THE 31ST BOMB SQUADRON 1917-1945
By Joanne Emerick
31st Historian
1917-1940
The 31st Aero Squadron was organized June 26th, 1917, at Kelly Field, Texas. It was under the command of 1st Lt. John E. Rossil. The Squadron’s personnel came from the First Company, “B” Provisional Battalion, Signal Corps.
On July 13th, 1917, Capt. Carl [Tooey] Spaatz took command of the Squadron, which was ordered to Europe to participate in World War I. The 31st departed Kelly Field August 11th, 1917, and arrived in Liverpool, England September 15th. September through December found the 31st in France under the command of Lt. Edward Buford, Jr. The 31st was one of the first eight squadrons to land in France.
The 31st moved to Field 5 on January 18th, 1918. They were assigned the maintenance of aircraft. Here they built barracks and hangars and reached 100 percent efficiency, a record they would maintain throughout the entire war.
The 31st Squadron did not participate in combat, but two members, Capt. Spaatz and Lt. Mumford, both received the Distinguished Service Cross for missions against the Germans.
The 31st departed France for the United States on April 4th, 1919. The squadron was deactivated at Mitchell Field on April 14.
In April, 1923, the 31st Aero Squadron was reconstituted on the inactive list of the US Army as the 31st Bombardment Squadron. The Squadron was activated at March Field, California in April, 1931. Capt. Earl C. Harper took command of the 132 men. The Squadron was given Martin B-10 bombers and intensive training. In December, 1934, the Squadron moved to Hamilton Field, California. It was the only bombardment squadron on the West Coast in 1935-36. At this time, the Squadron was part of the 7th Bombardment Group under the command of Col. Clarence L. Tinker.
On February 1st, 1938, the Squadron left the United States for Hickam Field, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii. Under the command of Major James F. Taylor, the Squadron consisted of thirteen B-18s, 180 enlisted men, and thirty officers. The Squadron was transported by the ships Meigs and Luddington.
The 31st Squadron arrived at Hickam Field on February 8th, 1938. They were housed in tents on the hangar line. The 31st was the first bombardment unit based at Hickam.
1941-1942
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and nearby Hickam Field on December 7, 1941, began at 7:55 AM. Many of the 31st Squadron members, whose December Roster listed 27 officers, 1 aviation cadet, and 197 enlisted men, were either in the mess hall or the Consolidated Barracks when the attack began. Some took cover within the barracks; others ran outside and hid in manholes, under vehicles and behind trees. Many 31sters grabbed their World War I gas masks and helmets and went to what they referred to as “the line” where the airplanes were kept. There were 8 hangers in that location. When they arrived at the line, they could see that many of the planes had been shot up or destroyed.
The first wave of the Japanese attack lasted until approximately 8:30 AM. Thirty-firsters were attempting to put machine guns and ammunition in the few planes that survived when the second raid began at 8:54 AM. The Japanese hit the air base and one of the bombs hit the barracks in which the 31st bunked. It was a 3-story reinforced concrete barracks with a flat roof. The bomb that hit one wing had a delayed action fuse. The bomb went through the roof of the 3rd floor and it went through the floor of the 3rd floor and exploded on the second floor. After the Japanese dropped the bombs, they strafed groups of personnel before ending the second raid.
An unsuccessful search for the Japanese fleet followed, led by 31st Commander Russell Waldron. As December 7 drew to a close, 31st Squadron members were listed among the dead and wounded. Squadron deaths included Jack Fox, William H. Northway, Frank J. Lango, and Felix S. Wegrzyn. Wounded in action were William C. Workman, Jack P. Hopkins, Evariste E. Charron, Ewald A. Koch, Ben O’Dette, Virgil A. Green, Gerald F. Kessler, Louis Penven, Malcolm D. Sackett, and George S. Snyder.
In February 1942, the 31st was assigned to the 7th Air Force and moved from Hickam Field May 23, 1942, relocating at Kipapa Gulch on Oahu’s central plateau. The move was in the interest of dispersion.
In June, 1942, American Intelligence deciphered the Japanese code, learning that the Japanese, under Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, wanted to take over Midway Island and from there, possibly launch another attack on the Hawaiian Islands. An American patrol spotted Japanese transports streaming toward Midway. American warships were dispatched to intercept the Japanese while aircraft were sent to bomb the Japanese task force. Men and planes from the 5th Bomb Group, including the 31st Bomb Squadron (H), participated in this action. In a three-day battle, lasting from June 4-6, 1942, the Japanese were defeated.
After their loss at Midway, Japan’s easternmost base was Wake Island: 1,300 miles southwest of Midway and west of the Hawaiian Islands. Wake was also the westernmost outpost that US forces could reach by air. In June 1942, General Clarence Tinker led a small group of planes on a strike mission against Wake. On June 7, General Tinker’s plane was lost at sea. Flying on the General’s crew for that mission were five members of the 31st Bomb Squadron.
As the summer of 1942 progressed, US Intelligence needed to know how extensive the Japanese base on Wake Island was. Two airplanes had been dispatched from Hawaii for photographic reconnaissance, but neither returned. Volunteers were needed for a third attempt. Major George Glober and crew, of the 31st Bomb Squadron, volunteered and were selected. The mission, staging through Midway, would be over 16 hours in duration. It would be the longest reconnaissance mission on record. In the early morning hours of July 31st, 1942, Major Glober and his crew departed for Wake. They broke out of the cloud cover and turbulence just 15 minutes from Wake. The crew made three runs on Wake, covering the island in 60-degree overlap. Crewman Ed Caton photographed the gun positions, revetments, antiaircraft positions, and the personnel locations. Japanese fighters rose to meet the lone bomber.
The Glober crew shot down six Japanese fighters but received bullet holes in their B-17. Major Glober, trying to escape the enemy, rose to 23,000 feet. He was indicating 350 knots on the indicator – an unheard of feat for a B-17 at that time. During the long flight back to Midway, the crew found a bullet lodged in the plane’s compass, making navigation by instruments impossible. Hours later, with darkness upon them, the crew broke radio silence and called Midway, asking for lights – actions that were against wartime regulations. Midway responded and as the crew landed, completely out of fuel, they lost power in all four engines. The Glober crew included C. B. Walker, H. W. Smith, Robert A. Fries, Ed H. Caton, James T. [Sandy] Sanford, Robert L. Holliday, H. R. [Shorty] Inman, Claude B. Phillips, and Joe D. Lillis.
On August 7, 1942, American forces landed in Tulagi Harbor and on Florida and Guadalcanal Islands in the Solomon Islands. The 31st Squadron and her sister squadrons of the 5th Bomb Group were readied to move into the South Pacific to help stop the forward advance of the Japanese in the Solomons. Their 5th Bomb Group commander was Col. Brooke Allen.
The 31st Squadron moved to Kualoa Point on the northeast shore of Oahu on September 9, 1942. The stay at Kualoa was brief, for on November 9, 1942, personnel of the 31st Bomb Squadron boarded the Peter H. Burnett and sailed toward Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides Islands, with a short stop being made at Fiji en route.
The 31st arrived at Peicoa Air Strip on Espiritu Santo November 30, 1942. For a short time, the 31st was a service squadron for the maintenance of aircraft. Guadalcanal was the base from which strikes against the Japanese were to be conducted, so advance units of the 31st landed on Guadalcanal December 3, arriving in the midst of a Japanese air raid. When they hit the beach, the 31sters ran for the tree line. After the attack, it was noticed that they had run through a live mine field.
The 31st flew search missions upon arrival in the South Pacific. On one mission, two Squadron members were listed as “Missing in Action” over the South Pacific December 1st, 1942. They were Clair W. Glover and Ray Lindamood. On December 10th, the 31st lost its first man in combat. Carlyle (Moose) Coleman was a pilot, but was nervous about flying that day. He asked Squadron commander George Glober to fly in the pilot’s seat while Coleman took the co-pilot’s seat. The crew battled Japanese Zeroes. On the last pass by the last Zero, Carlyle took a bullet in the eye. He died instantly. He was buried on Guadalcanal. The men of the Squadron placed a propeller blade for his headstone and strung bandoleers of 50 caliber machine gun bullets around his grave.
1943
From Guadalcanal, US bombers struck the Japanese bases further up the Solomon chain. The remainder of the 31st Squadron members arrived January 17, 1943, and established the first ongoing support base for the 31st Squadron as well as those who were reflexing in and out. Guadalcanal’s code name was Cactus; Espiritu Santo was Buttons. The Japanese still controlled the northern part of Guadalcanal.
The 31st camped near Henderson Field. The men dug foxholes and sat on coconut logs to watch movies at their outdoor theater. Air raids were frequent. During one raid, Japanese bombs dropped into the 31st bivouac area. One man was killed, while three mess halls, the Dispensary, Orderly Room and Operations Tent were destroyed and the Intelligence Tent was damaged.
The 31st took care of both the aircraft and personnel of three bombardment groups on the Canal: their own 5th Group, as well as the 11th, and 307th Bomb Groups. The 31st was the only heavy bombardment squadron with ground personnel on the island in the first months of 1943.
In early 1943, their 5th Bomb Group was assigned to the newly formed 13th Army Air Force. Because they never camped near civilization, they were named The Jungle Air Force, and were under joint Army-Navy control. The 5th Bomb Group Commander was Col. Brooke Allen and his Executive Officer was Lt. Col. Marion Unruh.
New B-24s were arriving from the States in 1943. In March, with both the air and ground echelons now at Guadalcanal, the 31st entered into air operations. Their 5th Bomb Group’s mission was to neutralize Kahili and Buka Airfields on Bougainville in the Solomons. If successful, the Japanese strongholds at Rabaul and Truk would be rendered ineffective. The 31st Bomb Squadron led the air strikes.
Throughout the spring and summer of 1943, the 31st flew missions. The Squadron suffered casualties along the way. On June 10, 1st Lt. Richard Snoddy and crew were listed as “Missing in Action” while on a mission to Kahili. First Lt. Gordon Hall and crew died July 20, and the same fate befell 1st Lt. John Epple and crew on July 25. Both crews perished in plane crashes in the New Hebrides. First Lt. A. B. Elkins and crew were listed as “Missing in Action” July 28 after a water landing at Funa Futi. In August, while flying with Capt. William McKinley’s crew, Stanley [Smitty] Zyskiewicz was killed on a mission to Kahili. August 26 saw another strike against Kahili. McKinley’s plane was hit again, resulting in the wounding of Owen C. Carr and the death of Harold Nerstad.
Life on Guadalcanal was primitive. The men lived in tents, walked in mud, and had their energy drained by daily rains, insects, and disease. Fuse containers and gas drums were used for showers. Khakis were often wet, caked with mud and covered with mold. Washing Machine Charlie visited often. Charlie was a lone Japanese bomber whose misfiring engine and occasional bombs kept the Americans awake night after night.
In the summer of 1943, the 31st participated in missions against Japanese-held Munda Point on New Georgia Island. The Navy shelled the area south of the airstrip while 31st planes joined others to carpet bomb. The infantry followed, taking the airfield. The United States’ capture of Munda denied its airfield to the Japanese and allowed the United States to use it as a base of operations. The 31st Squadron moved to Carney Field on Guadalcanal in late 1943. Again, the Squadron suffered casualties. Capt. Andrew Hughes and crew were listed as “Missing in Action” December 4, after their plane crashed in the Chabai area of Bougainville.
1944
By early 1944, the 31st Squadron was continuing to strike Rabaul, the heart of the Japanese defensive efforts in the Solomons and the Bismarck Archipelago. From Rabaul, Japanese planes could bomb Allied airfields and troops. Rabaul received planes and supplies through Truk from Japan.
From Carney Field, the 31st Squadron moved to Munda on New Georgia Island for a short stay. While flying out of Munda, the 31st suffered casualties on March 5 when a B-24 piloted by Capt. Lewis Haire was hit by ack-ack over New Britain Island. The plane burst into flames and disintegrated in mid-air. Three crewmen parachuted to safety and were picked up by a Navy PBY after hours in the water. A fourth crewmember parachuted onto New Britain and was captured by the Japanese eight days later. The remaining seven crewmen were thought to have perished in the explosion.
On April 20, 1944, the 31st moved to Momote Airdrome on Los Negros in the Admiralty Islands, the Bismarck Archipelago. This base brought the entire Caroline Island chain within the Americans’ bombing range and enabled the US to aid General Douglas MacArthur’s advance in New Guinea and Saipan. Tragedy struck the 31st when 1st Lt. Leon Martin piloted the Cisco Kid II as it attempted a takeoff from Momote Airdrome. The plane, carrying a full bomb load, crashed into a Seabee camp. The entire crew perished, as did many Seabees. Members of the Martin crew were Henry A. Schrobe, Thomas C. Pappas, Arthur C. Wolf, Jr., Neil M. Mauderer, Walter R. Rawleigh, John W. Gilb, Robert O. Russell, Willis L. Butler, Alden M. Campbell, and George W. Johnson.
At Los Negros, the 31st camped on the edge of a coconut plantation. They lived in tents. The latrine was a pit with a tarp over it and the shower was a 55-gallon steel drum, cut in half with holes bored in the bottom. Again, there was an outdoor theater and also a PX, another tent where the men could buy such items as toothpaste and chewing gum. Tokyo Rose played American music and urged the US troops to surrender.
The 31st flew numerous missions out of Los Negros. Some of the most important were to Woleai in the Caroline Islands. Woleai was an important Japanese search plane and naval base, and a stepping-stone for aircraft and supplies headed for the Japanese-held islands. In a series of 13 strikes, 5th Bomb Group B-24s dropped 140 tons of bombs on Woleai, destroying all facilities. For these efforts, the 5th Bomb Group was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation.
During May the 31st Squadron concentrated on bombing Biak off the northern coast of New Guinea. These were pre-invasion air strikes to soften up Japanese defenses for the May 28 invasion by Allied Forces. It was 800 miles to the target from Momote: 10 hours, 10 minutes flight time.
Thirty-first crews were bombing Truk in June 1944. The Americans were planning an invasion of Saipan in the Mariannas, and aircrews were to neutralize Truk. Truk Atoll had four main centers of naval and army air might, and was called the largest and most formidable barrier facing the Allied advance.
The 31st Bomb Squadron suffered numerous casualties during the raids on Truk. Lt. Ed L. Lynch was killed in action June 7, 1944, when hit in the chest and head by a 20mm shell on a strike over Eten Island, Truk Atoll. Three 31sters were listed as “Missing in Action” June 17 after they bailed out near the Hermit Islands while on a strike to Eten Island.
Also in June the 31st bombed Yap Island, one of a string of Japanese defenses leading to the Philippines. It was a 2,046-mile round trip all over open water. Flight time was 12 hours and 20 minutes.
The 13th Army Air Force transferred from joint Army-Navy control under Admiral William (Bull) Halsey to the command of United States Army General George Kenney in June 1944. Meanwhile, the 31st struck Noemfoor, New Guinea. The bombing raids were preliminary to the July 2 invasion by General MacArthur’s ground forces.
On August 21, 1944, the 31st moved to Wakde, New Guinea Islands, Bismarck Archipelago. Wakde was 1 ½ miles long and ¾ of a mile wide. Camp was made in a compressed area between the runway and the ocean. Tent pegs overlapped and the ground was littered with rotten coconuts and tree stumps. From this base, missions would be flown to neutralize the Japanese storehouses, arsenal and administrative departments in the Palau Islands, the last eastern barrier separating the US from the Philippines. The missions to Palau were successful.
Next, the 31st Squadron took part in attacks on the Halmahera Islands from which the Japanese were protecting their oil and gasoline industries in Borneo. General MacArthur was planning an invasion after the missions were completed. His landing would put American forces within striking distance of the Philippines.
Thirty-first air crews and ground maintenance personnel moved to Noemfoor Island, off the northern coast of New Guinea September 26, 1944. The remainder of the 31st stayed at Wakde. From Noemfoor bombers were ordered to attack Balikpapan, Borneo, which was the most important source of aviation fuel and oil the Japanese had. General MacArthur said it was “the most strategically important Jap target in the Pacific.”
The 31st Squadron and 5th Bomb Group (H) Commander Thomas Musgrave led the first mission to Balikpapan on September 30, 1944. The mission took some crews 15 ½ to 17 hours. The Pandansari Oil Refinery was the primary target. Alternate targets included processing buildings and tank storage facilities. The oil refinery was supplying over 35% of the fuel being used by the Japanese Air Forces in total. It was supplying 50% of the fuel being used in the Southwest Pacific by the Japanese forces and 65% of the aviation gases being used by the Japanese air forces in the Philippines. The flight was 2600 miles round trip. No formation of B-24 bombers had ever flown such a distance, and it exceeded the manufacturer’s recommendations. The Balikpapan mission was successful but the cost in men and planes was high. For this mission, the 5th Bomb Group received its second Presidential Unit Citation, the only one it ever received for a single mission. Other attacks on the same targets followed, and by the end of October 1944, 433 tons of bombs had been dropped on Balikpapan.
The 31st Squadron also participated in strikes against Japanese oil tank farms on Tarakan Island off the northeast coast of Borneo. The 31st bombed the main pumping stations. The success of the Tarakan missions was important because it stopped the supply of oil products the Japanese needed to defend the Philippines.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf was fought in the Philippines October 24-26, 1944. The 31st Squadron flew in support of General MacArthur’s invasion of Leyte and assisted in the naval battle of Leyte Gulf. When American ground forces landed in the Philippines, the 31st’s new missions were to knock out enemy airfields on the Negros Islands and keep them neutralized so the Japanese could launch no air attacks on advancing United States ground forces, and to keep a constant watch over shipping lanes in the Sulu Sea to prevent Japanese supplies and reinforcements from reaching the Philippines.
Intelligence reported that the Japanese were constructing a “defensive triangle” from the Halmahera Islands to the Palau Islands to Mindanao in the Philippines. Three Japanese armies and 80,000 troops were said to be holding the triangle. On September 15, 1944, United States forces invaded Morotai, the northern most Halmahera Island, and within days, an airfield was being constructed.
On November 4, 1944, the 31st Squadron moved to Pito Field, Morotai. Between September 14, 1944, and February 1, 1945, the Japanese carried out 172 sorties and 82 air raids against Morotai. From Morotai the 31st bombed assorted targets in Borneo, the Celebes Islands and the Philippines. The Squadron took particular pleasure in knocking out gun emplacements on Corregidor, PI in advance of an American landing.
On November 15, 1944, remnants of the Japanese Leyte Gulf battle force were spotted in Brunei Bay on the northwest coast of Borneo. Thirty-firsters participated in the air strike against the fleet on November 16. The ack-ack was intense and nearly every 5th Group plane was hit. However, the Group succeeded in scattering the Japanese fleet.
Still based on Morotai, the 31st suffered another loss January 10, 1945, when 2nd Lt. Gerald Long and crew were listed as “Missing in Action” after their plane went down en route to Morotai from a mission to Luzon, the Philippines. Eight Squadron members were killed when the C-47 in which they were passengers crashed on take-off March 7, 1945. The C-47 had been carrying a jeep that had burst into flames when the plane crashed. Schultz, S/Sgt. Swain, S/Sgt. Emptage, and Cpl. Chaffee. Funeral services for Squadron members were held at the cemetery on Morotai.
1945
The 31st air echelon moved to Aba Field, Samar, the Philippines, March 13, 1945. The rear echelon, which had been at Wakde since September, 1944, joined them, bringing the entire 31st Squadron together. Instead of the usual C-Rations and Spam, 31sters now received fresh meat, eggs, Coca-Cola and ice cream.
On March 14, 1945, a C-47 had been sent to pick up personnel on rest leave in Sydney, Australia. On the return to base, the crew was forced to ditch the aircraft off the coast of Australia. Thirty-firster T/Sgt. Williams died as a result.
Second Lt. Cyril Reinstatler, a 31st radar operator and bombardier, was listed as “Missing in Action” April 9, 1945. Squadron reports stated, “On 9 April ‘Triple-threat’ flew with the 23rd Squadron on a 2-aircraft photographic reconnaissance of the Saigon, French Indo-China, area. Eight to ten fighters jumped the aircraft over Saigon and the crew with whom Lt. Reinstatler was flying was forced to bail out. All but Lt. Reinstatler were recovered by a rescue Catalina and submarine. According to survivors, the parachute of [Reinstatler] did not fully open.”
During the summer of 1945, the 31st continued bombing Japanese airfields in Borneo and the Celebes. Beginning August 1, 1945, strikes were flown against Formosa. On August 6 and 9, atom bombs were dropped on Japan. While Japanese assessed the devastation, the 31st continued to fly missions.
On September 2, 1945, the Japanese formally surrendered. With the signing of the peace treaty, the wartime activities of the 31st Bomb Squadron (H) ended. The Squadron departed Samar, the Philippines, for the United States in December, 1945.
World War II Commanders of the 31st Bombardment Squadron (H):
Capt. Russell L. Waldron 3-4-41 to 12-23-41
Lt. Col. Rhudy 12-23-41 to 2-1-42
Maj. Carmichael 2-1-42 to 2-10-42
Capt. Blakey 2-10-42 to 3-24-42
Maj. Rutledge 3-24-42 to 6-21-42
Maj. George Glober 6-21-42 to 3-30-43
Maj. Francis T. Brady 3-30-43 to 6-17-43
Maj. Morris W. Slack 6-17-43 to 8-6-43
Lt. Col. Joseph Reddoch 8-6-43 to 9-14-43
Maj. John F. Britton 9-14-43 to 12-10-43
Maj. Francis E. Riggs 12-10-43 to 12-31-43
John Henry Kissner 12-31-43 to 5-28-44
Capt. William (Bill) Fallin 5-28-44 to 7-28-44
Capt. George T. Davis 7-28-44 to 1-5-45
Maj. Everett (Cappy) Rowe 1-5-45 to 4-26-45
Capt. Everett (Beach) Thurlow 4-26-45 to 9-2-45
(Office of 31st Squadron Historian, 1945)
As the 31st Bombardment Squadron begins its twenty-ninth year it can justifiably celebrate its participation in two wars for its country and a long and active career in peacetime aviation history. Personnel and aircraft have changed many times in the years since the founding of the squadron, but the spirit and initiative have remained the same. From the days of the early Nieuports to the latest Consolidated "Liberators" the 31st has always been in the fight.
On 26 June 1917 the 31st Bomb Squadron came into being. It was organized as the 31st Aero Squadron at Kelly Field Texas, under the command of First Lieutenant John E. Rossel. The personnel strength was built around a nucleus from the First Company, "B" Provisional Battalion, of the Signal Corps; which had been activated the month before.
After a scant two months of training, a Captain Carl Spatz was placed in command of the squadron and sealed orders transferred the organization from Kelly Field to an unannounced destination. On 15 September 1917 the Squadron arrived in England and began intensive training in the intricate ways of war-making.
(It is interesting to note at this point that Captain Carl Spatz, who took the 31st across the Atlantic in the bleak World War I days of 1917, is now General "Toney" Spatz, the poker-loving strategist under whose command the Allied Air Forces in Europe pounded the Germanic aggressor into oblivion.)
In England air and ground personnel of the 31st wound up three rigorous months of training and reassembled in Issodum, France, in December of 1917. And it was on this move that this Squadron began its long string of "Firsts", the 31st being one of the first aero squadrons to arrive in France in 1917.
The 31st spent over a year and a half in France. They were assigned 15 Meter French Nieuports to fly, one of the most difficult airplanes of the last war to maintain and fly. Under the most adverse conditions they kept these planes in the air just as their sons are doing now a quarter of a century and a half a world apart.
Although the 31st, as a squadron, did not go into combat, its personnel had a glorious war record. Captain Spatz and a First Lieutenant Mumford received the Distinguished Service Cross for daring missions and exceptional bravery. Many other fliers destined to become the "Aces" of World War I received their final training as a member of the 31st before moving up to actively engaged air units.
The 31st Aero Squadron did not return from France until after the War; it arrived at Mitchell Field, Long Island, on 14 April 1919 and then was demobilized. Three years later it was placed on the inactive list of the regular army as the Thirty-First Bombardment Squadron. In April 1931 the 31st was again called to active duty at March Field, California, under the command of Captain Earle C. Harper. It was equipped with what was then the latest type bombers--the Martin B-10. An extensive training program was organized and in December, 1934, the Squadron moved to Hamilton Field, California.
From their home base at Hamilton Field, the 31st participated in maneuvers in every corner of the United States. They put on exhibitions at all the national air shows, participated in the giant army-navy maneuvers at Fort Lewis, Washington, engaged in many cross-continent flights and took part in the Army Air Mail operations in 1935.
On 1 February, 1938, the 31st Bombardment Squadron, with 30 officers and 180 enlisted men and their families, left Hamilton Field for Hickam Field, Hawaii. The Commanding Officer at this time was Major James R. Taylor, and the airplanes the squadron brought to the Hawaiian Islands were the ultimate in heavy bombers--13 shiny new Douglas B-18's.
Oahu's now resplendent Hickam Field was little more than a "tent city" when the 31st moved in. The 31st was the only heavy bombardment squadron at Hickam for many years and did much to develop the famous name the field now has.
Tragedy struck the 31st, as it did the whole nation, on 7 December, 1941. It was a mixed squadron, flying a few of the new "Flying Fortress" B-17C's and D's and still using some of the old B-18's. The Japanese took a heavy toll of the 31st that day, killing or wounding many of the personnel and putting all of the airplanes out of operation. And so it was again that the 31st Bombardment Squadron was one of the first air corps units to actively participate in another war--a war of such magnitude that this squadron would advance more than 10,000 miles, beating the enemy at each front, before the ultimate goal would be attained.
The Road Back
The 31st came back strongly after the sneak attack and within a week the maintenance men had over half the aircraft back in operation. The Squadron dispersed to Kipapa Field, Oahu, and immediately began carrying out searches and training new personnel.
When the Japanese fleet steamed down upon Midway Island on 5 June 1942, the 31st was there to meet them. Six flying Forts, led by Captain Cecil Faulkner, received credit for sinking one large transport and severely damaging a battleship and a cruiser with several direct hits. On the second day of the engagement the squadron scored hits on a large carrier, leaving it in flames. In the interception during the attacks two Jap planes were shot down.
American newspapers on 6 August 1942, carried headlines of a reconnaissance mission piloted by Major George E.Glober, which recorded, for the first time, Japanese emplacements on Wake Island. The mission was considered sufficiently important to merit the award of the Distinguished Service Cross to the entire crew. They are credited with destroying four Zeros and probably destroying two more in a running engagement that lasted well over an hour.
The 31st was next based at Kualoa Field, Oahu, and it was from this base that the Squadron, under the command of Major Glober, embarked for the Solomon Islands on 9 November, 1942. The 31st landed at Espiritu Santo on 30 November and has the distinction of being the first permanent squadron to settle the island.
On 4 December, the first personnel of the 31st arrived at Guadalcanal and began combat operations that have become legendary within the squadron. The Japanese at Kahili, Munda, Villa, Ballale and other outposts received many bombings by the 31st. It was during this period that the squadron became re-equipped with the new B-24 "Liberators", which have become the "old reliables" in SWPA aerial operations. The Squadron subsequently moved up to Munda on New Georgia Island and pulled raids against virtually every target in the Rabaul area as well as targets on New Ireland. Rabaul still ranks as one of the three roughest targets attacked by 31st Liberators.
It was on the 13th (appropriately enough) of January 1943 that the 13th AAF was born. And for the past two and a half years the 31st has been an integral part of the "Jungle Air Force" which earned its ability to defeat the Japs anywhere and anytime.Immediately after the dismounted First Cavalry Division invaded the island of Los Negros in the Admiralties the 31st was on hand to start pounding the Japs in their hitherto untenable outposts in the Carolines and in the Schoutens. First target on the 31st agenda was the Woleai Island group, a key base in the Japanese inner defense circle.
Located at Woleai were an airfield, bivouac areas, supply and storage depots, radio direction finder station and a number of anti-aircraft positions. The airfield was an important base for the staging of enemy tactical aircraft between Japan and the vital naval base at Truk. The 31st Squadron and its 5th Group buddies completed flights of approximately 1400 nautical miles entirely over water without fighter escort and through severe tropical weather fronts to completely devastate the island group. In less than a months time the Bomber Barons were largely responsible for reducing to a shambles a base upon which the Japanese had depended for an uninterrupted flow of supplies and aircraft for the strategic defense of Truk, Palau, the Western Carolines and the Mariana Islands. For their operation the 31st Squadron and the 5th Group received a unit citation by direction of the President.
The month of June 1944 was devoted to systematically smashing targets within the Truk atoll, Airdromes, beach defenses and supply areas at Biak also tasted of the savagery of 31st bombing as the 5th Group supported General Macarthur’s invasion of that island. Moving up to Wakde the 31st tore loose against Paulau and the Halmaheras and then found a new home at Noemfoor, just west of Biak, where planning began for the longest mission ever flown by B-24's.
The target assigned to the Bomber Barons was the 7,000-barrel high-octane gasoline and oil refineries at the heavily defended Japanese base at Balikpapan, Borneo. And it is significant that the 31st Squadron was chosen to lead the Jungle Air Force heavies on the initial attack. To reach the target the Liberators had to fly a round trip of 2610 miles entirely over water and enemy held territory, the longest daylight mass formation bombing mission ever flown by B-24 type aircraft.
As the planes approached the target they were attacked by approximately 30 aggressive enemy fighters and antiaircraft fire heavier, and intense and more accurate than any they had encountered at the enemy bases of Rabaul, Truk or Palau. The primary target was obscured by cloud cover, but rather than attack the less perilous secondary target, the Liberators circled until the aiming points were cleared and then made a precision run. Photographic assessment of the damage showed 36 direct hits on the Pandansari refinery area, 4 hits on furnaces or pipe lines of the distillation unit, 3 hits in the adjacent receiving tanks area and 2 bomb patterns visible across the building and tank storage area.
The success of this unusually long and daring mission definitely proved the vulnerability of this Japanese refining center to daylight raids by land-based heavy bombers and resulted in a disruption in the flow of oil and gasoline which had an immediate effect on the enemy's tactical operations. A second unit citation was received by the 5th Group for this mission.
Ever moving forward, the 31st Squadron was next based in the Molucca Islands, the Netherlands East Indies. For four months missions were flown every day against the Philippines and Borneo. The most notable achievement recorded by the Jungle Air Force during this period was the complete destruction of the Cavite Naval Base in the mouth of Manila Bay. When the smoke had cleared after the last bomb had fallen, photographic interpretation of the results revealed that 98% of the installations at that base had been destroyed and the remaining 2% damaged.
And now the 28-year old 31st Bomb Squadron is stationed (in Samar) in the Philippines, still hitting the Japs whenever and wherever she can find them and still showing "the boys" that there's plenty of life left in the old girl. The present Commanding Officer is Captain Everett B.Thurlow of Lee, Maine.
31ST SQUADRON CAMPAIGNS
Guadalcanal Northern New Guinea
Northern Solomons Bismarck Archipelago
China
Central Pacific
Western Mandates Southern Philippines
Eastern Mandates Northern Philippines