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Show hi 'Nothing Can Stop the Army Air Force!' With B-29s ranging over Tokyo almost al-most daily it's tough for the imagination to conceive that three years ago our air forces' only asset as-set was the moxie of its men. . . . Bataan was saved at least once by the wizardry of our air force personnel, per-sonnel, who had plenty of ingenuity as well as courage. . . . Enemy ships were trying to land troops on the shore one night. Though there were no bombers with which to stop them, our airmen weren't fazed. . . . Mechanics rigged up three pursuit pur-suit ships with a device whereby two 300-pound bombs could be attached to the wings and released by pulling pull-ing a wire. . . . The three ships made three trips that night and bombed and strafed the Jap boats, preventing the troops from landing. . . . What made their feat, of stalling stall-ing the Japs and gaining time for us even more of a miracle was that most of the pilots had never before flown at night! The newspapers not long ago carried car-ried a story telling how there were co trees in the far Aleutians and that pilots had brought in a single tree, planted it and labelled it "Umnak National Forest." What the news story failed to mention men-tion was why the tree had been flown in for the exclusive use of a flier's pet dog. A flyer who had been stationed on an island for too many months developed de-veloped a crush on a half-native girl, who looked very beautiful after months in the South Pacific. ... In his barracks one day he was getting poetic about the girl when his buddy, thumbing through a movie magazine, suddenly turned to a photo of Betty Grable In a bathing bath-ing suit. . . . "How's this?" excitedly ex-citedly asked the buddy, holding up the picture. The pilot, took a brief look and snorted, "White trash!" On a recent bomber mission over Germany the flight ran into serious opposition from both fighters and flak, and a B-17 was hit. A 20-mm. shell struck the top turret, and the gunner fell to the floor covered with blood. ... A colonel who had come alon; as an observer mshed back to give first aid and, seeing see-ing the lad's rigid form, thought he was either dead or dying. . . . He was about to administer adminis-ter a hypodermic when the gunner gun-ner opened his eyes. . . . The colonel bent over him, putting his ear close to the lad's lips, expecting some last feeble words. . . . "Colonel," was the gunner's comment, "I'm beginning begin-ning to think there isn't much future in this racket." Despite popular misconception, boys of the AAF aren't as pin-up-happy as people think. . . . This verse was penned several months ago by a B-17 radio operator-gunner who failed to return from a mission mis-sion over Italy: "Oh, Hedy Lamarr Is a beautiful gal. . . . And Madeleine Made-leine Carroll is, too. . . . But you'll find, if you query, a different theory. . . . Amongst any bomber crew. . . . For the loveliest thing of which one could sing. . . . (This side of the Heavenly Gates). ... Is no blonde or brunette of the Hollywood set. But an escort of P-38s." Pet story of Gen. Hap Arnold, chief of the AAF, concerns the Wright brothers, who had repeatedly repeated-ly tried to fly a heavier-than-air craft. Finally, one December day, at Kitty Hawk, N. C they did what no man had ever done before. They flew! . . . Elated, they wired their sister, Katherine: "We have actually actual-ly flown 120 feet. Will be home for Christmas" . . . Katherine ran down the street and breathlessly handed the telegram the news scoop of the century to the city editor of the local lo-cal pper. He read it carefully and smiled: "Well, well! How nice the boys will be home for Christmas!" A fighter pilot (veteran of the famed Flying Ticcrs) took on half a dozen Jap piano In a dogfight and downed two. Then his ammunition ran out. . . . Ramming his plane Into a third he hailed out and managed to land safely near the wreck. Removing Re-moving the one undamaged machine ma-chine gun from the debris he carried It to his base where he promptly reported to hla corn mandcr. Gen. Claire Chen-nault: Chen-nault: "Kir, may I have another airplane for my machine gun?" During a raid on Hchwrlnfurnt several months ago one of our bombers, "Hattlin' Hubbie," w;is hit, and two of her enjini'g were knor -kerl out. . . . For 500 miles the bomber hcrlc-hoiipcd over trees, roof tops and enemy pillboxes, . . , All the time as the pl;ine limped alonn her crew kept pniyiriK the two smoking engines wouMn't blow up . . . When they firutlly reju-hefl home and the penipirihtf pilot climbed out of the nhip, his comment whs, "We rri;i'le chupel out of Unit a'rplane today." |