FP-28RPEO.DOC
Apra Harbor
with Orote Peninsula on left and man made causeway, out of sight, on right
at left is
view looking north from Mt Tenjo
lower is
extension of the upper
Mid
Guam: Harmon Field -- 20th AF
Headquarters Harbor to right
Tumon Bay, photo taken with original
box camera 20th AF
Headquarters
Bernard & Hank came by to say there was a good beach near by called Tumon Bay, so we went there for a swim. Good was a misnomer, it was a fantastic beach with clear sand and warm water – it was absolutely ideal except for one thing. Under the water, laying on the sand, were round long soft sea creatures – stepping on them with bare feet gave you an uncomfortable feeling, as if you had just squashed a turd!
Later we learned that during our
swims we had been awarded two combat ribbons!! Those at headquarters received
ribbons whenever any sub tier wing or group is issued one. Whenever I see an abundantly decorated
soldier I wonder how he “earned” his.
At chow one of the permanent party
said a new invasion must be in the making.
I asked how he knew, he said it’s the type of food they serve, we are
now on rations similar to those before the Iwo Jima invasion. Not long after
the invasion of Okinawa took place.
Bernard, Hank and I a
month later at my quarters 19th BG
Bernard, Hank and I became acquainted
with the officer in charge of the Missions Room and he gave us a tour. He was our age and wanted to tell of his
handy work. I was reminded of movies depicting the Battle for Britain war
room. Large table maps were maintained
while those in charge of a mission could look down on the dynamics of what was
taking place. Persons in radio and phone
contact plotted the movement of planes and ships. There was a map of the Marianas with movable
streamers and markers to show flights of aircraft between the bases and
Japan. The progress of a mission could
be plotted and followed. On the walls,
from floor to ceiling, were large photos of target areas. The photos had been converted to maps showing
bomb damaged areas and percentages destroyed for major Japanese cities. Our guide showed us they were running out of
good industrial targets. I couldn’t tell
if they were still using the place as a missions command center, it certainly
was being maintained for target planning purposes. I was impressed with the detail and quality
of the setup, this was for use, not show.
It was reported that LeMay advised an
A-bomb was not needed to destroy Japanese targets – he made a trip to Washington
and I’m sure presented detail photo evidence revealing the condition of about
possible targets.
By April 1945 B-29 operations against Japan had becoming a well organized, efficient and routine. The Navy hauled in the heavy stuff like bombs, fuel, parts, people and supplies to Guam and B-29s hauled the bombs to Japan, dumping their loads and returning empty. The process become an assembly line for carrying war to the enemy. Such an operation had never existed in the history of warfare. It had taken time to design and build a long range bomber and to acquire launch bases beyond range of enemy attack. The Japanese had not imagined this as a possibility – they had became excessively confident by fighting those unprepared and without the means of instant recovery. The Pacific ocean provided the Japanese an enormous protective moat – the same barrier US isolationists depended on. The moat was breached by the B-29s, and the Japanese became powerless to stop it. The time honored ground warfare defense of forming a circle where, combatants fought only at the perimeter, did not apply to WW II warfare The Japanese fought fanatically but could not stop the growing numbers of B-29s destroying their cities from above – or fend off mining of their coastal waters. They could no longer supply their troops or bring critical supplies to the home land. From mid 1944 on the Japanese had to know the war was lost, but their military controlled society did not have a stop button. Their culture was pre conditioned to fight to the death – by their own hand if they did not prevail over the enemy. The population expected to be enslaved or killed. They fanatically fought on with resignation and Kamikaze suicide attacks – intent on fighting to the bitter end.
Guam was a Territory of the US, before it was over run by Japan in the first days of WW II, the Natives were US citizens. Guam’s excellent Apra Harbor facilities, previously home to the US Navy, were immediately put to use and improved when retaken.
All but the
top photo were taken at the end of WW II using the first cameras available at
the Post Exchange.
Near by Agana was the island capital
& a Navy airbase enlarged was on Orote Point overlooking Apra Harbor. That Nimitz Headquarters was on the hills
above the beach to the south of Orote peninsula. The south end of Guam was off limits to the
military, it was reserved for the natives.
An excellent hiway extended from the harbor north to the B-29
airfields. On the hill, inland from
Tumon Bay and across the road from 20th AF Hdqs was Harmon Field.
It’s far side was used by the ATC (Air Transport Command) and the near side was
a B-29 Experimental Flight Test Base.
Further inland from Harmon Field was a second Navy/Marine airbase.
By default the Navy took over Agat
Bay “Nimitz Beach”, the Air Force Tumon Bay and the Marines Pago Bay. “Nimitz
Beach” was inside "Navy Country" however no one was excluded from any
beach of their choice to my knowledge – in reality there was no time for beach
parties.
Awesome sight
glistening in the sun: 29th
Group “O”s near 19th Group “M”s far
I was told to report to the 20th
AF Headquarters Engineering Officer. I
entered and formally introduced myself.
I could see him pause at his first glance, then with a smile put me at
ease saying your much younger than I anticipated (age 21). He was stating the obvious most engineering
officers were older revealing experience.
He explained he was looking for an experienced assistant engineering
officer for assignment at headquarters.
I smiled and acknowledged I understood.
He was very much a gentleman and asked of my background. He found it of interest that I’d been an
enlisted man crew chief on P-40's, commenting that he knew them well. I said my experience had been with fighters
with some experience with bombers -- that I’d never seen a B-29, and looked
forward to knowing about them. He
grinned saying we can sure take care of that, we’ll send you up to North Field,
that’s were the action is – there you’ll have plenty of opportunity to learn
about B-29’s. We chatted briefly, he
caused me to feel at ease, as if we were fellow mechanics – I could tell he
knew his business. He added a note to my
papers and reached forward to shake hands saying there will a Jeep to pick you
up in the morning. I liked the guy. I’ve wished I’d remembered his name, it’s
quite possible he’d been part of the Far Pacific 19th BG in
1941-1942, many high ranking persons in the 20th had been. (Neither of us would have dreamed that in a
few months I’d be back in response to a 20th AF headquarters call
for the most experienced maintenance personnel to work on a special B-29 being
prepared for a record breaking flight.
The call had been placed to the 19th BG 28th Sqd
on North Field, with the best maintenance record. As the new 28th
Sqd EO I took and responded to the call.)
The next morning the jeep driver
pulled up and called for me by name, he had a copy of my orders to go to Hdqs
314th Wing, North Field.
I was the only passenger as we
traveled north on the highway past military bases, military cemeteries, areas
of heavy grass and long stretches of dense trees. We had traversed a tree lined
road for several miles then came up over a rise. Suddenly, from a cleared area I could see a
sea of large airplanes, their shiny curved surfaces glittered in the bright
morning sun. The driver stopped the
jeep, letting me take in the scene. They
looked like huge insects preparing to swarm
into the skies. A closer look revealed an expanse of purposeful activity. The
clearing contained a huge number of B-29's.
I wish I had a photo of that scene, there would have been about 180
B-29s in that view. The driver said, each of those can carry 10 tons of bombs
to Japan, a B-17 could only carry 2 tons, part way. The driver continued, “I
always pause here – I never ceased to marvel at the sight – it’s like out of
another world.” Little did we know then that in a few years these magnificent
creations would be melted to scrap – few survived this thoughtless near
complete destruction.
North
Field was much like this plan but accommodated more airplanes than shown at the
lower right.
314th
Wing Hdqs North Field Guam; Gen Powers CO, “Shorty” Wheless (19th BG
Clark Field) Dept CO
28th
Sqd Engineering, Keough’s office above left. Keough 28th Sqd EO..
Uhrich Sqd CO, Chandler lead pilot.
28th
Sqd 200 man Engineering Section Aug 1945,
at bottom Landau, Keough, Uhrich enlarged.
The driver stopped briefly at 314th
Wing Headquarters to find out where to take me next. A huge tree in front of Headquarters had been
spared by the bull-dozers when the construction engineers cleared the area for
the Quonset hut. The trunk seemed to have been lifted high into the air by a
maze of stilt like roots. I was to find this was typical. The six inches of
dirt covered about a foot of crumbled coral. Below that the coral, although
porous, was as hard as granite. The roots grew and tried to go down and
couldn't, as the roots grew they elevate the trees. The driver returned from the 314th
wing hdqs building saying I’m to take you to the 19th BG
Engineering.
We were soon going down the main taxi
strip – an awesome feeling riding down an avenue of B-29s, the first had large
“O” on the tail, then they were B-29s with a large “M” on the tail. I took note of the four large engines and
huge 4 blade propellers – I’d never seen any this large before.
It was a long drive then abruptly he
pulled left to a row of Quonset huts bordering a large blacktop apron. He said this is 19th Bomb Group Engineering,
I’ll introduce you to the Engineering Officer who will decide where I take you
next.
The Group Engineering Officer
welcomed me to the group and introduced me to engineering officers who happened
to be there. Speaking to me, and the
jeep driver, he said I’m assigning you to the 28th Sqd, as they were
operating short handed. I would know and
work with those I’d just met, but little of this registered at the time -- I
was still en-route to some where.
I frequently talked with Maj Uhrich
on the phone but never knew him well. Vern Chandler would become Chairman of
the 19th BG Association and very good friend, one of the first
persons I recognized when I made remade contact with the 19th BG in
’92 at the 20th AF reunion at Boeing in Seattle.
We got in the jeep and proceeded on
down the main taxi strip, then abruptly he pulled off the taxi strip and came
to a halt at a tent which sported a sign that read “28th Squadron Engineering”.
(above) Compared to facilities I’d seen,
this was a real come down. I knew this
is where the action was. The moment I
stepped out of the jeep he said, this is it, good luck and took off. I waved, turned and walked up the steps and
into the tent -- not knowing what to expect.
Still smiling Keough asked where did
you get your training on B-29's. I
answered, Capt, I've never seen one until a half hour ago when I came over the
hill onto the base, all I know is the obvious, they have four engines with four
blade props. His face revealed disbelief and frustration and disappointment – he was
trying to be decent to me, it was not my fault – but he was really ticked with
the system He needed help, someone
to relieve some of the burden. Instead they sent him a young kid who’d never
even seen a B-29 before! He didn’t have
to speak, I could read his thoughts. I
knew he’d like to trade me in for another – but the jeep had already left.
M10 to the right of the
Engineering Tent, Voss crew chief
We exchanged a few questions to break
the ice. I told him I'd been an enlisted
man and crew chief before going into Cadets – I could tell this registered as a
definite plus. He seemed to be pondering
what to say or have me do, he was still frustrated – how could they send someone
with zero B-29 experience! Aware he was
at a loss on what to do with me, I said, Captain, I'm not going to be much help
to you until I learn the airplane and your operations. The only way I know how
to do that is to go to work as one of the ground crew for a while. I could see the suggestion appealed to him –
he took a squinting look, as if to say perhaps this guy’s not a total
loss. He got up from his desk and said, "come
on". I found Keough was a skilled
mechanic, and expected an Engineering Officer to be ready, willing and able to
do any task necessary and do it well – some didn't meet his personal
standards. My suggestion hit a positive
cord. Keough was mentally and physically active and his pace rubbed off on
others.
When I arrived engines were placed on
sand bags to hold them upright while connecting parts were moved from old to
new engine. The engine was mounted on the
airplane and then the ring coweling assy applied. This required a human pyramid in order to
align the 9 flex exhaust stacks (right H)to the
coweling ports (left F ). Inside the coweling (left H) is an
exhaust collector similar to the one in back (right F). The back collector ring carries hot exhaust
to the left supercharger and the forward collector ring supplies the right supercharger. The exhaust collector rings are fixed to the
airplane, while the engine is on torque absorbing rubber mounts and rotates
within limits as it delivers power to the prop – the ball joints on the exhaust
stacks accommodates the engine movement.
After the war ended we had access to
engine mounts and could build the full assy on the ground. Engineering officers, frozen in place by
MacArthur orders, were changing engines after the ground crews had shipped
home. We did not have enough hands to do
it the old way.
Keough had about 200 men maintaining
some 15 B-29s, all were technically trained and most had years of experience –
they were top notch. They were
struggling to keep up with demands for maximum effort missions. The Air Inspector was also after him for
being behind with modification kits and other important but non-essential tasks
– he was busy & tired.
He took me to near by M-10,
introduced me to the crew chief Voss and left. I felt my stay was subject to
approval. Voss introduced me to his crew
and I asked how I could help. They were
changing #2 engine so I went right to work taking parts from the old that were
to be transferred to the new. Keough
stopped to pick me up for noon chow, taking me by the flight line wash basin so
I could clean my then very dirty hands.
His attitude was pleasant and he made an effort to be courteous.
When we returned I went right to
work, looking everything over and asking lots of questions. By late afternoon we had the new engine
hoisted and mounted. I was surprised to
find they were still using home made wood maintenance stands and sand bags from
an old ack ack battery for props to hold the old and new engine upright for
while moving attachment parts from old to new.
This was “field maintenance” – support equipment standard in the states
was not available.
Some 500
people would be engaged in activity here at Maximum Effort time Subsequent photos depict what was there.
Keough picked me up for evening chow
and let me off at M10 when we returned.
Since they didn’t have engine stands, they had to mount the engine on
the airplane first then hoist and install the cowling assy (engine cover). This was doing it the hard way because there
were no tall maintenance stands. It was
necessary to make a human pyramid so persons could reach up and align 9 pilot
joint exhaust stacks to the collector ring inside the engine cowling. Nine hands had to reach very high -- we were
in two three man stacks -- I was bottom man on the left side. I found myself looking at the pair of greasy
shoes rocking on my still ironed suntan shirt – as the fellows shifted position
to do the job. I said to myself, it
looks like you have arrived. After that
first long day I felt as if I’d been there for a week. Working that way, you get to know things and
people fast.
About 11:00 pm, shortly after the
ring cowel was in place, Keough pulled up in his jeep and said common, I’ll
take you to your quarters. Keough had
another team continue the work through the night so M-10 would be ready for it’s
engine test flight the next morning.
M-10 had the best radar in the group and was being flown solo on a Radar
Scope Photo Missions – the targets were defined by 20th AF
hdqs. M-10 had probably taken some of
the photos displayed in the operations room I’d seen.
Keough stopped at a long prefab
building and said go in the end door, your cot is first one on the left – your
stuffs already there – here’s a flashlight as the other fellows are already
asleep. I didn’t know it then but I was occupying the same location and cot
used by the fellow I replaced. Crew
chief Voss told me Keough’s prior assistant had been killed in a test hop. It was dark except for a few area lights so I
could readily see my way to the door.
Keough pointed at the mess hall, where we’d been before saying,
breakfast at about 7:00 am, I’ll pick you up there.
I removed my barracks bags from the
canvas covered cot, got undressed and was soon sound asleep – it had been a
long first day.
The next morning Keough gave me a quick
tour of the area and I met most of the crew chiefs. There were and average of
15 planes and some 200 men assigned to him.
The original planes spanned from M-1 to M-20, but not all were replace,
and some were on special duty flying as Mother Hen Navigators for P-51s out of
Iwo. There is no surviving record of
what planes were parked where, but the above is a close estimate.
28th Sqd Ground Crews
1945
This table is incomplete – please help if you have any information
|
Loc |
Rank |
Name |
SSN |
MOS |
Duty |
Remarks |
|
FL |
Capt |
Charles R. Keough |
0578167 |
4823 |
Eng Officer |
|
|
FL |
4823 |
Asst EO |
Killed in test hop |
|||
|
FL |
2nd Lt |
Darrell W. Landau |
0878039 |
4823 |
Asst EO |
|
|
SC |
1st Lt |
Wilber E.Koltz |
0432430 |
4823 |
Supply EO |
|
|
FL |
M/Sgt |
Wilber O Hunt |
5297842 |
750 |
Line Chief |
|
|
FL |
M/Sgt |
John Supko |
13027153 |
750 |
LC |
|
|
FL |
M/Sgt |
Joseph E McDade |
6999104 |
750 |
CC |
flew over with Auer |
|
FL |
M/Sgt |
Conrad Marvell |
6258427 |
Inspector |
In 19th BG since 41 |
|
|
FL |
T/Sgt |
John M Plavecski |
6946451 |
750 |
Insp |
|
|
FL |
Richard H. Bixby |
31191934 |
684 |
Blow by Crew |
flew over with _____ |
|
|
FL |
Cpl |
Leo F Scott |
32770578 |
685 |
Elec |
Electrical Specialist |
|
??? |
S/Sgt |
Willard C Horvater |
34264849 |
|||
|
??? |
S/Sgt |
Navey W Carpenter |
14030632 |
555 |
||
|
M-1 |
T/Sgt |
Harold J. Engel |
17024133 |
750 |
Crew Chief |
|
|
Sgt |
James L. Smith |
16100958 |
747 |
AM |
||
|
Sgt |
Kenneth M Allerton |
33488238 |
502 |
|||
|
S/Sgt |
Hugh B Simmons |
35379792 |
747 |
AM |
||
|
M-2 |
M/Sgt |
Daniel Sidelko |
6998072 |
750 |
CC |
|
|
S/Sgt |
James J Natale |
32491663 |
685 |
|||
|
Cpl |
W G Albrecht |
32708063 |
||||
|
H L Cutter |
12162934 |
|||||
|
____ McKinnes |
36743958 |
|||||
|
____ Mslanoski |
????????? |
|||||
|
M-3 |
T/Sgt |
Loyd E Reed |
39089642 |
750 |
CC |
|
|
S/Sgt |
Samuel J Mazzarell |
32569422 |
687 |
|||
|
Tom J Whorton |
673 |
????????? |
||||
|
Tomas U. Green |
750 |
CC |
????????? |
|||
|
M-4 |
T/Sgt |
Herbert K Newton |
35132472 |
750 |
CC |
|
|
S/Sgt |
John H. Simonson |
16045081 |
685 |
|||
|
M/Sgt |
Delmon E. Smith |
750 |
CC |
?????? |
||
|
M-5 |
S/Sgt |
Carrol D Morgan |
17059077 |
684 |
CC |
|
|
Sgt |
Alfred R Hupp |
17064495 |
684 |
|||
|
M-6 |
T/Sgt |
Carroll R Johnson |
11038821 |
750 |
CC |
|
|
Cpl |
Vincent Hollister |
33025138 |
686 |
|||
|
Cpl |
Charles W Adams |
15332239 |
M-6 Armorer |
later M/Sgt |
||
|
M-7 |
T/Sgt |
Kenneth Pool |
39090507 |
750 |
CC |
|
|
S/Sgt |
Finan E Dickey |
1405264 |
747 |
|||
|
John E Mazzochi |
861 |
??????? |
||||
|
Michael J. Potocny |
750 |
Crew Chief |
??????? |
|||
|
M-8 |
S/Sgt |
William J Driscoll |
31324388 |
750 |
CC |
|
|
M-9 |
S/Sgt |
Chester E Williams |
18064065 |
750 |
Crew Chief |
|
|
M-10 |
M/Sgt |
Erwin H Voss |
6286771 |
750 |
CC |
|
|
S/Sgt |
Alden J Campbell |
17127508 |
747 |
AM |
||
|
Sgt |
Daniel F Kelly |
33022448 |
685 |
|||
|
M-11 |
M/Sgt |
James McCall |
14020737 |
750 |
CC |
|
|
Sgt |
Evans A Thomson |
39285949 |
747 |
|||
|
Sgt |
M G Stewart |
6375879 |
747 |
|||
|
Andress A Agee |
3364871 |
747 |
||||
|
M-12 |
T/Sgt |
Randolph Corbitt |
14034712 |
750 |
CC |
|
|
M-13 |
T/Sgt |
Richard A Barter |
11016807 |
750 |
CC |
|
|
Cpl |
Lloyd W Stroud Jr |
34888728 |
747 |
post war M-13 CC |
||
|
M-14 |
S/Sgt |
George A Barnhart |
20841302 |
684 |
||
|
M-15 |
S/Sgt |
James Parks |
33284825 |
750 |
CC |
sn ?? |
|
M-16 |
Cpl |
T J Grizziffie |
16038409 |
CC |
||
|
M-17 |
unknown |
|||||
|
M-18 |
no known record of use |
|||||
|
M-19 |
unknown |
|||||
|
M-20 |
S/Sgt |
Billy J Bates |
15338276 |
750 |
CC |
From the first day of my arrival, the
ground crew and I hit it off, in part because I had previously been an enlisted
man, a mechanic like them, and because I was there with them getting my
knuckles skinned and clothes as oil soaked as theirs; word gets around fast.
During this process I kept my mind on my immediate task, to learn the B-29,
constantly asking questions as we worked -- they were always helpful. I was soon moving from crew to crew to know
them and broaden what I could learn.
After two weeks of averaging 14 hours a day on the flight line I felt as
if I'd been there a year. Keough began
turning more of his work over to me and I'd join him at Take Off Time. This was the culmination of intense efforts
and it was during these periods that I learned the most from him, the best there
was, in action under stress.
The squadron facilities consisted of
some tents with wood floors and partial walls.
Over the next few days I learned from the ground crews that “the
Captain” was tough and demanding. Some of the enlisted men and officers felt he
was too much so. I quickly acquired a respect for his ability and methods, I
could see the hard outside and came to know the softer inside. Inwardly he was
often up tight, he would sometimes vomit his breakfast on the way to the flight
line, then later try to catch a snack, he didn't want the men to know so I kept
his secret. He was impatient with anyone he felt was not doing his best, but
had high regard and praise for those he believed were conscientiously giving it
their all. I was to find his 28th
squadron had the best maintenance record in the 20th AF.
28th
Squadron Engineering Area – looking toward the south runway M10 on left and M9
+ M12 on right
28th
sqd engineering M11 & M13 across the
way
Supply Sgt
gave hair cuts Weights
and Balance wind break behind B-29
windmill
laundry for fatigues was abandon for a pneumatically driven horizontal barrel with
solvent, out of sight at right. Note how
the jungle comes up to the edge of the field.
A composite
of prior photos
Engineering
Officers Commanded Flight Line
After observing flight line behavior
it became obvious who was top dog on the flight line. Engineering had the last word on if a plane
could be flown or not – and the ones who caught hell if something went wrong. In a sense 28th Squadron Engineering was Captain
Keough. He set the standards, demanded the discipline and earned the
admiration & support from those above and below. He was tough, hard &
fair; also a person of foresight & sentiment. His jeep was marked
"28th Squadron Engineering Officer", a title that carried
considerable weight up and down the Flight Line. Operations and Flight Crews
sought his help and lent their assistance. They had confidence in him and those
who worked for him, it was they who made the planes safe to fly. Once I earned
his respect, we became good friends, I could not have asked for a better person
to work for and with. When Keogh moved up and left me in charge I felt the
responsibilities he had been carrying. I
could understand his up chucking on the way to work. It was like the buck stops here.
Photos taken
after the war of jungle and cliff beyond the end of North Field runway
The 28th Sqd site was the North
East corner of this huge airfield. Black top covered coral taxi strips and hard
stands surrounded by piles of bull-dozed trees shoved out of the way – behind
us was the jungle. Missing fatigues, that had been washed and laid out on the
coral to dry, were reminders that Japanese holed up in caves could come up to
the edge and not be seen. When the planes were gone the hardstand areas were
conspicuously vacant. When planes began
to land the place became a bee hive of activity. Some 600 people could be in this area at a
given time, 200 of Keough’s people, an
equal number of others such as ordnance, armament, refueling, radio-radar –
plus flight crews. All were busy tending
to their tasks.
Prior to and during the initial phase
of WW II all ground crew personnel were also rated as flight crew. This
practice was quickly changed in order to meet the enormous demands for
personnel able to repair and service aircraft. Dual ratings were a luxury of
peace time, specially trained maintenance person could do nothing during and
after spending the long hours required to get to and from targets.
The taxi strips were busy with Bomb
Trucks, Fuel Trucks, replacement parts, people going to and from Service Center
or the mess hall. Take off time became
the most intense, especially at the time of Maximum Effort Missions, all were
working against the clock.
Take Off time was an intense period
because of the unexpected, when things can go wrong the often did. Aircraft and crews had their
idiosyncrasy. Most problems were handled
with dispatch, as comes with experience.
Keough demanded preventative maintenance to minimize the unexpected.
On rare occasions there were problems
with a new and super sensitive crew, words would be exchanged. Not all
equipment could be caused to work in the allotted time. For example Navigators
had some 7 means to navigate, sometimes only 5 of these were operational.
Resolution of these exchanges was usually very simple, an aircraft was not to
be flown until the Engineering Officer signed off that it was OK. This status
was reported to Operations who made the decision to use it for a mission or
not. The Flight Crews signed off that they were aware of any deficiencies. If
Operations scheduled a plane to fly and a crew to fly it, then it flew with
them at the controls just as an infantry man responds to a direct command.
Maintenance personnel were held
accountable for performing maintenance as prescribed by Tech Orders and
application of sound judgment. Many had stripes removed for unintended foul
ups, peoples lives were on the line and everyone was doing their very best.
