80 Years Ago Today: LT Thomas V. Smith 100th Bomb Squadron, 42nd Bomb Group, 13th AF Palawan Philippines, Monogram 1/48 B-25J
This article is part of a series:
This is a sad but true story of an event that shook our family on this day in 1945. Between 0840 and 0845 hours, on April 8th, 1945, a B-25J from the 100th Bomb Squadron crashed into the Sulu Sea, killing all six men on board during a "routine" training mission. The aircraft lost was a B-25J-11 NC, with serial number 43-36015. On some websites it was listed as a B-25J-10NC. The only difference is that the "dash 11" version had an 8 gun nose installed at the factory.
Some B-25J-10's had the 8 gun solid nose installed on them in the field or at repair depots once they were overseas. This could have been one of these "field mod" planes too.
One of the crew lost that fateful day, was a pilot, and he was also one of my Dad's Cousins. His name was Thomas V. Smith, serial number O-831002, and he was listed as a Second Lieutenant, but I have seen some references where he was listed as a 1st Lieutenant, or simply a Lieutenant and not specifying the exact rank.
Tommy's mother was my Grandfather's oldest sister. Her maiden name was Myrtle Gardner, and she lived to be 101 years old. I have been told by other family members, that there was not a single day that went by where Myrtle didn't think about her lost son at some point or another. She was reported to pray for him every day as well.
The pilot in command of the B-25 also had the last name of Smith. His full name was Robert D. Smith, serial number O-438833, and held the rank of Captain.
Captain Smith was also the Commander of the 100th Bomb Squadron.
I'm posting it now, (a day early), as the current date / time is in fact the 80th anniversary of the actual date and time when the crash occurred, which was listed on the MACR (Missing Air Crew Report) as 08 April, 1945. Due to the various time zones around the globe, and the International Date Line, there is a big difference between the dates and times.
Building this B-25 model and telling this story is a project that I have wanted to do for many years now. I have been doing research over the years, so this is as accurate as I can make the model, and tell the story as it actually happened.
This is an article that was written and published in the small local hometown newspaper at least 25 years ago, if not more. The original publication could have been written in 1997... but the newspaper article I have is from 2002.
It has a few inconsistencies in it, but gives you a good general impression of the events that lead up to the death of these young men. All credit for the article and the information is credited to the author and also the Mount Zion Historical Society.
-
- 1. My Grandfather's truck
You can see an old truck in the background of this photo. It belonged to my grandfather.
These are zoomed in photos of the ones in the newspaper article.
The following excerpt is copied verbatim from the article.
The Mt Zion Historical Society is proud to honor Thomas V Smith as a Valley “Hero of Air Power”.
REMEMBERING.. Lieutenant Thomas V. Smith by Evo G. Facchine
Thomas V. Smith was the son of Cecil and Myrtle M. Gardner Smith of Gardner Hill. He was the fifth of seven children, four girls, three boys. Cecil Smith died in 1941 due to kidney failure as the result of an earlier farm accident. Tom's mother, the former Myrtle Gardner lived to be 101 years of age. At age 100 she still enjoyed good health, raising house plants, watching TV and visiting with friends and relatives.
Again the Gardner name appears, and here we find a relationship between Tom and some of our other heroes of World War II. Tom was the second cousin of Calvin and Theodore Gardner. In addition, Tom, Calvin and Theodore were all second cousins of Staff Sergeant Thomas F. Bricen, Jr., the subject of a future article.
Tommy as he was known to relatives and friends was born and raised in Gardner Hill, he attended and graduated from Weedville High School, Class of 1935.
With the lack of employment opportunities in the area, Tom like so many others from the Valley, moved to Buffalo, NY, where he was employed at the Bell Aircraft Corporation prior to entering military service. His interest in flying became an ambition during his employment with Bell Aircraft.
He enlisted in the Army Air Corp in February of 1943. He attended Preflight School, Class 44-D at Maxwell Field in Alabama. Charles (Leonard) Smith, his younger brother, who still resides in the homestead in Gardner Hill, has in his possession the Preflight Yearbook with signatures of Tom's classmates, much like a high school yearbook. There is no question that he was popular with his classmates.
He received his commission as a Second Lieutenant on May 23, 1944. He was later promoted to First Lieutenant after earning his wings as a pilot and aircraft commander of a B-25 Mitchell Bomber. In November of 1944, he received his overseas assignment to New Guinea from which point he participated in raids against Japanese Installations in the South Pacific. He was a member of the 100th Bomb Squadron, 13th Air Force.
While Lieutenant Thomas V. Smith was stationed in the South Pacific, his two brothers were also in the military. Younger brother Charles was a member of the 13th Armored Division stationed in California. He was back in Michigan attending a specialty school when his outfit went overseas. He was fortunate to have never left the States.
Older brother Oliver, or “Bussie” as he was known, was a Colonel in the Infantry and served in Germany. He survived the war and after his discharge from the service resided in Columbus, GA. He continued his career as a consultant to the military installation in Fort Benning, GA.
Approximately four years ago, Colonel Smith, went to his backyard one morning to do some planting. Later when his wife was to join him, she found their dog in it's cage, sprayed with pepper spray. Colonel Oliver Smith had disappeared and to this day his whereabouts is still unknown despite a continuing search by the Military.
-
- 1.
- 2. Lost Somewhere in the Sulu Sea
Lieutenant Thomas V. Smith met his untimely death on April 8th, 1945 while on a bombing mission in the Philippines. The telegram stated the location as somewhere in the Sulu Sea in the Southwest Pacific off the Island of Palawan. The Sulu Sea was the scene of a major battle between the United States and Japanese naval and air forces.
Like so many other heroes of World War II, Lieutenant Thomas V. Smith's body was never recovered. A stone marker can be found in the Gardner Hill Cemetery beside those of his father and mother. A mother, who prayed each day of the rest of her life for her son lost at sea, half way around the world from her.
One can easily imagine that in those days from 1944 until her death in 1997, as she daily watered those flowers, that her thoughts must surely have turned to her son, Tommy, in his watery grave in the depths of the Sulu Sea.
“LEST WE FORGET………”
This story is mostly correct. However there are a few inconsistencies about the circumstances behind the crash which claimed Tommy's life, and the lives of his fellow 5 crew members.
I have obtained a copy of the official MACR # 15979, which is the Missing Air Crew Report for the incident.
This is basically what it says.
Subject: Crew List and Status 28 November 1945
To: Army Air Forces
Notification Branch
Washington, D.C.
-
It is requested that the names and status of the entire crew who were serving with the late Corporal Wayne W. Dailey at the time of his death be furnished by this office.
-
The above mentioned was a member of a B-25J 43-36015 which was piloted by Captain Smith and on the morning of 08 April 1945. Smith took off in a three plane formation for a training flight to Leyte for the purpose of practicing tactical turns, while in formation. The men were accidentally killed while practicing peeling off in a Split - S. Captain Smith was seen to go into a cloud and then seemed unable to pull out of the dive. The other planes saw a large splash and floating wreckage. The area was searched and no survivors found. The plane sank in deep water at 10 Degrees no minutes North and 120 Degrees five minutes East between 0840 and 0845 I on 8 April 1945. Crew of six men listed as accidentally killed.
FOR THE QUARTERMASTER GENERAL:
/s/
James L Prenn
Major, QMC
Assistant
Capt. Robert D. Smith O-438833
2nd Lt. Robbie C. Peele O-823140
2nd Lt. Joseph L. Johnson O-716603
2nd Lt. Thomas V. Smith O-831002 Dad's Cousin
Sgt. James E. Levin 14065044
Cpl. Wayne W. Dailey 35550874
I have read from several other articles about what happened this day.
They stated that these B-25 planes were also practicing low level AAA escape from ship borne fire, and AAA evasion maneuvers at low level. They were also practicing "skip bombing" techniques this morning.
The Captain did a "Split S" and entered into a cloud bank. This was the last time they were seen. The other two B-25's circled in the area and discovered an oil slick and some small floating debris, which included several yellow "May West" life jackets.
There were no survivors or bodies observed on the surface.
The water is very deep here in the Sulu Sea. In this area where the crash occurred, it is routinely over 10,000 feet deep.
This model was a 1/48 scale B-25J Revell / Monogram edition from 2011 and it was made in China. I think it has a slight twist in the rear of the fuselage. The plastic may have been removed from the molds too quickly.
I discovered after the building was started, that the majority of the aircraft in the 42nd Bomb Group had a solid 8 gun nose installed. Some of them also had a glass nose, which was occasionally painted over. In order to get a solid gun nose kit of this version, I had to resort to an online auction site that ends in Bay... Luckily I found a seller who had two 1991 vintage Monogram kits that were still sealed.
Making things even better was the seller was accepting offers, and combined shipping. In the end I grabbed both kits and had them delivered to my doorsteps for less than $50 after even paying the taxes and shipping. What a deal ! Boy was I ever stoked about this.
I ended up borrowing the solid gun nose from one of these newly acquired kits, and put the left over glass nose parts back into the 1991 vintage Monogram box. Other than the glass nose parts, the kits are almost identical. The only other thing I have found in the parts from the gun nose version that the glass nosed kit doesn't have, is the radio antennae that is mounted just ahead of the cockpit.
Naturally I discovered these parts after I had just finished scratch building one for Tommy's B-25.
So now I can build another glass nose B-25J in the future. It was a big time win for me and especially for the Tommy Smith project. It was almost as if it was meant to be, and a little bit strange how everything lined up perfectly in the end.
-
- 1. Both props are spinning here !!!
The solid gun nose held 8 M-3 Browning .050 caliber MG's. Mounted on each side of the nose were and additional pair of fifties. This raised the number of forward firing .050 caliber MG's to 12.
Then, if the top turret was aimed straight ahead and locked in position, you could add another pair, raising the final number to 14 .050 caliber MG's.
These B-25's were a truly devastating airborne weapon.
I have personally fired a lot of 50 caliber MG rounds when I served in M-60 and M-1A1 Abrams tanks. The 50 caliber MG is an extremely powerful weapon. I have seen the results of what a single one can do. I can only imagine how much damage could be done with 14 of them firing at a target... all at the same time no less.
The I have read there was another late war field mod that could be installed under each wing... that added another pair of MG's on each side. These MG's were installed in a pod that was bolted to the wing shackles. Each pod contained two 50 caliber MG's.
This would have raised the final tally to 18 forward firing MG's when this option was installed !
Some late war B-25J's actually carried rockets under the wings too. I beleive that Hong Kong Models has just released a 1/48 scale version of this Mitchell.
Very impressive, as long as you are not on the receiving end of it.
Not too long after entering service, the MG's mounted on the sides of the fuselage just below the cockpit side armor were removed. It turned out the recoil from these weapons was actually cracking the fuselage formers and stringers next to where they were mounted !
-
- 1. Props are spinning here too....
The kit propellers spin very easily. In fact, when I was taking the photos today, we had a strong breeze and this often made the propeller blades spin on their own... again this was a bit strange watching the props start spinning up all by them selves. It was almost as if a miniature ghost was inside the model and starting them up...
-
- 1.
- 2. opened up the exhaust on both engines.
The completed airframe was weathered using various pastels and several different Tamiya weathering decks. I also used Windsor and Newton oils to make realistic looking oil streaks on the engine nacelles and cowlings.
The area behind the landing lights were painted with Flat Black paint, as per the North American painting specs I have. This Flat Black treatment is correct for the J model B-25, but I'm not certain if it was like this on all of the B-25's.
-
- 1. Used Rubb-N-Buff on the back of the prop blades
I used a product called silver Rub-N-Buff on the back sides of the propeller blades. This gives the props the look of having the paint worn away by erosion. You can see it is slightly transparent, and the Yellow tips are still slightly visible after the application. If you use this stuff, be careful, as a little bit goes a long way...
-
- 1.
- 2. opened up the exhaust on both engines.
I also opened up the exhaust on both cowlings. I think this was a major improvement over the solid kit supplied parts.
-
- 1. scratch built nose antenna
Here is a close up of the tail gunner position.
Followed by a close up of the vertical fin and rudder assembly. Here you can see the "Crusaders" shield and name. The 42nd Bomb Group was called the Crusaders. The Red color on the tip denotes the 100th Bomb Squadron. I have found some pictures of other aircraft from the other groups that have had a White or a Yellow color in use here.
So far I have not been able to determine what other colors were in use to identify each Squadron.
The serial number at the base of the fin / rudder is 336015. This means this aircraft had a 1943 fiscal year serial number of 43-36015, and this matches the aircraft listed in the MACR report.
According the the website called Pacific Wrecks, this B-25 was not known to have had any nose art on it or a name.
So it was a basic "Plain Jane" with minimal markings on it. These aircraft were delivered to the 42nd Bomb Group in a natural state bare metal finish. They were sprayed with OD Green and Neutral Gray paint in the field.
These B-25's appear to have been well kept, especially with the painting. I have not noticed much paint chipping present on any of these B-25's that were assigned to the 42nd Bomb Group. This is why I did very little chipping on this model. The back side of the propeller blades was a different story. They all seem to have had the paint eroded away on the back sides of the blades. They also didn't seem to have the usual Hamilton Standard decal on the front side of each blade. This tells me they were repainted in the field, or perhaps the decals simply came off over time.
Here's the unit history, copied from Wiki...
42ND BOMBARDMENT GROUP
Constituted as 42nd Bombardment Group (Medium) on 20 Nov 1940. Activated on 15 Jan 1941. Trained with B-18, B-25, and B-26 aircraft.
Patrolled the west coast during 1942. Moved to the Pacific theater, Mar-Apr 1943, and assigned to Thirteenth AF.
Entered combat in Jun 1943, using B-25's and operating from bases in the Solomon Islands. Attacked Japanese airfields, personnel areas, gun positions, and shipping in the central Solomon's. Engaged primarily in the neutralization of enemy airfields and harbor facilities on New Britain from Jan to Jul 1944, but also supported ground forces on Bougainville and attacked shipping in the northern Solomon's and the Bismarck's.
Later, beginning in Aug 1944, bombed airfields and installations on New Guinea, Celebes, and Halmahera, and flew photographic reconnaissance missions, while operating from bases in New Guinea and Morotai.
Moved to the Philippines in Mar 1945. Attacked shipping along the China coast, struck targets in French Indochina, bombed airfields and installations in the Philippines, and supported ground operations on Mindanao. Also supported Australian forces on Borneo during May and Jun 1945, receiving a DUC for its pre-invasion bombing of Balikpapan, 23-30 Jun.
Brought its combat service to an end, Jul and Aug 1945, by attacking isolated Japanese units on Luzon. Ferried troops and equipment to Manila after the war. Moved to Japan in Jan 1946 as part of the occupation force. Inactivated in Japan on 10 May 1946.
Squadrons
69th: 1943-1946.
70th: 1943-1946.
75th: 1941-1946.
76th: 1941-1943.
77th: 1941-1942.
100th: 1945.
390th: 1942-1946.
406th: 1942-1943.
Stations
Ft Douglas, Utah, 15 Jan 1941;
Boise, Idaho, c. 3 Jun 1941;
McChord Field, Wash, c. 18 Jan 1942-15 Mar 1943;
Fiji Islands, 22 Apr 1943;
Guadalcanal, 6 Jun 1943;
Russell Islands, Oct 1943;
Sterling, Solomon Islands, 20 Jan 1944;
Hollandia, Aug 1944;
Sansapor, New Guinea, Sep 1944;
Morotai, Feb 1945;
Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Mar 1945;
Itami, Japan, Jan-10 May 1946.
This means that Thomas Smith would have served at Sansapor, New Guinea Morotai, and finally at Puerto Princessa.
Speaking of Palawan. It is an island and a part of the Philippines. Shortly before the Americans took over the airfield, the Japanese were holding Prisoners of War here. They had decided to kill the POW's before they could be liberated.
I will go into more details about this in a few.
Commanders.
Col. John V Hart, 15 Jan 1941
Col. Harry E Wilson, Jul 1942
Major Edwin Latoszewski, 14 Dec 1942
Lt. Col. Guy L Hudson, Jan 1943
Col. Harry E Wilson, 22 Apr 1943
Col. Charles C Kegelman, 16 Nov 1944
Lt. Col. Harry C Harvey, 15 Mar 1945
Col. Paul F Helmick, 10 May 1945
Lt. Col. Harry E Goldsworthy, Sep 1945
Major Thomas B Waddel, Mario May 1946
Campaigns:
Antisubmarine, American Theater; China Defensive; New Guinea; Northern Solomon's; Bismarck Archipelago; Western Pacific; Leyte; Luzon; Southern Philippines; China Offensive.
Now I'm going back to the previously mentioned Palawan Massacre of Allied POW's that happened at Puerto Princessa, which was the exact same air base where Thomas Smith and other members of the 100th Bomb Squadron (and likely the rest of the 42nd Bomb Group flew out of).
Per Wikipedia:
The Palawan massacre occurred on 14 December 1944, during World War II, near the city of Puerto Princesa in the Philippine province of Palawan. Allied soldiers, imprisoned near the city, were killed by Imperial Japanese soldiers. Only eleven men managed to survive, while 139 were killed.
On 12 August 1942, 300 American prisoners arrived on two transport ships, survivors of the Battle of Bataan and the Battle of Corregidor. They were interned in the old Philippine Constabulary barracks, referred to as Palawan's Prison Camp 10A, or Palawan Barracks. They would spend the next two years clearing an area 2,400 by 225 yards (2,195 by 206 m), and then building a 8-inch-thick (20 cm) concrete runway, 1,530 by 75 yards (1,399 by 69 m), using only hand tools, wheelbarrows and two small cement mixers.
The prisoners were also forced to build revetments for 150 Japanese planes. Sick and useless prisoners were switched with healthier ones out of Manila during construction. On 22 September 1944, half of the prisoners were sent back to Manila. By October 1944, the airstrip and nearby harbor came under allied attack. The prisoners were forced to dig bomb shelters within the prison compound, consisting of trenches 5 feet (1.5 m) deep and 4 feet (1.2 m) wide. Shelter A held 50 men, Shelter B held 35, and Shelter C held up to 30, and were augmented by smaller 2–3 man shelters.
The shelters had a hidden exit that extended beyond the camp's barbed wire to a 60-foot (18 m) cliff overlooking the bay. Army Capt. Fred Bruni was the senior officer amongst the prisoners. Dr. Carl Mango, and Dr. Henry Knight, a dentist, were also amongst the prison population. Beatings were common, and rations eventually reduced to a mess kit of rice per day. There were 4 prison escape attempts. The first, on 11 August 1942, was made by 6 prisoners, 5 of whom were able to join the Filipino guerrillas at Brooke's Point in south Palawan. The second attempt, on 29 August 1942, by 2 prisoners was also successful through the aid of friendly Filipino guides. The third in February 1943, and the fourth on 28 June 1943, were not successful.
In August 1944, 1,800 men of the 131st Battalion, 2nd Air Division, were assigned to defend the airfield, under the command of Capt. Kojima. In December 1944, he sought advice "as to action to take regarding the POWs at the time of enemy landing." Lt. Gen. Seiichi Terada, 2nd Air Division commander, after conferring with Gen. Tominaga, 4th Army Commander, sent the following reply:
"At the time of the enemy landing, if the POWs are harboring an enemy feeling, dispose of them at the appropriate time.".
Massacre:
In order to prevent the rescue of prisoners of war by the advancing Allies, on 14 December 1944, units of the Japanese Fourteenth Area Army under the command of General Tomoyuki Yamashita, brought the POWs back to their own camp. An air raid warning was sounded to get the prisoners into the shelter trenches, the 150 prisoners of war at Puerto Princesa entered those air raid shelters: A, B, and C. The Japanese soldiers set them on fire using barrels of gasoline.
The Japanese soldiers doused the entrances of the shelters with gasoline before lighting them on fire, then fired shots into the entrances to strike POWs in order to use the dead or dying POWs at the entrance to trap the other POWs deeper in the bunker in the inferno. They began the process with shelter A which was deep inside the camp. A few POWs from that shelter did manage to escape with burning clothing but were cut down by machine gun fire. Upon seeing that, the POWs in the other two shelters were alerted and attempted to dig themselves out. Relatively more fortunately, shelters B and C were located next to a cliff at the edge of the camp, so the escaping POWs dug themselves out towards the direction of the cliff before the two shelters were set alight.
It was estimated about two dozen prisoners managed to get out before the shelters were set alight. However, for those POWs, their ordeal was not over for the Japanese soldiers upon seeing that some POWs manage to escape the shelter then sent out a hunting party to hunt down those escaping POWs. Only 11 men completely escaped the slaughter and made it back to friendly lines; 139 were killed.
Those 11 that did escape to southern Palawan, and eventual rescue, were aided by Filipino scouts and guerrillas under the command of Nazario Mayor.
-
- 1. scratch built nose antenna
Upon receiving the news, Major General Charles A. Willoughby dispatched a navy PBY Catalina to link up with the scouts at Brooke's Point to pick up the surviving POWs and fly them to Allied-controlled Morotai, which the Japanese garrison on the island surrendered back in September.
Aftermath
On February 28, the 8th Army landed on Palawan as part of Operation VICTOR III and it is believed that many of the perpetrators of the massacre were killed in action or went missing defending the island in that campaign including the camp commanding officer Lieutenant Yoshikazu "Buzzard" Sato, who carried out the massacre. Palawan garrison battalion commander Captain Nagayoshi Kojima, and garrison company commander Lieutenant Sho Yoshiwara were also missing in action and were not among the Japanese soldiers defending Palawan to surrender after the American campaign to retake the island.
Bones of the victims were discovered in early 1945.
General Tomoyuki Yamashita took the full blame and was charged with the Palawan massacre and other war crimes committed in the Philippines at his trial in 1945 under the doctrine of command responsibility. Under the principle that would later become known as the Yamashita Standard, he was convicted and hanged on 23 February 1946.
After the war, survivors Glenn McDole and Doug Bogue helped the US War Crimes Branch identify former guards and officers detained in Sugamo Prison, and interrogated in Tokyo's Dai-Ichi Building. Of the 33 charged with war crimes, 16 were put on trial, and 6 were acquitted.
Those found guilty on 8 November 1948 included Lt. Gen. Seiichi Terada, sentenced to a life term, the Camp's Kempeitai commander Master Sergeant Taichi Deguchi, sentenced to be hanged but later commuted to a 30-year sentence by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Superior Private Tomisaburo Sawa, sentenced to 5 years, head cook Manichi Nishitani, sentenced to 5 years, Lt. Gen. Kizo Mikama, sentenced to 12 years and Lt. Col. Mamoru Fushimi, sentenced to 10 years, while the remaining four were sentenced to 2–5 years. However, on December 31, 1958, all those remaining in prison were freed under a general amnesty for Japanese war crimes prisoners.
-
- 1. Props are spinning here too....
The diary of a Japanese sergeant major had the following entry for 15 December 1944:
"Due to the sudden change of situation, the 150 prisoners of war were executed. Those who escaped were discovered this morning in the Puerto Princessa antiaircraft trench and were shot. They truly died a pitiful death."
This had to be horrible... The war in the Pacific was brutal. Prisoners who were "Guests of the Emperor" were more likely to die in captivity than those who were in Europe. One out of every four POW's would die as POW's in the Pacific.
The number for Europe was far less, but it was also brutal. Going from memory here on this statistic, it was something like 4 out of every 100 POW's would die in captivity in the European Theater.
-
- 1. Thomas Bricen
Ironically we also lost another family member in a different B-25... and here is a picture of him. This happened over Italy on October 3rd, 1944, when the B-25 he was flying in was shot down in flames by a well placed hit from a Flak 88 which ripped the port side engine off the wing, setting the aircraft on fire. This was a B-25J-1NA that was named "Evora".
The family member we lost in this event was also named Thomas. He was another one of my Dad's First Cousins, just like Thomas Smith was.
Apparently Thomas was a popular name in our family. His full name was Staff Sergeant Thomas F. Bricen, and he was another one of my Dad's Cousins. His mother was another one of my Grandfathers older sisters.
Thomas Bricen flew in the 445th Bomb Squadron, 321st Bomb Group as a turret gunner / gunner / radio operator.
This Tommy (Bricen) flew 57 missions over Italy when he was killed during the actual bombing run part of the mission over the Galiate Bridge on October 3rd, 1944. The AAA was very effective this day, because they lost two different B-25's over the target.
I have previously build a model of a B-25J that he flew several missions in... and some of you will recognize the name... or perhaps the nose art... "Stuff". The 445th BS didn't have regularly assigned aircraft for the crews. Instead they flew whatever was available.
Tommy flew many missions in a B-25 named "Blonde Beauty", but he was killed in a B-25 named "Evora". This is an actual photo of Blonde Beauty that Thomas Bricen flew in for around 20 of his 57 missions over Italy.
I have plans to build both of these planes in the future and will include them with links to these two articles.
One last thing before I finish this article.
How many of you are familiar with the 1960's TV series called Gilligan's Island ?
If so, do you remember the character called the Professor ? Here is a photo of him.
It turns out that he too was an officer in the 100th Bomb Squadron. He often flew missions as a Navigator or a Bombardier. There is a very good chance that he knew Thomas Smith, since they were the same rank and they were both part of the bomber crews.
On March 4th, 1945, His B-25 and two others were shot down by Japanese AAA fire during a low level bombing mission. The Co Pilot in his plane was killed, and he had both of his ankles broken when his plane was ditched in the water off the coast of Zamboanga. He and the other survivors were picked up and he survived, earning a Purple Heart Medal.
I had fun building this model, but for me the research was the best part. This old Monogram model still builds up nicely, and if you spend some more time with it, you can really make her shine.
Here is a link to the actual build journal in case you are interested.
I thank you for reading it this far.
Remember Freedom is Not Free. Here is another prime example of the cost that was paid so that we can enjoy what we have today. Please don't take it for granted. Some gave all... all gave some.
As always, comments are encouraged.
A sobering story, Louis @lgardner .
I know you have worked long and hard to get this built for today. So firstly, congratulations on hitting your historical deadline.
The build speaks for itself. It is simply sensational. I know you looked at a ton of reference works and you have absolutely nailed the finish. A stellar project, perfectly presented and executed. Outstanding!
Paul Barber (@yellow10)
Thank you SO much for your kind words. I have been very limited with my bench time lately, and I certainly did not want to miss the deadline I imposed for myself. I had originally wanted to do this project 5 years ago, on the 75th anniversary as a tribute to Thomas Smith. As life would have it, this never happened though...
This was roughly the same time that my wife was recovering from her battle with cancer...after three major surgeries and 8 rounds of chemotherapy. She's tough as nails !
Thankfully I got it done this time.
Thanks again brother. As always, it is great to hear from you.
This is a wonderful tribute to your relative, Louis. Such a beautiful job. Doing the research for a project like this is truly one of the thing I enjoy about our hobby, especially whin it pertains to a relative. It was nice to read that a spent time here in Buffalo NY. it's nice to know we had good people here back then. My wife's Grandfather worked for Bell as well, but it was later during the war as he was to old to fight overseas.
I really look forward to your tribute builds to your other family member. I know they will be just as outstanding.
Clint Miller (@curtisshawk)
Thank you for your kind words. I agree doing the research on this build was actually a lot of fun for me. I enjoyed digging into the past, and was very fortunate to have found as much information on what happened.
Going from memory, I am 95 percent certain that our other B-25 crew family member also left the little town and went to work in the Bell aircraft factory in Buffalo too.
You are correct, there were a lot of good people working there during the war. These people were called the Greatest Generation for a reason. They did what was necessary to defeat evil. There were a lot of civilians who were killed or seriously injured working in the factories as well. We often don't hear about this however.
My grandfather (Myrtle's youngest brother) was working in the Pennsylvania coal mines during the war. He worked there 7 days a week, and I'm fairly certain it was a 12 hour shift. Later on in his life he had what is called "Black Lung"...and eventually he died from cancer in the mid 1980's.
The cancer started in his lungs, and then ended up in his bones. He was a great man, and I miss him a lot. My other grandpa tried to enlist in the Army on the day after Pearl Harbor. The Army doctors rejected him and told him he had a bad heart... Keep in mind he was only in his early 20's...so he didn't believe it was true.
He died at the age of 66 after having numerous heart attacks. During the War he drove a civilian fuel truck for Texaco.
I think we would be hard pressed to do the things our ancestors did for our country during WW2, if we had to do something similar like this today.
I pray we never have to find out.
That's really cool your wife's grandfather worked for Bell too. It's a small world isn't it ?
Thanks again.
Thanks for the details on your family, we do indeed have a lot in common family wise. We too had a family member who died of "black lung".
One of my Granddads was it the CBI theater ( the one who was the modeler i posted about) and the other in the South Pacific, and my wife had one Granfdad wounded in the Philippines and the other was the one who worked at Bell. My Dad's Mom worked at Buffalo Arms as an inspector where they built Browning .30 and .50 cal. machine guns.
There is a great series that was done on the factories during WW2. I found it on YouTube. The production numbers were craze in that short amount of time. I definitely think your rite about not being able to do today what they did back in the 40s. It's a different generation today, and it really saddens and worries me. I'm glad to have known many from that generation. Having my Dad's Dad lives with su after my Grandma passed really gave me a different insight and respect for our freedoms and our country. I miss that generation greatly.
This is a great way to honor those men who lost their lives on this flight, Louis @lgardner
You did some great research and it must have given you and your family a good feeling to understand what exactly happened at that time.
The result of this Mitchell is truly amazing, a wonderful job was done. It was a pleasure to follow the build progress.
Eagerly looking forward to those upcoming builds.
John vd Biggelaar (@johnb)
Thank you my friend. This is something that I have wanted to do for many years. But it always seemed like something kept getting in the way keeping me from doing it.
For me, the research is just as much fun and interesting as the actual building portion is. I'm a history AND and aircraft nerd I guess. Plus I like to dig into things and find out the truth when I can.
I am very pleased with how this Mitchel turned out. I'm not bragging, but I think it looks better than I thought it would, especially when I had the time crunch going on and the deadline looming over my head. I knew that I had to have a mental deadline in place, or chances are it would not get done in time.
I am very thankful you stopped by and visited / commented on the Mitchell build journal regularly. You are a true friend and have always supported my builds. For this I am also thankful.
Now I have completed this major project, maybe I can have more time on Imodeler and repay this as a courtesy to you and your builds.
Thanks again my friend.
Take care and stay safe.
Congratulations, Louis! A wonderful build and equally wonderful article! As always, your research is supreme and I enjoyed reading all the details. Again, congratulations and greetings to you and Sandy from all of us!
Spiros Pendedekas (@fiveten)
Thank you very much my friend ! I mentioned what you said to Sandy. She wanted me to have you say hello to your wonderful family. So did I... Hello from both of us.
I have been doing research on this tragedy over the last 20-25 years, on and off again though. Luckily I kept my notes and newspaper articles. It was a real pleasure having you stop by and leave regular comments on the build journal.
For some reason, this B-25 model went together VERY easily for me. I was actually quite surprised by this because I had a hard time with adding the nose weights in my last B-25 tribute build. But it was a glass nose version and had less room for weight. It's still a good building model though, and the fit is on par with the other Monogram kits from the era.
I love me some Monogram kits ! We cut our teeth on them, and if we were lucky... some Revell kits were in the mix too.
Thanks again, and take care.
Congratulations Louis ! a most excellent job well done .
Paul E. Owens (@ramair67)
Thank you so much for the compliments. They are sincerely appreciated.
Take care.
PS: I take it you're a Pontiac fan ? I'm into the Mopars myself. I've owned a lot of 440 and 383 powered Mopar muscle cars over the years.
All I can say is REMARKABLE! All the research, effort, time, conception, the build(s) but most of all, your dedication. Congrats on a tribute well accomplished, Louis.
gary sausmikat (@gwskat)
First off, thank you ! I sincerely appreciate your kind words. This has been a labor of love as they say. Telling Tommy's story was something I have wanted to do for many years. I am thankful I was able to finally get it done. Now I can scratch another one off my model building "bucket list".
I have gone back and edited the article some, in an effort to make it read a little bit easier since you have read it.
Thanks again, and take care.
Every aspect of this article, model and history is a great read. Even the related side stories included, adds to the model's significance. Overall an outstanding subject and model.. Thanks for a well researched fact filled posting.
Chuck A. Villanueva (@uscusn)
Thanks Chuck. I sincerely appreciate your thoughtful reply and kind words. I tried to tie in some related side stories to make the article a little more interesting and historically correct. Since you have read the article I have gone over it, added some more facts, and edited it to make it an easier and more interesting read. It just didn't flow properly before. Now it seems to make more sense too. So if you have time to read it again, please do and let me know what your honest opinion is. Thanks.
I always try to dig into the history behind my builds. I will write what I find, good or bad, so it is truthful and fact based. If this isn't done, (or is not done correctly), it then becomes a fictional story. We have enough of our history that is being distorted or even destroyed in our modern societies, by those who are trying to re write it. This is being done so these people can push their own ideologies and agenda.
I would rather speak the truth than to make something up and spread it as Gospel. The Soviet's had a saying that went something like this: "A lie, when repeated often enough eventually becomes the truth".
And we are seeing this way too often in today's main stream news media. They have lost all credibility as far as I am concerned. Communism / Socialism... not too far apart are they ?
Thanks again and take care buddy.
Stay safe.
Well done all around, Louis.
Robert Knaack (@robgenev665)
Thanks Robert. Much obliged !
Echo all that's been said above - great research, great project, great model! Well done!
Greg Kittinger (@gkittinger)
Thank you Greg. It's always nice to hear from you. I sincerely appreciate your compliments. I'm so happy I was finally able to get this project done. I have wanted to do this for years now, but it always seemed like something happened and kept it from happening.
Thanks again, and take care.
Thank you for this extensive article, Louis. These men were so young. Freedom is not free and that is why i hope we continue to support the Ukraine.
Felix (@fxrob)
Thank you Felix for your kind words. It seems like in every war, it's the young men who end up dying, after the old men have started the war. I hope the war in Ukraine is ended soon. There has been way too much killing there and it needs to end. War is such a waste of human life, and everything that goes with it.
There are however some times when a war is necessary to stop evil intentions. When this happens, a person should stand up for what they believe in. Otherwise the evil will prevail. I'm not in favor of war. But I do think they are sometimes necessary. Unfortunately this is a bad part of our so called human traits.
It will likely be our downfall too.
Thanks again my friend.
Lou, there is a Egyptian saying, " Speak my name and I shall live forever." What a fitting tribute to your family and uncles. The model is done to perfection, the photos are fantastic and your article and blog are what its all about the journey, life, its celebration,respect and modeling.
Stephen W Towle (@stephen-w-towle)
Hello Stephen,
As always it's good to hear from you. I sincerely appreciate your kind words about the model and article. I have wanted to build a tribute to both of my Dad's cousins for many years. The stars were aligned and it happened this time. In due time I will build a few more tribute B-25J's for them. I have decals for another 100th Bomb Squadron B-25J named "1 for the Gipper". This one will be for Thomas Smith who was the subject of this article.
The other two will be for my Dad's other cousin, Thomas Bricen.
The first will be built as a "Plain Jane" B-25J built to look just as it did when it rolled off the North American assembly line. This will be a natural metal B-25 that has no markings on it other than what it had on the day it left the factory floor. This one will have the serial number for "Evora" and will be a tribute for Thomas Bricen, since this is the aircraft he was killed in.
I have not been able to find any photos of the plane he was killed in, so this will have to be the second best option. These aircraft were delivered to the 321st Bomb Group in a bare metal finish, and then camouflaged in the field. Later on in the war, they were left in natural metal.
The third tribute B-25 will be the bomber that he flew the most missions in... "Blonde Beauty". I have enough decals in the stash that I should be able to make it happen.
I also sincerely appreciated your regular visits on the build blog. You always have a way with words and left some fine comments along the way.
Thanks again.
Amazing article, Louis. Thanks for a great post. Well done to all your relatives who served heroically.
Speaking of TV from the 1960s, my father served in the 11th Airborne Division in the Philippines, and Rod Serling (Twilight Zone creator) was in his company.
Bob Dudolevitch (@bobd56az)
Thank you. This is the best compliment I could ask for. I have some other family members who served at the same time in the ETO. They were "The four Gardner Brothers" You can see the newspaper article I posted a picture of is talking about two of them. Two were killed and two were seriously wounded. All were in the US Army Infantry and were involved in the D Day landings, or came ashore shortly afterwards.
Sounds a lot like the movie Saving Private Ryan doesn't it ? Two were killed and two were wounded in a matter of 108 days. One jumped into Normandy with the 101st. One was a glider trooper. One was seriously wounded at Bastogne also serving in the 101st Airborne. He was shot by a sniper twice, and then wounded by German mortar fragments while he waited there for darkness to fall. He knew if he moved they would shoot him again. So he waited until darkness fell and crawled back to his unit. He almost bled to death.
Ironically, his other brother was with Patton's Third Army racing to Bastogne.. sadly this was the second brother to get killed. Our family has served in the military every since the Revolutionary War. We lost members in each conflict, up until my Dad broke the "curse" when he was fighting in Korea. Dad was wounded in Korea... at least twice that I know of.
I did my part too, serving in Armor as a tanker. I didn't get a scratch thank God.
That's a really cool story about Rod Sterling ! I'll bet your Dad was proud of this too. My Dad served for a very short time with Elvis Pressley when he was in Germany. But he never saw him much though.
I went to basic training with Jay Leno's younger nephew. His name was Kevin Leno, and he had the famous Leno chin too. I'll dig out my photo book that shows him and send you a picture. Kevin told me about Jay's collection of Mopar cars... all the time ! He knew I liked the same thing.
Thanks again for your comments. Take care and stay safe.
Man oh, man. That is a lot of patriotic service from one family! Best wishes to you and your extended family, Louis.
Very well done post. One of your best. Moving as well. That Revell 25 looks as mean as can be, Louis @lgardner. My uncle was a B-25 navigator in the South Pacific and I remember those cloth maps he brought back. Apparently every one of the flight crew had them stitched inside their flight jackets and pants in case they had to ditch or they mistakenly landed on the wrong atoll base.
Eric Berg (@eb801)
Thank you for leaving such a wonderful comment. I'm glad you enjoyed the article too. I have since edited it some, in an effort to make it read better. It jumped around too much before. So I took some advice and changed it up, adding some additional facts to it as well. I hope it's even better now.
The gun nose B-25 does look mean doesn't it ? I can only imagine how mean it was when it was firing at you or dropping bombs AND firing at you...
I used to have a US Army Air Forces vest. It had a holster built into it and it laced up on the sides. The holster was designed for the Colt 1911 .45 ACP... which to this day is my FAVORITE handgun.
I didn't know about the cloth maps and how they were sewn into the jackets and pants. This sounds a lot like the AVG "Blood Chits" that were worn by the Flying Tigers. Makes sense they would do that.
Do you know what unit your uncle flew with ? If so, it would be a great place to start if you wanted to do something similar. I find these tribute builds to be the most satisfying, especially when it's a family member involved.
You may want to look into this.
Thanks again, and it's good to hear from you.
@lgardner as always your story is fascinating and the build that accompanies it comes to life when the reader can picture these young men as real people. Much more powerful than an off-the-shelf build.
Thanks for sharing this story and your wonderful build.
Matt Minnichsoffer (@coondog)
First off, thank you Matt. This is something I have wanted to do for quite some time now... years to be exact. Now I can scratch this one off my model building bucket list.
I agree with you and believe the model has a sort of emotional appeal to it and a personal connection when you are building a family tribute. I never met this man, as he died almost 20 years before I was born, but now I think I know him a little bit. I have heard some stories about him as I was growing up. This peaked my interest, especially when I also heard the stories about Thomas Bricen, who was another cousin of my Dad's who was also killed during the war... ironically also in a B-25J (over Italy though).
The background research shed light on some parts of the story that was not true as it was often told. But most of story I heard as a child was very true. I had heard that they lost 7 Officers on the aircraft as they were on a training mission. It turned out they lost 4 officers and 2 enlisted men on this plane, with Thomas being one of the officers. This was more than enough either way. One was too many...
I'm glad you enjoyed this one. I sincerely appreciate your kind words.
Take care my friend and stay safe.
Great model, Louis (@lgardner), and great story about your relative. The model looks very nice in an outdoor setting. It was a real pleasure following along on this build. Well done, buddy.
George R Blair Jr (@gblair)
Thank you very much for leaving such a wonderful compliment. I really enjoyed your regular visits over at the build journal too. You are a good friend, and I sincerely appreciate your continued support over the years with all of my projects. I have had limited time at the work bench lately, so I am lucky to have completed this model in time. In fact I took the photos the day before I posted the article. It was that close... Thankfully I made it.
Thanks again, and take care brother.
G’day Louis (@lgardner),
A great build and a wonderful tribute.
Liked! (Of course)
Michael Turner (@michaelt)
Thank you for leaving a wonderful comment. I sincerely appreciate this. Thank you again my friend !
Amazing work on this model and a great story and tribute to your relatives and all those who flew.
Last year I got to tour a B-25. A great experience for me.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Mark Hedrick (@markhedrick)
Thank you for stopping by and leaving your comments. I sincerely appreciate your compliments too.
Telling Tomas Smith's story is something I have wanted to do for many years. It finally happened. I wanted to get it done in time to make the 80th year anniversary of his disappearance in the Sulu Sea. His body was never recovered, and he was initially listed as MIA. So were the rest of the crew. Sadly things like this happened way too often.
I'll bet that was a day to remember, touring the B-25 ! I have been very fortunate to have been around a lot of WW2 and Korean War era war birds, but I have never seen this one before. It is marked as a plane that flew from Corsica... which also is the same place where my Dad's other cousin flew from. He was in the 445th Bomb Squadron, 321st Bomb Group.
Sadly he was also killed when his B-25 was shot down by a German 88 MM gun. His bomber took a direct hit on the left engine. The impact ripped the engine from the wing, and then the wing caught fire. The plane burned all the way down. After losing several thousand feet, the left wing burned through and fell off. The plane spiraled in, and it took over a minute for it to crash into the ground after it was hit.
One of the enlisted gunners managed to bail out. But when he did, his clothing was on fire and so was his parachute. The parachute failed soon after it opened. The man suspended under it was still on fire when it failed, and he plunged to his death.
This could have been my Dad's cousin, Thomas Bricen. The German graves registration mentioned this man not by his name, but only by his rank and job title. This man was known to the Germans as an enlisted gunner. There were two on board, so there is a 50 percent chance it could have been him.
What a horrible way to die.
Thanks again for your kind words.
Take care.
@lgardner
Louis, this a very long, comprehensive and sad (atrocities and the loss of life from POWs and the brave flyers of the 100th BomberGroup are painful to read)
A great model that helps remembering the ultimate sacrifice so many men made to prevent tyranny from winning. Thumbs up my friend, glad to see a new post from you here
Pedro L. Rocha (@holzhamer)
It's so nice to hear from you my friend. I'm glad you were able to see this article. I know it was very long read, and disturbing at times, but I had a lot of information to cover. I tried to break it up with a lot of pictures in between the paragraphs.
This is a story that I have wanted to tell for many years. I feel good that I finally accomplished my mission, and that it was posted on the anniversary of the event happening. Now I have made tribute builds to both of my Dad's cousins who were killed in the war, so I can scratch them off my model building bucket list.
It's a bit ironic that both of dad's cousins were named Thomas, and both men were killed while flying in a B-25J. They were separated by half a world apart though. One died in the Philippines, while the other one died in Northern Italy. They died 7 months apart, almost to the day.
I wanted to include some of the atrocities that happened near the airfield where the 100th Bomb Squadron was based in this article. It gives the reader a good idea of why we were fighting, and what was happening nearby. Just as you said, to defeat tyranny.
It is nice to post a completed model. I have WAY too many started, and need to finish up some more.
It's always good to hear from you my friend.
Take care and stay safe brother.
The Monogram B-25s are much like their namesake, not stellar super marvels but solid dependable kits that can be turned into jewels.
And that is what you have done with this tribute build Louis @lgardner. Brazo Zulu.
Holy realistic Batman! you sure this not a gate guard somewhere on some USAF base or do you one parked in your back yard? great work sir!
Hello Louis,
My deep respect for all the effort you did put in the lenghty article. Interesting from start to end. I compliment you with the superb end result of the Monogram B-25 and the high quality photographs.
Highest Regards, Dirk
Beautifully built model and respect for so much interesting information. Your article really interested me and brought me a lot of new information.