Notes |
- U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010
Name: James Freeman
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 14 Mar 1920
Death Date: 15 Jan 1987
SSN: 511149954
Branch 1: ARMY
Enlistment Date 1: 24 Oct 1941
Release Date 1: 18 Sep 1945
U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995
Name: James P Freeman
Gender: Male
Residence Year: 1953
Street address: 5557 Cerritos av
Residence Place: Long Beach, California, USA
Occupation: Asinblr
Spouse: Norma M Freeman
Publication Title: Long Beach, California, City Directory, 1953
U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014
Name: James Freeman
SSN: 511-14-9954
Last Residence:
92640 Garden Grove, Orange, California, USA
BORN: 14 Mar 1920
Died: Jan 1987
State (Year) SSN issued: Kansas (Before 1951)
James P Freeman
Birth: Mar. 14, 1920
Death: Jan. 15, 1987
Family links:
Spouse:
Norma Freeman (1920 - 2007)
Burial:
Holy Sepulcher Cemetery
Orange
Orange County
California, USA
Plot: Section F, Tier 21, Grave 100
"This is long, but it's too cool to leave in the background.
I've been working on filling in suspicious gaps in my Fathers WWII record. He told us he was an aircraft mechanic in the Pacific for a while, then again as a Crew Chief in Assam, India. My brother Mitch found a terse 1/2 page record of his service that mentioned he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Clusters (the Oak Leaves mean he was awarded the medal more than once).
Also found out that he was an acting Flight Engineer who rode as part of the crew to fix physical damage, reroute damaged electrical systems, etc. Anything to keep a plane in the air. Somewhere between a super-mechanic and MacGyver. Mitch also had a mystery folder that turned out to be the key. It was his monthly flight records: Starting point of the flight, ending point, and duration of flight. It gets crazy...
Here's the backstory:
China was cut off by the Japanese. The Anti-Communist, pro-American Chiang Kai-Shek was holding off the Communists and the Japanese, with only the Flying Tigers as protection from Japanese air attacks. China was important because the Chinese pinned 2 million Japanese in place - preventing them from reinforcing the islands in the South Pacific. But the Japanese had cut off all roads, ports, and railheads in China, so it was decided that an airlift was the only way to deliver the massive amounts of fuel, ammo, medical supplies - everything needed to keep Generalissimo Chiang Kei-Shek fighting.
An airlift meant meant flying from NE India through the Himalayas - most dangerous airspace on earth.. The Roof of The World. Like being in a tumbling drier flying on instruments with mountains hidden in the ever present thunderstorms. As the war progressed, the need for more supplies became greater, so a larger cargo plane C-46 was added. It was pressed into service immediately after acceptance by the Army Air Corps, so many fatal bugs had to be worked out.
It was still not enough, so our most advanced bomber (B-24 Liberator) was reworked into a cargo plane - unarmed, with most armor removed and a cargo floor added. It was designated C-87. It hulked over the earlier aircraft and could carry 12,000 pounds of cargo. But it wasn't easy. Nose gears sheared off trying to lift off in a foot of monsoon rain. If unable to achieve take off speed, it joined the tangled mass of crashed and burned planes a mile past the end of the runway. Once in the Himalayas (called The Hump" by the crews) the big plane was a bigger target for 100+ mph winds blasting from every direction. Lost in the clouds, the winds slapped the planes a thousand feet up or down in less than two minutes, instruments gave up, and the pilots had no reference points some even found themselves flying on their side and several "turned turtle" upside down, Like the smaller cargo planes, many of these big guys just disappeared. (so many aircraft were lost the pilots darkly joked you could get to China by following the Aluminum Trail of wreckage below)That skinny wing iced up easily, and only a steep descent to lower air could melt the ice before the lane lost lift. The cargo version (C-87) of the B-24 delivered a huge amount of supplies, but at a price. They just weren't engineered to take that much abuse in the Hump and were considered "widow-makers". At the wars' end it was determined that 1 out of 3 planes were lost to the Hump. Flight hours over the Hump were called 'Hump Hours', and the flight was a harrowing 500 miles one way (that's Detroit to NYC). The flight time averaged about 5 hours.
Our Dad had 690 hours of Hump Time! That's 138 one way trips.
Engine mechanic my eye! Our hard working, easy-going Dad, with that twinkle in his eye and a ready joke, was a certified, nerves of steel badass. This was not uncommon among the Greatest Generation, as many of you know.
I've sent off to the National Archives to see if I can get the full verbiage of the Awards. Since the China Airlift was non-combat, it didn't qualify for most medals - and the operation was looked down upon and the crews looked upon as second-rate...though you had to look around pretty hard to find another operation with 30% attrition. Still, recognition was hard to get approved. Makes Dad's medals more intriguing.
Thanks for reading this - it's an amazing corner of WWII, and a hidden part of our Dad's life." (Written by Patrick Michael Freeman)
|