80th Fighter Squadron
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WWII PhotosHere are some WWII photos of our Headhunters in New Guinea. Just click on each Thumbnail picture to get a more detailed look. *********************************
This historic photo was sent in to us in April 2007 by Bob Rocker.
(L-R) Aces Maj Tommy McGuire (38); Maj Jay T. Robbins (22); and Cy Homer (15) standing before wreckage of Japanese aircraft at Hollandia cMay 1944. Maj Thomas B. "Tommy" McGuire was the
top Ace of the 475th FG and the USA's 2nd leading Ace with 38 confirmed aerial victories--2nd only to Dick
Bong's 40. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on 25 and 26
December 1944 when he shot down 3 and 4 enemy aircraft respectively.
Unfortunately, he never lived to receive it, as he was lost on 7 Jan 1945.
While responding to a call for help from one of his flight members, Tommy
over-pulled his P-38 into a tight left turn, stalled, and snapped-rolled.
He was last seen in an inverted 30-degree dive just above the jungle. Tally Record Decorations Maj Jay T. "Cock" Robbins completed his tour as the top Ace of the 8th FG with 22 confirmed kills. He went on to retire as a Lt Gen and was an LTM and reunion regular of our Headhunters Association. He passed away 3 March 2001. Capt Cyril F. "Cy" Homer completed his tour in the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) with 15 confirmed kills. He reunited with his Squadron buddies for the first Squadron reunion in 1970 in Jackson Hole, WY, and in Oshkosh, WI in 1973. Cy passed away in 1975. He was widely known as an outstanding pilot. These 3 men account for the downing of over 75 enemy aircraft in little over 18 months.
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These two photos were sent in 6 February 2005 by Edward E. Cragg III, nephew of "Porky" Cragg.
Many thanks to Ed for these great photos from his grandmother's photo album!
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The following 5 photos were sent in by Ken Lloyd on 5 August 2002. All were taken in 1944 by Deac Logslett
Lt Allen Hill, Squadron Operations Officer at Natzab, New Guinea in 1944. Jeep behind Allen is the type used to ferry pilots from the base and aircraft.
Lt L.G. Johnson with a
P-38L
Lt D.J. Logslett
Johnson & Logslett March
1944
1944 at Mindoro, PI
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These are two photos of O.J. Harris, sent in by his son, Cliff Harris, on 16 July 2002. O.J. passed away on 1 May 2001. Cliff is working on a story to go along with these photos. It will be posted here when we get it. Thanks to Cliff for sending these in.
Capt Ken Lloyd in front of his P-38L Dark Eyes (name had not been painted on yet)
Capt Cy Homer with his Lightning Uncle Cy's Angel in mid November 1944 after taking command of the 80th from Maj Robbins. This photo shows 16 aerial victories for which he was tentatively credited, but the official number became 15. He took command of the 36th Squadron in mid November and rotated back home in the Spring of 1945.
New lieutenants with Jandina IV October 1944
This cartoon, by Ken Lloyd, was used by the Squadron as a Christmas card in 1944. Ken had sent it to his folks in Santa Ana, CA and asked them to have 100 cards printed up and sent back to him. This they did, and Ken distributed them out to all the guys. "It was nice to be able to send Christmas greetings to our families and friends from the Headhunters," Ken wrote.
The 5 photos above were sent in by Ken Lloyd on 25 April 2002. They were all taken in the October-November 1944 period on Numfoor Island. "The P-38's are "L" models that we had just been outfitted with to replace our P-38's that we took from Moratai and delivered them to the 475th Group on Leyte. The Nips had destroyed most all the 475th planes on the ground during a night raid. Boy, were we happy to get those new P-38L's," Ken wrote! ********************************
Lt Russell "Rusty" Roth
Ken Lloyd wrote on 8 June 2002, "Seated on left is Capt
Cy Homer with Lt Russell Roth. Third person I can't identify. I'm not sure of
the planes ID, but could be a Japanese "Betty" bomber captured when we
took Hollandia." Also, Chris "Zippo" Fahey, who flies B-25 Bombers
for the Planes of Fame Museum in California, identified the plane as a B-25, in
which he has about 500 hours!
(L-R) Lt Pete Sheehan, Lt Russell Roth, Capt Cy Homer,
Lt Ken B. Lloyd
Group picture showing the pilots and ground officers of the
80th Fighter Squadron celebrating the opening of their Officers Club on Mindoro Island, Philippines in April of 1945. Their names are listed in
the photo below.
The 7 photos above were sent in on 8 May 2002 by Johnny Roth, son of "Rusty" Roth, and words were added on 8 June 2002 by Ken Lloyd. ****************************************
This photo was taken at 3-Mile Strip and was sent in to us on
31 March 2002 by Paul Murphey.
This photo also sent in on 31 March 2002 by Paul Murphey. Paul wrote, "This photo was taken at 3-Mile Strip in Late
1943 after a Wewak mission. Myers was credited with 2 victories on this
mission; Murphey with 1. Lou came down from camp to greet our
return."
Photo of Del Furgason sent in by his nephew, Dave Furgason on 2 Sept 01, shows an original Headhunter plaque about to be painted on his P-38 while local tribesmen look on.
Another photo from Dave Furgason on 2 Sep 01 with his uncle Del Furgason's caption, "Harvey, Hill, Me, & Covey" in front of Lt Furgason's P-38
This photo, which belonged to "Corky" Smith, was taken in August 1943 in Port Moresby. The numbered individuals are: 1) Ed Robertson; 2) Carl E. "Freddie" Taylor; 3) * Ken Ladd (KIA); 4) Bob Siebenthal (Corky's tent mate); 5) * Ed "Porky" Cragg, commander at this time. He was KIA 4 months later on 26 Dec 1943. He gave our Squadron the name "Headhunters"; 6) Harrison "Sad Sack" Freeman; 7) * Donald C. "Fibber" McGee; 8) Raymond Daly; 9) * John Jones; 10) Don Hanover with "Birddog"; 11) * Jay T. "Cock" Robbins; 12) * Cornelius M. "Corky" Smith; 13) James R. "Red" Wilson; and 14) Robert "Swede" Hanson. Individuals with an * before their name are Aces.
This photo, taken in November 1944 on Morotai Island, was sent in by Howard "Pete" Sheehan (kneeling, second from left, with shirt). It shows 214 aerial victories—just eleven short of our final WWII tally of 225. Of the 19 crouching men, Pete ID’s some as (L to R): #1 (no shirt) Mark Damon; #2 Pete; #4 Bill Dwinell; #5 Hugh Hatfield; #8 "Fearless" Furgason?; #9 Orland Harris; #11 Cy Homer; #12 Larry Henkes; #13 Donald Logslett; #14 John Stanifer; #15 Rusty Roth. Pete writes, "I’m fairly sure of those I’ve identified and the images of most of the others are familiar to me, but I can’t come up with the names for them (55-year old photo!)." He continued, "#1 Damon was shot down over Mindanao shortly after this picture, but a couple of months later, he turned up (wasted and bearded) at our camp on Mindoro having walked out through the jungle. #4 Bill Dwinell shot down two night bombers over Mindoro when the night fighters couldn’t find them. #5 Hatfield (from the fabled Tennessee feuders) was distinguished by a serious of boxing matches against the Aussie champ. #8 "Fearless" Furgason so named because of the elaborate preparations for his personal bomb shelter. #9 Harris was shot down after a dive bomb and strafing run against a Japanese task force (at night) just off-shore at Mindoro. He managed to get into his one-man life raft and listened to the sounds of the crew’s shouts as the battle continued and the ships glided past. #11 Cy Homer was simply the best pilot I ever saw (and I was a test pilot at Wright Field with Chuck Yeager). #12 Henkes was the only pilot known to me with enough strength to take-off from a dirt strip in a P-38 on single engine." Another copy of the same photo was sent in by Mrs. Francis Harvey. He is standing, second from left, with his hand up on large sign. Bob Peters is first on left standing. #3 crouching is William Underwood; #10 crouching is Samuel Barnes. On 9 December 1999, Ken Lloyd sent this e-mail message in: You asked if any of us in that photo could identify others
shown.
While confirming the other men in the photo, Don Logslett sent in this additional information on 11 Dec 99: #1 crouching from the right is Endres; #2 is Jenner; #3 is Louis Schriber; #4 is Caldwell.
Capt Cornelius M. "Corky" Smith showing his 11 total victories
(L-R): Dick Campbell, Bob Peters, Orin Anderson
Cards to pass the time
** P-38s of Jay T. Robbins **
This photo with caption, sent in 16 May 2001 by Jolyon Welch, was taken 3 Sept 1943 in New Guinea when both of these famous aces were in the 80th Fighter Squadron. Maj Edward "Porky" Cragg (L) was the Squadron Commander who gave our Squadron the name "Headhunters." The photo was taken just outside the Officers' Club at Port Morseby with our Headhunters sign. An exact replica of this famous sign hangs above our Hospitality Room entrance at each of our reunions to this day. These additional photos of George Welch were also sent in by Jolyon Welch.
Capt George S. Welch made history as one of only a handful of 14 American pilots that managed to get airborne during the attack on Pearl Harbor on the morning of 7 December 1941. Four lost their lives to the overwhelming odds. As a 2nd Lt at the time, he was credited with 4 of the 10 enemy fighters shot down that day "that will live in infamy." Both Welch and his close friend 2nd Lt Kenneth Taylor (2 Kills that day), who was with Welch driving out to their P-40's, and who's exploits were glamorized in the 2001 movie "Pearl Harbor," were both awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Welch became one of the top Pacific Aces with 16 kills. As a civilian test pilot after the War, he made the first flight of the XP-86 Sabre in 1947. In 1953 the first YF-100A (52-5754) was completed. It was moved from the Los Angeles factory out to Edwards AFB. Company test pilot George S. "Wheaties" Welch made the maiden flight on May 25, 1953. He was killed in 1954 testing the F-100 Super Sabre.
Capt Welch & friend Sammy
The total WWII aerial victories for the Squadron of 225.
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