| Re: 26.VI.21 |
Subject: Re: 26.VI.21 by TommyT-Bone on 2021/6/26 14:53:39 Gris, you might enjoy this open letter from my neighbor, Mark. Mark Parry I don't usually share stuff like this on social media and a bit late for Memorial Day but some may find it interesting. I'm reading a book on Midway, the biggest Naval Battle in history and considered the turning point in WWII. Both sets of grandparents played significant roles in WWII starting with Pearl Harbor and later throughout the Pacific. The most well known though is; by far, Midway. Early in his enlisted career my mom's father was assigned to the carrier Enterprise. At 20 years old and the youngest eligible gunner, he had been identified early on as an exceptional marksman, had the top scores in all testing categories, had learned to fly the aircraft if the pilot was incapacitated, and was selected by Dusty Kleiss as his "permanent" gunner in the Dauntless dive bomber, Scouting Squadron 6 The book has quite a few stories and several photos (of my grandfather) I've never seen before. These two I thought worth sharing. June 4th 1942 they launched in the dark. This was first attack of the battle. Dusty and Papa scored the first (and fatal) hit of the war on a Japanese carrier (the Kaga), from a 275 mph 18000 foot vertical dive. The first photo I'm sharing here is of an artist depiction "Dauntless Courage" of them pulling out after making this hit on the Kaga that began the turn of WWII. I found an unframed print of this when cleaning out their house but had no idea it was actually of he and Dusty until seeing it here in the book. I believe the print is still in my Mom's basement. The second photo is apparently a still from military film footage shot of Dusty and Papa leaving the carrier deck for the second mission that day. They scored a fatal hit on the second carrier the Hiryu. I had no idea this photo or footage existed and was traceable! I have some understanding of the ferocity of Midway having read accounts and seen actual military footage of the battle, but to see an identified photo of Papa and Dusty seconds before launch is somehow different. Two days later they scored a secondary bomb hit on the Mikuma. This made them the only plane on either side to hit three different ships during Midway and the only plane to ever fatally hit two carriers in a battle. They also shot down several Japanese Zeros. Dusty wrote about semi panicking thinking he was going to have to fly with a different gunner on that run because "Snowden was in the infirmary getting shrapnel pulled out of his ass...again". As they were loading up, my grandfather apparently came running onto the flight deck and climbed in half dressed and holding up what looked like blood soaked diapers. By the end of Midway, most of the men they trained and flew with were dead, by the end of the war, very few weren't. Despite any faults modern society might find (and heads I butted with my grandfather in my teenage years) it's no wonder they are still considered the "Greatest Generation". Not long after Midway, being now one of the most famous American pilots, Dusty returned for bond tours, marriage, and to be a Navy flight instructor. My grandfather continued with the Pacific Fleet throughout the war; as a gunner and later pilot. He and Dusty remained friends throughout their lives. Below is an excerpt from a letter my grandfather sent Dusty while briefly back to complete his pilots training. It's dated Feb. 21 1944. "After you left I thought I'd never fly with anyone else! But I felt immensely experienced and someone needed to train those new gunners. I was about the only one left and the Navy had sort of grown on me so that my duty is to think first of the Navy. I never quite got over breaking us up. I didn't care so much about where we went as long as we went together. I'd gone to hell and back with you in that front seat. It's quite a thing to have that much confidence in someone when you're sitting backwards diving down AA's (anti aircraft guns) at 300 mph and feel like you're never coming out and can't see what's below. Felt like I should turn around and grab those controls lots of times but got over that. They never could quite get us could they? Lots of times I wouldn't have given a plugged nickel for our chances though I've often wondered how you felt in those attacks. Probably as scared as I was." For Dusty's part, in a letter to his future wife about their chances before the battle: "My gunner is one of the best dead shots in the Navy which is saying a lot. We have become close friends though normally officers and enlisted men don't fraternize, John and I broke that mold". When the book author asked him about the accolades received he said, "We officers and pilots always receive medals when our airplane and crew did something important. The enlisted man in the back seat was rarely mentioned. I would have been killed long ago had it not been for the skills of my RM 3/c John Snowden." Papa had endless stories of flying the Pacific (sometimes on a loop in later years). Stories of adventures, being lost and low on fuel, mishaps, and comical misadventures of youth on shore leave and screwing around with expensive Naval toys. What he didn't share was stories of battles. He turned down all but one or two of hundreds of attempts to interview, have him on TV, at ceremonies etc over decades, I hope he would not think to harshly about me sharing part of a private letter here! I knew him as a grandfather, it's fascinating to learn about him from such a different perspective. |
