Out of respect for our veterans today, this is from my military diary collection -
I recently picked up a handwritten diary from a sailor on the light aircraft carrier USS San Jacinto (CVL-30). Very rare in that it has one of the only contemporary accounts of the
downing of future president George H.W. Bush's Avenger fighter bomber, and his subsequent rescue by submarine. This topic has always followed Bush to this day - did he do enough to try to save his two fellow airmen (there were three aviators that flew in this particular aircraft and Bush was the pilot)?
Rob M.
(Always looking for historically interesting diaries)
"Sept. 2nd. Today we are raiding same islands again. Yesterday one of our fighters was shot in the tail with 40 mm over the island but today was a disastrous one for us. A fighter taking off this morn fell in the water, the pilot was saved , one coming in was waved off & as he zoomed up his motor stopped, & he caught the top of the barrier, swerved into a 40 mm gun mount, bent the barrels & wrecked the plane so badly it was shoved over the side, the pilot was unhurt. One of our TBMs was shot down over the island, one man was seen parachuting into the sea, nothing known of the other two, presumably killed. Quite a bad day for the San Jac.
Sept. 3rd. Full dope on yesterdays raid, our TBMs dropped 12 tons of bombs on Chichi Jima, destroying a radio station. Very heavy anti-aircraft fire was met.
Mr. Bush pilot of the TMB shot down was rescued by a sub of ours. Our fighter planes hit 3 two-engine & 7 single-engine planes on Iwo Jima airfield, also one of our pilots on a photographic mission discovered a hidden air field on Iwo Jima covered with planes, so the Big E sent a squadron of planes & wrecked it. In addition our planes wrecked a fuel storage tank & silenced by exploding it, an AA gun position. Ha Ha Jima was also raided. This evening ends our operations up here. About an hour ago a group of B-24 four engine bombers came over (37 of them). One was hit & smoking & they contacted us to stand by while the crew bailed out. I stood on the flight deck & seen them, eleven men, all landed safe in the water & destroyers rescued them. Quite a site."
Wikipedia article on Bush during WWII - Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Bush decided to join the US. Navy,[1] so after graduating from Phillips Academy in 1942, he became a naval aviator at the age of 18.[4] After completing the 10-month course, he was commissioned as an ensign in the United States Naval Reserve at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi on June 9, 1943, just three days before his 19th birthday, which made him the youngest naval aviator to that date.
He was assigned to Torpedo Squadron (VT-51) as the photographic officer in September 1943.[1] The following year, his squadron was based on the USS San Jacinto as a member of Air Group 51, where his lanky physique earned him the nickname "Skin".[5] During this time, the task force was victorious in one of the largest air battles of World War II: the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
After Bush's promotion to Lieutenant (junior grade) on August 1, 1944, the San Jacinto commenced operations against the Japanese in the Bonin Islands. Bush piloted one of four Grumman TBM Avenger aircraft from VT-51 that attacked the Japanese installations on Chichijima.[6] His crew for the mission, which occurred on September 2, 1944, included Radioman Second Class John Delaney and Lieutenant Junior Grade William White.[1] During their attack, the Avengers encountered intense anti-aircraft fire; Bush's aircraft was hit by flak and his engine caught on fire. Despite his plane being on fire, Bush completed his attack and released bombs over his target, scoring several damaging hits.[1] With his engine ablaze, Bush flew several miles from the island, where he and one other crew member on the TBM Avenger bailed out of the aircraft;[7] the other man's parachute did not open.[1] Bush waited for four hours in an inflated raft, while several fighters circled protectively overhead until he was rescued by the lifeguard submarine USS Finback.[1] For the next month he remained on the Finback, and participated in the rescue of other pilots. Several of those shot down during the attack were executed and eaten by their captors.
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