1942
2015
On the 14th of October, 1921, I was born in Mortdale, a Sydney suburb, in New South Wales, Australia to Edward and Daphne Saunders. Edward was a veteran from WW I. At 4 years of age I was taken to view a 'Trooping of the Kings Colours which had a lasting impression on me and later in early 1939, I took part in Trooping as a member of that same unit. At age 9 I became a cub and at 11 a scout. I completed Primary School and attended a High School. At age 16, I was apprenticed to photo engraving in a business partly owned by my father. I left scouting at this time and later in 1938 joined a Militia Batalion, part time, in Military Intelligence. On the 5th of September 1939, I was called up for service. On the 16th of April, 1946, I was discharged from the Army with the rank of Captain and an award of 'Mentioned in Dispatches'.
I returned to photo engraving but was very unsettled and in 1952 with a wife and 3 children we moved to the country and farming. In 1957 I joined a quasi government type Land Board. On retirement in early 1982 I was the Secretary/CEO of a senior Board and a widower having lost my wife in mid 1981.
Richard V. Saunders served with the Australian Army from 19 July 1942 until 10 April 1946 attaining the rank of Captain. He was assigned to the 3rd Bomb Group as an ALO (Army Liason Officer) from 20 May 1943 until June 1944. He lived with the 90th Bomb Squadron while with the 3rd. Prior to his being assigned to the 3rd Group, he was ALO with the 90th Bomb Group and flew over 30 combat missions with both 3rd & 90th Groups. In 1945, he was posted to the 307th BG, also serving with Bomber Command (Morotai) until the end of the war.
Here is a description of the duties of an ALO as related to me by Richard.
The Australian Army, in the early days of the New Guinea campaign decided that there was a need for liaison between the Army and Air Force units. Their thinking appears to have been based on the need for a closer rapport between the services. So in 1942, Army ALOs began being assigned to various RAAF and USAAF units. As there was a degree of service rivalry, close co-operation was essential if the war was to be fought at the highest level. In addition members of the US forces had little, if any, knowledge of Australia, New Guinea and what we Australians were like and how we operated.
There was no set of instructions when we were posted so one used common sense to liaise and build up a close association and trust between the Army and the Air Force. If an ALO did his task well he tended to become part of the air unit. Speaking personally, I kept the crews abreast of the war both locally and abroad; used my navigation skills when needed; encouraged closer co-operation with ground support missions; taught crews how to survive in jungle terrain; provided some targets when I received classified intelligence; flew missions as part of a crew when I was able to assist in improving the end result and of course became one of the boys as my use to the unit was acknowledged from the commander down.
Capt. Richard V. Saunders with the men of the Intelligence & Public Relations Section of the 3rd Bomb Group
Richard has related to me several stories of the men of the 90th Squadron & events that took place while he was ALO with the 3rd Group.
Lt. Leonard T. ( Tony ) Duval
Lt. Tony Duval & Lt. Ken Lindsay
In June 1944 the 3rd Group was stationed on Lake Sentani strip inland from Hollandia in Dutch New Guinea. Two pilots from 90 Sqn, Lt. 'Tony Duval and Lt. Kenneth W Lindsay (Ken had been an artist with Disney pre war and some of his cartoons appear in 'The Reapers Harvest'.) were ordered to fly to Biak Island and return with a repaired plane from there to base. I was posted to Australia a couple of weeks after that flight sad in the knowledge that both had been listed MIA. In August while on leave in Sydney I went to a favourite drinking spot for the 3rd Group in the Hotel Australia hoping to catch up with someone from the Group. Who should be there but Tony Duval. After thanking me for assisting him survive in the jungle through my survival courses he related the following story.
Tony and Ken left Sentani heading for Biak when they suddenly experienced engine trouble and had to ditch close to shore. While assisting a badly wounded Ken they were taken prisoner by a party of Japs. Probably because Ken was beyond their care they killed him. Tony was trussed up and dumped under the old raised native hut where the Japs lived. Tony later untied his leg rope and headed off but was recaptured and reroped. Later that night he broke free again and escaped. He travelled eastward acquiring Jap clothes and boots en route. Tony was a short person with dark hair and a yellowish flesh from the Atebrin we all took for malaria. For three weeks Tony made his way toward US lines living off the jungle plants for food and water. One night he slept under a big tree and on waking next morning found a Jap asleep on the other side. He did meet an odd Jap along the way and simply grunted when spoken to. He poured sand down gun barrels, discarded vehicle distributor rotor blades and generally made a nuisance of himself without being detected. He eventually heard American voices nearby after the three weeks on the run so he hid behind a good tree trunk and proceeded to swear and cuss until the US troops realised that he, despite his appearance, was in fact a US soldier. Tony, of course, was welcomed back to his old unit and in August after recovering his health was given R & R leave to Sydney. That is as true an account as Tony gave me that I can now recall.
(Update) When the 3rd Group moved from Dobadura to Nadzab the Lt. whom I only remember as Tony Duval occupied the tent next to the one I lived in at that time. My parents, when rationing allowed, often sent me packets of tea for they were aware that I preferred tea to coffee. So when time etc permitted I would brew myself a cup of tea. Tony, when he realised that I was brewing, would come and share a cup with me and because of this he and I became good friends with much talking together over a 'cuppa'. In addition I made, what we in Australia call a 'Coolgardie safe'. This is simply a primitive water evaporation cabinet used in the 'outback', where power was absent, to keep butter etc from melting. So when I finished building this cooling system it became a place to keep chocolate firm and of course Tony was an early and constant user. Whilst I do not recall Tony being with us at Dobadura, he must have been for it was there that I conducted my courses in 'jungle survival' for the crews. If you read my story on Tony's escape from the Japs you will see that he used such a course to survive. Therefore he must have been in Dobadura too. In respect to Lt Lindsay he was, prior to service a Disney artist, as I recall, and some of his sketches in the 3rd's book appear on pages 78, 88, and 105 (at the bottom of the page). Sadly on capture by the Japs at the same time as Tony he was killed by them possibly because he was too badly injured for them to care for him, as related to me by Tony when we met up in Sydney for our reunion event.
Regards Richard.
Richard N. "Red" Davis
This story
relates to the Rabaul raid carried out by the 5th USAAF on October
12, 1943. I would suggest that readers refer to 'Jock'
Henebry's book, chapter 14, for overall details of this raid and the
area involved. I attended both the briefing and debriefing of the
crews involved and while every crew performed above and beyond their
duty one exploit in particular has remained in my memory. Each pilot
had been allotted a set flight path across Simpson Harbour and any
ship within that path was his alone to attack.
1st Lt.
Richard ('Red') Davis piloted one of the 90th Sqn planes that day and
as he swung out of the gap between the Mother and North Daughter
volcanoes he aligned his plane onto his allotted flight path and
there before him sat his prime target. He realized that it was a
Japanese cruiser and he was going make every effort to sink it by
skip bombing. He opened up with his 8 x 50 cal guns as he approached
about 20 feet off the water. The target ship began firing everything
at him. He released his bombs and pulled up over the ships super
structure and as he did one of his engines began to falter. In front
of him was a volcanic cone and unless he could reboot that engine he
might crash into it. Fortunately it worked but only long enough for
his plane to clear the cone. Then his gunner reported that 5 zeros
were approaching from the rear so 'Red' dropped to tree level and
avoided them until they broke away. The gunner also reported that he
had seen an explosion on the cruiser. They were some 400 miles from
base with only one engine functioning. The crew were ordered to
jettison every removable item as they limped toward base. As the
plane approached Oro Bay 'Red' tried to lower the wheels but the
wheel below the dead engine failed to drop which forced him to land
on the grass strip at Dobodura on one wing wheel and the nose wheel.
The plane suffered some damage to one wing and the prop but the crew
were safe. The repair found that a small calibre bullet had caused
the damage to the engine and the wheel in its nacelle.
A photo
taken the next day showed that a number of ships were missing from
Simpson Harbour and this included the cruiser. As a consequence 'Red'
claimed the sinking of this vessel but days later a US Navy report
refuted the sinking of such a vessel by skip bombing. The cruiser,
they said, must have left port so the claim by 'Red' was rejected.
However some month or so later a photo of the harbour taken at low
tide clearly showed the shape of a sunken ship where the cruiser had
been anchored.
Some year or two after the end of WW II, I read in
the press that Japan was granted the salvage rights to the sunken
10,000 ton Nachi Class Heavy Cruiser on the floor of Rabaul Harbour.
'Red' you
should have been honoured in some way.
Regards Richard
Moonlight Mission
As a
consequence of the Battle of the Bismark Sea and subsequent
difficulties which the Japanese Navy experienced in 1943 in sailing
in waters around New Guinea they resorted to the use of barges for
supplying and transporting reinforcements to their troops. During
daylight hours the barges anchored in creeks, river mouths and any
point where they could lie close to a shore line. Mostly the barges
were camouflaged using tree and palm branches and the like so that
they were very difficult to spot from the air. To counter this the
Allied air units resorted to night flights mooning the barges as they
sailed.
Early in the
piece Jock Henebry, O.C. 90th Sqn., asked me to accompany him as his
observer on a 'mooning' mission. We took off from Dobodura on a clear
moonlit night and flying over the coastline just above the tree level
headed in a westerly direction with a bright moon reflecting on the
sea. As we neared Finschafen,
I detected shadows just off shore in the mirror-clear moonlight
water. I tapped Jock on the shoulder and he immediately put 'Notre
Dame' on its right wing tip in a 180 deg. turn. As we leveled off
Jock turned on the landing lights and there before us were 7 barges,
line astern, loaded with Japanese troops. I do not recall how many
passes we made, each time firing the 8 x 50 cal.guns and releasing
the bomb load a few at a time. Once we had used up all the
ammunition, we headed back to base after a very successful mission.
In 1945 as I
sailed with the Borneo Planning Group towards Morotai our ship passed
very close to New Guinea at Finschafen and there scattered on the
reef and shore were the skeletons of a number of Japanese
barges.
Regards, Richard.
Support Air Observers ( S.A.Os.)
Support Air Observers ( S.A.Os.)
During
landings by the Australian Army in New Guinea radio reception during
the early stages of such operations was poor to non existent, for
reasons which seemed to be unknown. This created a problem for the
commanding generals in that they had an incomplete picture of the
situation of their troops and enemy actions during a critical period
of any operation. For this reason three A.L.Os. were temporarily
posted as S.A.Os. for the Borneo operations comprising the three
landings at Tarakan, Balikpappin and Brunei. The closest airstrip to
Borneo in 1945 was on Morotai, some 5 hours flying time away so an
aircraft capable of flying for 13 hours was needed to transport a SAO
to, over and from the landing beach. For this reason B 24s of the
RAAF 82 Sqn. became their carrier. The task of the SAO was to
broadcast in plain language for 3 hours at low altitude whilst
traversing the battle front on 'D' Day, 'D' Day + 1 and 'D' Day + 2.
Not unlike a commentator calling a football or baseball match. In
this way I became the SAO operating over Tarakan on 'D' Day during
'H' hour + 2 hours to 'H' hour + 5 hours.
We departed
Morotai, after briefing, at 0300 hrs and took over from the first SAO
on time at 'H'+2 hrs. Off shore the ships were still unloading troops
and equipment under naval cover. As we traversed the front our ground
troops exhibited fluorescent panels in varying colours designating to
me which platoon front I was over. I then broadcast to the general's
staff aboard the command vessel off shore the grid reference or coded
feature location of each platoon as I went from my viewing position
in the nose of the B 24. For about one hour I continued reporting
from about 1000 feet. Suddenly a burst of anti-aircraft fire was
directed against us from what appeared to be a typical Japanese twin
20 mm gun. Naturally the pilot took evasive action and I reported the
grid reference of the guns location. I was asked to wait, then I was
informed that I was to assist the gunnery officer of a U.S. Navy
destroyer with the destruction of the gun. The gunnery officer asked
if I had ranged for guns before, which I had and so a conversation
along these line ensued.
GO:
Hi Aussie lets have some fun. Are you ready for the first single gun
shot? SAO: Shoot, we are back of target.-- That landed 200 yards
long. GO: Good, second shot coming. SAO: Shoot.-- 200yards short. GO:
Good. Keep clear of target for full broadside. SAO: Target destroyed.
Thank you. About a half hour later we spotted a staff car? headed
west. We had been briefed not to engage any target without
permission. On reporting the car we were instructed to engage it. We
did by strafing. The car crashed with no occupant escaping. At 'H' +
5hrs we handed over to the third SAO and returned to base. The other
two day's 3 hour stints were without abnormal sightings. After the
command vessel returned to Morotai the 3 SAOs went aboard and were
thanked for their efforts. A full recording of my broadcasting on 'D'
Day had been made to send to the States for use by the Defence Dept.
As I was
posted to U.S. Bomber Command, Morotai another ALO took my place for
Balikpappin. Sadly his plane was shot down and all the crew
killed.
Regards
Richard.
Allied Rapport
This
is my view of two squadron commanders in 1943 in New Guinea.
When
I was posted to the 3rd Attack Group as an A.L.O. in 1943, before the
Group moved to Dobodura, I soon became aware of a close rapport which
existed between the commander of the 90th Sqn., Major John ('Jock')
Henebry and the commander of the 30th Sqn RAAF, Squadron Leader,
'Black Jack' Walker.
The
30th Sqn. flew Beaufighters and during the Battle of the Bismark Sea
they were 'paired' with 90th Sqn. planes in the skip- bombing of the
Japanese fleet. The 90th aircraft lacked, at that time, good strafing
weapons to cover their approach to vessels at wave height so the
Beaufighters, which had no bombing ability but had powerful strafing
weapons, flew singly beside a 90th plane during their bombing runs.
Naturally both squadrons were briefed jointly then flying in close
support and I believe as a consequence of these actions their grew a
special rapport between the two units. The rapport between the two
commanders was certainly strong, possible because they were not only
both top pilots and commanders but were very similar in many aspects
of their characters. Both 'Jock' and 'Black Jack' took much delight
in trying to 'better' one another. If these two squadrons were handed
targets within some degree of closeness then they would endeavour to
carry out their missions and then fly to the other's target and try
to beat them to the attack there. Another favoured game was attacking
each other's tents. On returning from a flight 'Jock' or 'Black Jack'
might fly low toward the other's tent then suddenly pull up letting
the slip stream batter the opponents tent and its contents,
particularly if the occupant was in it. They enjoyed meeting in the
messes for a drink or two. They never, however, appreciated each
other's favourite game of football. There is little in common between
Gridiron and Rugby so their attempts at playing football in the mess
was never a pretty sight. However despite all this they had a great
respect for each other and I am sure that they missed these joint
missions and escapades once the two units moved on in different
directions and tasks.
Regards,
Richard.
Wireless Interception Operations ( WIO )
A
couple of examples concerning WIOs associated with the 3rd Group during my time
with them.
We are all well aware that there was a group of service personnel who, due to
the cracking of the Japanese codes, were able to intercept a large number of
operational messages which lead to many successful actions which assisted in
the war effort. The following 3 such actions give some indication as to the
value of such information.
1. Shortly after I was posted to the 3rd Group I received from the Australian
Army a message stating that a large Japanese submarine would be surfacing in
Lae Harbour at 1800 hours on a specific day. I conferred with Jock Henebry and
after some consideration of such precise and unexpected information Jock agreed
that it was worth a flight investigating its possible arrival. The flight path
was set from Dobodura to the Nadzab area then down the Markham River Valley
across the Lae Airstrip into the harbour. As the flight strafed the airstrip
there in the harbour was a large submarine with its conning tower hatch opening
at 1803 hours. Strafing and bombing saw the end of the sub and whatever it was
carrying for the Lae Japanese base. From that day on Jock never doubted such
precise information regardless from whence it was received.
2. In July 1943 a message arrived stating that 2 Japanese destroyers were
expected to weigh anchor at 0600 hours off Cape Gloucester, New Britain,
returning to their Rabaul base on a specified day. The 3rd Group was ordered to
attack these ships with 'skip bombs'. As it happened a day or so previously
'Pappy' Gunn had arrived in Dobodura aboard his B25 with inbuilt French 75 to
show to the Group. This mission was, he felt, an ideal chance to prove the
ability of his 'new baby'. So it was that the Group plus 'Pappy' arrived over
Cape Gloucester as the 2 destroyers were just making way. 'Pappy claimed that
he scored hits on the bridge of one and the funnel of the other and was well
satisfied as to the accuracy of his 75. With that and the skip bombing and
strafing of the two vessels left them both on fire and unable to proceed any
further.
3. Word arrived, on a date that I no longer recall, that all aircraft, except
P38s, in the Dobodura area were grounded on the following day as an air raid
from Rabaul was expected on Oro Bay and/or Dobodura airstrips during the
morning hours. The various squadrons, with nothing better to do, switched
radios onto fighter frequency and waited. Suddenly it was broadcast that some
22 Japanese aircraft had been plotted on radar 20 minutes out. All P38s were
scrambled and headed for the fight while we watched and listened to the battle.
The result was that 20 enemy planes were shot down while 2 headed back to
Rabaul. Unfortunately for them they flew into the path of 2 P38s returning from
an aerial photo mission to Rabaul and were both shot down. Resultant score was:
Enemy 22 downed, Allies 1 Kittyhawk, the pilot being unaware of grounding of
all but twin boom aircraft as he had flown from Milne Bay, slightly damaged.
Regards, Richard
PATROL
The camp site for the 3rd Group out of Hollandia in 1944 was in a basin area. There was a movie screen toward the back of the camp area and after a while a rumour had it that of an evening during movies some Japs sat on the rise above the camp and watched our movies. As a consequence of the rumor about seven or eight of the 90th pilots conned me into leading them on a patrol to check on the Jap sightings. So it was that we armed ourselves with carbines and pistols and set out in single file with me in the lead. The sight of the armaments being carried by non infantrymen caused me more concern than what we might find. We did locate a track but there were no footprints to indicate recent usage. We continued along the track for perhaps about 20 minutes or so until we heard movement in the under brush. I hand signaled to go to ground while I peered from behind a tree. A short distance up the track the reason for the noise broke cover, it was a pig headed some place. We relaxed and moved on. After a further half mile or so we spied a native hut to our right. We carefully approached the hut to find that it was a deserted Jap hospital. Inside two decomposing jap bodies were on beds and medicines etc littered the floor. It had obviously been vacated days earlier in a hurry. We felt that we had gone far enough and headed back. Around where we had seen the pig more noise was heard so we went to ground again. A group of US soldiers approached so we made our presence known to them. They asked where we had been. It turned out that they were the forward patrol for the army and that we had progressed into Jap territory well past where the army had ever been. A quite proud 90th patrol entered camp with quite a tale to tell. I made a note never to do anything like that again. Shortly afterward I was recalled to Australia to prepare for the Borneo campaign.
Regards,
Richard.
CLOSE SUPPORT
Following the capture of Lae and Nadzab in New Guinea the remnants of the Japanese forces from there headed west toward Madang. They mainly used the coastal route and the Finisterre Range. The Australian Army, rather than follow these troops, moved up the Ramu Valley which was an easier area to advance through toward Madang. On the 4th of October, 1943 they occupied Dumpu Village where there was a rough airstrip. By October the Japanese had occupied a part of the Finisterre Range at a point named Shaggy Ridge, some 5,000 feet above sea level. The Japanese occupation included the positioning of a 75mm gun which they were able to hide when not being fired. Despite many attempts to capture this position the army then called for air support. Various air units, including the 3rd Attack Group, during November and December failed to assist in dislodging the enemy by bombing and strafing attacks. Around Christmas 1943 Jock Henebry ask me to arrange for he and another pilot to visit Shaggy Ridge on the ground so that they might be able to reach a plan of attack to end the stalemate. So a short time later Jock and the other pilot went into the forward positions on Shaggy Ridge. As a consequence of this visit the 90th Sqn. attacked under Jock's leadership, after his return to base. On the 23rd of January 1944 the position was captured by the Australian Army. These close support missions by the 3rd Group, in my opinion, were the key factor enabling our troops to succeed in this final action on Shaggy Ridge.
Regards, Richard.
Back Row: Unknown - Richard Saunders - Unknown - Frank Dowie - Unknown - Unknown
Front Row: Unknown - Unknown - T/Sgt. Charles Albright - Unknown - Unknown
The pilot for this mission was Capt. Frank Dowie
Photo from Charles Albright, Jr
This photo appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald in March 1943. It shows Richard Saunders (2nd from the left) standing with a crew of the 90th BG that had returned to Moresby from a raid on Madang, which had P38 fighter cover. This is just one of several missions that he participated in with both the 90th & 3rd Bomb Groups as an ALO. On reflection and some notes I find that the photo was a mission carried out on the 18th of March, 1943. The following may be of some value to someone. The crew in the photo beside myself was Capt. Dowie and crew. His B-24 was one of 14 from 90th BG escorted by 9 RAAF Beaufighters and 9 P 38s. We departed Jackson airstrip at 0650 and returned at 1200 having dropped 168 x 500lb bombs plus 28 clusters of incediaries. The Beaufighters strafed Madang after our attack. The P 38s were fighter cover.
Regards, Richard.
POM POM PALACE
The photo of Pom Pom Palace was, for me, very interesting. I was posted to the 3rd about 2 days before the move from Moresby to Dobadura. Being a new guy, I had no ready made pal and no place to camp. After a short while the Australian Army supplied me with a very poor quality tent. I was not impressed and eventually contacted the Australian officer in charge of the care and employment of Papuan natives in the area. I struck a deal with him for a native style hut in exchange for a bottle of gin. About some 20 natives along with a deal of materials arrived one day and the natives proceeded to erect that hut for me. I had obtained timber from a ship in Oro Bay so the building proceeded rapidly. The natives chatted constantly over the several days of construction and I found that 'pom pom' was constantly used, particularly with girls names attached. I then discovered that pom pom was in fact native talk for sex. Consequently when the hut was completed I constructed and painted the sign that you can see at the entrance to my hut. I shared this hut with Lt Birge Neuman and I believe that is Birge in the photo. Sadly Birge died in a plane crash near LA. He was posted back to the States after completing some 28 or so combat missions before the 3rd moved to Nadzab.
Regards,
Richard
TROPICAL PARADISE
It is time for me to come up with another anecdote. You may not be aware that the 3rd Attack Group scored two firsts in New Guinea so allow me to relate how this came about.
Whilst we were encamped at Dobodura officers of the Group felt that it was time for an officer's club to break the monotony of off-duty time. So a collection of, as I recall, $10 was made by each officer and the funds were used in the erection and furnishing of a club finally named Tropical Paradise. A photo of the inside of that club appears in 'The Reaper's Harvest' , page 23 bottom left photo. The entrance was lit by a neon sign reading Tropical Paradise and that was the first neon sign ever displayed in New Guinea. At the rear of the club there was a small building containing of all things a mauve flushing water closet also believed to be the first mauve, or any other colour, flusher in New Guinea. On opening night there was a wide collection of visitors including ladies from the American Red Cross and nurses from a nearby hospital. There was, during the evening, a long and endless line of both males and females waiting to enjoy our, one only, civilized flushing toilet. Now those are the two very strange 'firsts' which the 3rd Group can claim, if they care to. Incidentally all the officers received their $10 donations back some weeks later from the profits of the bar etc.
Richard.
I thought it was time for me to relate some more items concerning the 3rd Group. The following details may have little value for you but are sent for you to do with them what you will.
Air Liaison: Air Liaison Officers were appointed to various air force units as the need for co-operation between the air arm and ground troops became a necessity in the SW Pacific. As I recall Capt. John White, an Australian officer was appointed to be the ALO with the 3rd Group some time toward the end of 1942 or early 1943 in Port Moresby. During a staging on Dobodura strip in about April 1943 a 3rd Group plane in which White was flying crashed killing all aboard. To replace him I was appointed ALO in May 1943 from the 90th Bomb Group, where I had been ALO since about January 1943. Whilst I was ALO for the whole of the 3rd Group I was quartered with the 90th Squadron. Later in 1943 Lieutenant Graham Davey was appointed to assist me and he was quartered with 89 Squadron. We each had with us a Corporal Clerk and a Driver. We continued with the 3rd Group until we were returned from Hollandia to Australia for training and preparations for the Borneo Operations. There was no further need for liaison between the Australian Army and units such as the 3rd Group which were headed for the Philippines and in co-operation with the US Army. In 1945 I was appointed ALO with the 307th Bomb Group on Morotai and then in April 1945 I was appointed ALO with 13th Bomber Command on Morotai.
When the war ended I ceased as an ALO and was appointed as a staff officer with Dyke Force in the Dutch East Indies, stationed in Timor, where one of my tasks was War Crimes investigator for part of the Indies and later on assistant prosecutor at the Australian War Trials in Darwin, before discharge in April 1946.
My recollection of members of 3rd Group is now somewhat diminished but perhaps the following 90th Squadron members may help you.
1st Lt Birge A. Neumann - B25 pilot who completed some 28 missions and was returned to the States from Dobodura in 1943 and was killed in USA as the transport plane was landing. Birge and I had shared a tent in Dobodura.
1st Lt Jack S. Saunders, A20 pilot. No relation to me but a friend with whom I flew when required.
Lt Pat Head, Intelligence Officer. ( Ivan P. Head ) Later Capt with Group HQ. See page 30 of Reapers Harvest, top left photo, person with no hat.
1st Lt Norman J. Spitzer, another friend.
Lt 'Mac' Macomber, Intelligence Officer after Pat Head. See page 91 of Reapers Harvest, top photo, Mac is only seated person.
Lt. 'Mandy' Mandell, Supply Officer ?
Thank you for your wonderful recording of the 3rd Group history.
Regards, Richard Saunders.
VP 70 - TOWNSVILLE
