The
mission to Otake was a success. Reilly, in the tail position,
was able to observe black smoke rising to an altitude of over
10,000 feet. One aircraft was lost when landing at Guam. The 39th
was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation, the first of two that
would be bestowed upon them. There were no casualties.
Before
leaving North Field for the USA, Elmo left a case of whiskey with
his friend, Rick Paquette, Airplane Commander of Crew 52. Captain
Paquette and all but one of his crew would perish over Tokyo only
11 days later. Reilly learned that during this long mission, a
cousin, Lt Edward T. Smith, Engineering Officer on an Aircraft
Carrier, had briefly put into Guam. He visited the 39th, was treated
to the Officers' Mess, and offered a ride in a B-29. After the
war he confided that he was well received by the officers of the
39th, but had declined the ride, and should have declined the
food as well.
We
left the wounded P-7 on Guam and continued on to the USA for Lead
Crew training at Muroc AAB (now Edwards) via the Air Transport
Command. Those that may remember traveling by ATC will recall
the waiting. We were not the only would-be passengers that day
and the prospects for our group getting a ride seemed remote.
Capt. Juvenal took the flight engineer and squeezed into an early
flight that left on the 12th. The rest of us didn't get out until
the 15th, one day after the expiration of our orders. Juvenal
assumed correctly that if part of the crew left on time, the trip
for the others would not be cancelled.
We
returned to Guam and the 39th Bomb Group six weeks later with
a new B-29, the "City of Laredo," equipped with the latest radar
bomb sight and navigational equipment to complete eight more missions.
As
far as "old P-7" was concerned, she was a lucky aircraft and would
continue to fly another day with another crew. We felt some sense
of loss because she had taken us through some tough times. But,
there were those maintenance problems, one aborted mission, and
the loss of #3 engine on the Otake raid. These lingered in our
memories. Though some of us felt that her best days were all behind
her, nothing could have been further from the truth. As her future
unfolded, she went on to become one of the workhorses of the 39th
Group.
It
wasn't until 45 years later that we were able to piece together
the full story of P-7. "Biff" Badgley photographed her nose when
we returned to Guam from our six-week assignment in the States.
He wanted a record of the "Rising Sun" flag that indicated a confirmed
kill by tail gunner, Sgt. Ed Reilly. That picture was added to
"Biff's" scrapbook.
Continued
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