L to R: Dick Little (radio op) & Ed Reilly (tail gunner) Smoky Hill Army Air Field Salina Kansas

This is as it appeared in "History of the 39th Bomb Group" by Robert Laird (P-5).

The following account was written by Edward T. Reilly, tail gunner on Crew 7 and describes their 7th mission over Japan. It represents the reflections and perceptions of each member about one of their memorable missions. Some editing has been done, none however, that would change the body or accuracy of the story.

"Looking back, I guess we received the wake up call sometime after 2300 on the night of 9 May 1945 for a flight to Otake, Japan. It revives the events that would take place the following day. I have never known what it is that psyched up a crew for a combat mission. Some say that it is the thrill of going into battle; others are willing to bet that fear had a role. For me, it is anger - I hate being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night.

Briefing, that night, was of particular interest to our crew because we had orders to return to the USA for Lead Crew training the following day at Muroc Army Air Base (now Edwards AFB) in California. We were excited about the prospect of going home and was, therefore, concerned 'that the mission, our 7th, might cause us to miss the opportunity. But this was one of General LeMay's "Maximum Effort" strikes and every able plane and crew of the 314th Wing would fly.

None of us knew why our crew and six other crews of the 314th had been chosen for this training assignment, but we felt lucky. Forty-five years later, Capt. Chester Juvenal, airplane commander, a Texan of uncommon humility, would attribute it to the exemplary record of Lt. Daniel Jesser, radar observer. Danny, not to be out humbled, suggested that if talent played a part in the selection process, it must have been the Captain's rather than his. The rest of the crew agreed that they were both top drawer, as was Lt William "Biff" Badgley, bombardier, who would also play a central role in this future Lead Crew.

Briefing that night was also of interest to the gunners of the crew - Guy Eastham, CFC gunner; "Big Ed" Reinhold, and Howard "Bud" Reed, left and right gunners respectively, and Ed Reillv in the tail. On a previous mission over Oita, five days before, these gunners had bagged an enemy fighter (confirmed), and this strike held the promise of another "turkey shoot" because Otake, according to briefing information, was protected by 300 single and 50 twin-engine aircraft. Many of these were from the Kure Naval Base just across the inlet from our target. We were also cautioned to be on the lookout for "ABC" fighters (45' x 35') - a new weapon in the Japanese arsenal.

Continued