"I
was a member of the 19th (BG) at Clark Field, Philippine Islands
when the war broke out. I was with the 14th Bomb Squadron having
flown from Hickam in Hawaii to Clark in September 1941 - the first
flight of that scope with land-based aircraft. As things turned
out, we lost our planes to enemy action and was captured when
the Philippines collapsed. I was a POW on forced labor in N.K.K.
Steel Mill in Kawasaki - 2 1/2 years at the mill. When the B-29s
burned Tokyo, I had a front row seat and an uneasy one. Some of
the planes were so low that when the searchlights boxed them,
you could nearly see who was on board. The firebombs really rained
down that night and all night. The planes seemed to come over
one at a time from dusk to dawn. I also saw some shot down. Tokyo
burned for three days and nights after that raid."
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