Page 2 - Desert Lightning News So. AZ Edition, October 2020

2 October 2020 Desert Lightning News Desert Lightning News October 2020 3
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Heavy drinking: Highway to disaster Remembering: A WWII vet’s story 1st Lt. Ralph Richard
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Hayes, 20th Air Force,
Army Air Corps, 421st

ron bombardier, poses
by Senior Airman “The first raid on Tokyo was something you never Bombardment Squad-
by It was a perfect day on the Mississippi coast to take ride along with him. The driver had done this before LEALA MARQUEZ want to see again,” Hayes said. “The fire was so intense for a photo June 7,
1945, during World
PAUL AHLBERG and a swim in the pool, so a Keesler Air Force Base Air- and had never been arrested for impaired driving. 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs you could see it for miles. Seventeen square miles were War II. Hayes and his
Capt. SHEONTEE FRANK man decided to have a party one Sunday afternoon A young female who had been playing beer pong was burned right out of the middle of Tokyo.” crew of 10 men com-
at his house. He invited some of his buddies over to noticeably intoxicated near the pool. One of the guests Black and white photos portray a strong, smiling Some missions the crew completed supported the
81st Medical Operations Squadron young man preparing for war and B-29 Superfor- U.S. Navy, including destroying kamikaze airfields. pleted 35 missions
join him — the more the merrier. Some of his buddies asked her if she was OK, but she did not respond, so during the war: 14 pre-
Editor’s note: This commentary was first published invited a few of their friends to the gathering, which he yelled for someone to call 911. Some of the guests tresses flying by. Kamikaze pilots from the Japanese Special Attack cision daylight, 11 low-
April 23, 2015. quickly turned into a party. The Airman coordinated left in a hurry. Meanwhile, a neighbor called local law The man is now much older; time has taken its toll Units were developed to counter U.S. advancement altitude night fire raids
KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. — Heavy what everyone would bring, including a keg of beer, enforcement due to the loud music and noise. on his health. Organs failing, the World War II veteran in the Pacific. Their mission was to fly their aircraft and 10 night-mining
drinking is defined as consuming five or more stan- beer pong to play, and music to enjoy. There were many mistakes made throughout the spent the rest of his days in hospice surrounded by his into U.S. naval vessels. During WWII, according to missions in Japanese
dard drinks in one sitting. It is also considered “high By 5 p.m., guests arrived and the designated keg course of the afternoon and the consequences were family. But in this man there lived a story, one of his Britannica, Kamikaze pilots sank more than 30 Allied Courtesy photo and Korean waters.
risk” drinking due to the health concerns associated operator was letting the beer pour freely for everyone great. This scenario identified issues of underage service during World War II as a bombardier in Japan. vessels and damaged hundreds more.
with drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. Many who wanted it, without verifying the ages of the guests. drinking, serving alcohol to minors, public intoxica- His history changed the world’s history and he was the “When [the Navy was] getting ready to invade Ky-
stories about heavy drinking are glamorized, not Other attendees brought hard liquor, and many were tion, and driving under the influence. Most important- last one in his crew who could share the story. ushu, the kamikaze pilots were really killing them,” they hit the vertical stabilizer. Our hydraulics were shot
publicized, or forgotten altogether, so behaviors taking shots between drinks and playing beer pong. ly, this scenario illustrates the lack of wingmanship. In 1941, 21-year-old Ralph Richard Hayes joined Hayes said. “We were assigned to bomb some of those out. The brakes were shot out. I don’t think anyone had
don’t change. The host was tired and had gotten a little too much Remember 0-0-1-3. That means 0 underage drink- the U.S. Army Air Forces following the attack on Pearl airfields in Kyushu. Of course, I don’t think we did been able to make a forced landing yet.”
Here’s a story that illustrates the many problems sun, so he went into the house to take a short nap. ing, 0 drinking and driving, 1 drink per hour, no Harbor. much damage, they had so many kamikazes. They’d Hayes’ crew made the harrowing flight from Iwo Jima
and risks associated with heavy drinking. Can you Several guests were hungry so one the guests drove more than 3 drinks per sitting. Call a taxi or Airman “I hitchhiked from California to Albuquerque,” teach those kids how to take off but wouldn’t teach to Tinian Island in their battle-damaged aircraft. He said
COMMENTARY
pick them out? Have you been on the “Highway to to get pizzas from a nearby restaurant. The impaired Against Drunk Driving at your installation for a safe Hayes said. “My brother was already there, and we them how to land.” the odds were against them because, even if the B-29 sur-
Disaster?” driver had a friend who had not been drinking as much ride home. decided I might as well enlist because we were going Because Hayes had so much experience as an vived the 730-mile trip, their pilot would have to land the
to get drafted anyway. They were drafting everybody.” instructor, he said his squadron led the daylight mis- nearly decimated aircraft. Hayes said, through incredible
Traveling from two schools in Texas, one in Florida sions. skill and a miracle, their pilot landed the aircraft safely.
Air, space forces innovate to defend American way and one in Nebraska, then 1st Lt. Hayes taught other miss the target you put a hundred guys at extreme “He landed that airplane with no brakes, no hydraulics.
“I always felt the responsibility,” Hayes said. “If you
“I’ll swear he’s an amazing pilot, Sid Hale,” said Hayes.
aviators as a bombardier instructor and received addi-
tional training in radar school before leaving to employ
you were doing.”
his skills in combat. His squadron left on Christmas risk for no reason. You had to concentrate on what I still don’t know how he did it.”
While his squadron helped cripple Japanese combat
by threat. Both Brown and Bass keenly Eve of 1944 to Hawaii, then Saipan, an island in the Attention to detail paid off during one of his missions lethality and disrupt enemy shipping, another squadron
BARBARA BARRETT understand the urgency of accelerating Northern Mariana Islands and south of Japan. targeting a chemical plant in Koriyama. determined the outcome of the war.
change to improve how we operate, train Hayes was assigned to the 20th Air Force, Army “Our group destroyed 70% of the target and was “The 504th Bomb Group was put together in the United
Secretary of the Air Force Air Corps, 504th Bombardment Group in the 421st the only group to hit the correct target,” Hayes said.
and equip our nation’s Air Force. States and we had three squadrons within the group,”
ARLINGTON, Va. — U.S. Air Force Raymond and Towberman are building Bombardment Squadron. He was the bombardier on His group was awarded a Distinguished Flying said Hayes. “They took one of these squadrons and formed
and U.S. Space Force leadership gathered the U.S. Space Force to maintain national a B-29 with an 11-person crew including aircraft com- Cross for the mission. Today, the decoration is proudly the atomic bomb group. We went overseas with just two
Sept. 14 for the Air Force Association 2020 security. Under their leadership, Space mander/pilot, co-pilot, bombardier, navigator, gunners, displayed amongst other medals and tokens from squadrons, normally it’d be three.”
Virtual Air, Space and Cyber Conference, Force is moving boldly to defend and an engineer, and radio and radar specialists. his time overseas , among them shards of shrapnel The 393rd Bombardment Squadron, which dropped
an annual showcase for the services’ lat- advance U.S. and allied interests in the “Our 35 missions consisted of 14 precision daylight, gathered from B-29 missions. He shared stories of the atomic bombs, was in the 504th BG until September
est thinking. increasingly competitive space domain. 11 low-altitude night fire raids and 10-night mining gaping holes in the aircraft wings and treacherous 1944, when it transitioned to the 509th Composite Group.
The event included Department of the The Space Force mission is critical to missions in Japanese and Korean waters,” Hayes said. missions home. “We’d been overseas for about six months and here
Air Force leaders in their new roles: Gen. the American way of life. Every day, the Low-altitude night-fire raids entailed firebombing One mission over Iwo Jima was much worse than comes our other squadron,” Hayes said. “They set SPOTLIGHT
Charles Q. Brown Jr., the Air Force Chief nation depends upon space-provided navi- major cities in Japan. The crew’s mission to Tokyo was others. them up in a separate squadron on Tinian. We built
of Staff; Chief Master Sgt. JoAnne Bass, gation, information and communication. the first mission executed at the low altitude of 6,000- “I couldn’t believe our airplane could fly,” Hayes said. an officer’s club, so they’d come down there and start
Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force; American capabilities in air and space Rosario Gutierrez 7,000 feet. Hayes said he could see the light from the He said the aircraft had been hit hundreds of times bragging, and we told them ‘you’re going to win the
Gen. John Raymond, the first Chief of are under threat. Both Russia and China The Air Force Association 2020 Air, Space and Cyber Conference graphic fires for hundreds of miles. In the end, firebombing and was littered with holes. war, when we’ve been here winning it without them
Space Operations; and Chief Master are investing significantly to negate left a fifth of Tokyo destroyed. “The life rafts were blown out of the airplane and
Sgt. Roger Towberman, Senior Enlisted American defenses, from the development reinforce deterrence, expand defenses, with Congress to fund new systems and See WWII, Page 4
Advisor of the United States Space Force. of antisatellite weapons to standing up and keep American military forces one- capabilities to deter future conflict in
Brown brings a wealth of experience, formidable antiaircraft networks. step ahead of adversaries. air, space, and cyberspace and maintain SECAF, others visit D-M …
from leading the air campaign against U.S. Air and Space Forces are develop- There is more to do. The Department peace. Chapel Services
ISIS to his most recent assignment as ing game-changing technologies, includ- of the Air Force is accelerating innova- To respond effectively to the threats of
commander of Pacific Air Forces. For the ing artificial intelligence-driven systems, tion to equip U.S. Air and Space Forces tomorrow, the National Defense Strategy
past two years, Brown has countered the low-cost “attritable” aircraft, and a real- to deter and, if necessary, defeat aggres- requires us to accelerate force modern- Catholic services Staff
challenge of a rising Chinese military time information-sharing network to sion. The Department will collaborate ization today. Desert Dove Chapel Publisher ..............................................................Paul Kinison
Daily Mass: 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday Business manager ...............................................Lisa Kinison
Editor .......................................................... Deborah Leuthold
Chaplain’s thoughts ... Saturday Mass: 5 p.m. Advertising representative ................................Sandi Bueltel
Sunday Mass: 10 a.m.
Designer .................................................................Tinna Sellie
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