YE7N-J-A

Ed is shown as an Aviation Cadet in 7th BG hdq sqd on Bleasdales crew in the States in ‘41, it’s unknown what crew he was with on Java. DL ‘95.

[03-01-42 Djogjakarta, Java] The die was cast; Java was lost The Celebes, Sumatra, Bali.. all in Japanese hands, and the steel ring already tightening. On Java itself, Soerabaja and Singasari in the northeast and Batavia in the northwest were gone and our B-17s and LB-30s were pounding the invasion fleet and enemy beachheads on the north coast near Rembang; but the overwhelming numbers of the enemy and our lack of adequate re-enforcements foretold our only course....evacuation.

The Dutch land forces, inadequately equipped and hopelessly outnumbered, fought fiercely against the invaders but were pushed back relentlessly until we had only two remaining airfields on the entire island; at Malang and Djogjakarta. The wounded, sick and ground maintenance crews had been rushed during the past week by all available types of transportation to the south coast port of Tleptajap where the vessels slipped out under the cover of darkness for Australia, 1500 dangerous miles away.

The Japs had been bombing and strafing a day or so before at Djogjakarta, had been every day at Malang and had destroyed a few of our planes on the ground but nevertheless we maintained a continuous attack on the Japanese forces which were moving closer always closer. On the night of March 1, 1942 several of our aircraft loaded almost beyond capacity with officers and men of the Air Corps, roared off toward Australia, taking the men to new bases where they could re-organize to strike at the Japs again. The morning of the second found us at the field at dawn, apprehensive, wondering how close they were by now, hating to leave yet realizing the folly of staying; for we had no ground troops or defense of any kind. At about 10:00, the Nips came over again, bombs raining down on the hangars and runways, but miraculously missing our three remaining LB-30s. In the early afternoon, five B-17s came in from Malang and Madieen, which the Japs were taking over. There were about 260 officers and men of the Air Corps remaining and by taking thirty-one in each fortress and thirty-five in each LB-30, we could all be evacuated by air.

Another force of Japs was now filing down the beautiful valleys nestling between ten thousand foot peaks approaching Djogjakarta, our last remaining base in Java and by evening were entering Soerakarta, only sixty miles away by good modern road. Two other LB-30s, damaged in an earlier raid too seriously to risk their use, were taxied off to a corner of the field and set afire to prevent their falling into enemy hands. Before we were ready to leave, Dutch officials wished to blow up the airfield which was thoroughly mined but ardent persuasion on the part of our commanding officers prevented this action until after we had gone. After about 23:00, our planes started taking off, one by one until there were just two left... ours and another LB-30. At about 23:45, our LB with it's 35 men and hastily gathered personal effects, left the ground and swung on course toward Broome, Australia; the inky blackness blotting out our last view of Djogjakarta, Java. The one remaining LB took off a few minutes after we did and at that time the Japanese army was approximately 18 miles from the airdrome.

[03-02-42 Broome Aus] We landed at Broome at about 06:30 the next morning and found a scene of great activity and excitement, with planes arriving and leaving, taking evacuees to the cities in the south of Australia; the harbor containing a dozen or so flying boats, the field thick with B-17s, LB-30s and Lockheed Hudsons. We were then informed that we were to perform another flight back to Java that evening to rescue some pursuit pilots reported left behind so we did not leave on the south bound planes as did most of the personnel that day. That evening the flight was canceled, however so we looked forward to leaving the next morning.

At 11:00 next day, as we were awaiting the pilot at the plane, with what baggage we had grabbed in haste, we heard a low hum in the distance but being safe in Australia (we thought) there was nothing to worry about. It could be the engines of the B-24s that had just taken off, we figured, but as we searched the direction that the sound came from we saw them... twelve tiny specks wheeling over toward the harbor and field. The realization that they were zeros hit us like a sledge hammer blow and we were running at the same instant. We whirled around and grabbing our baggage carried it clear of the plane and then continued running and at the same time hunting something to get into or under. We finally hid in the shelter of some low scrub brush and waited. Soon they were everywhere, turning, diving rolling over the field and harbor. The only resistance to the Japs was one .30 Cal. gun near the hanger, which accounted for one zero. Another, spotting our ship at the end of the runway, streaked down to about 50 feet and right in line with where we were lying in the bush. His guns flashed just long enough to fire the ship, which soon was a mass of flames. The Jap's economy here was certainly appreciated by us, for at the low angle of fire his bullets would surely have hit the area we were lying in had he fired any longer. Smoke from the flying boats and the ships on the field rose hundreds of feet in the air and a near by Hudson blew up with a blinding flash, one motor hurtling through the air to land fifty feet away. Unfortunately, three zeros had caught the B-24 which had taken off just before the attack and 20 men of the Air Corps went to their doom, only one man surviving.