Maj. Gen. C.L. Chennault's Order of the Day
OR THE ORGANIZATIONAL YEAR which ends 10 March, the Fourteenth Air Force has destroyed more than 1,200 enemy planes, more than 500 of them were shot down in air combat. These figures do not include more than 190 probables nor the hundreds damaged in air combat, nor the probables and damaged left by our bombers and fighters on burning enemy airdromes. In destruction of enemy aircraft, as in the destruction of enemy installations and supply lines, our missions have been invariably outnumbered by enemy air strength. But through surprise and combat proficency we have destroyed more than eight enemy planes in air combat for every plane of ours that he has shot down. Fighters and bombers of the Fourteenth Air Force since March 1944 have sunk nearly 600,000 tons of enemy shipping, with 270,000 additional tons probably sunk and nearly 450,000 tons damaged. This is a total of more than 1,300,000 tons. At least 18 enemy naval vessels not included in the tonnage totals were destroyed by our fighters and bombers, 14 were probably destroyed and 18 were damaged. During the year we destroyed more than 2,600 smaller craft on which the enemy depends so greatly for supply lines on the coast and in th occupied river valleys of interior China. More than 300 of the craft in this category were probably destroyed and more than 9,000 damaged. Since June, units of the Fourteenth Air Force have killed more than 30,000 enemy troops and nearly 10,000 troop horses and pack horses. More than 700 enemy locomotives have been destroyed and 450 have been damaged. We have knocked out more than 100 bridges on enemy lines of communication and we have damaged nearly 250. As modern air forces go, all this has been done by few with little, often under extremely adverse weather conditions and over the world's most unfavorable terrain. It has been made possible by incredibly more pilot and crew sorties per month than might be expected, and by indefatigable effort and devotion to duty on the part of ground personnel supporting the operations. Not least among the accomplishments of the Fourteenth Air Force in its second year was the protection of more than two million Chinese refugees evacuating areas of Central and South China. For the first time since the Japanese attacked China, hundreds of thousands moved under the sheltering wings of the Fourteenth Air Force, ahead of the Japanese armies, free from wanton strafing and bombing, aided by our surgeons and flight nurses. Fourteenth Air Force transport units and attached combat cargo squadrons have dropped thousands of tons of supplies and munitions to Chinese armies operating against the enemy, and have transported across enemy lines supplies essential to the operations of advanced bases. Repeatedly, in co-operation with the China Air Service Command and the Engineers, they have completed the evacuation of our bases without material loss to our arms or gain to the enemy. It is notable in this connection that the enemy has thus far been unable to capitalize the bases we have evacuated under pressure of his ground forces. In sharp contrast, we have made untenable many of the formerly significant Japanese air bases in China and have widely extended our zones of air supremacy and air superiority against a repeatedly surprised and always reluctant enemy. Many times outnumbered, we have beaten him to the ground. He no longer dares attack in the daylight hours, and his air strength is waning on all our fronts.
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FOURTEENTH CHIEF OF STAFF, Brig. Gen. Albert N. Hegenberger, new Chief of Staff of the Fourteenth Air Force, succeeds Brig. Gen. Edgar E. Glenn. Previously Gen. Hegenberger was Chief of Staff for the Second Air Force in the United States. |
Kowloon Docks, Hong Kong, as it was being struck by Liberators, October 16, 1944. Zero (left center) turns in toward attack bomber. |
Tengchung, during one of the many raids during July, 1944. Fourteenth Air Force Mitchells breached the walls, making possible the storming of the town by Chinese ground forces. |
Gia Lam, French Indo-China, marshaling yards struck by Liberators November 27, 1944. |
Samah Bay, Hainan Island, struck July 28, 1944 |
Kenghluang Bridge, on the Menam Yom River, Thailand, hit by Mitchells November 11, 1944. |
Samshui, on the West River, struck by Fourteenth Air Force on September 14, 1944. |
Changsha, hit by Liberators supporting Chinese troops fighting to retake the town after Japs had occupied it a few days earlier. |
The Wolf by Sansone |
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Neglected If I ever get the time There's a lot I'd like to do; Several things I left undone, And one I left was you. But I have done some thinkin' Since I went away; I've coined some pretty phrases I'd like to try and say. I've tried, "Bon soir, Cherie," "Bambina, come slu," |
But they are vain and can't express Just what my feelings are. What I'd like to really say As best my English can Is, "Darling, look into my eyes; Come let me hold your hand." "Let's go and see the parson, The war is fought and won; So, if I ever leave again, You won't be left undone!!" - T/Sgt. Charles E. Brown |
No Doubt The difference between A retreat and a rout - Giving in Before you give out! Stint I don't do this altogether For love of seeing my name in print - Only about ninety percent. - Pfc. David Corn, Jr. |
Jack Gwynn produces Chinese rabbit from the hat of Sgt. George Trice, Nashville, Tenn., to the amazement of "Suzy," guest of honor in the Unit day room. |
DROPPING IN - Like giant mushrooms, parachutes safely deposit infantrymen on Jap-infested Corregidor to assist amphibious troops in driving out the enemy. In foreground, with feet just about to touch the ground, Paratrooper makes a perfect landing on the rocky pinpoint fortress. |
NAVY'S NEWEST light cruiser, USS Fargo, named for North Dakota town, goes down the ways at shipyard in Camden, N.J. Mrs. Fred Olsen, wife of Fargo City commision president, christened ship. |
A RED LETTER DAY - Pvt. Morris Gilkerson (left) of Holton, Kans., is happy with batch of 18 letters, first in over a month, but Pvt. Homer C. Wright of Tuscumbia, Mo., really has something to shout about. He hit the jackpot with 50 letters and is the envy of all his buddies in Germany. |
"FASHION PARADE" - Girls of USO troupe 269 playing to American and Chinese soldiers of the Chinese Combat Command, west of the Salween River in southwest China, conducted a "fashion parade" with GI recruits from the audience. To a howling audience, dancer Patricia Flynn presented Pfc. Harold Schultz of Woodside, N.Y., Schultz, it is alleged, represents "Staff Sergeant Heavy Maintenance of 1945." |
SECRETARY OF COMMERCE Henry A. Wallace, former Vice President of the United States, was sworn in March 2 as Secretary of Commerce by Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black. Wallace's nomination to the Cabinet post by President Roosevelt was confirmed March 1 by the Senate. He pledged the Department of Commerce to continue to play "a full part" in the nation's war effort. |
DEMONSTRATING sign above, Jay Twigg of Boston emphasizes silence concerning war maneuvers. His daddy, Lt. Edward J. Twigg, is a doctor serving aboard a combat ship. Cocker spaniel agrees. |
WORLD'S LARGEST transport, this Vultee plane will carry 204 passengers and 15,000 pounds of baggage, mail and express. Streamlined clipper is 12 times the size of standard commercial aircraft, and is powered by six engines which produce power equal to that of 353 automobiles. Plane is 182 feet long. |
HIGH OVER MALAYA Two B-29 Superfortresses of Brig. Gen. Roger M. Ramey's XX Bomber Command are visible through the nose of a third Superfort as the giant bombers begin a bombing run over the important railway yards and repair shops utilized by the Japanese at Kuala Lumpur, north of Singapore. Bombs can be seen dropping from one of the planes. The mission was carried out from India bases last month and crews reported good results. |