Page 64 - 1952 VES Meteor

THEY NEVER END
Corporal Homer K. (Major) Bowen of the Class of '48
Is A Member of the Crew of "The Waiting Lady"
EXAMS
The story which follows is taken from "Stars and Stripes."
MARION YOUTH TAKES PART IN B-26 RAID OVER KOREA
"Aboard the "Waiting Lady" (UP) the four men crew of the jet black "Waiting Lady" tensed and grew quiet when the night bomber crossed the frontlines.
"Below, searchlights and flashes of artillery lit the churned earth where the two armies lay.
"Darkness covered the rest of the ground and sky. No moon and only a few weak stars meant we were go- ing to the most heavily defended area in North Korea.
"Casual talk mixed with numbers had filled the bomber's interphone, guiding our way from the southern hp of Korea to the heart of the Com- munist's vital road network.
"Now the occasional chattering stopped and the crew's voices sounded higher and clipped under the tension.
" 'Four minutes to target,' said rodar navigator Clyde W. Benson, 27, Monroe, La.
"Pilot Maj. Roades M. Elam, 30, Monroe, N. C . didn't answer but clicked the button of his phone in- stead to acknowledge the informa-
and what would happen if they lost. "They knew heavy, radar controlled anti-air-craft guns bristled around the
main supply routes.
" Lighter A A guns were spread out
on smaller roads and hills. But jutting hills and the night were just as danger- ous on the low, twisting strafing runs.
"The reds use tricks to lure a straf- ing B-26 into hillsides. One of their favorites is to plant lights to mislead the navigator. They also like to use trucks as decoys. When a B-26 dives
8
THE METEOR
tion.
" It was routine
ALUMNI
bombing and strafing mission-that kind the work- horse B-26 has made the guts of 'Operation Strangle'-but the crew knew t h e y would b e m a t c h i n g wits again tonight with the Communists,
f
low to attack, massed anti-air-craft guns are ready to blast the plane fromthe sky.
"Silence at about 220 miles an hour was broken by the satisfied voice of bombardier Albert M. Hardie, Jr., 29, Berkeley, Calif. 'There's a nice string ahead,' he said."
"The headlights of 25 Communist vehicles carrying supplies to the front gleamed out of the darkness be- low in a winding line. But as the night invader approached, the lights blinked out.
"Bombardier Hardy began guiding the pilot over the road with a coax- ing voice.
" 'Just a little right-steady-more left-there'."
"At nearly 2500 feet a 500 pound bomb shot down on the convoy and the plane swooped upwards and away from the blast.
"Rig~; in there,' soid navigator Benson.
"We had 17 bombs left and 1800 rounds of .50-cal. ammunition. After the first drop, the plane races up the traffic laden road in an attempt to reach more trucks before either sound or the Communist warning
system in the hills tells the vehicle to black out.
"In 20 minutes we had unloaded all the bombs. A roaring fire along the road testified to hits.
"Then the strafing began-and the flak.
" In the direction of Pyongyang, ugly, orange bursts were following another B-26 through the sky. It was the 'heavies' which some pilots think probably shot down Eighth Army Commander General James A. Van Fleet's son.
" 'Break left-flak,' snapped 21 -year old Cpl. Homer K. Bowen, Jr., of Marion, Va., the gunner.
"We swerved and little red 'golf balls' floated up to the right of us.
"The first strafing run was a scream- ing dive into sheer blackness down a canyon with hills on each side 5000 feet high.
"Just before going in, Elam asked the navigator, 'How low can I go?'
" 'No sweat,' said Benson.
"Even a t 350 miles an hour the plane bucked and shook, when the six .50-calibers blazed. The jagged light from their muzzles lit up the cockpit where Elam sat crouched, guarding his eyes from the light and
(Continued on page 12, col. I)
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