WAR STORIES from Captain Henry L. STEWART:
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First Lieutenant Stewart, a nineteen year southern
boy from Mobile, Alabama with a accent, pale
blue eyes, and a fondness for classical music.
I thought I was a mustang, I had enlisted
in the Navy in 1941. I became an aviation mechanic,
and then earned my wings as a private in flight training at Pensacola,
Florida. Now I had over 1600 hours
in my log-book. I would shortly put all my skill and experience
to use.
I was shipped out to Pearl Harbor for more training at the Naval base in Pearl. I flew the dauntless dive bomber as I thought that was right thing for me. The "Hornet" came in from sea and I was assigned first division, that put me in the first group on call. We headed north to "Midway, Is" which now is called the battle of Midway Island. My group was first over the targets of many battleships and aircraft carriers. I dove straight down on one carrier and deployed a five hundred ponder right on the bow of the flight deck, I blew the hold front end of the ship off. There would be no more planes leaving this ship for a long time. When we returned to the "Hornet" she was dead in the water and listing about seven degrees. She had been hit by a submarine torpedo. I landed on the "Enterprise" We had sank four of the Japs first line "Carriers". After I had lost my home the U,S.S. Hornet, I was reassigned to the First Marine division on the Hell-hole of Guadalcanal Island.
On Saint Valentines Day I had combat air
patrol up the slot of the Solomon's, I was floating along at
seven thousand feet looking down on the Islands,
they looked so peaceful with it's
green trees and white beaches, for a moment there
I thought of home just wish my family could see that part of the
world that God had made. "Then there came in my ear phones a order to tally-up
(group-up) with four more Corsairs herded
my way. We were to escort some Army
Liberators and PB4Y's south of Bougainville.
We were jumped by 50 Zeros out from Rabaul. After
I had shutdown 10 of the Jap fighters, I had just came out of a loop
and turned over looking down below me for any craft under me.
Just as I had turned back over a zero fighter came up under me and
the 30 caliber bullets hit my fuel cells and I was out
of the ball game. I went back up to 20 thousand feet and motion to the
bomber pilot that I was going down into the water. I found out that
I was playing in the big league, where the opposition played for keeps;
My airplane had been racked with machine gun fire diagonally across
he main fuel cells. I could see the gasoline
spraying out of the numerous bullet holes, but I appeared to
be okay. I waved goodby and nosed down to
the water from 20,000 feet. The Zeros then followed
me down, shooting at me all the while. I made a successful water
landing and I thought about my life raft
inside the cockpit. However,
the Zeros continued to strafe me. Four hours later t was picked up
by torpedo boats out of "Tulagi Island". The history
books call it the (Saint Valentines Day Massacre.)
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