Events 2nd Combat Tour [FN#1]
Dates - 17 June 1943 - 29 July 1943 Tactical Organization
Weissenberger Cloake Cupp
Thomas McCleary Brown
De Fabio Boag Votaw
Garrison Hodde Spoede
Hall Treffer Tate
Shaw Winnia
Morgan Vedder
Jones Peck
- June 17.
- 1st echelon arrived at Guadalcanal fighter #1 via SCAT
from Buttons. Cloake’s & Cupps divisions
& Harrison & Livingood.
- June 20.
- 2nd echelon arrived – flew F4Us. Espiritu Santos
to Guadalcanal Fighter #1.
Weissenbergers, Halls divisions & Boag.
- June 27
- Coffeen returned (missing since April 13) - is patient at
MOB#8 Hospital. visited squadron. Pictures taken.
- June 28.
- Harrison – fever, chills, - aches. Smears positive
for Plas. falciparum. Treatment for 2 days at MAG 12
then to squadron for routine course. 12 sick days.
- June 29.
- Tate on morning patrol – had engine failure – attempted to make
Fighter #2 but crashed short of runway – injuries, multiple, extensive.
including skull fracture, avulsion of left eye, extrusion of brain, etc. Lived
only a few minutes. Burial in Row 52, Grave 5, Army Navy and
Marine Corps Cemetery – Guadalcanal – services by Protest Army Chaplain, Major
Gratefeld.
- June 30.
- Aerial battle over New Georgia and Rendova – covering the Rendova
landings. Divisions – Weissenbergers, Halls, Cloake’s.
- Weissenberger shot down 3 zeros, but plane shot down by last zero, flaming, bailed
out about 1000 ft., struck by tailpiece with left chest, shoulder, neck contusions,
picked up by DD [FN#2] exhausted – reported as missing this day.
-
- Hall led division against 9 zero biplanes w. floats. – shot down
all but 1 which was a probable.
Hall 2 Morgan 2
Shaw 3 & 1 probable Jones 2
- Garrison - shot down 2 zeros.
- DeFabio - shot down 1 zero.
- Thomas - shot down 4 zeros and 1 probable.[FN#3]
- Peck – had engine failure just after take-off – glided to water landing. Crash
boat reached plane just as it was sinking. Peck failed to get out of
plane. Reported as killed – operational. Body not recovered.
- Cloake – shot down 1 zero.
- Boag & McCleary – probables.
- July 1.
- Weissenberger – x-ray chest negative. Rx heat & liniments.
- Garrison – fever, aches, etc. smear positive for P.V.( -?- ) [FN#4]
placed on routine treatment 12 sick days.
- July 2.
- Vedder – on Rendova patrol – engine failure – bailed out –
Reported as missing but probably picked up.
- July 3.
- Brown – While based at Russell Is. For the day.- had flat on take-off –
ground looped – crashed – laceration, frontal, right – 4 sutures.
Sick list – 3 days.
- Spoede – while in division returning from combat patrol in late evening –
division ran into thunderhead and all planes were separated.
No contacts with Spoede. Reported as missing.
- Cloake – ground loop – Russell Islands. No injuries.
- July 2.
- Vedder reported picked up.
- July 5.
- Vedder returned uninjured.
- July 6.
- Weissenberger returned to duty. Brown – returned to duty.
- Jones – tropical ulcer, no response to therapy – grounded – legs at rest.
- July 7.
- Jones – no improvement – oral sulfathiazole started. – cellulitis
of rt. leg.
- July 8
- Jones - taken to MAG-12, has severe generalized dermatitis.
- July 9
- Jones – evacuated to Base II Hospital.
- July 10
- Harrison – returned to duty well.
- July 11
- Aerial battle over New Georgia.
- Boag – shot down 2 zeros and 2 probables – was shot down by zero.
Bailed out with injuries to right hand – reported picked up at Segi. [FN#5]
- Weissenberger shot down 1 zero.
- Thomas – in combat – Rendova patrol – plane shot up – made water landing north of
New Georgia – reported missing.
- McCleary shot down 1 probable – a smoker – also another probable.
- DeFabio shot down 1 zero.
- July 12
- Boag – returned – compound fractures 3 & 4th fingers, rt., distal digit, severe
lacerations – reduced under (-?-)[FN#6]– evacuated to Lion One Hospital following
day.
- July 13.
- Thomas returned uninjured.
(unconfirmed rumor from New Georgia – of pilot picked up 1 mo. ago with neck
wounds – 1 mo. after battle – died shortly after - probably Eckart.)
- July 14.
- Garrison – returned to duty.
- July 15.
- Intercepted a large bomber attack on New Georgia group.
- Votawdrawn flat.
Cupp shot down 1 Betty and 1 zero.
Hall shot down 1 Betty and 1 zero.
Brown shot down one Betty (rec’d numerous holes in plane)
Shaw shot down 1 Betty and 1 zero.
Shot down another Betty but half credit claimed by P-40 pilot.
Thomas shot down 1 Betty and 2 zeros.
Morgan shot down 1 zero and 1 Betty.
Vedder shot down 3 Bettys. [FN#7]
- July 17.
- Aerial battle over Kahili as bomber escorts.
- Hodde – shot down 3 zeros. Missing after combat escort over Kahili. Later
reported landed at Segi with injuries.
Cupp shot down 2 zeros and 1 probable.
Cupp and Brown together shot down 1 zero.
Brown shot down 1 zero and 1 probable.
Shaw shot down 3 zeros.
Hall shot down a probable. [FN#8]
- Garrison – shot down in combat over Kahili - on return – broke division to
make pass at zero. Was shot down, both wing tanks blazing – went
straight in not seen to get out.
Morgan shot down 3 zeros.
- July 18
- Aerial battle over Kahili in escorting bombers.
- Winnia – failed to return – missing in action – last seen in combat over Kahili.
Shaw shot down 2 zeros.
McCleary shot down one zero.
Weissenberger shot down one zero
Cupp shot down 1 zero.
DeFabio shot down 1 zero.
- Hall shot down in combat glided to water landing about 5 miles off Choiseul.
-seen to be strafed by zeros. Reported as missing.
(later picked up by natives – returned to Guadalcanal 8-2-43. Later evacuated
to Lion One Hospital with fractures of nose, front upper teeth, shrapnel wounds left
wrist – evacuated to states.) Shot down 2 planes. [FN#9]
- July 19.
- Requested of Fighter Command to
ease duty on pilots – no relief
in sight for 10 days.
(Major Weissenberger and Livingood)
- July 20.
- Examined for promotions to Captain. 1.McCleary 2. Treffer.
- July 21
- Vedder shot down one zero. [FN#10]
- Hodde returned – has penetrating 7.7 wound in left calf.
7.7 intact.
- July 22.
- Hodde evacuated to Base Hospital #3. – later to New Zealand.
- July 26
- Treffer – fever –malaise- aches- repeated smears negative
grounded.
-
- Kahili mission today.
All pilots grounded - after completion of mission
Combat fatigue
- Schneider’s performed on pilots. [FN#11]
- July 28
- VMF 124 arrived to relieve 213.
- July 29
- Squadron via SCAT from Guadalcanal to
Espiritu Santos.
(ALL pilots still grounded until examination after Sidney trip).
________________________________
[FN#1] Events 2nd Combat Tour start on page 101 and continue through page 111.
[FN#2] DD was the Navy designation for Destroyer.
[FN#3] In the extreme left hand margin of the page a box with the number “19” in it with this day’s entry, apparently noting nineteen planes shot down.
[FN#4] The “P.V.” is probably “Plasmodium vivax”: one of the malaria parasites that infect humans and is the most prevalent. Short inscription following “P.V.” not discernable.
[FN#5] Segi Point is on New Georgia Island on the coast closest to Vangunu Island.
[FN#6] Handwriting not clear enough to offer a probable estimation.
[FN#7] In the extreme left hand margin of the page a box with the number “15 ½” in it with this day’s entry, apparently noting fifteen planes with a half credit for another plane shot down.
[FN#8] In the extreme left hand margin of the page a box with the number “13” in it with this day’s entry, apparently noting thirteen planes shot down.
[FN#9] In the extreme left hand margin of the page a box with the number “8” in it with this day’s entry, apparently noting eight planes shot down.
[FN#10] In the extreme left hand margin of the page a box with the number “1" in it with this day’s entry.
[FN#11] The Schneider Test was for cardiovascular fitness.
