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https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2016/06/22/early-american-ace/?utm_source=Full+WHN+List&utm_campaign=98af3baed0-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_05_06_10_05&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8768d98141-98af3baed0-47031462
ILLUSTRATIONS: (1) 1st Lt. Boyd "Buzz" Wagner and his wingman get in some flight time over Luzon in their 17th PS, 24th PG P-35As, June 1941. (2) Pilots of the Nichols Field-based 20th PS take on Japanese Zeroes over Clark Field on 8 Dec. 1941. By that time, all three of the Luzon-based fighter squadrons were equipped with new P-40E Warhawks.
ILLUSTRATIONS: (1) 1st Lt. Boyd "Buzz" Wagner and his wingman get in some flight time over Luzon in their 17th PS, 24th PG P-35As, June 1941. (2) Pilots of the Nichols Field-based 20th PS take on Japanese Zeroes over Clark Field on 8 Dec. 1941. By that time, all three of the Luzon-based fighter squadrons were equipped with new P-40E Warhawks.
WWII World War Two
Clark AB
Fighter Pilot
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 2
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In the article you'll read about Wagner, who commanded the 17th Pursuit Sqdn., and 1st Lt. Ed Dyess, who commanded the 21st Pursuit Sqdn. My platoon leader in Vietnam was the son of retired USAF Col. Samuel Grashio who flew in Dyess' squadron. I say "flew" somewhat sarcastically, because he only got into the air a few times before all their planes were destroyed.
Grashio, Dyess, and some others from the squadron were captured on Bataan and survived the infamous Death March. After several months as POWs at Camps O'Donnell and Cabanatuan, Dyess, Grashio, and several others were judged healthy enough to do hard labor and were taken by ship to procure lumber in the Davao region of Mindanao. They were eventually able to escape with eight other Americans and two Filipino convicts from Davao. Theirs was the only large-scale escape from a Japanese prison camp anywhere in the Pacific Theater.
They then spent several months working with Filipino and American guerrillas under Lt. Col. Wendell Fertig behind Japanese lines.
Over the next several months, Dyess and six others were taken on separate occasions by submarine to Australia. Grashio, an engineering officer named Leo Boelens, and a soldier name Luis Morgan remained with Fertig's guerrilla group. Boelens was eventually caught and killed by the Japanese. Grashio and Morgan were able to escape to Australia by submarine. Grashio received a DSC and two Silver Stars for his actions on Bataan, as a POW, and as a guerrilla.
Dyess was sent back to the states and promoted to Lt. Col. He was detailed to learn to fly the twin-engine Lockheed P-38 Lightning in preparation for returning to the Pacific as a group commander. Unfortunately, he was killed when one of his engines caught fire on takeoff and crashed into a field. Dyess could have parachuted to safety, but not wanting to cause civilian casualties in the heavily populated area below, he stayed with the stricken aircraft and crashed it into a nearby open area. He was awarded the Soldier's Medal for that. For his actions in the Philippines, Dyess was awarded two DSCs, two Silver Stars, and two DFCs.
Grashio, Dyess, and some others from the squadron were captured on Bataan and survived the infamous Death March. After several months as POWs at Camps O'Donnell and Cabanatuan, Dyess, Grashio, and several others were judged healthy enough to do hard labor and were taken by ship to procure lumber in the Davao region of Mindanao. They were eventually able to escape with eight other Americans and two Filipino convicts from Davao. Theirs was the only large-scale escape from a Japanese prison camp anywhere in the Pacific Theater.
They then spent several months working with Filipino and American guerrillas under Lt. Col. Wendell Fertig behind Japanese lines.
Over the next several months, Dyess and six others were taken on separate occasions by submarine to Australia. Grashio, an engineering officer named Leo Boelens, and a soldier name Luis Morgan remained with Fertig's guerrilla group. Boelens was eventually caught and killed by the Japanese. Grashio and Morgan were able to escape to Australia by submarine. Grashio received a DSC and two Silver Stars for his actions on Bataan, as a POW, and as a guerrilla.
Dyess was sent back to the states and promoted to Lt. Col. He was detailed to learn to fly the twin-engine Lockheed P-38 Lightning in preparation for returning to the Pacific as a group commander. Unfortunately, he was killed when one of his engines caught fire on takeoff and crashed into a field. Dyess could have parachuted to safety, but not wanting to cause civilian casualties in the heavily populated area below, he stayed with the stricken aircraft and crashed it into a nearby open area. He was awarded the Soldier's Medal for that. For his actions in the Philippines, Dyess was awarded two DSCs, two Silver Stars, and two DFCs.
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MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D.
The P-35 was obsolete two years before the war started. The P-40E was heavy and underpowered. The best thing it could do if jumped by a Zero was to dive away. Most of the P-40 victories were scored when pilots had an altitude advantage over Japanese fighters. If they tried to dogfight with them they usually wound up dead or as POWs. . . .
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