, and I had unhooked my oxygen mask to take a bite of my butterfinger candy bar when the flak hit us. There is no telling where or how far I threw that butterfinger. My armor plated seat was hit. John Corrichides flak helmet was hit just about above his eyes. Our hydraulic line was severed just behind the pilot’s seat. Tail Wind suffered several holes, but no damage to fuel, oil, or flight control lines. Robert Coppock, our flight engineer, attempted to repair the hydraulic line with a pilot’s relief tube. It didn’t work. I’ll go to my grave wondering if it was blind luck or did that flak gunman actually see through the thin clouds and shoot at and hit the one olive drab camouflaged air plane in the squadron when there were 12 other silver planes available. We continued to Woodbridge because they had a 15,000 foot runway for emergency landings. When we got there and received landing instructions, two crewmen at a time began to crank down our wheels as we circled the field. The wheels reluctantly came down, but would not lock. After several minutes and several gallons of gasoline, Johnny told me to fly while he went back to assist. He and Corrcihides, the heaviest men on the crew (160 pounds each), got on the crank with a crewmate hanging on each of them. They jerked, and the bright yellow knuckle appeared indicating the gears were down and locked. I was the only crew member who did not participate in cranking down the wheels. I got my workout later when I broke the safety wires on the valve knobs to the right of my seat. I opened the valve that was closed, closed the one that was open, grabbed the pump handle and began to pump down the flaps. We had full flaps by half way through final approach. When we touched down we also had wheels and brakes which could be applied only once. (Ho Hum….Routine landing) They fed us at Woodbridge. The 446th sent a truck after us, and we slept in our own bed that night. Our nose gunner, Willie Roat, the father of Steve Roat who set up and mans the 446th web site, died recently. He died angry because Woodbridge didn’t give us any mission whiskey.
Misburg – Feb. 24, 1945
My fifth mission was to Misburg on Feb 24, 1945. The target, an oil refinery, was covered in clouds. We bombed on H2X. Results were unobserved. There was no flak. Fighter cover was good.
Halle – Feb. 27, 1945
My sixth mission was to Halle on Feb 27, 1945. Crew chief Sgt. Stormy Wheeler mingled with us prior to take off. Tail Wind was his pride and joy, and she had flown 74 missions without an abort. He most certainly wanted the 75th put on her today. We managed, but it proved to be difficult. We had to feather one engine about an hour before the target, and another was over heating. A very rich mixture and an open cowl flap used a lot of gasoline. We had not kept up with our squadron for a long time, but fell in with another for the bomb run. We left the squadron we were in and headed out of Germany as directly as we could after the rally point. Our fuel was low and we were operating on 2 ½ engines. We asked for and were denied permission to go to a fighter base close to Paris for an emergency landing. We were told to go to one close to Brussels. It turned out we were not talking to our Group. They didn’t know where we were. We were limping along alone and expecting to be attacked any minute. We weren’t attacked, but the two P-51’s following us at 6:00 very high were hoping we would be so that they could engage with the German’s. We did not know they were there. They buzzed us at a safe distance, and wagged their wings at us when we were close to Brussels. When we landed, the base commander sent a jeep for Vinski. He wanted to know how many people he had to feed and find bunks for, and how long would we like to stay. Vinski estimated we had enough money to last 3 days, so he asked for 3 days. The fighter base commander didn’t notify our Group quickly so that we could stay the 3 days before they came to get us. While Vinski was talking to the fighter base commander, Tommy Wahl (our navigator) quietly asked someone “where are we”. We were where he thought we should be, but he was confused because the map showed there should be a forest close by. The trees had been burned down by fires from the war. We flew home in a C-47 with a British pilot. He took great pride in showing us he had two sets of instruments to keep up with as he had two engines. We complimented and marveled at his ability.
Belefeld – Mar. 7, 1945
My seventh mission was to Belefeld on March 7, 1945. Our target was the third of 3 rail viaducts still standing. Others in the 8th Air Force had destroyed the first two After our bombs were dropped, one was still standing. There was no flak. A week later the R.A.F. knocked out the still standing viaduct with their 22,000 pound bomb.
Rheine – Mar. 9, 1945
My eighth mission was to Rheine on Mar 9, 1945. The target was the marshalling yards which were hit effectively, though the target was not visible and GH equipment was used. Flak was moderate. The entire mission was relatively uneventful until it was time to land. Then, I observed the greatest job of flying I had ever seen. As we were letting down, our ball turret gunner, Herald Bietz advised Vinski that our waste gunner, Vincent Jones was in agony. I really think Jonesie would have let his ear drum burst before he would have told of his predicament. He had a head cold, and had committed the unpardonable crime of not informing Vinski before take off so he could be stood down. We dropped out of formation and took an hour getting down. Slowly we dropped 2000 feet and then climbed 1000 feet over and over until we were at 1000 feet plus or minus, and Jonesie’s ears were clear. Visibility was good when our group landed, but now our field was socked in solid. The tower turned on the runway lights. We would approach as low as we dared, and see the runway lights about the time the runway was gone. We did this four times, when Vinski asked to land on runway 20 rather than 200. There was a pause, then the tower said “Permission granted to land on Runway 20.” All cadets had practiced instrument turn arounds in the Link Trainer. I know I had maybe 50 times. I always came close to exactly completing the maneuver, but I never really hit THE SPOT. Vinski did it in a B-24 with 10 men on board. Until Col. Crawford was shot down, he used this instance to illustrate to new and old pilots the quality of pilots we had in the 446th, and what he expected all to strive for.
I talked to Johnnie about this 50 years later. He said he often hit THE SPOT in the Link Trainer. I never did. Good he was pilot and I was co-pilot.
Kiel – Mar. 11, 1945
My nineth mission was to Kiel on Mar 11, 1945. Our target was the submarine yards. There was solid cloud cover. Our results were unknown. Flak was light and inaccurate.
Swinemunde – Mar. 12, 1945
My tenth mission was to Swinemunde on Mar. 12, 1945. A total of 675 B-24’s and
B-17’s attacked the Baltic port of Swinemunde. Half of the planes attacked a slew of targets along the Rhine opposite Cologne and Koblenz. Lt Colonel Schmidt led our half from the north attacking the naval port installations. There was intense flak and heavy cloud cover. Later, photos taken by Russian reconnaissance showed good results. Two 446 B-24’s were shot down. Lt. Colonel Schmidt’s lead plane developed engine trouble, so he had to go home alone. We were flying deputy lead. It fell to our navigator, Tommy Wahl, to lead our half of the remaining 625 planes back to England.
Giesson – Mar. 14, 1945
My eleventh mission was to Giesson on Mar. 14, 1945. The target was the marshalling yards. Our bombing results were good. Flak was moderate but accurate. Cloud cover below was spotty. At our altitude there were no clouds and I remember the sky being very blue.
Berlin – Mar 18, 1945
My twelfth mission was to Berlin on Mar. 18, 1945. When the target is Berlin, there is an extra amount of anticipation. The briefing officer didn’t help by telling us our target was a synthetic yo-yo factory hidden in a wooded area along the autobahn about 10 miles south of downtown Berlin. We dropped our bombs in those trees and went home. The flak we attracted was meager. 1300 heavy bombers hit Berlin that day, and they must not have had enough heavy flak to go around. I don’t know (and never will), but I feel that the synthetic yo-yo factory had something to do with the development of an atomic bomb. I’ll bet the briefing officer didn’t have the least clue either. Our tail gunner, Millard Tomson, was issued a small camera which he used to show where our bombs hit.
On April 8, 1945 Tom Wahl and I had been ordered to Second Air Division Headquarters in Norwich to go before a board to see if (in the board’s judgment) we had become sufficiently gentlemanly to be promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. They decided that both of us had, so we got to take off our blue bars and put on gold ones (just like most of our Cadet classmates had received a year ago.) The really good thing was we kept our 20% overseas pay awarded to enlisted men and Warrant Officers. We were still making more money than Vinski, which was a real sore spot with him. Our pay was still close even after he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant. At a crew reunion at my home in 1989, the crew talked a lot about the mission to Roth on April 8 that Tommy and I missed. The high point seemed to be the chaff got water soaked, and the consensus was our chaff was still frozen in its packets when it hit the ground.
Landsberg – April 9, 1945
My thirteenth mission was to Landsberg on April 9, 1945. The target was the airfield and the workshops. The target was visible. Damage was done to buildings, runways, and dispersed aircraft. Flak was medium and accurate. We received no damage. Two planes from our squadron landed safely on the continent with no injury to personnel.
Passau – April 18, 1945
My fourteenth and last mission was to Passau. There was no flak and no fighters. We bombed from around 10,000 feet, so no oxygen was required. While the bomb bay doors were still open, John Corrchides saw fit to get on his hands and knees and fire his 45 at whatever Nazis happened to be on the ground below us. There was still some war left, but we were not asked to fly combat again. I was glad, because I had enjoyed all the war I cared to.
After a 30 day leave, the 446th assembled in Sioux Falls, South Dakota prior to being ordered to Tarrant Field in Fort Worth to train in B-32’s. before being shipped to the Pacific. Two atomic bombs put a stop to those plans. Now points became important, because the more you had, the earlier you got discharged. Discharge priorities were in plateaus. When I totaled mine up, I was at some plateau. There was a notice on the bulletin board to go see Major “Somebody” and bring your flight log book if you needed more points. He had been authorized to give mission credit if you flew deep into Germany even if you brought your bombs home. I had flown at least two of those, so he awarded me two missions, making “16” – which put me up a plateau. He said there were more he could award. I was certain there could not be enough to go up another plateau, so I thanked him and told him that 16 was all I wanted or needed.
With the aid of Harold E. Jansen’s The History of the 446th Bomb Group (H) and my radio operator’s diary (John Corrichides) to augment my memory, I believe I can accurately recall each of my missions as I lived them. Each of my crewmates lived each mission differently according to Chaplin Gannon. My recollection will contain no exaggerations nor embellishments as some tales I have read do. Flying a B-24 in combat in the 8th Air Force requires no embellishments to be sufficiently dramatic. One take off in the dark in a B-24 loaded with 6000 pounds of bombs, 2000 pounds of 50 caliber ammunition, wing tanks full of gasoline, and 10 men is drama enough for anybody. Add to the anxiety when you know there is a B-24 thirty seconds ahead of you, another thirty seconds behind you, and hundreds more in the vicinity climbing through the darkness/fog to reach their formation ship. They couldn’t see either. When you reach the formation ship… now you are ready to go fight a war. I can’t use much of John Corrichides diary….he tended to embellish.
Magdeburg – Feb 14, 1945
My first mission was to Magdeburg on Feb. 14, 1945. Seven of my crew mates had already flown one mission, and my pilot, John Vinski, had already flown two (one as a co-pilot and one with an experienced pilot as his co-pilot). My bombardier, Bob Bihn had flown three. Due to a shortage of bombardiers, he flew all 5 missions to Magdeburg before he had even unpacked.
I was upset before I left briefing when I learned our bomb load was Marlene Dietrich propaganda leaflets. I came to England to drop bombs, not propaganda leaflets. Seeing a B-24 ahead of us hit by flak while we were still over the channel was also upsetting. I saw him peal off apparently under control. Our crew saw no flames, smoke, nor parachutes. There was cloud cover over the target (marshalling yards), and there was no close flak. There was flak ahead of us and behind us. Over the target we had a free ride. Bombing results were good. We bombed using PFF equipment.
Our crew nicknamed the entire continental coast “Scholtz’s Battery”. When Scholtz didn’t shoot at us as we went in we tossed him a candy bar as we went out. This became our ritual.
Magdeburg – Feb. 15, 1945
My second mission on Feb. 15, 1945 was also to Magdeburg. It was the 446th B.G.’s fifth in a row to that town. The first four were to marshaling yards. This one was to a synthetic oil factory. There was a 9/10 undercast, but our target was hit. H2X bomb directing equipment was used. Flak was moderate. No 446th planes were lost.
Osnabruk – Feb. 16, 1945
My third mission on Feb. 16, 1945 was to Osnabruk. Weather was uncooperative from take off to landing. Flak was heavy over the target. Three 446 planes were hit. All made it back and landed safely somewhere in England. Our attack of the marshalling yards was successful. While landing we experienced a near miss with another B-24 in the traffic pattern.
Nurnberg – Feb. 21, 1945
My fourth mission was to Nurnberg on Feb. 21, 1945. The briefing officer told us Hitler was planning to move the German capital to Nurnberg since it appeared the German Army could not prevent the Russians from capturing Berlin. It fell to the R.A.F. and the 8th Air Force to see to it there would be no Nurnberg worth moving to. The R.A.F. had bombed Nurnberg all night and were still at it as we were being briefed. The 8th Air Force 3rd Division was to go in as soon as the R.A.F. left. The 8th Air Force 1st Division was go in as soon as the 3rd Division left. We, the 2nd Division, were to go in as soon as the 1st Division left. All 8th Air Force groups were flying maximum effort. As we approached Nurnberg. the contrails were as thick and as wide spread as I had ever seen. It was mandatory for each plane to fly as close to its formation plane as possible . We tried to put our wingtip in the next plane’s waist window in order to avoid a mid air collision. Pulling up and out of formation was an option that we did not take. We were number two position requiring my flying “cross cockpit”. Johnnie and I gave up on my relieving him of any stick time at least an hour before we reached Nurnberg, which was the start of an awfully long, very difficult flight for him. As we approached the Initial Point, the 2nd Air Division leader informed the entire 2nd Division that the B-17’s were not through, and for the 2nd Air Division to make a 3600 turn. We did, and as we approached the I.P. the second time we were told the B-17’s still were not through, and to make another 3600 turn. About half way through the second 3600 turn, the fighter boys left us to go get some gasoline with the promise they would be back as soon as they could. By now I doubt if any two B-24’s were still in formation with anybody. We swarmed to somewhere close to the initial point again, flew a little while, dropped our bombs somewhere on Nurnberg and headed for home.
The contrails thinned out some, and we all found each other in our squadron, and got back in formation a little before we flew directly over the last remaining 4 gun battery near Strasberg in France. Johnny was “bushed” (extremely tired), so I had been flying for about 30 minutes. He had just taken back the controls, and I had unhooked my oxygen mask to take a bite of my butterfinger candy bar when the flak hit us. There is no telling where or how far I threw that butterfinger. My armor plated seat was hit. John Corrichides flak helmet was hit just about above his eyes. Our hydraulic line was severed just behind the pilot’s seat. Tail Wind suffered several holes, but no damage to fuel, oil, or flight control lines. Robert Coppock, our flight engineer, attempted to repair the hydraulic line with a pilot’s relief tube. It didn’t work. I’ll go to my grave wondering if it was blind luck or did that flak gunman actually see through the thin clouds and shoot at and hit the one olive drab camouflaged air plane in the squadron when there were 12 other silver planes available. We continued to Woodbridge because they had a 15,000 foot runway for emergency landings. When we got there and received landing instructions, two crewmen at a time began to crank down our wheels as we circled the field. The wheels reluctantly came down, but would not lock. After several minutes and several gallons of gasoline, Johnny told me to fly while he went back to assist. He and Corrcihides, the heaviest men on the crew (160 pounds each), got on the crank with a crewmate hanging on each of them. They jerked, and the bright yellow knuckle appeared indicating the gears were down and locked. I was the only crew member who did not participate in cranking down the wheels. I got my workout later when I broke the safety wires on the valve knobs to the right of my seat. I opened the valve that was closed, closed the one that was open, grabbed the pump handle and began to pump down the flaps. We had full flaps by half way through final approach. When we touched down we also had wheels and brakes which could be applied only once. (Ho Hum….Routine landing) They fed us at Woodbridge. The 446th sent a truck after us, and we slept in our own bed that night. Our nose gunner, Willie Roat, the father of Steve Roat who set up and mans the 446th web site, died recently. He died angry because Woodbridge didn’t give us any mission whiskey.
Misburg – Feb. 24, 1945
My fifth mission was to Misburg on Feb 24, 1945. The target, an oil refinery, was covered in clouds. We bombed on H2X. Results were unobserved. There was no flak. Fighter cover was good.
Halle – Feb. 27, 1945
My sixth mission was to Halle on Feb 27, 1945. Crew chief Sgt. Stormy Wheeler mingled with us prior to take off. Tail Wind was his pride and joy, and she had flown 74 missions without an abort. He most certainly wanted the 75th put on her today. We managed, but it proved to be difficult. We had to feather one engine about an hour before the target, and another was over heating. A very rich mixture and an open cowl flap used a lot of gasoline. We had not kept up with our squadron for a long time, but fell in with another for the bomb run. We left the squadron we were in and headed out of Germany as directly as we could after the rally point. Our fuel was low and we were operating on 2 ½ engines. We asked for and were denied permission to go to a fighter base close to Paris for an emergency landing. We were told to go to one close to Brussels. It turned out we were not talking to our Group. They didn’t know where we were. We were limping along alone and expecting to be attacked any minute. We weren’t attacked, but the two P-51’s following us at 6:00 very high were hoping we would be so that they could engage with the German’s. We did not know they were there. They buzzed us at a safe distance, and wagged their wings at us when we were close to Brussels. When we landed, the base commander sent a jeep for Vinski. He wanted to know how many people he had to feed and find bunks for, and how long would we like to stay. Vinski estimated we had enough money to last 3 days, so he asked for 3 days. The fighter base commander didn’t notify our Group quickly so that we could stay the 3 days before they came to get us. While Vinski was talking to the fighter base commander, Tommy Wahl (our navigator) quietly asked someone “where are we”. We were where he thought we should be, but he was confused because the map showed there should be a forest close by. The trees had been burned down by fires from the war. We flew home in a C-47 with a British pilot. He took great pride in showing us he had two sets of instruments to keep up with as he had two engines. We complimented and marveled at his ability.
Belefeld – Mar. 7, 1945
My seventh mission was to Belefeld on March 7, 1945. Our target was the third of 3 rail viaducts still standing. Others in the 8th Air Force had destroyed the first two After our bombs were dropped, one was still standing. There was no flak. A week later the R.A.F. knocked out the still standing viaduct with their 22,000 pound bomb.
Rheine – Mar. 9, 1945
My eighth mission was to Rheine on Mar 9, 1945. The target was the marshalling yards which were hit effectively, though the target was not visible and GH equipment was used. Flak was moderate. The entire mission was relatively uneventful until it was time to land. Then, I observed the greatest job of flying I had ever seen. As we were letting down, our ball turret gunner, Herald Bietz advised Vinski that our waste gunner, Vincent Jones was in agony. I really think Jonesie would have let his ear drum burst before he would have told of his predicament. He had a head cold, and had committed the unpardonable crime of not informing Vinski before take off so he could be stood down. We dropped out of formation and took an hour getting down. Slowly we dropped 2000 feet and then climbed 1000 feet over and over until we were at 1000 feet plus or minus, and Jonesie’s ears were clear. Visibility was good when our group landed, but now our field was socked in solid. The tower turned on the runway lights. We would approach as low as we dared, and see the runway lights about the time the runway was gone. We did this four times, when Vinski asked to land on runway 20 rather than 200. There was a pause, then the tower said “Permission granted to land on Runway 20.” All cadets had practiced instrument turn arounds in the Link Trainer. I know I had maybe 50 times. I always came close to exactly completing the maneuver, but I never really hit THE SPOT. Vinski did it in a B-24 with 10 men on board. Until Col. Crawford was shot down, he used this instance to illustrate to new and old pilots the quality of pilots we had in the 446th, and what he expected all to strive for.
I talked to Johnnie about this 50 years later. He said he often hit THE SPOT in the Link Trainer. I never did. Good he was pilot and I was co-pilot.
Kiel – Mar. 11, 1945
My nineth mission was to Kiel on Mar 11, 1945. Our target was the submarine yards. There was solid cloud cover. Our results were unknown. Flak was light and inaccurate.
Swinemunde – Mar. 12, 1945
My tenth mission was to Swinemunde on Mar. 12, 1945. A total of 675 B-24’s and
B-17’s attacked the Baltic port of Swinemunde. Half of the planes attacked a slew of targets along the Rhine opposite Cologne and Koblenz. Lt Colonel Schmidt led our half from the north attacking the naval port installations. There was intense flak and heavy cloud cover. Later, photos taken by Russian reconnaissance showed good results. Two 446 B-24’s were shot down. Lt. Colonel Schmidt’s lead plane developed engine trouble, so he had to go home alone. We were flying deputy lead. It fell to our navigator, Tommy Wahl, to lead our half of the remaining 625 planes back to England.
Giesson – Mar. 14, 1945
My eleventh mission was to Giesson on Mar. 14, 1945. The target was the marshalling yards. Our bombing results were good. Flak was moderate but accurate. Cloud cover below was spotty. At our altitude there were no clouds and I remember the sky being very blue.
Berlin – Mar 18, 1945
My twelfth mission was to Berlin on Mar. 18, 1945. When the target is Berlin, there is an extra amount of anticipation. The briefing officer didn’t help by telling us our target was a synthetic yo-yo factory hidden in a wooded area along the autobahn about 10 miles south of downtown Berlin. We dropped our bombs in those trees and went home. The flak we attracted was meager. 1300 heavy bombers hit Berlin that day, and they must not have had enough heavy flak to go around. I don’t know (and never will), but I feel that the synthetic yo-yo factory had something to do with the development of an atomic bomb. I’ll bet the briefing officer didn’t have the least clue either. Our tail gunner, Millard Tomson, was issued a small camera which he used to show where our bombs hit.
On April 8, 1945 Tom Wahl and I had been ordered to Second Air Division Headquarters in Norwich to go before a board to see if (in the board’s judgment) we had become sufficiently gentlemanly to be promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. They decided that both of us had, so we got to take off our blue bars and put on gold ones (just like most of our Cadet classmates had received a year ago.) The really good thing was we kept our 20% overseas pay awarded to enlisted men and Warrant Officers. We were still making more money than Vinski, which was a real sore spot with him. Our pay was still close even after he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant. At a crew reunion at my home in 1989, the crew talked a lot about the mission to Roth on April 8 that Tommy and I missed. The high point seemed to be the chaff got water soaked, and the consensus was our chaff was still frozen in its packets when it hit the ground.
Landsberg – April 9, 1945
My thirteenth mission was to Landsberg on April 9, 1945. The target was the airfield and the workshops. The target was visible. Damage was done to buildings, runways, and dispersed aircraft. Flak was medium and accurate. We received no damage. Two planes from our squadron landed safely on the continent with no injury to personnel.
Passau – April 18, 1945
My fourteenth and last mission was to Passau. There was no flak and no fighters. We bombed from around 10,000 feet, so no oxygen was required. While the bomb bay doors were still open, John Corrchides saw fit to get on his hands and knees and fire his 45 at whatever Nazis happened to be on the ground below us. There was still some war left, but we were not asked to fly combat again. I was glad, because I had enjoyed all the war I cared to.
After a 30 day leave, the 446th assembled in Sioux Falls, South Dakota prior to being ordered to Tarrant Field in Fort Worth to train in B-32’s. before being shipped to the Pacific. Two atomic bombs put a stop to those plans. Now points became important, because the more you had, the earlier you got discharged. Discharge priorities were in plateaus. When I totaled mine up, I was at some plateau. There was a notice on the bulletin board to go see Major “Somebody” and bring your flight log book if you needed more points. He had been authorized to give mission credit if you flew deep into Germany even if you brought your bombs home. I had flown at least two of those, so he awarded me two missions, making “16” – which put me up a plateau. He said there were more he could award. I was certain there could not be enough to go up another plateau, so I thanked him and told him that 16 was all I wanted or needed.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Continuing War Casualties
Every time I hear of another American casualty I am reminded of the last verse of The Saga Of The Floundering 446th. The Saga Of The Floundering 446th sung to the tune of The Wabash Cannon Ball is a ballad composed by two B-24 pilots in 1943. The composers made an attempt at humor and levity while describing the anxieties and SNAFUs that off times go along with a combat mission but the last few lines are as serious as a stroke.
No matter boy how brave you are,
No matter friend how bold.
A flyer's one ambition
Is to die from getting old.
When the flak is thick around you
And the fighters by you pass,
The place you would like to be
Is back home on your ass.
Change "flyer" to "ground combatant" "flak" to "suicide bomber" "fighters" to "sniper's bullets" and the message is as true today as it was in 1943.
Joe Hays
No matter boy how brave you are,
No matter friend how bold.
A flyer's one ambition
Is to die from getting old.
When the flak is thick around you
And the fighters by you pass,
The place you would like to be
Is back home on your ass.
Change "flyer" to "ground combatant" "flak" to "suicide bomber" "fighters" to "sniper's bullets" and the message is as true today as it was in 1943.
Joe Hays
Letter to the Editor:
September 6, 2007
Dear Star Telegram Editor:
Get out of Iraq now!
The surge is working. Give it more time.
No matter how long it takes, we must stay until the job is finished.
Good patriotic Americans are passionately making these arguments everyday around the water coolers, on the street corners, and over the back fence. I have my opinion but very truthfully I am as ignorant as everyone else. How could I or any other mere citizens know when or how to get out with the best interest of the United States of America being served? None of us know why we bombed a restaurant in the heart of Baghdad and advised the tanks in Kuwait to stop warming your engines and roll. If we did, a consensus would form overnight and arguments about when and how to get out would cease.
The knowledge of why we went in is known by only a few of our leaders in the executive branch of our government and they aren’t talking any more. All of their original excuses have been proven to be lies. They won’t consider telling the truth unless force is exercised.
What legal force is available? Impeachment is all that comes to my mind. If our President really cooperates during the impeachment and afterwards maybe he can avoid being tried and convicted as a war criminal.
Sincerely,
Joe Hays
Dear Star Telegram Editor:
Get out of Iraq now!
The surge is working. Give it more time.
No matter how long it takes, we must stay until the job is finished.
Good patriotic Americans are passionately making these arguments everyday around the water coolers, on the street corners, and over the back fence. I have my opinion but very truthfully I am as ignorant as everyone else. How could I or any other mere citizens know when or how to get out with the best interest of the United States of America being served? None of us know why we bombed a restaurant in the heart of Baghdad and advised the tanks in Kuwait to stop warming your engines and roll. If we did, a consensus would form overnight and arguments about when and how to get out would cease.
The knowledge of why we went in is known by only a few of our leaders in the executive branch of our government and they aren’t talking any more. All of their original excuses have been proven to be lies. They won’t consider telling the truth unless force is exercised.
What legal force is available? Impeachment is all that comes to my mind. If our President really cooperates during the impeachment and afterwards maybe he can avoid being tried and convicted as a war criminal.
Sincerely,
Joe Hays
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