thedrifter
08-20-02, 02:55 PM
John H. Glenn Jr., a true American hero, grew up in New Concord, Ohio, a small religious town. The son of a World War One veteran, his childhood recalls a Norman Rockwell painting: Decoration Day parades, little kids playing in fields and woods, hot fudge sundaes at the local dairy, and marrying the girl next door.
He enrolled in the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in 1942 and served with the Marines' VMO-155 during World War Two, flying 59 combat missions in F4U Corsairs over the Marshalls, and earning two Distinguished Flying Crosses. Glenn and the Marine fliers of VMO-155 arrived at Majuro, in the Marshalls in July, 1944, after the heavy fighting in that area had subsided. While the Americans had captured the large strategic atolls of Majuro, Kwajalein, Roi-Namur, Eniwetok, and Namu. But isolated Japanese forces held out on Wotje, Maloelap, Mili, and Jaluit.
WWII Combat in the Marshalls
VMO-155's job was to keep the Japanese forces suppressed, to prevent them from staging any counter-attacks by air or water. Glenn's first combat mission took place a few days after he landed; it was flak suppression. Fly some Corsairs over Maloelap and blast away at any anti-aircraft installations that opened up. Not exactly glamorous, but vey real. On this first mission, Monty Goodman, a wise-cracking flier from central Pennsylvania and one of Glenn's good friends, didn't make it back to the rendezvous point. They one or two missions a day, either flak suppression or dive-bombing - the Corsair was powerful enough to serve as a dive bomber, loaded with three one-thousand pound bombs. As the Corsairs lacked proper dive brakes (large perforated flaps that were extended to slow the dive), they dropped the landing gear, and they slowed the big fighters well enough. Glenn loved combat flying, even though it wasn't air-to-air combat, it was "flying with a purpose" and the bombing runs "were a test of skill, nerve, preparation, and focus that I relished."
He flew from Majuro for four months, including a couple of long-distance bombing missions against Nauru, which was still producing and delivering phosphate to the Japanese war effort, even in late 1944. In November, Glenn's squadron moved over to Kwajalein, where they continued to attack the Japanese forces in the Marshalls. Now they had a new weapon, napalm, which would only become infamous 25 years later in Vietnam. It was a hideous weapon, and they used it "where intelligence thought there were a lot of people. It was terrible to think what it was like on the ground in the middle of those flames. ... It made you think. Then the psychology of war took over. We were fighting in a war we hadn't started, for the survival of our country, our families, our heritage of freedom."
He left the Marshalls in early 1945, and returned stateside. For the last few months of the war, he was at Pax River, test flying planes like the F8F Bearcat and the Ryan Fireball FR-1. Promoted to Captain by war's end, he decided to make a career of the Marines.
After the war, he was a member of Fighter Squadron 218 on North China patrol and had duty in Guam. Originally the China assignment was billed as a three-month tour, but it dragged out for two years. From June 1948 to December 1950 Glenn was an instructor in advanced flight training at Corpus Christi, Texas. He then attended Amphibious Warfare Training at Quantico, Virginia. While not really of interest to Glenn, the Amphibious Warfare course was required for all career Marine officers. Next he drew a ground staff assignment, and he wore out the bureaucracy with requests to be transferred to flying squadron assignment in Korea.
Korea
After checking out in the F9F Panthers that the Marines were using in Korea, Glenn flew to Korea in February 1953, assigned to First Marine Air Wing, VMF-311, airbase K-3 at P'ohang. Two things immediately struck Glenn about Korea: the cold and "kimchi," a Korean staple consisting of fermented cabbage, onion, radishes, and garlic. It actually solidified during it fermentation, and "if you were downwind when someone had the kimchi jug open, the smell wasn't something you'd forget." (Did you ever hear the expression, "You'll be in deep kimchi!"? That's the stuff.)
P'ohang was about 180 miles from the front. Armed with three thousand pounds of bombs and five-inch HVARS (High Velocity Aircraft Rockets), the heavily-built F9F Panthers were well-suited for ground attack missions. They flew constantly, providing close support for the Marines at the front. Glenn's good friend, Tom Miller, and other experienced pilots had advised him to steer clear of "flak traps." They had orders against making a second run at a target. But like all of us, Glenn sometimes had to learn the hard way. One day flying over Sinanju, Glenn spotted a North Korean anti-aircraft gun emplacement. He noted its position, and circled back, blasting away at it with the F9F's four 20-mm cannon. But his Panther got hit in the process, and he could hardly keep the plane level, constantly pulling back on the stick just to keep it level. He made it back to K-3 to find a "hole in the Panther's tail that was big enough to put my head and shoulders through. There were another 250 smaller shrapnel holes around the big one. We figured it was a thirty-seven millimeter shell that hit me; a larger one would have blown the tail off. Crews replaced the tail and the Panther flew as good as new. ... That was the last time I went in for a scond run." A week later he got hit again; this time an even larger anti-aircraft shell had blown the napalm tank off his wing, and while he landed safely, tha plane was toast.
One of the other VMF-311 pilots was the great Boston Red Sox hitter, Ted Williams. Ted had flown in WWII, and was called up again in Korea. He was a great ball player and a fine pilot. Just to get his goat, the other pilots took to calling him "Bush," as in "Bush League." Ted got hit on one of his first missions, and had to make an emergency landing at K-16 in Seoul. It was USMC policy to pair up reservist and career fliers, and Willims frequently flew on Glenn's wing. One time, Ted's HVARs didn't go off properly, and when they did, they hit an area that the map showed as occupied by UN troops. Concerned both anout possible friendly casualties and about the consequent courts-martial, the two fliers were immensely relieve to find out that the lines had moved and that the rockets had hit Communist positions.
Glenn summarized this part of his Korean War experiences in John Glenn: A Memoir:
I enjoyed the kind of air-to-ground combat we were doing. Flying in support of ground troops is what had attracted me to the Marines when I heard about Guadalcanal way back at Corpus Christi. Marines look at themselves as a team, ...
But I also hoped for air-to-air combat. That was the ultimate in fighter flying, testing yourself against another pilot in the air. Ever since the days of the Lafayette Escadrille during World War I, pilots have viewed air-to-air combat as the ultimate test not only of their machines but of their own personal determination and flying skills. I was no exception. You believe you're the best in the air. If you do, you're not cocky, you're combat-ready. If you don't, you'd better find another line of work.
After flying 63 missions in a Marine Corps F9F Panther from airbase K-3 at Pohong Dong (or P'ohang), he applied to fly F-86 interceptors with the Air Force on an exchange program. He was assigned to the 25th FIS (Fighter Interceptor Squadron) at K-13, Suwon, where the 51st FIW was headquartered. The CO of the 25th FIS was Major. John Giraudo, who had been shot down over Germany in WWII and spent time as a POW. Maj. Giraudo completed Glenn's check-out in the F-86.
They patrolled the area just south of the Yalu, the so-called "Mig Alley," in long figure eights, always turning towards the north to keep from being surprised. The F-86 Sabres and the MiGs were evenly matched. Both had 6,000-pound thrust jet engines, and could go supersonic in a dive. The MiG was smaller, and it could climb higher and faster. The Sabre was faster in level flight and in a dive, had a greater range, and could turn tighter in a fast dive. The Sabre carried six 50-caliber machine guns, while the Mig relied on a single 37-mm and two 23-mm cannon.
Unlike the Marines, the Air Force pilots tended to fly the same plane day after day. It became "their" plane, and nose art and other personal decorations flourished. Not long after Glenn began flying his F-86F-30-NA Sabre #52-4584, the fuselage sported in large script: LYN ANNIE DAVE, for his wife and two kids. After enough of his moaning about the absence of MiGs, he went out to the flight line one morning to find a big red M painted on, with letters trailing off it, so it read:
http://www.acepilots.com/glenn.jpg
continued..................
He enrolled in the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in 1942 and served with the Marines' VMO-155 during World War Two, flying 59 combat missions in F4U Corsairs over the Marshalls, and earning two Distinguished Flying Crosses. Glenn and the Marine fliers of VMO-155 arrived at Majuro, in the Marshalls in July, 1944, after the heavy fighting in that area had subsided. While the Americans had captured the large strategic atolls of Majuro, Kwajalein, Roi-Namur, Eniwetok, and Namu. But isolated Japanese forces held out on Wotje, Maloelap, Mili, and Jaluit.
WWII Combat in the Marshalls
VMO-155's job was to keep the Japanese forces suppressed, to prevent them from staging any counter-attacks by air or water. Glenn's first combat mission took place a few days after he landed; it was flak suppression. Fly some Corsairs over Maloelap and blast away at any anti-aircraft installations that opened up. Not exactly glamorous, but vey real. On this first mission, Monty Goodman, a wise-cracking flier from central Pennsylvania and one of Glenn's good friends, didn't make it back to the rendezvous point. They one or two missions a day, either flak suppression or dive-bombing - the Corsair was powerful enough to serve as a dive bomber, loaded with three one-thousand pound bombs. As the Corsairs lacked proper dive brakes (large perforated flaps that were extended to slow the dive), they dropped the landing gear, and they slowed the big fighters well enough. Glenn loved combat flying, even though it wasn't air-to-air combat, it was "flying with a purpose" and the bombing runs "were a test of skill, nerve, preparation, and focus that I relished."
He flew from Majuro for four months, including a couple of long-distance bombing missions against Nauru, which was still producing and delivering phosphate to the Japanese war effort, even in late 1944. In November, Glenn's squadron moved over to Kwajalein, where they continued to attack the Japanese forces in the Marshalls. Now they had a new weapon, napalm, which would only become infamous 25 years later in Vietnam. It was a hideous weapon, and they used it "where intelligence thought there were a lot of people. It was terrible to think what it was like on the ground in the middle of those flames. ... It made you think. Then the psychology of war took over. We were fighting in a war we hadn't started, for the survival of our country, our families, our heritage of freedom."
He left the Marshalls in early 1945, and returned stateside. For the last few months of the war, he was at Pax River, test flying planes like the F8F Bearcat and the Ryan Fireball FR-1. Promoted to Captain by war's end, he decided to make a career of the Marines.
After the war, he was a member of Fighter Squadron 218 on North China patrol and had duty in Guam. Originally the China assignment was billed as a three-month tour, but it dragged out for two years. From June 1948 to December 1950 Glenn was an instructor in advanced flight training at Corpus Christi, Texas. He then attended Amphibious Warfare Training at Quantico, Virginia. While not really of interest to Glenn, the Amphibious Warfare course was required for all career Marine officers. Next he drew a ground staff assignment, and he wore out the bureaucracy with requests to be transferred to flying squadron assignment in Korea.
Korea
After checking out in the F9F Panthers that the Marines were using in Korea, Glenn flew to Korea in February 1953, assigned to First Marine Air Wing, VMF-311, airbase K-3 at P'ohang. Two things immediately struck Glenn about Korea: the cold and "kimchi," a Korean staple consisting of fermented cabbage, onion, radishes, and garlic. It actually solidified during it fermentation, and "if you were downwind when someone had the kimchi jug open, the smell wasn't something you'd forget." (Did you ever hear the expression, "You'll be in deep kimchi!"? That's the stuff.)
P'ohang was about 180 miles from the front. Armed with three thousand pounds of bombs and five-inch HVARS (High Velocity Aircraft Rockets), the heavily-built F9F Panthers were well-suited for ground attack missions. They flew constantly, providing close support for the Marines at the front. Glenn's good friend, Tom Miller, and other experienced pilots had advised him to steer clear of "flak traps." They had orders against making a second run at a target. But like all of us, Glenn sometimes had to learn the hard way. One day flying over Sinanju, Glenn spotted a North Korean anti-aircraft gun emplacement. He noted its position, and circled back, blasting away at it with the F9F's four 20-mm cannon. But his Panther got hit in the process, and he could hardly keep the plane level, constantly pulling back on the stick just to keep it level. He made it back to K-3 to find a "hole in the Panther's tail that was big enough to put my head and shoulders through. There were another 250 smaller shrapnel holes around the big one. We figured it was a thirty-seven millimeter shell that hit me; a larger one would have blown the tail off. Crews replaced the tail and the Panther flew as good as new. ... That was the last time I went in for a scond run." A week later he got hit again; this time an even larger anti-aircraft shell had blown the napalm tank off his wing, and while he landed safely, tha plane was toast.
One of the other VMF-311 pilots was the great Boston Red Sox hitter, Ted Williams. Ted had flown in WWII, and was called up again in Korea. He was a great ball player and a fine pilot. Just to get his goat, the other pilots took to calling him "Bush," as in "Bush League." Ted got hit on one of his first missions, and had to make an emergency landing at K-16 in Seoul. It was USMC policy to pair up reservist and career fliers, and Willims frequently flew on Glenn's wing. One time, Ted's HVARs didn't go off properly, and when they did, they hit an area that the map showed as occupied by UN troops. Concerned both anout possible friendly casualties and about the consequent courts-martial, the two fliers were immensely relieve to find out that the lines had moved and that the rockets had hit Communist positions.
Glenn summarized this part of his Korean War experiences in John Glenn: A Memoir:
I enjoyed the kind of air-to-ground combat we were doing. Flying in support of ground troops is what had attracted me to the Marines when I heard about Guadalcanal way back at Corpus Christi. Marines look at themselves as a team, ...
But I also hoped for air-to-air combat. That was the ultimate in fighter flying, testing yourself against another pilot in the air. Ever since the days of the Lafayette Escadrille during World War I, pilots have viewed air-to-air combat as the ultimate test not only of their machines but of their own personal determination and flying skills. I was no exception. You believe you're the best in the air. If you do, you're not cocky, you're combat-ready. If you don't, you'd better find another line of work.
After flying 63 missions in a Marine Corps F9F Panther from airbase K-3 at Pohong Dong (or P'ohang), he applied to fly F-86 interceptors with the Air Force on an exchange program. He was assigned to the 25th FIS (Fighter Interceptor Squadron) at K-13, Suwon, where the 51st FIW was headquartered. The CO of the 25th FIS was Major. John Giraudo, who had been shot down over Germany in WWII and spent time as a POW. Maj. Giraudo completed Glenn's check-out in the F-86.
They patrolled the area just south of the Yalu, the so-called "Mig Alley," in long figure eights, always turning towards the north to keep from being surprised. The F-86 Sabres and the MiGs were evenly matched. Both had 6,000-pound thrust jet engines, and could go supersonic in a dive. The MiG was smaller, and it could climb higher and faster. The Sabre was faster in level flight and in a dive, had a greater range, and could turn tighter in a fast dive. The Sabre carried six 50-caliber machine guns, while the Mig relied on a single 37-mm and two 23-mm cannon.
Unlike the Marines, the Air Force pilots tended to fly the same plane day after day. It became "their" plane, and nose art and other personal decorations flourished. Not long after Glenn began flying his F-86F-30-NA Sabre #52-4584, the fuselage sported in large script: LYN ANNIE DAVE, for his wife and two kids. After enough of his moaning about the absence of MiGs, he went out to the flight line one morning to find a big red M painted on, with letters trailing off it, so it read:
http://www.acepilots.com/glenn.jpg
continued..................