An eager 18-year-old was sworn into the U. S. Army Air Corps on his birthday, June 4, 1942 as an aviation cadet and reported to the Santa Ana Army Air Base on January 3, 1943 for Preflight School. That is when I met some future “Headhunters”: 0. J. Harris, Don (Deac) Logslett, Hugh Hatfield, and L. G. Johnson. We went…

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“Preface-You asked for memoirs. Here they are for what they are worth. Besides the personal incidents detailed below, I remember the camaraderie, the poker games, the priceless mission whiskey, the lousy pre-mission breakfast with beady little eyes peering out of the marmalade, trying to keep the refrig operating, searching for bacon and cheese in the K-rations, Olnick’s monkey, lousy Manila…

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“On 4 October, 1940, I enlisted in the Army at 39 Whitehall Street in New York City. I was sent to Mitchell Field on Long Island. 15 months later I was a proud member of the newly formed 80th Pursuit Squadron. I had really enjoyed my tour of duty at Mitchell. Every weekend we would go to NYC. At 99…

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“Real war experiences are always serious, can be fatal, sometimes strange, often bizarre, and later hilarious. My combat service was just like the movies. We flew mostly on dawn patrols, and sometimes a buddy would not come back. I was fortunate to serve in the famous 80th Fighter squadron of the 8th Fighter Group-the ‘Headhunters.’ We flew P-38s-the Twin-Tailed Lockheed…

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“I had just finished reading the latest 8th Fighter Group Association newsletter and decided to see what memorabilia I had while I was with the 80th Fighter Squadron in the States and overseas during World War II. I had kept a diary in part of my service experience, it is not a daily diary, but only excerpts of events that…

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“Wewak, on the northern coast of New Guniea, was the most heavily defended Japanese base on that island during the Southwest Pacific air campaign of World War II. At least seven fighter sentais (regiments) were based on the various surrounding fighter stations during 1943 and early 1944. Defenses were so strong, in fact, that Wewak was not assaulted on the…

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“I remember the first day I came into the 80th Fighter Squadron. I was a new pilot thinking I was pretty good. All of a sudden a P-38 came over on the deck and the pilot rolled it right over on its back and headed straight up. I asked who that was and one of the guys said ‘That’s Cy…

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