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the passing of a hero
At exactly 7:55 on a beautiful Sunday morning the United States was suddenly
plunged into the greatest conflict in the history of the world. We were not only unprepared for war, but our armed forces in. the Pacific were caught completely by surprise. That same Sunday morning two young Army Air Corps lieutenants were just leaving an all-night party at Wheeler Field, Hawaii. They were George Welch and Ken Taylor of the 15th Pursuit Group. As they stood outside an army barracks watching the tropical dawn grow brighter, neither had any idea of the momentous event which was about to change their - lives. It was December 7, 1941. Welch was saying that instead of going to sleep, he wanted to drive back to their own base at nearby Haleiwa Field for a nice Sunday morning swim. At that moment, just ten miles south of Lieutenants Welch and Taylor, carrier-based dive bombers, torpedo planes and fighters of the Imperial Japanese Navy were beginning their carefully planned sneak attack on the great American naval base at Pearl Harbor, as well as its surrounding airfields. Most of our powerful Pacific Fleet was in training, and there were ninety-six United States warships anchored in and about this Pacific stronghold. War had been expected by our military leaders, but the general opinion was that the Japanese would open hostilities against the Dutch or British possessions in Asia thousands of miles farther west. As Welch and Taylor walked to their car to head back to their own base, they saw sixty-two new Curtiss P-40 "Tomahawks" parked wing tip to wing tip so they could be guarded "against sabotage." Suddenly the Japanese swooped down on Wheeler Field, which was a center for fighter operations in Hawaii. Dive bombers seemed to appear out of nowhere. Violent explosions upended the parked planes, and buildings began to burn. Welch ran for a telephone and called Haleiwa as bullets sprayed around him. "Get two P-40s ready!" he yelled. "It's not a gag--the Japs are here." taylor pssed away on november 23rd 2006 he was 86 taylor on the left, welch on the right,\ welch and taylor were both credited with 4 kills each that day. welch went on to score 9 more flying a lighting, welch died in 1954 while testpiloting the F-100 |
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the passing of a hero
Salute
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