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-Careful, it'’s hot!
-I need something!

The damn thing is jammed!

-You have to pull the release!
-I can'’t!

-There'’s a piece of flak!
-Hey!

-It'’s wedged!
-This one'’s out!

-Pull the release!
-I am!

Get me something to pry this!

It'’s coming loose! It'’s loose!

That'’s got it!

I can'’t get the rear

bomb bay doors to close!

The flak must have damaged
the Pneumatics!

We'’ll have to close them
by hand!

Nothing!

No movement!

Nothing!

Flak! FUBAR!

What about the bomb hoist?

Yeah! We can strap it

to the doors
and winch them up,

like McCaskill'’s crew!

Patitucci, status?

Electrical fire!

How bad?

Bad. Real bad.

Bombardier to tail gunner:

Wright, we'’ve just extinguished
a fire in the radar compartment.

Heavy flak damage
to the electrical system.

Be advised. Over.

You alright back there?

Wright, please respond, over.

Get every available
fire extinguisher back here!

-Understood?
-Yeah!

Go, go, go!

Wright?

Wright? Wright?

Ship'’s interphone,
non-functional, Captain!

Ship'’s radio still transmitting
and receiving,

but I don'’t know for how long!

Mayday, Mayday, Mayday.

This is Mashnote,
this is Mashnote,

this is Mashnote, over.

Mayday, Mayday, Mayday.

This is Mashnote,
this is Mashnote,

this is Mashnote.

Transmitting for fix.

We will be Davy Jones,
Davy Jones, over.

Captain,
all radio facilities are out.

We have A channel VHF only,
again, A channel VHF only.

Copy, Sparks!
Switching to A channel VHF.

Mayday, Mayday, Mayday.

Wing, this is Dragon Lady,
this is Dragon Lady,

this is Dragon Lady,
two-seven-seven, respond, over.

Copy, Dragon Lady,

go ahead, over.

We are heavily damaged
from flak.

Electrical fire
in our tail section.

Inform Playmate
of our condition.

Copy, Dragon Lady.

Damage due to flak,
electrical fire, aft.

Informing Playmate. Over.

Roger, Wing.
Shutting down power

until this fire
is under control.

Copy, Dragon Lady.

Out.

Gibbs! Cut power!

Copy! Cutting power!

Wright!

Find a place and get
yourself secure!

Captain, the fire'’s
under control.

It'’ll stay out as long
as the power stays off.

It'’s fighting us. Everything
on this ship is electrical!

That shell blast
under the cockpit

has everything
shorting out on us.

Sparking wires started it.

We need power back
to get us home.

The wiring,
it'’s got to be shredded!

-Gibbs!
-Sir?

I need power back!

Can you give it to me?

Standby, Captain.

Power restored, Captain!

Fire, everything is on fire.

Say again, say again!

Everything is on fire!

Captain, the fire has resumed.

We used all the extinguishers!

Wing, this is Dragon Lady,
we are preparing to ditch.

Radio our position
to Navy Playmate...

Verdeschi! What'’s our position?

-I'’m working on it!
-ETA, Lieutenant?

Wing, this is Dragon Lady...

Gibbs, my airspeed indicator,

it'’s non-functional!

Airspeed is two-seven-zero miles
per hour.

-Two-seven-zero.
-...this is Dragon Lady,

two-seven-seven, respond, over!

Lieutenant!
Our position, please!

-Copy!
-Wing, this is Dragon Lady.

-Respond, over.
-Captain,

Captain, our position
is 30 degrees...

Wing, we are preparing to ditch.

Copy, over.

Captain, all radio
facilities are out.

Channel A VHF, out!
I can'’t get it back.

Copy, all radio facilities out!

We have to cut the power!

Gibbs, cut power!

Copy!

Install
ditching braces!

Open all escape exits and assume
ditching positions.

Prepare to ditch!

Open all escape exits,
assume ditching positions!

Gibbs, on my command,
I'’m gonna need power back.

Copy! Power back
on your command.

Two hundred and seventy
miles per hour.

Descending at 3,000 feet
per minute!

Level out at 500 feet.

Prepare for 25 degrees of flaps
when power is restored.

Copy, 500 feet,
25 degrees of flaps!

We are at 3,500 feet
and descending.

One thousand feet!

Nine hundred feet!

Eight hundred feet!

Seven hundred feet!

Six hundred feet!

-Gibbs, standby on power.
-Standing by!

Five hundred and fifty feet!

Gibbs, power!

Copy, power restored,
Captain!

Standby to cut
engines two and four!

Standing by to cut
engines two and four!

Twenty-five degrees of flaps!

Twenty-five degrees of flaps!

Cut engines two and four!

Cutting engines
two and four!

Three hundred feet.

Do you see any swell down there,
Lieutenant?

Negative! Two hundred feet!

I'’m gonna put us
down into the wind.

Hundred and ten miles an hour.
One hundred feet!

Here we go.

Nose up. Nose up!

Everyone out!

Gotcha!

He'’s hurt! He'’s hurt!

Easy, easy, easy.

Easy, easy, easy.

We gotta even up these boats,
boys.

Verdeschi, Lloyd!

Who do we have?

Sound off!

Wilcoxon.

Gibbs present, sir!

James!

Lloyd!

Verdeschi!

Cody!

Tancreti!

Weaver.

How you feeling, Sergeant?

Still here, Cap.

-Do we any have morphine?
-Yes, sir.

Get this man some morphine!

Anybody have eyes on Patitucci,
Larson, or Wright?

Wright deceased prior
to ditching, Captain.

You'’re certain?

Absolutely certain.

James, sound that whistle.

All eyes, look sharp!

Cap...

do they know we'’re down?

It'’ll be okay.

They'’ll be coming for us.

They'’ll be coming.

What the crew of the Dragon Lady did not know

was that on the island
of Iwo Jima,

a 22-year-old pilot
and his crew

would be coming for them.

But that pilot, my great uncle,

Royal A. Stratton,

would never return home.

Many young enlisted men
came from small-town America,

places like Ellwood City,
Pennsylvania,

where our veterans are revered

and things still move
a little slower,

where family reunions,
old-timey guessing games,

and favorite pastimes
are still alive and well.

For anyone who'’s
lost a loved one in war,

the emptiness left behind
can resonate for generations.

For my family,
it was World War II.

Many of us didn'’t know
my great uncle, just a name:

Royal A. Stratton.

But the few still among us
who did

also reside here,
in small-town America.

I didn'’t know it then,
but going home

is where
my long journey began--

traveling back through time.

His orders from Dad
was watch Ada,

'’cause I was the smallest one.

I met Royal in School.

We were in
the fifth grade together.

He was nice.

We would go out and sit
on our swing on the back porch,

and he'’d talk about everything.

I knew Royal
before Mary Ellen knew Royal.

My mother'’s maiden name
was Timmerman.

So it was Mary Ellen Timmerman.

And, he was dating my aunt Kay
at the time.

Well, I was going
with another fella.

I said,
"Would you like to meet her??

He said, "Sure!"

That was it.

They hit it off and here we are.

My mom, she was a spitfire.

One time when my dad
was supposed to pick her up

at seven, and he wasn'’t there, and she left.

And he came
about ten after seven

and asked where she was
and she said,

"If you'’re not here at seven,
she'’s gone."

She wouldn'’t wait on him.

From then on,

if he was gonna be late,
he'’d call.

And my grandpa, his dad,

would say,
"I want to meet this girl

that'’s having you call her
when you'’re gonna be late."

He was never late again.

It was about a hundred yards

north of where
the present one is.

The building is still there.

It was a Travel Air 2000.

It was a biplane.

Two wings, open cockpits,

powered by a 90-horsepower
OX-5 engine.

He was very gifted as a pilot.

And I'’m so proud of him,
very, very proud of him.

We were moored
over at Pearl City Landing.

That morning,

we were all awakened by the...

the bombs going off.

7:59 a.m.

That'’s when they hit.

When they bombed Pearl Harbor

and they sunk theArizona,

and they sunk
those other ships,

and those men were
in steaming oil

on the sea dying,

the country rallied,
but the country was different.

I was at a movie at the Tivoli
in Richmond, Indiana,

when they closed down
the screen

and the owner came on stage
and told us

that we had been bombed.

I think we realized at that time

that we were going to be
in a long fight.

...1941...

Went to school and when we got
to civics class,

our teacher had brought in
this portable radio

and we listened spellbound.

...a date which will live in infamy.

Infamy; a word
we'’d never heard before.

Then he turned to the Congress

and he asked them
to declare war, and they did.

...with
the unbounding determination

of our people,

we will gain
the inevitable triumph,

so help us God.

There was quite an inundation

of people showing up
at recruiting stations

in the immediate aftermath
of Pearl Harbor.

I enlisted
out of Binghamton, New York.

I signed all the papers and was
sent to Camp Blanding, Florida,

which was an infantry base,

and I thank the good Lord
20 times a day

that I didn'’t join the infantry.

I wanted to get in the action.

Of course we were just emerging

from the Great Depression.

America in tragedy
comes together.

The Depression had
a great leavening effect.

We were living
in a quite different world.

We had rationing: butter,
milk, eggs, silk stockings.

Consequently, a lot of people
would begin to grow

what they called
a Victory Garden.

An estimated 40 percent of
the vegetables grown in America

were grown
in those Victory Gardens.

And there were these drives.

They needed rubber desperately.

They needed scrap metal.

And I saved tin foil in bundles

and gave it to the collectors.

As a matter of fact,
some people began to give up--

I know Rita Hayworth did--

to give up the bumpers
on their cars

to the scrap metal people,
honest to God.

Everybody shared
in the war effort.

My mother rolled bandages,

worked for the Red Cross
in Oklahoma.

My great regret then was that
I wasn'’t a little bit older

so I could actually wear
a uniform.

I wanted to do that too.
I wanted to get involved.

So I convinced my mother, if I joined the Navy under-age,

I would not be sent overseas
until I was 18.

Now, it was a lie,
but I was desperate.

I wanted so badly
to get into the service.

It had to be fought.

We were fighting Hitler,
Mussolini, and Tojo.

The entire world was at war.

These madmen had to be stopped.

So you sign on
and you do what you can.

So we had a nation
that had a purity of purpose

and that was to eliminate evil
in the world.

My name is John Ree.

Freeland C. Terpenning.

Walter O. Sheppard.

Milton Robbins.

Mark Kishego.

Raymond Lee.

-Verle Westerman.
-John Misterly.

-Edward Goetz.
-Lyle Umenhoffer.

-Jerry Yellin.
-Earl Holliman.

There were so many pilots,

were shot down,

and they didn'’t know
whether they survived

or whether they were
in the water for weeks.

The 4th Emergency Rescue
Squadron was formed

when the Navy decided
that they were spending

too much time rescuing
Air Force pilots.

So, the next thing I knew
I had orders to go

through the advanced training
school at Pensacola

learning to fly the PBY.

We'’re talking
about a Consolidated PBY,

which was a sea plane;
amphibious.

It had landing gear
you could land on.

It was built so that
you could land in water.

Primarily I would say

the thought was rescue
in the open sea.

An airplane gets shot down,

whatever reason
you had to ditch,

a PBY was one
of the best airplanes

for landing and picking up
people and retrieving them.

After we were graduated

from Pensacola, we were
designated Naval Aviators.

We were then entitled to wear Navy Wings and Air Corps Wings.

We wore Air Corps Wings
over our heart,

Navy Wings on the right side.

After, we were sent
to Biloxi, Mississippi.

Keesler Field.

That'’s where we became
a member of a crew.

I knew
Royal Stratton real well.

He was a dear good friend.

Extremely excellent pilot.

I can'’t say enough
about his piloting ability.

And a fine man.

And then flew from there

to McClellan Field
in Sacramento, California.

We went over with white planes

and they painted them blue
to match the water

so planes flying above us
wouldn'’t be able to see us.

It was a Catalina and we named it Prowlin'’ Puss.

And we had a Prowlin'’ Puss
on the side of the plane

and he'’s sitting
drumming his fingers.

It was a real good picture.

We thought it was.

My engineer,

he came up with the name
Superduck.

And he painted Superduck
on Superduck.

We called it the old Lard Ass.

Took off at 90 knots,

flew at 90 knots,
and landed at 90 knots.

We waited there for

our instructions
to go overseas.

John Garfield,
a New York actor,

all excited about
the Stage Door Canteen,

told Bette Davis about it.

It was made up, of course,
of Broadway stage actors

entertaining G.I.s,
American service men,

about to embark for
the adventure of their lives.

And Bette instantly caught fire and said:

"This is the West Coast
port of embarkation

and they'’re coming flooding
through here

and they have nowhere to go.

So, there has to be
a Hollywood Canteen,"

and indeed, it happened.

And they
created this wonderful,

wonderful place
where the soldiers,

who were on their way
overseas in the Pacific,

could stop and be fed,
you know, by movie stars

and dance with movie stars
and be entertained.

The war was on, and my mother,

one night she came home
and she said

"You'’re going to sing
at the Hollywood Canteen."

And I got out on the stage

and I sang and they stood up
and applauded,

and what I realized is
these young men,

they were so baby-faced,
and young, and courageous,

and they loved everything
we did for them. Everything.

We had the big bands
playing there.

One name band after another.

Any that was in town
at the time

would be happy to play
for nothing

to our young military.

And so there was some
pretty great dancing done

on the most crowded
of dance floors.

I got five hours'’ liberty
every night

and I would hightail it
right over

to the Hollywood Canteen,

which was incredible.

And I remember
walking in one day

and there was the great,
gorgeous John Garfield

with his sleeves rolled up
and apron on doing dishes.

And it was a sight that I'’ll
never forget as long as I live.

The boys wanted proof

that they had been
to the Hollywood Canteen.

So I signed everything.

I had to sign their best girl'’s pictures, imagine.

What a privilege it was for me
to be part of that.

The barn held
about a thousand G.I.s

and a number of hostesses
to welcome them.

And finally, one night,

they prepared
for the millionth man

to come through those doors,
and he did.

The place just
absolutely erupted

when he walked
through the door.

He didn'’t know he was
the millionth man.

By the time they closed in '’45,

they had served
three million service men.

Many of them, of course,
never came back.

So that was the last view
they had of America,

and kindness and people
trying to help them.

My mom wanted
to name me Royal Ann.

Thank God she didn'’t.
Dad said no.

"If we ever have a son,
we'’ll name him Royal."

So he named me Vicky Elaine.

He was gone a lot when
he was in the service and...

he was home when I was born

and then he left when
I was four days old

and that'’s the last we saw him.

Then we did get
instructions to go overseas.

I had our aircraft

blessed by a priest
before I ever left the States.

But, I'’m not Catholic.

I'’m an Episcopalian.

But I asked each man if
they had any objection to it,

and they said, "No, sir."

And so the airplane was blessed

and I have the Saint Christopher
medal on the wall here.

It was glued
to my instrument panel.

We took off different days
en route

to Hickam Air Corps Base
in Honolulu.

And it was a long flight.

We lost a plane
when we first went overseas.

Nobody knows what happened.

It gets awful dark
as you keep going west.

And there'’s lots of water
under there.

Our first flight to get
to where we were gonna serve,

we had to make to Hawaii.

As I remember it, we took off

about 3 o'’clock in the morning

from Sacramento, California.

And about halfway across,

we got a radio transmission--

it was all in code, of course--

they told us to turn around
and go back.

That there was a headwind
gonna hit us

and we probably didn'’t have
enough gas to reach Honolulu.

They want us to return to Sac--

Zalkan, how far are we
from Hawaii?

Seven-point-five hours

at our current heading
and airspeed.

If we maintain,
total flight time

will be just over 19 hours.

We'’ve passed the halfway point.

What'’s happening?

They want us to turn around
and go back.

To Sacramento?

That doesn'’t make any sense.

Radar operator to engineer.

How long can we stay airborne
with those new Tokyo tanks?

Over.

We got about 20 hours'’
total flight time, Chief, over.

Copy, Doc.

Radio operator to pilot.

Pilot to
radio operator, go ahead.

Lieutenant,
we'’ve been instructed

to return to Sacramento, over.

Copy. Instructed
to return to Sacramento, over.

Return to Sacramento?

Sir, I requested
code verification.

Transmitting party
was unable to verify, over.

Copy, unable to verify.

Japanese dummy transmission?

Pilot to crew;
according to my calculations,

we are past the halfway point
to our destination.

Therefore, I will ask each
of you to vote, yay or nay,

as to whether we return
to Sacramento.

Take a moment to consider, over.

Navigator to pilot, you flying
by ear again, Lieutenant?

Pilot to navigator;

1st Lieutenant.

And are my calculations
incorrect? Over.

No, sir.

Your calculations
are correct, over.

Navigator,
please say again, over.

Your calculations are correct.

-Over?
-Over!

Repeat.

And so we all voted--

let'’s go ahead.

And when we did land
at Honolulu,

we were in the air
19 hours and 55 minutes

as I remember it.

And our flight engineer
later told me--

He said we had about 15 minutes'’
flying time left, so--

From Wheeler Field
we went to a little spot

in the ocean called
Johnson Island.

Orders, we finally got them

after two or three weeks.

We searched for General Harmon,

he was an Air Corps General.

Most of the time

when we were searching
for rafts,

I was in the blister
watching for it

because radar
wouldn'’t pick it up.

And the radar on our plane
was up high

so you couldn'’t shoot down
with it.

You had to shoot out.

I don'’t think they ever did know
what happened to that plane.

We couldn'’t find any evidence
of it anywhere.

Even though we were all
a bunch of young guys,

we suddenly became men.

So we left there
and headed west again.

From Johnson Island

we were sent temporary duty

to Kwajalein, Eniwetok,

Bikini Atoll,

and finally to Saipan.

When we got to Saipan,

officers and enlisted men
both lived in tents in the mud.

Wise guy me
said, "Where'’s the hotel?"

And they said,
"You'’re sleeping here."

From Saipan,

we had four flights
in the squadron:

A flight, B flight,
C flight, D flight.

It was the largest airplane
to go into production

during World War II.

It was a beautiful airplane,
flew beautifully.

One problem, the engines,
they overheated readily.

We were losing
a lot of them at sea.

There were 20 crews
in our squadron,

and of each of the squadrons
assembled on Saipan,

I must say that half
of those crews were lost

during the time
we were bombing Japan.

It was horrifying because
I don'’t think many of them were

over five feet over the water
when they took off.

And it was hair-raising
to them, I'’m sure.

Why was Iwo Jima important?

Because it was midway point

from the Marianas to Tokyo.

There were two things important

about Iwo Jima.

One, it was within range

of Japan for fighter aircraft:

P-47s and P-51s could reach
Japan and come back.

And it was an emergency
landing strip for B-29s

that carried 11
or 12 crew members.

So it was a place of rescue
for the B-29s.

Hundred and fifty of us
got shipped out at one time.

And I'’ll never forget it,
the first sergeant came out,

was giving us a pep talk,

and all of a sudden he stopped.

He said: "You men are
gonna make history."

And history we did.

During the battle,

there was 36 planes
landed there.

The first one was
on the 13th day.

That left 23.

It'’s almost two a day.

And those 36 planes

probably saved 360 lives

because there'’s
a minimum crew of ten.

So they attacked Iwo Jima

and finally got it.

My wing of our squadron

were assigned to Iwo

and we flew rescue operations
out of there.

The island itself was

about four, or four and a half miles long,

and a mile and a half wide.

And there was around 40,000
of us on the island.

Life on Iwo Jima was miserable.

We had no fresh water.

They had a distiller ship
out on the ocean

and we drank
distilled ocean water.

That extremely fine volcanic ash
was always in the air.

Our only means of washing up:

going into the ocean
with your clothes on and all.

Where our encampment was down

right next to Suribachi.

There was two crews to a tent.

No floors; it was really
kind of nomadic conditions.

We spent six months
living in the tents.

Me and Holliday,
the flight engineer,

always slept in the plane,
and Sam.

Well, old Sam Zuck was a mechanic, he was a good one.

So they assigned him
to our plane.

And so wherever we'’d land,

Sam was always going around
working on the plane.

Me and Holliday had been up

most of the night
playing poker somewhere.

And Sam, he'’d get up while me

and the flight engineer
was trying to sleep,

and he'’d start working
on the plane.

And he'’d be hammering, and that plane is just like a drum.

When you'’d beat on the side,
it reverberates,

and the flight engineer
told Sam, he said,

"Sam, why don'’t you
knock that off?

We can let that go
to some other time."

But old Sam wasn'’t that way.
Sam was conscientious.

And Holliday, he said,
"Sam, damn it,

I gave you a direct order
to go back to bed."

I couldn'’t stand it.
I laughed.

We got eight new B-17s

and was on Iwo Jima
till the war ended.

I was a radio operator
on Bulgin'’ Bessie.

We would go
on standby offshore

so that if a crippled plane
come back,

we had the boat on the B-17.

We could drop a boat
or give assistance

and call a submarine
or a rescue ship in

to assist them.

A lot of airplanes have ditched

because of mechanical problems.

A lot of them made it too.

Kind of luck plays
a big part of that.

My combat experiences began
on March 7th, 1945,

when our squadron landed P-51s
on Iwo Jima.

We knew that there were Dumbos,

PBYs flown by
the Army Air Corps,

and the Navy,
on the way to Japan.

The next group were
the destroyers

on top of the ocean.

And the next group were
the submarines.

And yes, we knew
that they were out there.

We had code words for them.
We named them something.

And we used them.

My father was Hiram Cassedy.

He was a submarine commander
in the Pacific

and he took command
of the Tigrone.

When the Tigrone
was commissioned,

Hiram was put in charge

of the whole lifeguard rescue
operation in the South Pacific.

When the pilots were coming
back from a mission,

if they had been hit
and couldn'’t get the planes

back to base,
then they would coordinate

where they were going
to ditch the plane,

and the sub would come up as close as they could to them

and then rescue
the pilots and the crew.

This work was very dangerous

because they were operating
in enemy waters.

V Square 10 was the plane

we flew overseas.

And it'’s got a name:
A-Broad with Eleven Yanks.

You know, flying missions is kind of a harrowing experience.

There'’s 1,500 to 1,700 miles

between Saipan
and the target area of Japan.

And as far as we knew,
there'’s nothing between us

but open ocean.

We were on our way
to the target

when the propeller ran away,
ran at high-speed,

and we were not able
to control it.

So we headed
for the island of Agrihan.

Just before we got there,
fire broke out on the engine.

And when fire broke out,
we bailed out.

We were at 3,000 feet at three o'’clock in the morning

over the wide Pacific Ocean,

but at least with an island
visible to us.

I'’m sure we were all hanging
in our parachutes

when the plane exploded

and crashed into the island
of Agrihan.

Well after daylight,
a PBY flying boat flew over.

Little did I know
that they had been alerted

and they came to search for us.

The B-29 scattered itself

across about a third
of the way up.

We circled in close.

I never once
felt that we were all lost,

but I was extremely thankful when I saw the PBY flying over.

Twelve of us bailed out.

Unfortunately,
only 11 were picked up.

So we got alongside of them,
and two of my crewmen,

they got a rope
to the life raft

and we were able to pull them
up to the aircraft,

and between all the men
on the crew,

we were able to get
the three men in

through the blister
of the aircraft.

My name is Doug West.

I'’m the son
of Clyde Allen West.

He was a captain and pilot
of the B-29 bomber

called Dragon Lady.

It was actually
his final mission

and he was flying Dragon Lady
on a bombing mission over Japan.

I'’m Steven Wilcoxon,
and I'’m the son

of Roderick Gale Wilcoxon.

My dad was flying as co-pilot

on the Dragon Lady
when she went down.

In 1945, General LeMay,
of the 73rd Bomb Wing,

and all of the 20th Air Force,

decreed that incendiary raids
should be carried out

to successfully stop the production of war matériel.

So incendiary bombing
was carried out.

It was not a small thing to prep

one of those planes
for a mission like that.

It would start six to eight
hours before the mission.

And those missions
were 15 to 18 hours long.

That particular mission,
that was the Yokahama raid.

They were flying off
of North Field Tinian.

That was the same airfield

that the Enola Gay
in the 509th set up.

On their way back, they encountered flak,

and it damaged the plane.

The shell
that damaged them the most

exploded right
under the cockpit,

and it started electrical fires in the airplane,

and the airplane was also hit
in other places.

So, they were
pretty badly limping.

The plane was
an electronic airplane,

and it was dependent
on the internal navigation,

radar, and electronic controls,

and if the electronic system
went out,

then you couldn'’t control
the aircraft.

They kept turning off
the electrical system,

and it was able to get
the fire to stop,

but then whenever they tried
to turn it back on again,

the fire started again.

The tail gunner apparently

burned alive
because of the fire.

-Wright!
-Everybody else is trying

to put the fires out.
It'’s chaos.

You have
no situational awareness

outside the aircraft
and you don'’t know

if you'’re going to be called on
to parachute

or whether or not the pilot
is gonna put her down.

So he decided
to ditch the airplane.

You can feel your stomach
goes right up in your throat.

I mean, you can feel the plane
is going down like a stone.

Descending at 3,000 feet
per minute!

That'’s a really rapid descent.

It would be very close

to feeling as if you'’re
in free-fall.

The noise and the vibration

are just tremendous,
they'’re absolutely deafening.

And you feel this
through your whole body.

You want to put her down
tail-first,

smoothly hit the water,

and you'’ve got
to keep her level.

When the plane crashed,

several of the crewmen
were swept out.

Two were lost
and never recovered.

At that point,
because the ship was sinking,

they had to get on
to their life rafts.

They weren'’t able to radio
anybody their location

because the electrical equipment
had been out.

They could count on the fact
that somebody

was gonna be looking for them.

They just didn'’t know
how much information

the rescuers would have
about them

because their communications
had been cut off.

So they were out there floating
in the middle of the ocean

probably thinking
that this could be the end,

that they didn'’t know whether
they were going to be rescued,

killed by a Japanese submarine

or Zeros that may have seen them
and come in.

You'’re at zero elevation
and everything is above you.

You know, the Queen Mary
could be a hundred yards away

and if you weren'’t on the top
of one of the swells,

you'’d never see it.

So, it was a scary thing

because you just don'’t know
how long you'’re gonna be.

How'’s Weaver?

We'’re out of morphine.

She nosed over
too quick, Cap.

Couldn'’t get
to the provisions.

James, any food
or water in that thing?

Negative, Captain.

How long do
these rafts stay afloat?

They'’ll hold for a good
long while, Verdeschi.

Don'’t you worry.
We'’ll be on Tinian

long before these rafts
give way.

Sam.

Sam!

Sam!

Rise and shine, boys.

Sam,
why don'’t you knock that off

till another time?

You boys up all night
playin'’ poker again?

Samuel Zuck,
I'’m giving you a direct order!

Stop working!

My cousin would never put up
with this.

You know, the last time
you told that story,

Doc Holliday was your uncle.

Don'’t start with me, Chief.

The operations officer,

he got notice from whomever

that this was down
or that was down,

and he'’s the one that came
and notified us that,

"You'’re on, go."

Sam! Lieutenant'’s on his way!

We'’re going up;
emergency search and rescue.

Can you put that back on?

Zalkan: B-29 ditched.

Last known position. Go ahead and plot us a course.

They'’re in the water--
we'’re against the clock.

Roger that.

We gotta get those propsturned through.

Sam!

Zuck, you breaking my plane?

No, sir.

You still looking
for a change of scenery?

-Yes, sir.
-When you'’re done there,

come aboard.

Yes, sir!

Thank you, sir!

Radio check, radio check.

-Tower check.
-Radio, copy.

Navigator, check.

Radar operator, copy.

Doc, let'’s
get this thing running.

Start on engine number one.

Engineer to pilot, copy,
start on engine number one.

Start on engine two.

Engineer to pilot, copy,
start on engine number two.

Walnut, this is Dumbo number one

requesting clearance
for takeoff on Maple,

emergency rescue, over.

Copy, Dumbo.

You are currently number one and cleared for takeoff, Maple.

Over.

Copy, tower.

Pilot to crew,
prepare for takeoff.

Navigator to pilot,

we'’ve reached their last known
position, over.

Pilot to navigator, copy.

Very nice work, Zalkan.

Over.

We'’re going to do an expanded
square search.

They'’re out here somewhere.

Lieutenant, we'’re well within
fighter range.

We'’re going
to have to keep moving

when we find them.

If we find them.

We'’re not leaving without them,
Lieutenant.

It'’s very
difficult to find people

in a small boat in the ocean.

It'’s just a big ocean
out there,

and a lot of room,

and if you make a pass
going east to west

and turn around
and come back the other way,

how close are you?

Because you can'’t come back
a mile off or two miles off.

There were Japanese subs
in the area,

and the crew members
that he was trying to rescue

would not be surviving
by nightfall.

Cap?

What is it, Sparks?

Cap, you hear it?

I think you'’re
hearing things, Cody.

No.

No, I know that sound.

It'’s a twin engine,
synchronized.

One of ours.

Hey, that'’s not funny!

You know, you should
keep your mouth shut

if you don'’t know
what you'’re talking about.

Why don'’t you shut
the hell up, Tancreti?

We lost Wright.

We already lost two guys!

And now you'’re hearing things?

Come on! False hope
is worse than no hope!

Don'’t give people
false hope!

Engineer to pilot,
I'’ve got eyes

on nine Davy Jones
in two Goodyears!

Repeat: nine Davy Jones,
two Goodyears.

Copy, Doc. We'’ve seen them.

Coming around for another pass.

What is the condition
of the crew? Over.

One appears to be critical.

The others, satisfactory. Over.

How far out is
that Navy Lifeguard sub?

ETA to Playmate, three hours,
at maximum speed.

Pilot to crew,
prepare for water landing.

Floats down, floats down.

Copy, floats down,
floats down, over!

He made an open sea landing,

which was prohibited.

It was just too dangerous.

He thought of others
before he thought of himself.

We pulled up to the raft.

He was afraid
to kill the engine

because we had to get out of
there as quick as we could.

And so the plane was always
moving forward.

The life raft was floating
back under the plane.

When we'’d come up,

the tail of the plane would be
way out of the water

and then come down and slap.

Well, it was beatin'’ those guys
to death in the raft.

And so I had to lean out as far
as I could over the blister

and pull the raft forward

against the motion of the plane

Start climbing.

Right over! Hurry!

Come on boys, go!

Hold up!

Take my hand!

Keep an eye out.

I'’m worried about Zeroes.

Logan!

Get those men on board!

Double time, double time!

-Watch his leg!
-Go, boys, go!

-Pull him in!
-Got him!

You'’re next!

I can'’t leave him.

We'’re not leaving
anyone! Lets go!

We'’re not leaving you.

You hear me?

Then we got down to the injured guy in the raft.

You never saw such
a pitiful look on a guy'’s face

in your life.

He thought we'’s gonna go off
and leave him.

What'’s your name, airman?

Weaver. My name'’s Weaver.

All right, Weaver.

I'’m Logan.

I need you to work with me
for a minute.

Can you do that for me, Weaver?

I can'’t move.

You have to leave me.

We'’re not going to leaving you!

Go!

You listen to me!

We are all going home!

Do you understand me?

Logan!

Logan!

-Hang on!
-Watch his head!

And in the meantime,

the radioman had been very busy searching for help

and he got in touch
with a submarine,

the U.S.S. Tigrone,

and I think
it took them an hour,

or maybe a little more,

to reach our destination,
which they did.

Scheuch.

You go on now.

I can'’t, I...
I have to make sure

-everyone gets--
-Walter.

I outrank you, son.

They'’re going to ask
a lot of questions about today.

You just tell '’em
it was a direct order.

That I stayed with the ship.

You go on with our skipper now.

Get him safely across.

Put his head to the back.

They transported the pilot

from the plane to the sub
in a sling of some kind.

Then the front of the sub
pulled up to the plane wing.

The nose of the sub was,
I want to say,

about two or three feet
beyond the end of the wing.

To get on the sub,

we all climbed out one of the windows of the plane

and made our way
out on the wing.

As the swells came by,
we'’d go up and down.

One moment,
the sub would be below us

and the next moment,

it'’d rise up above us
and then back down.

Well, we walked out
on the end of the plane wing

and when the sub would start
coming up, we'’d jump on it.

You had to time it just right.

You'’d go up and come back down
and the next guy'’d jump.

All those men on the plane
made that transfer safely

with no incident whatsoever.

They'’d already taken
the wounded guy.

Thank goodness
we found out later

he didn'’t have a broken back.

Come to find out,
he had a whole bunch of flesh

gouged out of one thigh.

They got him straightened around
pretty well.

Being as I had been taking care of Lieutenant Stratton,

I was next to the last man
off the plane.

The last man was Captain Zalkan, our navigator.

But we all made it safe
and sound with no problems.

We thought Stratton was as good a pilot as we could have.

We thought he was
as good a pilot as there was

in the organization.

They surfaced,

it would have been
a formal burial at sea.

Captain Cassedy,
the captain of the Tigrone,

he would read
the burial service,

and then the body will be slid
over the side of the ship,

with the crew at attention.

Hiram took
things on the boat personally.

It was done with dignity,
respect, and love.

That was a record.

That was the most pilots
and aircrew rescued

by any lifeguard submarine.

The sub put them ashore
on Iwo Jima on June the 1st.

And there'’s a picture of them
on the deck of the Tigrone

when she pulled into Iwo Jima

and there was a famous
radio transmission

that Cassedy had sent after he
had left his lifeguard station

to Commander in Chief,
submarines, and said,

"Tigrone has saved the Air Force
and is returning to Iwo Jima

with 28 Zoomies."

We'’d come back from a mission
one time

and there was a large group
of people around a tent.

One of the survivors was
telling us what had happened.

I got to talk to John Logan,

who was a member
of that crew who witnessed

all that horrendous stuff.

No good.

No good.

We were transferred to Iwo Jima in May of 1945.

We learned that we were
replacing a crew

that their service
had been lost,

and this crew was headed
by Lieutenant Royal Stratton

and was killed
in that operation.

I wanted to get down
to where the action was.

And I got the opportunity
to volunteer as a co-pilot

in the 4th Emergency
Rescue Squadron.

And I didn'’t want to be
a co-pilot,

but that'’s the way
it all worked out.

In the long view of things,

probably it was the best thing
that ever happened to me!

So I was assigned
to Captain Richardson'’s crew,

and that very hour,

I was on a plane
headed for Iwo Jima.

I noticed that he had me sit
in the pilot seat.

Well, I didn'’t realize it
at the time,

but later, I found out
the reason that I flew

in the pilot seat is because

when the prop comes off
of that motor,

it comes and kills the pilot.

So, Bud and I became great
friends later on after the war

and I never ceased to remind him
of that fact.

And he always blushed up
and said,

"Well, you were last in."

It was the 3rd of July, 1945.

I always remember it because
I say I got my fireworks

a day early.

I'’ll never forget that day.

It was---it was, uh,
it wasn'’t good at all.

I was a squadron leader

on a mission over Chichijima.

Richard Schroeppel,

Dick Schroeppel
from Ridgewood, New Jersey,

was my wingman.

And I gave a waggle
and we all strung out

in a string formation,

turned our airplanes over,
and went down and dropped

500-pound bombs
on the Japanese landing strip

on Chichijima.

And they were
shooting at me first,

but they hit Dick Schroeppel.

And he got up and bailed out,
got into a one-man life raft,

got out to sea a little bit.

We called for a Dumbo.

There was anti-aircraft on both sides

where you went in to this bay.

Well, he was down inside the bay
in his little dinghy,

and we got the boat
down to him,

and the Japanese
were all firing at him

and firing at us.

We were called there,

but by the time we got there,

another B-17
had dropped his boat.

We could see flashes
from the shore.

An Army PBY landed

with a flight surgeon in it.

Of course I was a co-pilot,

but that was the first time
I'’d ever landed in a PBY.

I had no experience.

To tell you the truth,
I thought we were sinking.

He saw the rescue boat

that was dropped by the B-17.

The only thing that I regret,

we didn'’t get the guy.

And that, of course, haunts me.

He had been killed,

and the squadron
that replaced my squadron

were ordered
to use rockets to sink

that rescue lifeboat with
Dick Schroeppel'’s body in it

so that the commanding officer of Chichijima

wouldn'’t have
another liver to eat,

of which he was accused
of doing after the war.

It was a bad day.

We were just fortunate that we
got out of there and back to Iwo

without any more problems.

We had some holes in the plane

but they didn'’t happen to hit
anything vital

that knocked us down

or we'’d have been
right down there with him.

July the 30th, 1945,

the ship was sunk.

I first went aboard
in February 1942.

My name is Lyle Umenhoffer,
I was Seaman First Class,

and I served aboard
the U.S.S. Indianapolis.

My station was the last one
on the back of the ship.

The eight-inch guns back aft,

that'’s where I went in
to be a gunner'’s mate.

Well, they took us over
to Hunter'’s Point.

This huge, big crate
was sitting on the dock.

So we loaded it aboard ship

and put a Marine guard
on the door.

Well, we had no idea what it was
or anything like that.

MacArthur was over there
for a while,

and they thought maybe it was
a load of toilet paper

or something
to take to MacArthur.

Even on Saipan,

we didn'’t know anything
about the mission.

We went to
Guam and we took on ammunition

and supplies and things.

We left out and the captain
requested escort

and they turned him down,

so we were by ourselves
out in the Philippine Sea.

And that evening,

I had just got off watch
at 12:00.

When the first torpedo hit,
it blew off our bow.

And then when
the second torpedo hit,

it hit in our
high-octane gasoline

in one of our powder rooms
where we kept our powder

for our ammunition.

And it exploded and sent fire

all through the front
of the ship.

It was about 12 minutes after
midnight when we got hit

and I went in the water
and I didn'’t see anybody

until about 6:00
the next morning.

There was thousands
and thousands of sharks

just milling around,

and barracuda.

We could see '’em,
and they were picking guys

that was off by themselves.

They were just taking them
real quick.

There'’s no sound out there,

just a little, maybe,
chopping of a wave,

or something like that.

But then of course,
there was guys talking

and crying and praying--

we were out there
for five days.

So we just kept hanging on,
saying, well,

maybe somebody will spot us.

No water, no food.

The Navy didn'’t report

theU.S.S. Indianapolis missing

until three days later.

The fourth day,

Wilbur Gwinn and his crew,
based on Tinian,

they were out
to spot submarines.

They had put an antenna
on the back of the plane

and it broke off.

So they went back in
and picked up another one

and came back out again.

It started acting up,

so Wilbur Gwinn,
he went back aft and he said,

"Let me take a look at this."

They had the bomb bay doors
open.

He looked down and he saw
an oil slick, which was us.

And he spotted the heads
bobbing up and down,

we were splashing
and everything,

and he said,
"There'’s men in the water."

So he radioed back in.

Lieutenant Adrian Marks,
his crew was standing by,

so he and his crew
jumped in the PBY

and flew in
and he saw sharks,

so he made an open-sea landing.

And he bounced
a couple of times,

popped holes in the plane,

and they plugged them up
and started taxiing around

and started picking up survivors
just one at a time.

We were on Peleliu, flight D.

As a flight leader,
I was able to dispatch

all three of our airplanes.

Lieutenant Richard C. Alcorn
went to the northwest,

my aircraft went west,

and Lieutenant Willy Emonds
went to the southwest.

Lieutenant Alcorn found them.

He landed, and the survivors
had been in the water

withoutrafts.

He threw them rafts
full of water and canned food,

or rations, rather.

Some of them ended up
in rubber rafts, floundering,

and I swam out and grabbed it
and swam to our airplane.

The surface craft reached them
a little bit just before dark.

I was
picked up probably about 8:00

from the PBY,

and that'’s when they sent
a boat overto pick us up

from the U.S.S. Cecil Doyle.

We didn'’t know anything

about the atomic bomb.

It was a well-kept secret.

We didn'’t even know
what the mission was,

but they called a mission.

and we took off,
5:00 in the morning,

and we had number one station,

which is right off
the coast of Japan.

It was a beautiful day.

It was clear blue sky,
maybe a cloud here and there

once in a while.

Smooth sailing,
and we was going along there,

and all of a sudden, George,

radio operator
that sat across from me,

he looked out the window
and he see this cloud coming up

And he said,
"What the hell was that?"

And I stood up
and looked out the top hatch,

and you could see this flower
getting bigger and bigger

and bigger.

We didn'’t see the flash

'’cause I don'’t think
we were that close.

I do recall we felt the shock
of it blowing out.

It just come over the radio

a short time later

that it was what they called
the atomic bomb.

It was horrendous.

We didn'’t know at the time

how many thousands of people
it had killed, but...

it was just something
I was not very proud of.

On August 15th,

at about 10:00
in the morning,

we got the notice that
the Japanese had surrendered.

I have received this afternoon

a message from
the Japanese government

in reply to the message
forwarded to that government

by the Secretary of State
on August 11th.

I deem this reply
a full acceptance

of the Potsdam Declaration,

which specifies
the unconditional surrender

of Japan.

He got to about
maybe 50 yards.

I could see the pilot as clearly
as I'’m looking at you.

I thought sure that
this was the end of my life.

Just at that point,

one of the shells
from the destroyer

must have hit the bomb this kamikaze was flying with,

it just blew up
in a huge ball of flame.

I didn'’t even see the wreckage.

That was my most
frightening experience.

More so than
landing in Tokyo Bay.

I was up at Japan

when Admiral Halsey
came on and said

for all pilots
to return to base,

that the war was over

and the Japanese
had surrendered.

And then,
one of the worst six hours

of my life of flying.

My father had taken me
to see the movie

All Quiet on the Western Front,

where the guy gets plugged
the last day of the war.

And I thought, oh shit,

this is going to happen,

we'’re going to get lost,

something bad
is gonna happen.

And that'’s the way I thought
all the way back to Iwo.

Near the end of the war,

we lost one aircraft
with seven guys.

Shot down.

It hit us pretty bad.

Particularly when just hours
away from the end of the war.

The last plane shot down
in World War II was a PBY,

4th Emergency Rescue Squadron
in Tokyo Bay.

We got a mission
to fly a courier

to the battleship Missouri.

The courier was carrying
the surrender documents.

I was co-pilot on that flight.

Charles Oates was the pilot.

The courier and I
decided to play cribbage

on the way.

I could see the outline
of the document binders

in his mailbag.

The courier wouldn'’t let go of that bag the entire flight,

obviously for good reason.

We are gathered here,

representatives
of the major warring powers,

to conclude a solemn agreement

whereby peace may be restored.

The issues involving divergent
ideals and ideologies

have been determined on
the battlefields of the world.

I announce it my firm purpose,

in the tradition
of the countries I represent,

to proceed in the discharge
of my responsibilities,

with justice and tolerance,

while taking
all necessary dispositions

to ensure
that the terms of surrender

are fully, promptly,
and faithfully complied with.

We didn'’t dream

of anybody getting killed.

We were friends.

When you lose a friend,

you lose a part of yourself.

We had built a theater on Saipan

where we could
watch movies at night

and named it the Stratton Memorial Theater,

which proved what
the gentlemen of the squadron

felt about Royal.

Unfortunately, he lost his life

But it'’s because of that
that I'’m here today,

my family is here,

several generations
of family are here

because of the efforts
of Stratton and his crew.

So, words escape me

as to the gratitude I have
for the gentleman.

Understanding that dynamic
of the young soldier,

the hero is born
just from circumstance.

He'’s pushed into a circumstance.

It'’s the decision
he makes at that moment

that makes him the hero.

And some of them don'’t survive
those decisions.

I'’m here.

I was born in '’52.

I was born way after this event,

so I'’m lucky to be here,

and I'’m lucky
that the legacy goes on

and that these things are
documented and we remember.

You know, when somebody is
taken away from you so young,

that'’s the way you remember them
forever.

You don'’t see '’em
getting old and cranky

and losing their hair.

You know, he was always 22
in her mind.

It'’s hard to imagine
the reverberations of,

of somebody, you know,

a very beloved family member,
a community member,

a friend
that is not here anymore.

My son was killed in Iraq
in April of 2004.

The Cindy Sheehan
that existed on April 3rd

didn'’t exist on April 4th.

It was a totally
different person.

We got the knock on the door,

and the Army came to tell us
that Casey was killed.

I fell on the floor screaming
for I don'’t know how long,

until my head hurt,
until my heart hurt,

and when I got up,
I was a different person.

How could I not be?

I'’m sorry.

One of my
limbs was amputated.

What is hard
is to see how my mom reacted.

She never got over
the death of my dad, ever.

You'’d mention his name
and she'’d start crying,

so it was something

that I never really
wanted to get to,

because it just tore her up
too much.

She loved him
till the day she died.

I like
that old saying thatsays

a person never dies
until the last person

that remembers that person dies.

So I don'’t think
Casey'’s ever gonna die.

His story and our story
is written up in history books

and has made that--

that Casey is actually immortal.

It'’s Congress'’s responsibility

and our honor
to call attention to those

who have given meritorious
service to our country.

And certainly, the Congress
recognize the importance

of those who have served
in World War II.

We'’ve honored them
with a special memorial,

and we know
that those who served

are in some ways,

many of them
are starting to answer

their last call of duty,

and we want to take
every opportunity

to be able to come forward

for those individuals
who have served

and pay them
special recognition.

We rise in honor
of World War II rescue pilot

1st Lieutenant Royal Stratton,

who died May 29th, 1945,

after being mortally wounded while saving nine crew members

from a downed B-29.

Royal hailed from
Ellwood City, Pennsylvania.

His love of flying
led to his enlistment

in the Army Air Corps,

where he excelled to become
one of the few pilots

to wear both
Army and Navy wings.

Royal joined the
4th Emergency Rescue Squadron.

With his crew of six,

he'’d fly off Iwo Jima
and police flight paths

searching for B-29 bombers
in jeopardy.

Generations have passed

since the members of the
4th Emergency Rescue Squadron

set foot on these shores.

It doesn'’t seem that long ago
that they started out

on their journey

and faced
an entire world at war.

This remote island of Iwo Jima is the last place on earth

a pilot from Pennsylvania, and many others, would set foot

and it'’s this hallowed ground

I'’ve chosen as the last stop
on my journey as well.

Here, atop Mount Suribachi,

I'’m alone with the memory
of those brave individuals

who forever set aside everything they could have been

in the name of freedom,

and they changed the world.

Many of us didn'’t know
my great uncle, just a name:

Royal A. Stratton.

He was one among millions.

But he was ours.

I think back fondly about all the roads I'’ve taken

on this long journey
reaching back through time.

But in all my travels,
I'’ve found none so cherished

as the road that leads us home.

Floats up.

We'’re going home.

look back to you

we see the light

dispels the night

in truth and love

we are one family

we are one tribe united

my greatest joy

we are one family

It'’s been
a good life that we'’ve had.

We'’ve had positive experiences,

we'’ve had a positive attitude.

What legacy
do we want to leave behind,

you know?

We want to leave a legacy
of peace and harmony

all over the world.

I just wanted to do my part.

I tried my best to do
everything they asked of me,

and, uh, I got through.

We were out there to save lives

rather than to take lives.

Feels great knowing that we were

part of a group
trying to rescue survivors.

You can'’t imagine the feeling
that you have inside,

that you and these men
saved those lives.

Everyone took pride in what they did

and it'’s a real happy feeling.

I'’ve had a terrific life.

I wouldn'’t trade anybody
for mine.

Well, you don'’t salute without your hat.