Paul Gailey sits on the wing of a Corsair. He was a crew chief in Marine Air Group 31 during the Pacific war. It was his responsibility: Keep the fighters flying. Photo provided by Paul Gailey
Paul Gailey, of Burnt Store Marina, Fla., was a crew chief in Marine Air Group 31, Squadron VMF-441, during the Battle of Okinawa, the last major island battle in the Pacific in World War II. As a sergeant, it was his job to keep his squadron of F4U Corsair fighters airborne. Read the rest of this entry »
Capt. Wally Weber returns from a mission in his Corsair fighter. When this picture was shot, he was flying from Peleliu Island in the Pacific. Photo provided
Wally Weber of Burnt Store Country Club didn’t have to sweat the draft during World War II. His father was the chairman of the local draft board in the little town in Oklahoma where he grew up. Read the rest of this entry »
Lt. Ted Hutchins of Port Charlotte, Fla. climbs out of his Kingfisher spotter-plane after coming back aboard the Battleship South Dakota off Okinawa in World War II. Ensign Stark, in the back cockpit, had just been rescued after his Hellcat fighter plane was shot down. (Photo provided)
It was Jan. 22, 1945 and Americans forces were already making air strikes on Okinawa. The captain of the battleship USS South Dakota got word a carrier plane had crashed into the sea off the Pacific island.
2nd Lt. William Magill is shown in his F-4U Corsair. For 15 months he flew the plane on 89 combat missions, as represented by the bombs painted on its side. Photo provided by Bill Magill
Father Bill Magill of Venice, Fla. was a “Devil Dog.” He flew a Corsair, F-4U fighter, in the Pacific during World War II before he began working for the Lord.
The former Marine aviator and retired Episcopal priest was a member of Marine Fighter Squadron VMF-111. “Devil Dogs” is what they called themselves. He saw action in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands in the Central Pacific from December 1943 until March 1945.
“Our job was to bomb and strafe everything and keep the Japanese‘s heads down,” said Magill, 85. “The first thing we did was shoot up their planes on the ground and then we would pound the heck out of them with bombs.”
By the time his tour was finished he logged 89 combat missions. The side of his Corsair was covered with yellow bombs, one for each mission.
