As it appearing in the "History of the 39th Bomb Group" by Robert Laird (P-5)...

The following is a true story narrated by C. John Legidakes, Radio Operator of Crew 14. Though some editing has been done by the historian, it's body and meaning had not been altered.

The place was Guam, early 1945. I as stationed at North Field, the home of the 314th Bomb Wing and its big bird - the B-29. Our Group the 39th, had become operational and we were anxious to get a few missions under our belts. The promise of a two-week rest leave after 20 missions was a goal worth striving for.

We managed to get quite a few missions to our credit in the next few months - about 20 I guess. One of these to Koriyama, 125 miles north of Tokyo, occurred on April 12, 1945 - the day FDR died. That mission was approximately 3,500 miles round trip and was then the longest bombing mission ever preformed. Flight time logged was 14 hours and 15 minutes. What a relieved feeling it was when our B-29 - "The Southern Drawl, " landed, however the requirement for combat leave had now been upped to 30 missions - a morale stimulant if I ever saw one.

Prior to a mission each crewmen of a B-29 performed a pre-flight check on the plane equipment to determine if that it was in good operating condition. Being the radio operator, I obviously checked out the transmitting and receiving equipment and found them o.k. At the radio table though, I noticed a gnawed and frayed insulation on wires of the key that was used to send CW messages. Fearing a possible short circuit or arcing condition in flight, I notified the airplane commander Major McDowell, as well as the ground radio mechanic, A quick check indicated that the equipment was safe for the mission, but no one had an explanation as to how it happened.

No accounting that is until we were airborne. We discovered that a jungle rat had supplemented our usual crew! We learned that these ugly creatures had not existed on Guam prior to Magellan stopping there on his historic trip around the world. At that time, the rats had jumped ship along with many Spaniards. The latter would over the years, would inbreed with the island natives and create the strain known as Chamorro - a tan skinned, Castilian featured sect with inherited traditions and customs. First featured in the area that would eventually become the village of Agana, the Chamorros soon dominated all of Guam.

The rats had thrived in the dense jungle growth of Guam. They were larger the common gray or brown rat that I had known back in Philly. At any rate this one would create quite a commotion among the crew during its lifetime. On July 20, we were on 14 hour mission to Osaka, Japan in a very confined quarters, when we found this large hairy creature scurrying around the airplane.

The first indication of the rat's presences was sounded by Lt Gordon Walker, the bombardier. He complained that a rat was sitting on the harness of his parachute. Ah, at last an explanation for the chewed wire insulation.

The rat darted around the crew's feet in the front compartment of the plane, and then leaped into the tunnel leading to the center cabin of the B-29. This section housed the CFC and side gunners as well as the radar specialist. This created quite a bit of excitement until the rodent finally held up in a section of the fuselage.

If he had stayed put we would have been happy. It was worrisome enough to face the radar controlled anti-aircraft fire, searchlights and suicide planes and fireballs without the intrusion of a rat. Personally, I never felt the loathing and disgust for a snake or a bat that harbor for a rat.