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The Army Gets the Glory, The Navy Gets Its A** Ate Out

We proceeded from Peleliu to Leyte Gulf in the Philippines. The strip at Tacloban was overflowing with land planes. We were still to have been land based. The Tangiers was anchored out in the Leyte Gulf and already had a squadron of Sea Cats to take care of.

VP- 54 was ordered to make the buoys in the channel on the north end of the Tacloban strip and report aboard the U. S. S. Orca. A beautiful ship, but smaller than the Tangiers, which was the new Admirals Flag Ship.

This was the first time that we were to be working entirely and absolutely off the water. Things were now moving too fast for even the great SeaBees to keep up making air strips.

Let the writer make this comment. Up until this time, this war in the Pacific had been a dog eat dog, man to man conflict with the Japs reluctantly giving ground, foot by foot and island by island.

Mindanao is one of the largest islands on the south side of the Archipelago of the Phillippines. On the southern tip of Mindanao was a big beautiful bay and harbor and the city of Davao. Our intelligence and observers informed us that the Japs were moving in many troops, aircraft and fleet because "Gen. Douglas MacArthur" had told them (the Japs) that he "would return." They believed this would be the spot to make an all out effort and, if possible, prevent his return.

So, in the writer's opinion, the greatest finesse in the battle for the Pacific or the battle for the Phillippines was when our highest ranking leaders elected to bypass Davao and leave all those men and troops looking the wrong way while the U. S. boys with MacArthur landed far to the north at Leyte.

We worked off the water at Leyte and then the U. S. S. Orca was to be a part of a multi-ship, huge convoy of ships -- battle wagons, cruisers, troop carriers, Victory ships galore with supplies. VPB-54 was designated to fly anti-submarine surveillance ahead and on the sides of this convoy as it steamed south - Around Mindanao and Davao and then west and then north on past Manila Bay, passing Subic Bay and entering Lingayen Gulf up on the northwest of the island of Luzon, the island where Manila is located.

We were stationed aboard the U. S. S. Orca, our Patsu Group for maintaining the planes set up shop on one of the islands nearby and we were again back to routine. One night flying, anti-shipping and anti-sub searches. The next day and night off and the next day we were on "Dumbo" call or whatever other duty came up.

The Army and the Marines had jointly made a beach head on the south end of Lingayen Gulf and were now proceeding on southward to Manila. The SeaBees and the Army had built a very fine strip after they made the beach in the south end of Lingayen but it was immediately swarmed by Army Fighters and for that matter, most every type of aircraft the Army had.

It was very top secret then but back in Subic Bay the British had brought in a five masted schooner and this was established as the communication center for this entire operation.

Every day a "Black Cat" had to pick up an Army Courier and deliver him to the schooner in Subic Bay.

On this particular day 19 January, 1945, this Army Major, "The Courier" of the sacks, came aboard the Orca by whale boat and our crew was ordered to proceed to the schooner in Subic Bay, wait for the whale boat to pick up the "courier", take him aboard the schooner - do the necessary signing of the daily papers and sign for those to be returned to Lingayen.

If you are at all familiar with flying the ole PBY, there is some difference in landing the Sea Cat and the Land Cat. Both handle about the same on a power-on landing in the water, only the nose has to be a little higher on the Land Cat because of the front wheel weight. On the normal landing, if this nose is too high, you will bounce every time. Sometimes more than once.

Lt. Harlie Johnson and the writer were trading off landings each of us every other time. Harlie was having trouble with bouncing every time because he was holding the nose a might too high for a normal landing but certainly not with the yoke back in his lap for the full stall landing.

On this particular day the writer elected to show Harlie how to execute a full stall landing about 50 yards north of the fantail of the schooner and just even with the fantail. Remember the ship at anchor if not otherwise anchored tended to turn into the wind.

So here we are with the wind just right, the water just right (smooth but choppy) and so we start our instruction on the down wind leg. Power settings, floats down, near the water, nose coming up, air speed coming down, yoke coming back, just above the water,

just even with the fantail of the schooner. Pull the throttles all the way off, pull the yoke back all the way into your lap and Kee-Wash - Kick hard right rudder and we are almost stopped where the whale boat for the courier is right on the port blister.

The write turns to Harlie saying "Now there is a perfectly executed full stall landing." Very proud, cocky and confident of the ability to handle The Ole Black Cat.

But, - wait -- about the time this conversation is going on, Alex Csutoras sticks his head up through the cockpit bulkhead and says "Skipper, we are sinking!"

To this day, I'll always believe that was the most beautiful full stall landing we ever were a part of. But remember, our ole planes had been making open sea rescues. Lots of water landings there were getting tired too.. That's the reason for our Patsu Groups being on the island so near the Orca.

The writer jumped down in the Nav. Room where the seam had ripped and ordered Arnold Christ, John Gonzales and Csutoras to put a mattress over the seam to try to hold as much of the water back as possible.

Now the Major out-ranked me, but, the writer was the Skipper and I yelled a command at him --

You can do one of two things - Get in the whale boat with his sacks and go aboard and we would send back for him the next or to either let the Boatswain mate sign his way bill. Smelley and the boys by this time had his sacks all in the whale boat. Water was coming aboard now and we had about eight inches of water in the bottom of the plane by this time. The courier was told to make up his damn mind, we are gone.

We had not killed our engines, the boys had the sea anchors in by this time and we gave her the gun. We made a circular take off and as ole 48393 came up on the step we started dropping the water out I knew we had it made. An uneventful trip back to the Orca. Requested permission to land on the strip. This was denied because of their heavy traffic. Getting one squadron back and another taking off. So - we made into the wind landing toward the island where our Patsu Group was located, dropping the gear in the water and added power enough to taxi up on the beach.

The courier, the Major, had little to say when the whale boat came to the island and picked up and took all of us back aboard the Orca. I reported to Harry Sharp, our operations officer, and to our Skipper, Captain K. J. Sanger. After questions and answers, the Skipper criticized me for demonstrating with the courier aboard but our crew was

commended as a whole for the effective effort we had all executed. We had saved our ole PBY-5A,  48393 to fly again in a few days. Lt. Arnold M. Christ logged in our flight log that flight only as a Postal Hop.

Patsu had our seam re-riveted the next day and we were back on missions the third day.

Some ten days later I returned from a mission up almost to Formosa and was back aboard the Orca and reported to Anthony Bliss the event of the hop and the Jap barges we had sighted and because we had depth charges and not bombs, we had called the base and Harry Sharp and his stand-by crew came up to us and sank the two barges with their bombs.

Enter Captain K. J. Sanger. Everybody stand at attention. He was livid with rage and he threw a piece of paper down on his desk and proceeded to "Eat My A** Pit!" for making a recommendation that was done without his knowledge. All of us were dumbfounded, especially me. After winding down and calming down and believe you me, he reprimanded me most severely.

Finally, I asked him if I might see the paper that was on his desk. "Please, Sir." Remember all this time, all that were present, were standing at rigid attention.

He handed me the paper and instructed me that because I had instigated the recommendation, for me to sign it but that he was not signing it or having anything to do with it.

Guess what the recommendation was?

You guessed it!

The "Courier", the Major, had gone back to his company and had gotten his superior, Colonel E. J. Snell (a name that I shall never forget), to write a commendation that the Major be given the Distinguished Flying Cross for surviving a Navy crash at sea. It was written as though the Navy Pilot of the plane had instructed him to have such papers made out. As far as I know, that commendation is still on that desk on the U. S. S. Orca because I never did sign it and I know Ken Sanger didn't.

Nevertheless, the Major got "All the Glory and the Navy Got Its A** Ate Out!"