By
Carl Feather
In the closing days of World War II, Edward P. Matos
solicited $10 from each member of the 39th Bomb Group
and promised the subscribers a written history of their
group's accomplishments would be published shortly thereafter.
The men last heard from Matos in June 1946, when
he predicted the book would be printed within a couple
months. But the books, and further correspondence,
never came from Matos, who seems to have disappeared
with the money. Around reunion tables and in Christmas
cards exchanged between the servicemen was heard the
familiar refrain, "How soon will we receive it?"
Fifty years later, an Ashtabula man has the answer.
He's made good on Matos' promise by publishing the
"History of the 39th Bomb Group."
David Smith, who was tailgunner in Crew 31, was among
those men who kept asking "How soon will we receive
it?" every time a reunion was held. Then Smith
learned that Robert Laird, another member of the group
and a published author, had assumed the task, but
became ill and couldn't finish it. Laird had completed
about 50 percent of the book, including the government
record research, when he put it on the shelf.
But many phone calls and letters still needed to
be written to solicit recollections, personal histories,
snapshots and clippings from other members. At the
1993 reunion, Smith volunteered to finish the work.
Since then, he's put in 15 to 20 hours a week writing
letters, reviewing responses, typing the manuscript
and making phone calls. At the reunion in August,
he was finally able to give the servicemen the good
news: the book they had waited more than 50 years
for was at least ready for publication.
"For me, it was kind of a dual job," he
said. "We anticipated having a history of our
outfit promised to us by the guy. When Bob started
and couldn't finish, I felt I had to get it done for
my own satisfaction as well as pleasing everyone else."
Smith assembled 100 copies, most of which were sold
by advance reservations during or shortly after this
year's reunion. Because of the small run involved,
Smith decided it would be more economical to photocopy
the pages than incur the expense of offset printing.
Although the photo reproduction suffers by using this
method, it helped keep the cost at $30 per book, including
shipping.
He had the hard covers and binding done by an Akron
firm. Smith, a retired commercial art teacher, designed
and silk-screened the cover.
Smith said initial response from book buyers has
been very positive. "One man told me he just
couldn't put it down," Smith said. "It just
brings back a lot of memories as they read these names
and places."
Flying short
The 39th spanned a relatively short period, August
1944 to the end of the war in the Pacific. Most of
its action was limited to the conflict's final four
months.
Smith entered the 39th through the college cadet
training. The Air Force decided it had enough cadets
and closed the program, sending Smith to Tyndall Field,
Fla., for aerial gunnery training. He arrived in Guam
April 20, 1945.
The 11-man crew Smith was assigned to flew 22 missions,
but the first one was the most memorable. It was May
10, 1945, in a borrowed aircraft, "Four Aces."
The target was Kobe, Japan. Smith said the mission
got off to a bad start when the crew witnessed the
fiery crash of the B-29 just ahead of them. It was
that ill-fated crew's first mission, too.
Flak met the plane as it headed toward Japan. Little
holes appeared in the wings and fuselage and one shell
struck an engine. Power was cut to it and the plane
lost air speed as it limped toward the target.
Numerous fighter planes attacked the B-29. Smith
said his first reaction as tail gunner was to wait
until the enemy fired first. But after a few minutes
of battle, he learned to take the initiative.
The crew delivered their bombs and headed for home.
But over open water, they discovered that several
bombs had hung up in the bomb bays. Hydraulic lines
had been severed by flak, prohibiting closure of the
bay doors. The bombardier, Bernie Greene, had to walk
through the bomb bay. Escaping hydraulic fluid made
the walk extremely slippery; one misstep and he would
have been in the ocean. But Greene managed to manually
release the bombs and return safely to his post.
Thus, with one engine feathered and a second pulling
only half power, the B-29 limped toward Iwo Jima.
Fearing damage to the wheels and brakes, the tail
crew attached parachutes to the back of the plane
to break its speed as it landed. Even so, the aircraft
dropped off the end of the runway into a ditch.
The crew members received a Distinguished Flying
Cross for their mission. Smith said the experience
prepared them for the worst scenario every time they
left for a mission. But nothing came close to that
first one.
"Every mission after that was basically downhill,"
he said.
Smith said most of the men of the 39th were modest
about their accomplishments and experiences. It often
took some prodding and repeated contacts to get them
to open up with stories and recollections. A few refused
to contribute at all; and for many, the book came
too late.
"There were a number of the crews for which
we ended up with no information at all," Smith
said. "It was simply because in the last 10 years,
they had passed away. A wealth of information was
lost that way."
One of the losses that had a deep effect on Smith
was the death of Clarence Beevers, the engineer. He
had been the crew's mainstay while in training. Shortly
after arriving at Guam, Beevers went on an orientation
mission. The plane was hit by a Japanese fighter and
the pilot ditched the bomber off the coast of Japan.
Another crew witnessed the ditching and saw the men
get into life rafts. For two days, their position
was tracked and visual contact maintained from the
air, but bad weather prevented rescue ships from reaching
them. On the third day, they were gone.
"When we lost him, we ended up losing one hell
of a nice guy," Smith said. "I think all
of us went and visited his wife after the war and
met his family. I wish he were around. There was never
a word of what happened to him."
Crew 31 named their plane in Beever's honor -- "Little
Bully," his nickname.
Smith was discharged in December 1945 and returned
to college. He received his degree from Ohio State
in 1950, worked in Ashtabula for a while and married
Marge Solembrino in 1952. He headed to California
for several years and worked in the newspaper business.
He came to Ashtabula in the mid-1960s and taught at
the Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School 20 years.
He's attended the annual reunion of the 39th Bomber
Group ever since the first one was held in 1986. Smith
said there are about 400 former 39er's on the roster.
Smith said he plans to do a second printing of the
book, which he acknowledges has a very limited market.
All but one copy has been sold to a former 39th Bomb
Group member. And all of them have to be shipped out
of the county because he's the only local man to have
served in the group.
Nevertheless, Smith is glad he completed the project
that had been dangling for 50 years. He plans to make
copies available at both the Henderson Memorial Library
and Ashtabula County District Library. Although the
names will be unfamiliar to local readers, they provide
fascinating insights to the final days of the war
in the Pacific and its accompanying horrors and victories.
"I think the boys are just happy it's done and
over with," said Smith, who plans to be a one-book
author. "They don't have to sweat it out now."
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