THE AIRCRAFT SYMBOLIZED CURRENT
HI, EVERYONE WILL DO PRE HERE IN
THE KXA AND LIVE STUDIO.
WE ARE LISTENING IN TO AN EVENT
THAT'S HAPPENING IN PEARL HARBOR
RIGHT NOW TO COMMEMORATE THE
75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ENDING
OF WORLD WAR TWO.
LET'S TAKE A LISTEN.
THIS CEREMONY WILL LAST SEVERAL
HOURS AND WE PLAN TO CARRY IT
ALL SO FOR JOINING US.
AND FOLLOW THE ROUTE THESE
HISTORIC AIRCRAFT TAKE AS THEY
MAKE THEIR WAY TO PEARL HARBOR.
FLYING IN GROUPS BASED ON TYPE
AND SPEED MOST OF THEM TRAVELING
AT SPEEDS APPROACHING 190 MILES
PER HOUR.
THEY WILL FLY OVER THE USS,
MISSOURI TIPPING THEIR WING IN
TRIBUTE.
WATCH CLOSELY BECAUSE AS THEY
PASS WHETHER YOU'RE WATCHING
THEM FROM THE SHORES OF PEARL
HARBOR OR AT ANY POINT ALONG
THEIR ROUTE.
MOST OF THE AIRCRAFT WILL BE
VISIBLE FOR JUST 20 TO 25
SECONDS.
MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE COME TO
BE KNOWN AS THE GREATEST
GENERATION FLEW ALL OF THE
AIRCRAFT THAT YOU WILL SEE
TODAY.
THREE-QUARTERS OF A CENTURY AGO
THEY LEFT THEIR PEACETIME LIVES
TO FIGHT OPPRESSION AND TO
DEFEND OUR FREEDOM IN EVERY
CORNER OF THE GLOBE.
WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THEIR
BRAVERY SACRIFICE AND SERVICE
AND WE ARE HERE TODAY TO
CELEBRATE GI JOE AND ROSIE THE
RIVETER.
IN A SPEECH HE MADE IN DECEMBER
OF NINETEEN FORTY PRESIDENT
FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT RECOGNIZED
THAT THE GREAT LEGACY OF PEACE.
AERIAL PARADE WOULD PLAY A
PIVOTAL ROLE IN OUR COUNTRY'S
ANTICIPATED INVOLVEMENT IN THE
WAR THAT WAS ALREADY RAGING
ACROSS MUCH OF THE WORLD.
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT UNDERSTOOD
THE RAW POWER OF THE UNITED
STATES AND ITS PEOPLE WHEN IT'S
WILL AND RESOURCES WERE FOCUSED
ON A SINGLE COMMON GOAL WOULD BE
UNSTOPPABLE AND IMMEDIATELY
RECOGNIZABLE.
HE KNEW THAT ONCE THIS COUNTRY
BECAME INVOLVED IN HOSTILITIES,
THE IMMENSE U.S.
INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX WOULD
TRANSITION FROM THE PEACETIME
MANUFACTURER OF AUTOMOBILES
TRACTORS BICYCLES AND AIRLINERS
TO THE WARTIME PRODUCTION OF
JEEPS TANKS MACHINE GUNS AND WAR
PLANES.
AND HE WAS RIGHT FOR THE SECOND
TIME IN LESS THAN A QUARTER OF A
CENTURY.
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WERE CALLED
ON TO HELP SAVE THE WORLD FROM
THE FORCES OF TYRANNY AND
OPPRESSION.
AND IN THE BATTLEFIELDS OF
EUROPE THE ISLANDS AND WATERS OF
THE SOUTH PACIFIC AND IN THE
FACTORIES THROUGHOUT THIS GREAT
NATION OF OURS THEY RESPONDED TO
THAT CHALLENGE AS AMERICANS
ALWAYS HAVE IN THE INTERVENING
YEARS THE STORIES OF THOSE BRAVE
AMERICANS AND WHAT THEY DID.
HAS BEEN TOLD BUT TOLD SO LESS
FREQUENTLY.
IN THE HISTORY BOOKS AND IN THE
CLASSROOMS OF OUR SCHOOLS THE
NARRATIVE OF WORLD WAR TWO HAS
BEEN REDUCED TO A FEW PARAGRAPHS
OR A DAY OR TWO OF INSTRUCTION.
THOSE STORIES WHICH
FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE THE WORLD
FOR THE BETTER DESERVE MORE.
AMERICAN SHOULD KNOW THAT NOT SO
VERY LONG AGO OUR WAY OF LIFE
OUR FREEDOM AND THE FATE OF MUCH
OF THE WORLD HUNG IN THE
BALANCE.
AND THE RESOLVED WITH WHICH THIS
COUNTRY ROSE TO THAT CHALLENGE
IS EVEN 75 YEARS LATER ON
INSPIRING.
OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS AS
WE'VE PREPARED FOR THIS
COMMEMORATION AND THE HISTORIC
FLY OVER THAT WILL BEGIN IN JUST
A FEW MINUTES.
WE IDENTIFIED SEVERAL THEMES
COMMON TO ALL WHO HELPED TURN
THE ALLIED VICTORY IN WORLD WAR
2.
FIRST EVERYONE PARTICIPATED IF
NOT IN UNIFORM THEN WORKING IN
THE FACTORIES BUILDING MACHINES
AND PRODUCING MUNITIONS AND
SUPPLIES THAT ARE BOYS PUT TO
SUCH EFFECTIVE USE ON DOZENS OF
DIFFERENT BATTLEFIELDS AROUND
THE WORLD.
SECOND THERE IS A GENUINE
HEARTFELT HUMILITY AMONG THOSE
MEN AND WOMEN WHO WILLINGLY
WALKED INTO HARM'S WAY TO
PROTECT AND DEFEND THIS COUNTRY.
FINALLY AND MOST POIGNANTLY THE
DEEP RESPECT THAT THE VETERANS
HERE WITH US TODAY HAVE FOR
THOSE WHO THEY CONSIDER TO BE
THE REAL HEROES OF WORLD WAR 2.
THOSE MEN WHO DID NOT COME HOME.
THOSE WARRIORS GAVE THEIR LAST
FULL MEASURE OF DEVOTION TO THE
EPIC STRUGGLES THAT TOOK PLACE
SEVEN DECADES AGO IN FARAWAY
PLACES LIKE MIDWAY BURMA BATON
CORAL SEA GUADALCANAL LEYTE GULF
TINIAN AND TARAWA.
TODAY IT IS OUR CHALLENGE
AND
OUR GREAT HONOR TO USE A
REMARKABLE COLLECTION OF VINTAGE
MILITARY AIRCRAFT.
TO TELL THEIR STORIES WE'LL
START THIS LEGACY OF PEACE
AERIAL PARADE WITH THE AIRPLANES
THAT WERE USED TO TEACH OUR BOYS
TO FLY THE TRAINERS.
IN 1938 WHEN GENERAL
HAP ARNOLD
COMMANDER OF AMERICA'S AIR FORCE
IS CONSIDERED THIS COUNTRY'S
PREPAREDNESS FOR WAR.
HE RECOGNIZED THAT AMERICA DID
NOT HAVE NEARLY ENOUGH AIRPLANES
OR PILOTS TO FLY THEM.
THREE YEARS BEFORE THE JAPANESE
ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR.
WHAT WOULD LATER BECOME THE U.S.
ARMY AIR FORCES CONSISTED OF
21,000 AIRMAN AND 1800 AIRCRAFT.
BY THE END OF THE WAR THE
ARMY
AIR FORCES INCLUDED 2.3 MILLION
PEOPLE AND PRODUCTION OF
AIRCRAFT OF ALL TYPES REACH
NEARLY 300,000 IN A WAR THAT
MILITARY LEADERS QUICKLY
DISCOVERED WOULD BE DETERMINED
BY AIR SUPERIORITY.
THIS UNPRECEDENTED ALMOST
INCONCEIVABLE INCREASE IN
AMERICAN AIR POWER WAS WIDELY
RECOGNIZED TO BE ONE OF THE MOST
IMPORTANT FACTORS IN THE ALLIES
SUCCESS.
BUT THREE YEARS BEFORE PEARL
HARBOR THE ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY
HAD NOT YET BEEN ACTIVATED AND
THE UNITED STATES WAS LOOKING AT
AN IMMENSE DISPARITY BETWEEN
WHAT IT HAD AND WHAT IT WOULD
SOON NEED SO DRAWING ON THE
EXPERTISE OF PROMINENT AVIATION
LEADERS THE MILITARY CREATED
WHAT WOULD BECOME THE CIVILIAN
PILOT TRAINING PROGRAM?
BY THE TIME THIS PROGRAM
ENDED
IT HAD TRAINED 435,000 PILOTS,
INCLUDING FUTURE ASTRONAUT AND
SENATOR JOHN GLENN TRIPLE ACE
BUD ANDERSON AND TUSKEGEE AIRMAN
ROBERT DIETZ.
ALL MILITARY PILOTS COMPLETED A
TRAINING PROGRAM THAT WAS
ACCOMPLISHED IN THREE PHASES
PRIMARY BASIC AND ADVANCED.
THIS PROCESS WAS DESIGNED TO
GRADUALLY INCREASE THE
COMPLEXITY OF THE PILOTS
TRAINING.
PRIMARY INTRODUCE THE PILOT TO
THE PRINCIPLES OF FLIGHT BASIC
INTRODUCE THEM TO THE
COMPLEXITIES OF RADIO
COMMUNICATION AND FLYING IN
FORMATION.
AND ADVANCED TRAINING WAS
DESIGNED TO PREPARE THE AIR
CREWS GO INTO COMBAT.
ONE OF THE ICONIC TRAINERS WAS
THE BOEING STEARMAN BIPLANE AN
OPEN COCKPIT AIRCRAFT
CONSTRUCTED OF WOOD FABRIC AND
TUBULAR STEEL.
THERE WERE MORE THAN TWO DOZEN
DIFFERENT VARIANTS OF THE
STEARMAN DESIGNED AND MORE THAN
10,000 WERE BUILT.
ANOTHER PRIMARY TRAINER
WAS THE
FAIRCHILD PT-19 A MONOPLANE THAT
WAS USED BY THE US ARMY AIR
FORCES THE BRITISH ROYAL AIR
FORCE AND THE ROYAL CANADIAN AIR
FORCE LIKE THE STEARMAN THE
PT-19 WAS AN OPEN COCKPIT
DESIGN.
ADVANCED TRAINING WAS
ACCOMPLISHED IN AN AIRCRAFT LIKE
THE NORTH AMERICAN TEXAN
WEIGHING IN AT NEARLY THREE
TONNES WITH A 600 HORSEPOWER
RADIAL ENGINE AND RETRACTABLE
LANDING GEAR THE TEXAN WAS
DESIGNED TO PREPARE PILOTS TO
FLY THE STATE-OF-THE-ART
AIRCRAFT.
THAT WOULD BE USED IN COMBAT.
BY THE END OF THE WAR NORTH
AMERICAN HAD BUILT MORE THAN
15,000 TEXANS INCLUDING THE 86
VARIANT FOR THE ARMY AIR FORCES
AND THE SNJ VERSION FOR THE US
NAVY THE 8011 KNOWN AS THE TWIN
BEACH IN CIVILIAN LIFE ALSO
SERVED MANY FUNCTIONS INCLUDING
AS A TRADING PLATFORM FOR
BOMBING NAVIGATION AND GUNNERY.
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE
ATLANTIC THE BRITISH USED THE
VENERABLE DE HAVILLAND TIGER
MOTH BIPLANE AS THEIR PRIMARY
TRAINER THIS ICONIC AIRCRAFT
PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN PREPARING
VIRTUALLY EVERY BRITISH AND
COMMONWEALTH MILITARY PILOT OVER
A TWO-DECADE PERIOD BEGINNING IN
1932.
IN TOTAL NEARLY 9,000 WERE BUILT
AND MANY ARE STILL FLOWN BY
CIVILIAN PILOTS IN THE UK AND
THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE
WORLD.
IN THE EARLY DAYS OF WORLD WAR
TWO THE ARMY AND NAVY DID NOT
YET HAVE SUFFICIENT RESOURCES TO
PATROL AND PROTECT SHIPPING
ROUTES IN THE ATLANTIC AND THE
IN THE GULF OF MEXICO AT A TIME
WHEN GERMAN SUBMARINES WERE
PROWLING THE WATERS OFF THE
EASTERN SHORES OF THE COUNTRY
AND SINKING VITALLY IMPORTANT
TANKERS THE MILITARY SENIOR
LEADERSHIP AT THAT TIME ASKED
FOR HELP FROM THE NEWLY FORMED
CIVIL AIR AN ORGANIZATION OF
CIVILIAN PILOTS.
VOLUNTEERING TO USE THEIR
AIRCRAFT IN DEFENSE OF THE
NATION ARMED WITH SMALL BOMBS IN
DEPTH CHARGES THE CAPS COASTAL
PATROL USED LIGHT SINGLE-ENGINE
AIRCRAFT LIKE THE STINSON L5
SENTINEL THE ARRANCAR L16
CHAMPION AND THE PIPER L4
GRASSHOPPER TO FLY MISSIONS FROM
21 BASIS FROM MAINE ALL THE WAY
TO TEXAS OVER AN 18-MONTH PERIOD
THE CIVIL AIR
PATROL SPOTTED 173
POSSIBLE SUBMARINES ATTACKED 57
AND DROPPED 82 BOMBS.
IT ALSO FLEW OVER
24 MILLION
MILES DURING FIVE THOUSAND SIX
HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-FOUR CONVOY
SUPPORT MISSIONS.
IT'S EFFORTS HELPED THE MILITARY
PUSH THE SUBMARINE THREAT WELL
AWAY FROM COASTAL SHIPPING
LANES.
BUT NOT WITHOUT A COST
THE
COASTAL PATROL SUFFERED TWENTY
SIX FATALITIES AND 90 AIRCRAFT
LOST DURING THE EARLY OF THE
WAR.
IN ADDITION TO COASTAL PATROL
CAP PILOTS PERFORM MANY OTHER
CRITICAL TASKS INCLUDING SEARCH
AND RESCUE TARGET TOWING BORDER
PATROL FOREST FIRE PATROL
INTERCEPTOR TRAINING AND DOZENS
OF OTHER MISSIONS.
WHEN PEARL HARBOR WAS
ATTACKED
BY CARRIER-BASED AIRCRAFT OF THE
JAPANESE NAVY THE ONLY MODERN US
ARMY AIR FORCES FIGHTER
STATIONED IN HAWAII WAS THE
CURTISS P-40.
AN ALL-METAL
300 MILE PER HOUR
1937 DESIGN THE P40 WAS RAPIDLY
OVERTAKEN BY FAR MORE CAPABLE
FIGHTERS, BUT AT 8 O'CLOCK IN
THE MORNING ON DECEMBER 7TH,
1941 THAT AIRPLANE WAS OUR
COUNTRY'S FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE
AGAINST 350 JAPANESE FIGHTERS
BOMBERS AND TORPEDO PLANES
LAUNCHED FROM SIX AIRCRAFT
CARRIERS.
BY 9:00 A.M. THAT DAY
MORE THAN
2,400 AMERICANS HAD BEEN KILLED.
MUCH OF THE NAVY FLEET HAD BEEN
RUINED AND MORE THAN HALF OF THE
ARMY AIR FORCES AIRCRAFT ON OAHU
WERE DAMAGED BEYOND USE.
THE LONE AERIAL OPPOSITION CAME
FROM INDIVIDUAL PILOTS LIKE
LIEUTENANT GEORGE S WELCH
LIEUTENANT KENNETH A TAILOR AND
LIEUTENANT PHILIP AND RASMUSSEN
WHO RACED FOR ANY AIRPLANE.
THEY COULD FIND FLYING P-40S
MUCH LIKE THOSE YOU SEE HERE
PILOTS SHOT DOWN A NUMBER OF
JAPANESE AIRCRAFT ON THAT DAY OF
INFAMY.
TWO WEEKS AFTER THE ATTACK
ON
PEARL HARBOR 100 RECRUITS LED BY
CLAIRE CHENNAULT.
ONE OF THE MOST GIFTED AND
CONTROVERSIAL COMMANDERS OF THE
WAR BEGAN FLYING P-40S TO
PROTECT CHINA FROM JAPAN.
IN SEVEN MONTHS BEFORE
THE
AMERICAN VOLUNTEER GROUP THE
FLYING TIGERS WAS DISBANDED AND
INCORPORATED INTO THE 23RD
FIGHTER GROUP OF THE ARMY AIR
FORCES.
THEY SAVAGED
BOMBERS FROM JAPAN
AND IMMORTALIZED THE FIERCE
SHARK'S TEETH PAINT SCHEME ON
THE NOSE OF THEIR P-40S.
IN APRIL OF 1942 AFTER
A SERIES
OF STINGING SETBACKS IN THE
PACIFIC LIEUTENANT COLONEL JIMMY
DOOLITTLE LED 16 B-25 MITCHELL
BOMBERS OFF THE USS HORNET ON A
BOMBING RAID TO TOKYO AND FOR
OTHER CITIES.
THE RAID RESULTED IN ONLY MINOR
DAMAGE TO ITS TARGETS BUT IT HAD
PROFOUND IMPACT ON JAPANESE
STRATEGY CAUSING MILITARY
LEADERS TO BE MORE CONCERNED
ABOUT ATTACKS ON JAPAN THAN THEY
OTHERWISE WOULD BE BUT THE B-25S
CONTRIBUTION TO THE WAR EFFORT
WAS NOT LIMITED TO THE DOOLITTLE
RAID.
THE AIRCRAFT HAD AN IMPORTANT
ROLE IN EVERY BATTLE THEATER OF
WORLD WAR II IN THE PACIFIC IT
PROVIDED CLOSE AIR SUPPORT
STRAFE JAPANESE TANKS AND
AIRFIELDS AND DESTROYED BRIDGES
IN EUROPE THE MITCHELL OPERATED
AS A MEDIUM BOMBER.
AND THE NAVY AND MARINE CORPS
USED THE PBJ ONE VARIANT TO FIND
AND DESTROY ENEMY SHIPS.
DURING THE WAR B-25S WERE ALSO
FLOWN BY THE BRITISH CANADIANS
DUTCH AUSTRALIANS SOVIETS
BRAZILIANS AND THE CHINESE.
IN EARLY JUNE OF 1942
THE
JAPANESE AND AMERICAN NAVY'S
CONVERGED ON A TINY VOLCANIC
ISLAND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE
PACIFIC OCEAN AND THE STAGE WAS
SET FOR A DRAMATIC SHIFT IN
MOMENTUM IN THE PACIFIC THEATER.
TIPPED OFF TO JAPANESE PLANS BY
US CRYPTOGRAPHERS WHO HAD BROKEN
JAPANESE RADIO CODES PBY
CATALINA FLYING BOATS WERE
DEPLOYED FROM MIDWAY ISLAND TO
SEARCH HUNDREDS OF MILES OF
OCEAN FOR ENEMY SHIPS.
ONE OF THEM FOUND THE JAPANESE
FLEET STEAMING TOWARD MIDWAY.
THE CREW RADIO THE INFORMATION
BACK TO MILITARY LEADERSHIP THE
LARGE LUMBERING TO ENGINE
SEAPLANE HAD PROVIDED THE US
WITH AN EARLY ADVANTAGE IN THE
COMING BATTLE.
FROM THREE
US CARRIERS F4F
WILDCAT FLU ESCORT FOR SLOWER
DEVASTATOR AND DAUNTLESS BOMBERS
BUT LOGISTICAL PROBLEMS AND BAD
LUCK PLAGUED THE AMERICANS AS
THEY BEGAN THEIR ATTACK.
MOST OF THE AMERICAN TORPEDO
BOMBERS WERE SHOT OUT OF THE SKY
IN THE FIRST THREE HOURS OF THE
BATTLE NOT A SINGLE US BOMB OR
TORPEDO HIT A JAPANESE SHIP
DESPITE EIGHT SEPARATE ATTACKS
BY A TOTAL OF 94 AMERICAN
AIRCRAFT.
THEN THE TIDE TURNED
AS THE
JAPANESE FOCUS THEIR ATTENTION
ON THE TORPEDO BOMBERS FLYING
JUST OFF THE SURFACE OF THE
WATER SBD DAUNTLESS DIVE BOMBERS
ATTACKED FROM HIGHER ALTITUDE
FATALLY DAMAGING THREE OF FOUR
JAPANESE CARRIERS AND AN HOUR
LATER A SECOND ATTACK BY
DIVE-BOMBERS LED TO THE
DESTRUCTION DESTRUCTION OF THE
FOURTH JAPANESE CARRIER.
THE BALANCE OF NAVAL POWER IN
THE PACIFIC HAD SHIFTED
PERMANENTLY WHEN THE US MARINES
STORM THE SHORES OF GUADALCANAL
IN AUGUST OF 1942, JAPANESE
CONQUEST HAD REACHED THEIR PEAK
THIS BOLD UNEXPECTED OFFENCIVE
WOULD PROVE TO BE A CRITICAL
TURNING POINT IN THE WAR IN THE
PACIFIC.
SMALL BUT STRATEGIC AIR FIELD ON
THE ISLAND WAS THE FOCAL POINT
OF SIX MONTHS OF FIERCE BATTLE
ON THE GROUND IN THE AIR AND ON
THE SEA BY THE TIME THE JAPANESE
CONCEDED THE ISLAND IN FEBRUARY
OF 1943 NEARLY 25,000 JAPANESE
AND 1600 AMERICANS HAD BEEN
KILLED WITH THOUSANDS MORE DEAD
FROM MALARIA AND OTHER TROPICAL
DISEASES.
CENTRAL TO THE BATTLE WAS A
VENERABLE GRUMMAN F4F WILDCAT,
WHICH WAS OPERATED FROM CARRIERS
BY US NAVY PILOTS AND FROM
HENDERSON FIELD BY MARINE CORPS
PILOTS THROUGHOUT THE
GUADALCANAL CAMPAIGN.
WHEN THE JAPANESE ATTACKED PEARL
HARBOR THE STURDY AND RESILIENT
WILDCAT WAS THE PRINCIPAL AND
MOST ADVANCED FIGHTER FOR BOTH
THE NAVY AND THE MARINES IN THE
PACIFIC.
LATER
IN 1942 BELL.
P-39 AIRACOBRA HAS ASSIGNED TO
THE US ARMY AIR FORCES JOINED
THE WILDCATS OF THE MARINE CORPS
OPERATING FROM HENDERSON FIELD
THE AIRACOBRA HAD SUCCESS IN
OTHER THEATRES AS WELL, AND
WE'RE PART OF THE VITAL SO
CALLED CACTUS AIR FORCE
DEFENDING GUADALCANAL LIKE THE
WILDCAT THE P39 WAS OUTMATCHED
BY THE FASTER MORE AGILE.
UH, SHE'S 0 FLOWN BY JAPANESE
CARRIER-BASED FIGHTER PILOTS
BOTH THE WILDCATS AND AIRACOBRAS
WERE ABLE TO GET THEIR OWN HOLD
AGAINST THOSE ZEROS BECAUSE OF
THEIR RUGGED CONSTRUCTION THE
UNIQUE BATTLE TACTICS DEVELOPED
BY AVIATORS AND THE SKILL OF THE
MEN WHO FLEW THEM.
AND NOW YAMAMOTO IS FINAL
FLIGHT
ADMIRAL ISOROKU.
YAMAMOTO WAS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF
OF THE JAPANESE COMBINED FLEET
AND MASTERMIND OF JAPAN'S ATTACK
ON PEARL HARBOR.
IN THE SPRING
OF 1943 AMERICAN
CRYPTOGRAPHERS INTERCEPTED AND
DECODED A MESSAGE WITH
YAMAMOTO'S ITINERARY FOR A TRIP
BETWEEN TWO ISLANDS IN THE
SOLOMON ISLAND CHAIN IN THE
SOUTH PACIFIC ON APRIL 18TH A
FLIGHT OF 18 LOCKHEED P-38.
LIGHTNING AIRCRAFT WERE
DISPATCHED FROM COOKING FIELD ON
GUADALCANAL ON A LONG LOW
ALTITUDE CIRCUITOUS ROUTE
DESIGNED TO EVADE ENEMY RADAR.
AS THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE AND
ATTACK THE TWIN ENGINE TWIN TAIL
P38 WAS UNIQUELY SUITED TO THE
CHALLENGES OF THIS MISSION.
NO OTHER FIGHTER DEPLOYED IN THE
PACIFIC HAD THE LONG-RANGE
CAPABILITY TO FLY 600 MILES OVER
OPEN OCEAN INTERCEPT ENEMY
AIRCRAFT AT A CERTAIN POINT AND
AT A CERTAIN TIME ENGAGE THEM IN
BATTLE AND THEN MAKE THE RETURN
TRIP OF 400 MILES OVER THE SKIES
OF THE PACIFIC THE
AMERICAN
P-38S INTERCEPTED TWO JAPANESE.
BOMBERS CARRYING ADMIRAL
YAMAMOTO AND HIS STAFF IS
SQUIRTED BY SIX FIGHTERS.
THEY DESTROYED BOTH OF THE
BOMBERS KILLING YAMAMOTO THE
MISSION NICKNAMED OPERATION
VENGEANCE.
NOT ONLY AVENGE THE DEATHS OF
2,400 AMERICANS AT PEARL HARBOR.
IT ALSO DEPRIVED THE JAPANESE OF
ONE OF THEIR FINEST MILITARY
STRATEGISTS.
MUSTANGS TO THE RESCUE IN THE
EARLY DAYS OF THE WAR AFTER THE
ALLIES HAD DECIDED THAT THE
BRITISH WOULD CONDUCT NIGHTTIME
BOMBING RAIDS ON GERMAN TARGETS
AND THE AMERICANS WOULD BOMB
DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS MISSION
LOSSES THAT OCCURRED BEYOND THE
RANGE OF FIGHTERS LIKE THE P51 7
THUNDERBOLT.
WERE HORRIFIC WITHOUT FIGHTER
ESCORTS THE U.S.
BOMBERS SUFFERED UNSUSTAINABLE
LOSSES TO GERMAN FIGHTERS SOME
ESTIMATES PUT THE FATALITY RATE
OF B-17 AND B25 OR CRUISE AT
NEARLY 50% THAT BEGAN TO CHANGE
WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF THE P51
MUSTANG AS A LONG-RANGE FIGHTER
WHEN OUTFITTED WITH EXTERNAL
FUEL TANKS MADE OF A KIND OF
PAPER MACHE A NON STRATEGIC
MATERIAL.
THE MUSTANG COULD FLY MORE THAN
2,000 MILES EQUIPPED THIS WAY.
SIX BROWNING 50 CALIBER
MACHINE
GUNS, EXCELLENT MANEUVERABILITY
AND THE AGGRESSIVE TACTICS FLOWN
BY FEARLESS AND HIGHLY TRAINED
PILOTS MADE THE P51 AND
IMPRESSIVE DOGFIGHTER SOME OF
THE YOUNG MEN WHO FLEW THE
MUSTANG WERE PILOTS FROM THE
332ND FIGHTER GROUP THE FIRST
AFRICAN AMERICAN FIGHTER UNIT.
THEY PROVIDED ESCORT TWO
MISSIONS OVER ITALY DURING 1944
AND 45 COMMANDED BY WEST POINT
GRADUATE COLONEL BENJAMIN.
MATT DAVIS THE RED TAILS A
NICKNAME BASED ON THE
IDENTIFICATION PAINT ON THERE
ARE PLANES SHOT DOWN 111 GERMAN
AIRCRAFT.
BY D-DAY THE COMBINED BOMBER
OFFENSIVE FROM ENGLAND AND ITALY
HAD BROKEN THE GERMAN AIR FORCE
THE P51 ALSO SERVED IN THE
PACIFIC THEATER AS A LONG-RANGE
FIGHTER FLYING FROM FORWARD AIR
BASES AND USING THE SAME
TECHNIQUES AS IN EUROPE.
THE P51 WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN
LONG-RANGE BOMBING MISSIONS.
GEORGE HW BUSH
IN EARLY
SEPTEMBER OF 1944 FOR GRUMMAN
TBM AVENGERS OPERATING OFF THE
LIGHT CARRIER USS, SAN JACINTO
ATTACK JAPANESE MILITARY
INSTALLATIONS CLOSE TO THE
ISLAND OF CHICHI JIMA
APPROXIMATELY 500 MILES SOUTH OF
MAINLAND, JAPAN.
PILOTING ONE OF THOSE FOR NAVY
AIRCRAFT WAS FUTURE U.S.
PRESIDENT GEORGE HW BUSH WHO WAS
TASKED WITH DESTROYING A
PARTICULAR RADIO TOWER.
ALTHOUGH THE MISSION WAS
SUCCESSFUL AND THE TARGET WAS
DESTROYED ALL FOUR AIRCRAFT WERE
SUBJECT TO INTENSE ANTI-AIRCRAFT
FIRE.
DURING THE ATTACK BUSH'S
AIRCRAFT WAS HIT AND HIS ENGINE
CAUGHT FIRE.
HE FLEW SEVERAL MILES FROM THE
ISLAND IN ORDERED HIS CREW OF
TWO TO PUT ON THEIR PARACHUTES
AND TO PREPARE TO BAIL OUT OF
THE NINE AIRMEN WHO ESCAPED
THEIR PLANES THAT DAY BUSH WAS
THE ONLY ONE TO SURVIVE AFTER
FLOATING IN HIS INFLATABLE RAFT
FOR FOUR HOURS.
HE WAS RESCUED BY THE USS
FINBACK A RESCUE SUBMARINE.
BY THE END OF 1944 BUSH
HAD
FLOWN 58 COMBAT MISSIONS AND
RECEIVED THE DISTINGUISHED
FLYING CROSS.
THE AVENGER WAS A TORPEDO BOMBER
MANUFACTURED BY BOTH GRUMMAN AND
GENERAL MOTORS NEARLY 10,000
WERE MANUFACTURED AND SERVED IN
THE US NAVY THE ROYAL NAVY THE
ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY AND THE
ROYAL NEW ZEALAND AIR FORCE.
IMMORTALIZED FOREVER BY THE
PHOTO OF MARINES RAISING THE
U.S.
FLAG OVER MOUNT SURIBACHI THE
BATTLE OF IWO JIMA HELPED TO
SECURE THREE AIRFIELDS AND
PROVIDED THE UNITED STATES WITH
AN IMPORTANT STAGING AREA FOR
THE MUCH ANTICIPATED INVASION OF
THE JAPANESE HOMELAND AS WELL AS
AN EMERGENCY LANDING FIELD FOR
JAPAN BOUND BOMBERS AND A HOME
BASE FOR FIGHTER ESCORTS.
IT IS A TESTAMENT TO THE
FEROCITY OF THE FIGHTING ON IT.
JIMA THAT MORE THAN 25,000 US
MARINES WERE KILLED OR WOUNDED
DURING THIRTY FIVE DAYS OF
FIGHTING IN FEBRUARY AND MARCH
OF 1945 AND NEARLY 19,000.
JAPANESE SOLDIERS KILLED AS
WELL.
IT WAS THE ONLY BATTLE OF THE
WAR IN WHICH US CASUALTIES
EXCEEDED THOSE OF THE JAPANESE.
CARRIER BASE CHANCE
VOUGHT F4U
CORSAIR FIGHTERS WERE CRITICAL
TO AMERICAN SUCCESS DURING THE
BATTLE FOR IWO, JIMA.
AS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED THE
PILOTS AT FAR BACK IN THE
FUSELAGE OF THE CORSAIR AND HIS
VIEW WAS RESTRICTED BECAUSE OF
THE 2,000 HORSEPOWER ENGINE 13
FOOT DIAMETER PROPELLER AND HUGE
FUEL TANK MAKING LANDINGS
EXTREMELY CHALLENGING ON THE
PITCHING DECK OF A CARRIER.
SO EARLY MODELS WENT TO
LAND-BASED MARINE PILOTS WHO PUT
THE AIRCRAFT SPEED AND HEAVY
ARMAMENT TO EFFECTIVE USE IN
BOTH DOG FIGHTS AND IN GROUND
SUPPORT.
EVENTUALLY COURSE ARE PILOT SHOT
DOWN 11 JAPANESE AIRCRAFT EVERY
COURSE ARE LOST.
BY THE BEGINNING OF 1945 MARINE
CORPS PILOTS WERE FLYING LOW
LEVEL MISSIONS WITH BOMBS
ROCKETS AND NAPALM IN SUPPORT OF
THEIR FELLOW MARINES ON THE
BEACHES AND IN THE JUNGLES OF
SMALL ISLANDS THROUGHOUT THE
SOUTH PACIFIC INCLUDING IWO,
JIMA THE JAPANESE NICKNAME FOR
THE CORSAIR WAS WHISTLING DEATH.
THE BOEING B-29
SUPERFORTRESS
CARRIED A BOMB LOAD OF 10,000
POUNDS ON ITS 2,000 MILE ROUND
TRIP TO JAPAN AT AN ALTITUDE OF
30,000 FEET.
IT WAS ABLE TO FLY ABOVE MOST OF
JAPAN'S HOME ISLANDS DEFENSES.
INSTEAD OF CONVENTIONAL GUN
TURRETS THE B-29S DEFENSIVE
WEAPONS WERE LINKED THROUGH A
REMOTE CONTROL SYSTEM.
THAT WAS A MARVEL IN THE 1940S
BY THE TIME B-29S ENTERED THE
WAR AN EARLIER GENERATION OF
HEAVY BOMBERS HAD LEVELED MUCH
OF GERMANY.
SO THE SUPER FORTRESSES WERE
DEPLOYED TO CHINA AND LATER IN
THE MARIANA ISLANDS THE MOVE TO
THE ISLANDS PUT THE AIRCRAFT
WITHIN 1,500 MILES OF TOKYO.
WELL WITHIN THE BOMBERS RANGE
WITH THEIR LARGE NUMBERS AND
VAST PAYLOADS.
IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE THE B-29S
HAD DESTROYED NEARLY EVERY
STRATEGIC TARGET IN JAPAN THE
ONLY AIRCRAFT THEN CAPABLE OF
DELIVERING THE WORLD'S FIRST
NUCLEAR BOMBS MODIFIED SUPER
FORTRESSES.
JOIN THEIR COMRADES IN THE
SUMMER OF 1945 ON AUGUST 6 THE
B-29 ENOLA GAY DROPPED A URANIUM
BOMB ON THE JAPANESE CITY OF
HIROSHIMA.
THREE DAYS LATER BOXCAR
TARGETED
NAGASAKI WITH A PLUTONIUM BOMB.
ON AUGUST 14TH, THE JAPANESE
SURRENDERED UNCONDITIONALLY.
THE SURRENDER WAS FORMALIZED IN
A CEREMONY ON BOARD THE USS,
MISSOURI IN TOKYO BAY ON
SEPTEMBER 2ND 1945.
OVER 12 MILLION
AMERICANS
ANSWERED THE NATION'S CALL OVER
THE COURSE OF THE SECOND WORLD
WAR DURING THE 45 MONTHS THAT
THE U.S.
WAS INVOLVED MORE THAN 400,000
SERVICEMEN.
WOULD PAY THE ULTIMATE PRICE FOR
FREEDOM.
MEETING DEATH ON THE GROUND AND
IN THE SKIES OVER WAR-TORN
CONTINENTS OR IN THE SEAS
BETWEEN THEM.
THE COST OF ULTIMATE VICTORY
MUST NEVER BE FORGOTTEN.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
75 YEARS
AGO TODAY THE WORLD REJOICED
THROUGHOUT AMERICA AND IN
HONOLULU.
WE'RE SCENES OF
IMMENSE
IMPROMPTU STREET PARTIES HUGE
CELEBRATIONS WERE HELD IN
CHICAGO, LOS ANGELES, MIAMI AND
ESPECIALLY NEW YORK'S TIMES
SQUARE.
EVERY CONTRIBUTOR TO THE LEGACY
OF PEACE AERIAL PARADE HAD DONE
THEIR PART FROM THE SERVICEMEN
FIGHTING FOR THEIR COUNTRY
OVERSEAS TO THE FACTORY WORKERS
AND BUSINESSES PROVIDING THOSE
SERVICEMEN AND SERVICEWOMEN WITH
THE WEAPONS OF WAR THAT WERE SO
VITAL TO THEIR SUCCESS TO THE
FAMILIES WHO WENT WITHOUT SO
THAT THE BOYS OVERSEAS COULD
HAVE ALL THAT THEY NEEDED
SECURING PEACE WAS A
COLLABORATIVE EFFORT A TRIUMPH
THAT THE ENTIRE COUNTRY.
THREE COULD BE PROUD OF AND
THREE QUARTERS OF A CENTURY
LATER.
WE ARE NO LESS PROUD.
FOR ALL OF THOSE HERE TODAY WHO
PLAYED A ROLE IN AMERICA'S
SUCCESS IN WORLD WAR II WHETHER
IN A MILITARY OR CIVILIAN
CAPACITY.
THANK YOU.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
FOR ALL OTHERS.
THANKS FOR JOINING US HERE TODAY
TO HELP COMMEMORATE.
OUR COUNTRY'S PEACE ACHIEVEMENT
IN WORLD WAR II AND RECOGNIZE
THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO MADE IT
POSSIBLE.
MANY THANKS ONCE AGAIN TO THE
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES THAT HELPED
MAKE TODAY'S AERIAL PARADE
POSSIBLE TO THE NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATIONS THAT HELP TO PLAN
AND CONDUCT THIS HISTORIC EVENT
TO THE PILOTS PARTICIPATING IN
THE FLYOVER AND ESPECIALLY TO
OUR SPONSORS INCLUDING OUR
PRESENTING SPONSOR THE BOB HOPE
LEGACY AS PART OF THE BOB AND
DOLORES HOPE FOUNDATION.
MY NAME IS DAVE PRICE AND IT HAS
BEEN A GREAT HONOR AND PLEASURE
TO SPEND TIME WITH YOU HERE
TODAY TO COMMEMORATE THE ALLIED
ACHIEVEMENT 75 YEARS AGO.
READY?
