A couple of weeks ago I got the opportunity to fly in the TBM Avenger to Pratt Kansas for an airport open house. The airport was used in WWII as the first B-29 Superfortress training base, Pratt Army Airfield. Unfortunately only one original B-29 hangar is still standing. You can see the hangar in the foreground.
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| TBM Crew: Keith (me), Josh (my son), & Clyde Zellers (Pilot) |
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| Me with my former commanding officer from VF-31 Tomcatters, Capt. W.G. 'Whiskey' Bond, USN Ret. |
I want to tell you the story of a hero of World War II that we had the pleasure of meeting at the Salute to Veterans Airshow in Columbia on Memorial weekend. His name is Rusty Bourque. He was a radioman/radar operator on board a Grumman Avenger in 1944-45. He belonged to Torpedo Squadron 45 stationed aboard the USS San Jacinto CVL-30. His squadron relieved future President George H.W Bush's squadron shortly after Bush was shot down over Chi Chi Jima.
I asked Rusty how old he was when he joined and about his service in the Avenger and it was an eye opening story! He was 17 when he joined the Navy, and 18 when he entered the Pacific theater. He told me they dropped bombs on Iwo Jima then later dropped incendiary bombs on Tokyo and Hiroshima. I asked what it was like sitting in the belly of the Avenger on a carrier launch. He said it was pretty hairy! He would grab the handles in front of him and duck down and hold on tight until airborne. He flew 62 missions from the San Jacinto with 61 successful landings. Of course we had to ask why 61 landings and not 62. He replied "We were forced to water ditch due to a hung torpedo, meaning it wouldn't release from the bomb bay. The carrier wouldn't let us land aboard because a few days earlier another Avenger did that and the torpedo came loose on landing and killed about 4 sailors." Jordan Brown asked if he was terrified of going in the water, and he said, "I was more afraid of the torpedo breaking loose and coming into the back of the plane with me! It was a pretty easy ditching and we were only in the water about ten minutes before a picket destroyer picked us up. We were on board for about 4 or 5 days before it pulled up alongside the carrier and transferred us over."
"They sent us across on one of those bosun's chairs and while I was being hoisted across, the ships rolled together and I went under the water! I didn't know how deep I was or if I was going to get crushed, but they rolled back and I popped up like a cork!"
He told us about how his pilot had wanted to be a fighter jock but didn't make the cut. "He treated that Avenger like a fighter plane! He was pretty rough with it. He was a good pilot though and never had a wave off while recovering aboard the carrier."
As Rusty was looking inside the TBM, an old Marine walked up to him and said, "You may have saved my life on Guam!" He was referring to the Avengers providing close air support to his platoon while pinned down by Japanese soldiers. The two old warriors shook hands and I was fortunate enough to capture the scene!
Its amazing that although our TBM just turned 70 years old May 19th, she is still serving the greatest generation by bringing these two heroes together! Its moments like this that makes me proud to be a veteran, an American, and a member of the CAF.
