AUGUST 1945 TOP OF THE NINTH Baseball was the "National Pastime" what with the National League, American League, Negro League, Minor League, Major League...even the Womens League when there weren't enough guys left to keep up the games! Anyone with a radio to listen to knew the names of players such as Bob Feller, Hank Greenberg, Babe Ruth, Dizzy Dean...and the voices of Harry Hartman who coined the phrase "Going, Going, GONE!!!"! Dutch Reagan (yes, it was Ronald), Mel Allen, and Russ Hodges. The boys had grown from sand-lot to Ebbets Field and more. So the Pacific Air Offensive is now in the top of the ninth...and there are men on base... The League is XXI Bomber Command, team is 20TH USAAF with Gen. Curtis LeMay as General Manager--- and it's about time to PLAY BALL! There were five Bombardment Wings at bases in the Marianas Islands, and they continued to wreak mayhem and havoc on the Japanese cities and production facilities. There was a "new kid in town" as well...an outfit called the 509TH Composite Group (What the hell did THAT mean?) They lived, worked, parked their equipment far away from the other groups. They used tail-codes of other groups..which added to the mystery of these aloof characters. Perhaps to be derisive, perhaps just as some GI hi-jinks a song was written about the 509 th.
Into the air the secret rose Where they re going, nobody knows Tomorrow they ll return again But we ll never know where they ve been. Don t ask us about results or such Unless you want to get in Dutch. But take it from one who is sure of the score, the 509th is winning the war. When the other Groups are ready to go We have a program of the whole damned show And when Halsey s 5th shells Nippon s shore Why, shucks, we hear about it the day before. And MacArthur and Doolittle give out in advance But with this new bunch we haven t a chance We should have been home a month or more For the 509th is winning the war The XXI Bomber Command ordered missions 305 through 331. During those missions eleven B- 29s would be lost, but many of the aircrew survived due to Air Sea Rescue performing well. Missions 325 through 331 were flown 14 and 15 August with no losses of the 809 aircraft aloft. For the 9 TH Bomb Group, their biggest participation came on 1-2 August, Mission 308, target NAGAOKA
48 9 TH GRP PLANES WERE SENT UP
psychological warfare was again in use as warnings were dropped
Aug 7 th, Mission 314 ( number 68 for the 9 TH BG) hit the Toyokawa Naval Arsenal. Flak damaged the plane, flown by Roy Nighswonger this mission, to the point that the crew had to bail out over Iwo, and they all survived. Thus the MARIANA BELLE met her end.
On 8 August it was Mission 319 (number 69 for the 9 TH ) and the target was Yawata. Of 245 airborne, 4 would be lost. The George Keller crew, flying NIP CLIPPER, was seen to bail out over the sea. The area was mined which kept a rescue sub from making an attempt to find them and they became MIA. In reality, they drifted for days, back to Japan and were made POW, the last taken of the war. They were released after the war, and it was then learned that 1/Lt Keller had been killed in the bail-out. It was also learned that the men had been taken through Hiroshima the first Americans to see it at ground level. Years later, Walter Ross, who had been the bombardier, published a book about the experience.
On Aug 6 and again on the 9 th, everyone learned that the mysterious 509 TH Composite Group had really been up to something huge! The warning given at Potsdam had been fulfilled and the Rain Of Ruin had fallen on Japan. and Hell followed with him. Even as missions were being flown on August 14-15, Emperor Hirohito finally accepted the terms of surrender, and spoke by radio to his people.the first time ever. He began: To our good and loyal subjects After pondering deeply the general trends of the world and the actual conditions obtaining in our Empire today, we have decided to effect a settlement of the present situation by resorting to an extraordinary measure. We have ordered our Government to communicate to the Governments of the United States, Great Britain, China, and the Soviet Union that our Empire accepts the provisions of their joint declaration. To strive for the common prosperity and happiness of all nations as well as the security and well- being of our subjects is the solemn obligation that has been handed down by our Imperial Ancestors, and we lay it close to the heart. Indeed, we declared war on America and Britain out of our sincere desire to ensure Japan's self-preservation and the stabilization of East Asia, it being far from our thought either to infringe upon the sovereignty of other nations or to embark upon territorial aggrandizement. But now the war has lasted for nearly four years. Despite the best that has been done by everyone-- the gallant fighting of the military and naval forces, the diligence and assiduity of our servants of the state and the devoted service of our 100 million people--the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage, while the general trends of the world have all turned against her interest. Moreover, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives. Should we continue to fight, it would not only result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization. Such being the case, how are we to save the millions of our subjects, or to atone ourselves before the hallowed spirits of our Imperial Ancestors? This is the reason why we have ordered the acceptance of the provisions of the joint declaration of the powers. We cannot but express the deepest sense of regret to our allied nations of East Asia, who have consistently cooperated with the Empire toward the emancipation of East Asia. The thought of those officers and men as well as others who have fallen in the fields of battle, those who died at their posts of duty, and those who met with death and all their bereaved families, pains our heart night and day. The welfare of the wounded and the war sufferers, and of those who have lost their homes
and livelihood is the object of our profound solicitude. The hardships and suffering to which our nation is to be subjected hereafter will be certainly great. We are keenly aware of the inmost feelings of all you, our subjects. However, it is according to the dictates of time and fate that we have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come by enduring the unendurable and suffering what is insufferable. Having been able to save and maintain the structure of the Imperial State, we are always with you, our good and loyal subjects, relying upon your sincerity and integrity. Beware most strictly of any outbursts of emotion that may engender needless complications, and of any fraternal contention and strife that may create confusion, lead you astray and cause you to lose the confidence of the world. Let the entire nation continue as one family from generation to generation, ever firm in its faith in the imperishableness of its divine land, and mindful of its heavy burden of responsibilities, and the long road before it. Unite your total strength to be devoted to the construction for the future. Cultivate the ways of rectitude, nobility of spirit, and work with resolution so that you may enhance the innate glory of the Imperial State and keep pace with the progress of the world. All you, our subjects, we command you to act in accordance with our wishes. At about 7 p.m. Washington DC time, Tuesday, 14 August 1945, President Truman called a press conference and announced that the war had ended. Radio programs were interrupted, days of anticipation of surrender bore fruit and people all over the USA and other places partied and crowded into the streets in joyful exuberance. The next morning s newspapers bore huge headlines to mark the news.
Those POW s were happy too! As XX Bomber Command in the CBI, B-29s had flown 19 missions on their own. Then the 58 th Wing joined the others on Tinian at the end of March and joined in to finish with XXI Bomber Command s 351 missions. 370 missions by B-29s flown against the Empire beginning 5 June 1944. B-29 missions turned to Display of Power and POW relief as they dropped much-needed food, medicine and clothing to those in the camps. Even on these mercy missions, some aircraft and crew were lost, but not to enemy action. On 2 September as Tokyo Bay was crowded with Allied warships, and General MacArthur oversaw the signing of the Documents of Surrender, hundreds of aircraft of many types did a final Display of Power above the USS MISSOURI. Twenty one aircraft and crew of the 9 TH Bomb Group participated in that event and the number of B-29s used from all available varies by sources seen, but there were MANY.
This photo shows but a few
It would take time, fresh replacements from the States, and a lot more days for the combat crews and the original men of the 9 th and all other Groups to rotate back home. Some would get to fly, others went by ships. Some transferred gear and equipment to other places such as the Philipines before going home. September would also set the stage for our defensive position in later months, with three modified B-29s making a non-stop flight from Japan to Chicago, only kept from their target of Washington by bad weather and headwinds as they flew eastward. Taking the men back home was dubbed Magic Carpet. Corporal Bill Feldmann, refueling truck operator, stuck in San Pedro harbor aboard the USS WEST VIRGINIA 5 days before Christmas 1945 It had been a long year since the first man of the 9 TH had been lost while still training at McCook, and others were lost in combat.
(note that the boy killed while at McCook was actually RAYMOND R. BILODEAU and this was corrected a few years ago, researched by Howard Mumm) RAYMOND R. BILODEAU
CIVILIAN CLOTHES---A SIGN OF HOME! (..and the second thing I ll do is put down my bags.. )
Group reunions began in 1987 and continued into 2013. In 1995, a small contingency of Vets and family returned to Tinian and dedicated a bronze plaque in honor and remembrance of that time fifty years before. It remains there to this day.
(photos ctsy Gary Boothe) for more information of the AirSea Rescue service: Click here: History of AAF Air-Sea Rescue for a transcribed version of Walter Ross COURAGE BEYOND THE BLINDFOLD, write to SANDBOX295@AOL.COM for more information and anecdotes of the 9 TH BOMB GROUP (VH) : WWW.9THBOMBGROUP.ORG (and if you wish to donate to keeping this website up and growing, write to sandbox295@aol.com donations are greatly appreciated Rick Feldmann) if you need/desire an accident report or Missing Aircrew Report, contact Craig Fuller at www.aviationarchaeology.com (browse the AAIR Database to start with) also visit www.b-29.org for a wealth of information gathered starting some 20 years ago and a video newsreel clip of the 1 st B-29 landing at Chicago can be seen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au5kvnvbea0 Rick Feldmann July 21 2015
AND REMEMBER TO THANK THE USMC FOR THE MARIANAS SAVED SO MANY LIVES AND IWO JIMA WHICH SEMPER FI! AND FOR THE ROADS, THE LIVING AREAS, THE RUNWAYS THANK THE SEABEES CAN DO and they did AND DON T FORGET THE NAVY
NOR THE ARMY THE COAST GUARD AND THE MERCHANT MARINE X TRIANGLE 2 GOD S WILL LANDS AT IWO JIMA