GOD IS MY i
CO-PILOT
fe?Col. Robert L. Scoff WMU RtLLA&t
trom W.M Polst, a*k*rt Scan vtu Ida
wtafkki KkUy IkM u<
kjlaf. W? ku toss u hutncttr tat
law year* vkaa Ma ni kraaka aat, aad
U MS he ta bow laa aM tor camkat
?jiai- Ha Willi ta aavaral Oaaamla
aaf la ftaaBj alarcd aa anim laalU1 ta
gat lata tka ifka. Ha Maa a laalir ta
laflt. kat la alii a farry pta aal Ma
?**a mat aall him. Ha Ttalu Oam. Chem
aaatt, fata a IHtrtaat, aaf aaaa la
?flat tka atdaa aaaa Burma, knawa aa
tka "aaa aaaa alt lacea." Latar ka la
aala C.O. at ka Ore rifktar Groep,
kat ka atm kaapa aa kMcktaf Baa a Jap
?taaa?. Ha aaaa aat aa kla fraataat aala
?taa, arar Hoaataaa.
CHAPTER XXV
Pilots waiting for the order to go
into the air. Sitting kt the crude
UU& waiting for th* chow wagon,
or for ah alert. Listening with keen
ears for the jingle of the telephone.
Playing gin rummy or poker, but
hearing everything that was going
on. A player would be dealing the
deck, and in the middle of the rou-,
tine of dropping a card here, and1
one there, the phone would ring. The
card would stop in the air, poised
over the table while we all heard
the Chinese interpreters pick up the
magneto phone and utter the famil
iar "Wey?wey," as they say "hel
lo." The card would remain there
over the table, undealt throughout
the telephone conversation?until
the player realized what he was do
ing. Then he'd go hesitatingly on.
Perhaps the call was one of the
hundreds that mea^t nothing; only
the Chinese really knew, and we
could only wfcit and And out. Then
again, the receiver of the telephone
might drop back into place and the
interpreter would say something to
another Chinese. This second one
would go to the plotting-board, look
at the marked co-ordinates, and qui
etly put a little red flag down over
a certain city towards Japanese ter
ritory. Even then, with one warn
ing only, the game could go on for
a long time in confidence.
T* 1 a.t ? s s
remaps uie aquaaron command
er or the officer who waa on the
alert that day would move out of
the game and start looking the map
and the flags over, sizing up the
situation. As the picture formed
and it became apparent that this
was a real attack he'd just go over
and tell the card-game about It. Or
maybe two or three men would be
gin to get helmets out. The game
would silently break up, with cards
and CN left where they were. Hel
mets and gloves would be put on.
Men who were pretending to be
sleeping in the bags on the floor
would be awakened.
And the tension dropped off like a
cloak. It wasn't the actual combat
these fighter pilots feared, for we all
wanted combat more than anything
else; it was the damnable uncer
tainty?the ringing of a telephone,
an ominous sound that most of the
time meant nothing.
When men went out of the door to
get into their ships and take off
there was pp handing, to friends on
the ground of last letters to take
care of, no entrusting of rings and
watches to room-mates. For fighter
pjjots don't think of not coming back.
They, are invincible, or think they
are, and they have to be that way.
Down in our hearts we may figure
that some accident will get us some
day, when we are old and gray,
when our beards get in the way of
the controls, or we get to where we
don't see well or react fast?but we
know that no enemy fighter is good
enough to shoot us down. If that
happens it's Just an accident.
These thoughts are the "chips"
that we carry on our shoulders, and
they have to be there?arrogant, ego
tistical chips mellowed by flying
taphqipHe and-experience and forti
fied by the motto, "Attack!" Never
be on the defensive. Shoot the ene
my down- before he can shoot you
dawn. You an better than he is,
bat don't givs him a chance. He
may gat in a lucky shot but you're
invincible. Uove towards any dot in
the sky that remotely resembles an
airplane. Move to attack, with
switches on and the sight ready. If
it's not a ship or it it's a friendly
one you'll be ready anyway.
The worry i-oines before you get
to take oil for combat?wondering
whether or not you'll do the right
thing out of habit. After you're in
the air it's all the fun of flying and
doing the greatest job in the world.
You are up there, pitying all earth
bound creatures who are not privi
leged to breathe this purer air on
high- Your training makes you do
the combat work that is ahead with
out thinking about the movements.
Months and years of training . . .
hours of waiting oh the ground . . .
high-powered engines pulling you up
, and up to the attack?-and then in a
few .fleeting seconds the combat
is over, your ship is all that's in
the sky, and you're on the way home
again to base, whistling and think
ing how easy It was and what a
great and glorious life it really is.
You're wondering if you can pick
those cards up and finish the game
and take your CN back from Ajax
or Johnny or Mack. You might be
thinking how good that sleeping bag
is going to feel, or wondering wheth
er the transports that can land on
the field, now that the air raid
alert is over, have brought you any
mail . . . "Dog-gone, I wonder it
that woman is writing meT"
Maybe they've even made some
mistake beck over there in the
Bute* and hgy?_ sent some new
planes out here, and we're going to
get the best in the world, planes
that go a hundred mOss an hour
taster and climb 4,900 test a minute
to fifty thousand feet. But there's
your crew-chief now, waving you in
?and he's looking at the patches
you've shot from the blast tubes of
your guns and knows you'vs fired at
the enemy. Or maybe your "vic
tory roll" warned him anyway . . .
Who knows?
Day after day, through the early
part of November, we actually
prayed that the weather East would
clear, so that we could stop our
small, piddling attacks on Burma
and go back to Hongkong. I knew
that General Chennault and Colonel
Cooper were planning a big one
for the next time, tor now we bad the
largest force of fighters we had ever
seen in China. New P-40's had been
arriving in small numbers, but
steadily. The Group was actually
being built up to strength at last.
With the first breaks in the heavy
winter clouds, Bert Carleton was
sent with his transport and our
ground personnel to KwelHn. Avia
tion fuel and bombs were placed
ready for instant use, and I could
feel the tension in the air again.
From the daily reports on the air
warning net it could be seen that
the Japanese had maintained a con
stant^Hal patrol over Hongkong
and Vkiity since our last attack.
With me first break in the clouds
om Rpnt fthiutruatinn nlnnM nvpr with
A group of fighter pilots on the
alert at Kunming.
a top-cover of several fighters, but
the Jap would not come up to fight
the ahark-mouthed planes. His in
structions appear to have been: Wait
for the American bombers.
On November 21, the ground
crews got to Kweilin. Instead of
keeping them in the hostel that first
night to insure that information
would not leak out to the enemy,
we sent them to town, first casually
remarking that we were here now
for the second attack on Hongkong.
Early next morning our twelve
bombers slipped into Kweilin, with
Colonel (promoted since the last at
tack) Butch Morgan in the lead
ship. The strengthened fighter force
of between thirty and forty planes
infiltrated for reservice?some went
to Kweilin, others scattered to the
surrounding emergency fields for
better protection of the bombers. As
soon as I landed I ran up to the
cave and the General took me in and
showed me the plotting-board. The
little red flags indicated increased
vigilance at Hongkong. Then I got
my orders: "Strike Hongay." In an
hour the bombers were off to bomb
the coal mines and docks of that
Indo-China port North of Haiphong.
Morgan sank a 12,000-ton ship that
was reported to have been an air
craft carrier. The fighter escort
strafed ferry boats, small surface
craft, and looked for Jap fighters
trying to intercept. But none came.
That night the enemy sent up a
flight of three bomber's to each of
our fields, looking for our forces.
But we were so scattered that their
luck was bad. Night fighters from
all stations took off, but those under
Maj. Harry Pike at Kweilin made
perfect contact. The entire Japa
nese formation of three bombers was
shot down over the field. Pike, Lom
bard, and Griffin each added an en
emy ship to their scores, but Lom
bard was shot down in flames when
the Jap gunners blew up his belly
tank. Lombard had made the tac
tical error of pulling up over the
bombers after delivering fire that
shot one down. We had given him
up for lost when he walked in car
rying his chute?and begging for an
other ship.
At dawn the next day, November
23, I led the group to escort Mor
gan to Sanchau Island with twelve
bombers. We had noted that the
Japs were strengthening the air
patrol over Hongkong even more.
The General had smiled and said,
"We're making them waste a ter
rible amount of gasoline."
We saw Morgan's bombs take out
two of the three hangars on the is
land field, and we went down to
strafe and watch for interceptors
taking off. Some of the flight got
three, but my plane was hit by the
ack-ack, and when the oil pressure
began immediately to fail, I started
for the mainland and home. With
the oil pressure slowly going from
seventy to fifty and finally to noth
tng, I sweated out my return to
Kweilin and juat made It by men
tally lifting the ship onto the atrip
between the Jagged stalagmites that
seemed to guard our field.
That afternoon I led sixteen fight
ers to escort our twelve bombers
to Canton. Capt. Brick Holxtrom.
who had participated In the raid an
Tokyo the preceding April, led the
bombers. As the fighters kept the
new tactical "squirrel cage" about
his formation he deliberately cir
cled to the South of Tien Ho air
drome and covered the target area
perfectly with his long string of
bombs. The anti-aircraft was heavy
and Increased as we went on North
?over White Cloud field. I looked
back at the results at Tien Bo and
felt a surge of pride at that per
fect bombing from fourteen thou
sand feet. This was teamwork, I
knew now, with bombers and fight
ers properly proportioned. All of
us were mad because the Japs
wouldn't coma up. The bomber
crews had reported them taking off
from both fields and keeping low,
but heading in all directions. The
accurate bombing must have de
stroyed many of them on the ground,
for we had made a feint of continu
ing on South to Hongkong. I sent
one ship home with eaeh bomber.
The rest of us hung back and tried
to tempt the enemy Zeros to come
up; but they had evidently received
their orders.
Next morning Lieut. Pat Daniels
got up begging the General to let
him lead a dive-bombing attack on
an aircraft assembly plant in Can
ton. His plan was good, and the
mission was made ready. All of
us went down to the alert shack
and watched the ground crew load
ing the little yellow fragmentation
bombs under the wings of six
P-40E'a. A short time later they
were off, with Daniels waiting to
blow up the factory, and all set with
his movie camera to take pictures
automatically as he dove the bombs
into the target.
Three hours later only five of
the six returned. Pat Daniels was
missing in action. His wing man
had seen his leader lose part of his
wing in an explosion on the way in
with the bombs. Anti-aircraft could
have done it, but most of us agreed
from the description that Daniels'
bombs might have hit his own pro
peller. At the tremendous speed
that a fast flghter-ahip builds up in a
long and nearly vertical dive, pres
sures are also built up from the in
creased speed. This torque ne
cessitates so much compensating
pressure on the rudder that one
must actually stand on the rudder
control. While doing this, Pat might
have relaxed pressure just as he
reached down to pull the bomb re
lease; this would have allowed the
speeding plane to "yaw" or skid,
and the bombs could have struck the
arc of the prop.
The only note of encouragement
was that a chute had been seen
when the fighters left the target.
Lieut. Patrick Daniels was one of
our best and most aggresaive pilots,
and we missed him immediately
?and hoped for the best.
That same night, Johnny Alison
led eight ships in a fighter sweep
and dive-bombing attack on the
docks at Hankow, over four hundred
miles to the North. In the river
harbor, with the sky criss-crossed by
tracers from the ground, Johnny
dropped his bombs on the hangars
and on a large freighter. Then for
ten minutes be strafed the enemy
vessel and badly disabled it. Cap
tain Hampshire dove and shot the
searchlights out until be was out of
ammunition. The night attack so
deep into enemy territory was a
daring one and did much to confuse
the Japs further. Johnny's ships
were rather badly shot up from the
ground-fire, and ha was lucky to
get them all back to base safely.
But H was such missions as these
which built up the circumstances
that would assure the success of
the big attack the General was plan
ning.
Next day, with eighteen fighter*,
we escorted the bombers to raid
Sienning, an occupied town near
Hankow. We kept the circling move
ment all around our B-25's and tried
to give them an added feeling of
security by our presence. Through
heavy anti-aircraft fire, Morgan led
the attack in and didn't waste a
bomb. We left the warehouses in
flames, and there was much less
ack-ack coming up towards us than
when we first approached.
Arriving back at our advanced
base, we refueled and bombed up
again. Then we mad* the second
raid of the day towards Hankow,
over the town of Yoyang. Ones
again Morgan blasted the target,
with black burst* of anti-aircraft
fire bouncing around the formation.
But there was no interception, and
now we were feeling blue. We
couldn't destroy the Jap Air Force
if they were going to try to save
their airplanes.
We spent the next day. Thanks
giving, working on the airplanes and
resting. We had flown seven missions
in four days, and both men and ma
chines were tired and in need of re
pair. We had a special dinner that
night, but remained extra vigilant
against a surprise by the Jap.
On that Thanksgiving evening, as
We were grouped around the "Gen
eral, he brought out a bottle of
Scotch some ooe had given him.
(to be ooarrnruxD)
1 IMPROVED U"IJ,,UI
UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL
SUNDAYfl
chool Lesson
Lesion For April 29
Lccaoa nMmu ud Scripture text! ?
SETTLEMENT AND STRUGGLES
vr JN CANAAN ,-?k
LESSON mr-JKM *??. t. M. IS. IS.
It; 1:11-11.
GOLDEN TEXT?Be atrodl fad ft a
food courage; bo not olri?U tdtttr bo
thou dismayed; (or the Lord thy God to
with thee whlthorooovor thou fooot?
Joshua 1:1.
God keeps his promises. Israel
found that to be true as He brought
them into the promised land of
Canaan Those who rebelled against
Him had died in the wilderness, but '
now a new generation had come
into possession of the land.
Here they met the challenge of the
heathen, and were victorious over
them as they trusted the Lord.
Joshua, their leader, after faithful
services was ready to go to be with
the Lord, but before doing so, re
minded them of God's promise and
of the danger of unbelief and sin.
As our lesson opens, we find the
people settled in the land, as far as
they had taken it. We And:
I. God's Promise Fulfilled (2:8)
The Lord had promised the land
to them as they went in and pos
sessed it by faith in Him. He
fully kept that promise in the meas
ure that they believed Htm. They
never did take the whole land, but
that was because of their failure,
not God's.
The storv sneaks to us. God has
provided a rich inheritance for the
believer in Christ, but it must be
appropriated by faith. How much
have we taken out of the riches
we have in Christ?
We are also reminded of the ab
solute faithfulness of God. There is
little in this world in which we may
repose complete confidence, but we
may and should trust God. He has
never failed anyone, and He will
not fail us.
II. Man's Promise Broken (2:7,
11, 12).
The people had solemnly prom
ised to keep God's commandments
(see last week's lesson). That prom
ise they had renewed in response
to Joshua's farewell challenge (see
Josh. 24:20, 21). They kept their
word only as long as those who
remembered Joshua were alive,
and then they "forsook the Lord."
This fall of Israel has its counter
part in what is taking place in our
land today. The great mass of de
cent people in America were reared
in Christian homes. They know what
is right, and they live on the spir
itual and moral momentum re
ceived from their godly parents.
The next generation now com
ing into power, without the bene
fit of spiritual training in the home
and church, are forsaking the Lord
and following other gods, the gods ,
of pleasure, of money, of lust.
HI. God's Plan at Deliverance
(2:18, 18).
One would have thought that God
would give up a people so set on
sinning, but He did not. He pro
vided deliverance for Israel. That
gives us courage, for we know that
He has not given us up, but has
provided in Christ s sure deliver
ance?if America will but turn to
Him.
For Israel's deliverance God pro
vided judges, who were not only
judicial, but, in fact, primarily ad
ministrative in their work. They
wera God's men to call Israel
back to Him. The repeated failure
and backsliding of Israel brought
new acts of mercy on God's part
in calling out.new judges.
It is interesting to note that God
works through men. Some of these
Judges were great men. Others
were Just ordinary men. But each
in his appointed place, at the ap
pointed time, was God's man.
God is looking for men today
who will serve Him. He wants bril
liant, capable men, but He also
calls the ordinary, everyday vari
ety, and as they are faithful. He
blesses them. Has He called youT
Have you responded?
IT. God's Presence and Power
(6:11-18).
Israel bad long been under the op
pression of the Midianites, who
would sweep over the land and steal
their crops and their docks. Israel
finally turned to God for help, and
He met their need by calling Gideon
as the fifth of the Judges.
God knows better than to call an
idle man, one who is sitting around
waiting for opportunity to knock.
He seeks out the busy person and
gives him more to do.
Note the entirely adequate pro
vision made for Gideon's success.
"Surely I will be with thee." That
means both the presence and the
power of the eternal and omnipo
tent One.
Gideon at once began the tear
ing down of the heathen places of
worship n his own community. It
was the hardest place to start. It
always is. But the one whose light
is te shine afar must see that it
shines brightest at home.
The humility of Gideon as he
looked at himself (v. 1\L is com
mendable. But note tha? he did
not permit it to shut the door of
faith, as he believed God and did
mighty exploits for Htm. Don't trust
yourself, but 4s trust God I
wr%f~
| U*Uag al
?OLLVW'BOD
THE moviegoing public thinks of
Monty WooUey as ? middle
aged brat with a beard who baa
made good in a big way.
Although Monty (who was chris
tened Edgar) will probably deny it,
much of this is due primarily to
"the Beard" himself. Just now it
nloaa*a Kim to Ka
sick and tired of
the tag and
threadbare jests
about his hirsute
adornment. But
there was a day
when Monty wel
corned any flip re
mark about his
chin curtain as
furthering h i a
name and fame.
If you're for
tunate enough to
catch Edgar Mon
tillion Wooley on one of his talka
tive days he'll give you a story of
the weird ups and downs that have
beset him from the cradle. He'll
tell you the way was not smooth
for Woolley even before he became
the bearded half of the Gracie
Fields-Monty Woolley team which is
box office honey right now. That
combination, which has just culmi
nated in "Molly and Me," has pro
vided the Beard with a new screen
personality. It has sandpapered
down the cutting edge of his Acidu
lous screen personality to a likable
old devil whose bark is louder than
his bite. But regardless of this, his
beard?that hated wind-wooing alfal
fa, to hear him talk?atiU figures as
the most salable feature of the Wool
ley personality.
Get Out of My Btard!
When Woolley once told me: "I'm
sick and tired of this printed drool
about my whiskers. For heaven's
sake, Hedda, keep my beard out of
your typewriter! So far as the pub
lic is concerned I've ceased to be an
actor or even a man with any per
sonality. I'm just a beard now, and
in the future I want no more talk
of it!"?I fell for it head over heels.
Imagine, then, my surprise to find
"Molly and Me" featuring a scene?
one of the funniest in the pic
ture, incidentally ? pitched entirely
around Monty's chin wool.
Then I learned he turned down a
starring role in "Colonel Effing
ham's Raid" because it called for
a smooth face.
At the time Woolley became pro
fessor of English at Yale univer
sity that seemed a career worthy of
fighting for. In the suave superiority
of his classroom position Monty gave
deep thought to the finest nuances
of the language. Spoke his sentences
with elegance and precision.
But the theater was strong at the
back of his mind and he asked for
the post of dramatic director.
George Pierce Baker's appoint
ment to the post precipitated Mon
ty's resignation. Brought on a penni
less and dispirited period in which
Monty appeailed to his friends in the
theater. They didn't fail him; he
ended this phase by directing "Fifty
Million Frenchmen," "Champagne
Sec," and "Jubilee"?no mean rec
ord. But his friends in Hollywood
were directing pictures at plush sala
ries. So Monty landed in movietown.
That Board Again
Now the beard cornea into the pic
ture once again. The beard got
Monty his first job in movies?a Rus
sian. impresario. But Walter Oetmol
ly?a ffet man without a beard?con
tinued to get the parts Monty had
his eye on.
Monty turned back to the theater
for solace. Was on the eve of re
turning to Broadway to direct an
other play whan Moss Hart rang
him, asking him to play the lead
role in a pity called "Strange Peo
ple," if 1 remember correctly. The
play turned out to be "The Man
Who Came to Dinner." It put the
Beard right in the bead of the spot
light. Hollywood didn't see him
again until Warners determined to
make the picture with Bette Davis.
But Bette demanded him and got
him. Then 20th Century got Monty
for "The Pied Piper," signed him
to a long-termer out of which came
a unique romantic team?the Gracie
Field* - Monty Woolley combination.
These two invest an auturhn love
story with,a sprig of spring.
"Wb? not?" shout* the veteran of
many, bitterly fought artistic battles.
"AH things being considered, a
beard covers almost any facial de
fect and in the long run makes its
wearer 109k younger. Yes, and feel
younger, too. So therel"
? ? ?
To a Great Gal
Fibber MeGee has written a song,
"My Molly," dedicating It to hia
wife. Molly's a star wherever she
goes. It doesn't matter what glam
our girl'a in the room?when Molly
starts using her little girl voice,
everybody stops to listen, leugh and
to applaud. . . . Thomas Mitchell
goes right back where he belongs?
in the big time, with Clark Gable
and Greer Garsen in Strange
Adventure." . . . Bay CeOlna plays
the district attorney In "Leave Her
to Heaven."
?" "? ?
Grade Fields
I
Moatjr Woolley
SEWING CIRCLE PATTERNS
Well-fitting Slip for Matrons 7 1
Tots Will Love This Party Dress \
Slenderizing Slip
' I 'HE built-up shoulder on this
' slip makes it especially nice tor
the slightly heavier figure. Waist
line darts are slimming and make
it fit satin-smooth. Tailored panties
to match.
? ? ?
Pattern No. 1281 la designed for sizes
38. 38. 40. 42. 44. 48. 48. 90 and 92. Size
38. ensemble, built-up shoulder, requires
4V* yards of 39 or 30-inch material.
IS? TT
Tot'. Party Frock
A PRETTY party frock far m
?r* very young lady. Tha neck
line, side button closing and pocket
are daintily edged in contraatfag
ruffle or lace. Make this for "Sun
day best" in gay dotted Swiss, or
gandy or dimity?tor school fa
sturdy striped or checked fabrics.
? ? m
Pattern No. 1306 is designed for aims X
4, 5. f. 7 and 8 years. Size 4 requires 1%
yards of 35 or 36-loch material; 1 jar#
machine-made ruffling plus 2!/b J aids
binding to trim as pictured.
sewing circle pattern deft.
| lift Sixth Are. New York, n. ?
Encloee 38 cents ta coins for soak
pattern desired.
Pattern No Size
Name j
Addreaa ....I.....
ifa? ii
Daddy's worn-out shirts can be
made over into cunning blouses,
dresses or suits for the one-year
old, provided a little trimming
and imagination are used.
???
After oiling the sewing machine,
stitch through a blotter several
times. This takes up all surplus
oil on the machine, and keeps from
getting it on the material.
?o?
Turn the mattress every week,
first from end to end, next from
side to side to get maximum wear
and comfort from it.
???
When painting woodwork, coat
the door knobs, locks, etc., with
vaseline, so that the paint can be
easily wiped off if it splashes on
these surfaces.
?a?
To remove rust from nickel,
grease well with any kind of lubri
cant, let stand for a few minutes,
then rub with cloth soaked in am
monia. Rinse with water and pol
ish,
?a?
An easy tray to give ferns their
weekly watering is to place them
in the bathtub, draw shower cur
tain and turn on the shower, ad
Justing spray until it is about room
temperature.
I Goid?" J;
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