The Chinese-American Composite Wing’s unique composition was not always readily accepted. As the 3^rd Bomb Squadron prepared to enter combat in Burma, a serious conflict arose. Maj. R. L. Patterson, in command of the 83^rd Bomb Squadron, 12^th Bomb Group, was distrustful of the abilities of the recently-arrived and biracial 3^rd Squadron. Before allowing the mixed Chinese-American crews to "tack onto" his planes for missions, he insisted that 3^rd Squadron airmen fly a practice formation flight with the 83^rd to demonstrate their readiness for combat. The following day, Capt. Raymond L. Hodges Jr. and "his Chinese boys, Lts. Tung and Yen" flew follow element to the 83^rd Squadron's lead element. "Our boys assembled and tacked on much quicker than the 83^rd, who flew an extremely wide pattern,” according to a later report. However, a mechanical failure forced the lead plane down, leaving Patterson unsatisfied, so he demanded a second practice flight. Once again, the Chinese pilots "made a wonderful showing" and Patterson called off the flight.

May 16, 1945, began as many other days, but its events lived on in the memories of the 3^rd Bomb Squadron members for many years. In the early morning hours, six B-25 crews were briefed at Liangshan on separate targets in the Ichang, Chingmen, and Shashih triangle in western Hubei Province for the purpose of hitting enemy troops and supplies on low-level bombing and strafing raids. Typical of the Chinese-American Composite Wing at this time, three aircrews were made up of all-Chinese members, and three crews were entirely Americans. Tragically, one of these bombers did not return. Aircraft #722 was hit by enemy fire over Japanese-held Ichang and crashed, burning as it went down. Five members of the crew died in the crash, and a sixth was injured as he bailed out. Captured by the enemy, he died soon afterward. The fate of these heroes was not discovered until after the war had ended.

As the rest of the world celebrated V-E Day, it was business as usual in China’s war zone. The Chinese-American Composite Wing’s 2^nd and 3^rd Bomb Squadrons, with two 32^nd Fighter Squadron P-51s, bombed separate targets in the vicinity of Chenghsien, Honan (Henan) Province, in Central China’s Yellow River Valley. When they received news of the German surrender soon afterward, they did not celebrate this victory but “took it just as another day.” it would be another three months before Japan admitted defeat in China. During that time, two more 3^rd Squadron planes were lost, and the fate of a six-man aircrew reported as missing in action was not confirmed until after the war ended.

By early May 1945, Allied forces in Europe were nearing victory, and the balance of power was shifting in China. The Battle of Chihkiang, in which the Chinese-American Composite Wing’s 5^th Fighter Group and 3^rd and 4^th Bomb Squadrons played a decisive role, proved to be the turning point of the war in China. Even as the war neared an end, replacements were being sent to the China Theater. Maj. Clarence H. (“Hank”) Drake was attached as a B-25 pilot in late April and flew missions with the 3^rd Bomb Squadron into June. On Drake’s first combat mission, he feared that enemy flak might bring down the plane, so he asked the pilot, “What do we do?”  1Lt. Willard G. Ilefeldt calmly replied, “Why, we just fly on through.”

After the loss of the 14^th Air Force base at Laohokow, Chihkiang (now Zhijiang) became the most easterly of the bases operated by the 14^th Air Force. On April 10, 1945, the Japanese initiated an offensive that claimed the full attention of the 3^rd and 4^th Bomb Squadrons and the 5^th Fighter Group stationed at Chihkiang. So successful was the opposition against enemy targets in the Chihkiang Campaign that it proved to be the last major offensive by the Japanese in China. Even as life-or-death operations were being conducted, the daily business of the squadron went on. “All the men who have been overseas for a rather long time, or those who seem to need a little diversion and rest, are being sent to Chengtu, several at a time, to enjoy the ‘almost stateside’ atmosphere, the good ‘American’ food, and the almost white creatures of feminine pulchritude.” Five 3^rd Bomb Squadron enlisted men were the next to be sent in late April.

Beginning in mid-April 1945, about two hundred 14^th Air Force fighters and bombers attacked Japanese targets in areas from southern China to the northern China plain, hitting numerous targets that included bridges, river shipping, town areas, trucks, railroad traffic, gun positions, storage areas, and general targets of opportunity. Among the attack planes were those of the Chinese-American Composite Wing. The 3^rd Bomb Squadron’s A/C #714, “Smilin’ Jack,” named in honor of the squadron’s popular commander, Capt. Jack M. Hamilton, was a victim of the raid against Loyang on April 16, when a tire blew out on takeoff.

USS Mission Bay (CVE-59) and USS Wake Island (CVE-65) steamed from Staten Island on February 20, 1944, loaded with Army personnel and one hundred P-47 pursuit planes bound for the China-Burma-India Theater. Accompanied by destroyer escorts USS Trumpeter, USS Straub, and USS Gustafson, the convoy formed Task Force Group 27.2. At sea for a biblical “forty days and forty nights,” according to recollections of my father, then-Cpl. James H. (“Hank”) Mills, Mission Bay went down and around the coast to South America, crossed the Atlantic, and then steamed around the coast of Africa and up to the Arabian Sea. Men aboard the carriers were assigned to cramped quarters with little to keep them occupied other than to read, play cards, and sleep. The monotony was interrupted when the carriers crossed the equator, and a traditional line-crossing ceremony got under way to commemorate the occasion. Hank remembered stops for refueling and fresh provisions at Recife, Brazil, at Cape Town, South Africa, and at Cape Diego, Madagascar, before docking at Karachi, India (now part of Pakistan) on March 29.

By February 16, 1945, thirty B-25s from all four squadrons of the 1^st Bomb Group—called the “Gambay Group—had converged at Hanchung for a huge raid against railroad yards at Shihkiachwang (Shijiazhuang), Hopeh (Hebei) Province, on the following day. Because their fighter escort failed to join them, the bombers separated into two elements and diverted to alternate targets in the big Yellow River bend. The first element turned south to attack railroad yards at Yunchen. The 1^st Bomb Squadron’s Mitchells formed "Benton" flight, and 4^th and 3^rd Squadron planes made up "Charlotte." Nearly all bombs missed their targets and landed in rice paddies or villages outside the target area. The second element was slightly more effective. The 2^nd Bomb Squadron and remainder of the 3^rd Squadron, forming "Akron" and "Detroit" flights, turned north and attacked railroad yards, tracks, and barracks at Linfen. After a delay caused by foul weather, the four squadrons flew a successful joint mission against machine shops and rails at Taiyuan on February 21.

Maj. Chester M. Conrad served from March 1944 to February 1945 as commanding officer of the 3^rd Bomb Squadron, 1^st Bomb Group, Chinese-American Composite Wing. Known as "Chet" back home, he had picked up the sobriquet "Coondog" somewhere along the way (his radio call sign, according to my father). While previously serving in the 2^nd Bomb Squadron, his aircrew was credited with shooting down a Japanese bomber. Conrad, with his 3^rd Squadron, later provided air support to Chinese and American ground forces that retook Myitkyina, a Japanese stronghold used to attack Allied planes crossing the Himalayan “Hump.” He participated in many other successful missions, including a raid against storage facilities on the Hankow docks in January 1945. After his return to the US the following month, he continued to work with Chinese airmen. His military career was cut short in 1955, when then-Lt. Col. Conrad died as a result heart disease.

Along with several other replacements, 1Lt. Willard G. Ilefeldt had been attached to the 3^rd Bomb Squadron as a B-25 pilot and appointed a flight leader in November 1944. Ilefeldt, called “Tex” because of an early childhood spent in Texas, additionally assumed the role of historical officer in January 1945. His first combat mission was a joint raid with the 2^nd and 4^th Bomb Squadrons against storage areas on the docks of Hankow. The bombers were escorted by 3^rd Fighter Group P-40s and P-51s. Results were excellent. Ilefeldt went on to complete 37 missions before the end of the war. He returned from Calcutta to New York in November 1945. Although called a “dumb kid” as a child, he so successfully overcame his dyslexia and hyperactivity that he became an Episcopal priest and earned a Doctorate in Pastoral Counseling. He later became a published author.

On January 21, 1945, the 3^rd Bomb Squadron began its move to Liangshan. Transporting everything that could not be carried aboard the B-25s, three separate details of enlisted men left Peishiyi to transfer squadron equipment and supplies by truck, sampan, and river steamer. Their new airfield was located about forty-five miles due west of Wanhsien (Wanzhou), the largest nearby town on the upper reaches of the Yangtze, and just north of a small mountain range.  My father, then Sgt. James H. (“Hank”) Mills, clearly remembered the journey and described it many years afterward. Others have also shared their recollections of it, as well as of Liangshan Field that became their base of operations after their arrival.

As 1945 began, military discipline and courtesy in the new China Theater came under increasingly-careful scrutiny, especially in Chungking (Chongqing). Reports that ranged from failure to salute officers and incomplete or improper uniform to public intoxication and coercing local young women to accompany GIs to the photographer’s shop had been received at Chinese-American Composite Wing headquarters. Maj. Gen. Claire L. Chennault issued a letter to all unit commanders of the 14^th Air Force in which he referenced a recently-received radiogram from Maj. Gen. Albert C. Wedemeyer: "The CO was very much displeased with lack of discipline and general sloppy appearance of all ranks and grades.” He urged all personnel under his command, both officers and enlisted men, to be properly dressed while outside their quarters in the prescribed uniform according to the type of duty to be performed or the social activity in which they were engaged and that they "avail themselves" of the facilities provided for shaving, although facial hair had previously been overlooked. "Poor discipline reflects directly on combat and operational efficiency." Chennault warned, "Such comments on the state of discipline of this command as quoted above are a source of embarrassment to me and I expect every commander to take immediate vigorous corrective action to prevent a recurrence of this criticism.”

Personnel of the 3^rd Bomb Squadron stationed at Peishiyi (Baishiyi) ended 1944 with three consecutive nights of Chinese opera. Afterward, all American officers and enlisted men of the Chinese-American Composite Wing stationed at Peishiyi were invited to attend New Year's celebrations hosted by several Chinese civic organizations that banded together to honor the men who came from far away to aid in their war against the Japanese aggressors. They held separate dinner-dances―for officers on Saturday evening, December 30, and for enlisted men on Sunday evening, New Year's Eve. Both parties took place in Chungking (Chongqing) and included buffets and music, and "many girls of all nationalities were present and available for dancing.” My father, then Sgt. James H. (“Hank”) Mills., remembered attending with TSgts. Ewell F. Wilkerson and John P. Barge.

The Christmas holidays were unlike any they had known before for personnel of the Chinese-American Composite Wing stationed in China in 1944, but they celebrated with whatever festivities they could manage.  Thanks to the efficiency of the APO system, packages from home began to arrive at Peishiyi (Baishiyi) during the week before Christmas. The mess hall took on a festive appearance, decked out with holiday red and green. GIs began experimenting with cooking weird concoctions of food on their hostel-room stoves. The Wing’s Chinese officers hosted a dinner-dance for all American officers. Priests, organists, and a choir leader imported for the occasion from Chungking celebrated high mass in the Chinese Recreation Hall on Christmas Eve. Dinner on Christmas Day featured as many traditional holiday “trimmings” as could be acquired. Messages of hope for “peace on earth” brought encouragement to these men who still had many more months of hardship to endure before victory became a reality.

SSgt. Otto W. Hutchinson was one of the vast numbers of China veterans who were heading home. After the formal surrender was signed and the Chinese-American Composite Wing was disbanded in early September 1945, men of the 3^rd Bomb Squadron were officially assigned to other units in preparation for their return to the Zone of the Interior.  Hutchinson was transferred to the 26^th Fighter Squadron, 51^st Fighter Group, 69^th Composite Wing stationed at Kunming. Along with others attached to the same unit, he was sent to Barrackpore Field near Calcutta before moving to Replacement Depot No. 3 (also known as Camp Kanchrapara), one of the processing centers for troops heading home. Then they spent a few days at Camp Hialeah, a staging for troops awaiting departure, before boarding SS Marine Angel on November 16. A Thanksgiving feast, overflowing scuppers, and collision with a whale were events noted in the ship’s newsletter. Arriving on December 12 in Tacoma, Washington, ship records indicate that 2,511 returning troops were disembarked, allowing them to be back home with their families for Christmas.

When Imperial Japanese naval and air forces attacked the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor and then the city of Honolulu on the island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, Paul L. Young, an American citizen of Chinese descent, was an eye-witness to the devastation. Displaying extraordinary courage, he was wounded while moving undamaged fighters away from those that were burning, earning him the Purple Heart. After spending twenty-three months with a heavy bomb unit in the Southwest Pacific, he served as intelligence and historical officer of the 3rd Bomb Squadron of the Chinese-American Composite Wing. One of the five missions he completed against targets in Burma during that period earned him a second Purple Heart.

Thanksgiving on November 23, 1944, was not a memorable occasion for the men stationed at Peishiyi (Baishiyi).  Because some of the extra supplies ordered for the holiday feast had not arrived, the menu included duck and not turkey, which was promised later. It was finally on the menu a week later.  At about the same time, six of the 3^rd Bomb Squadron's B-25s were moved farther back to Wenkiang (Wenjiang) in the western suburbs of Chengtu (Chengdu). “Brass” considered them to be safer there from night attack now that the moon was waxing full, and the shortage of gas prevented them from flying missions, regardless of their location. The detachment that accompanied them went to Kwan-Sien Rest Camp north of the city. Meanwhile, in Chihkiang (Zhijiang), detachments from the 3^rd and 4^th Bomb Squadrons that made up Task Force 34 conducted business as usual. They took a one-day break on Thanksgiving Day before resuming operations. Another night mission to support heavy bomb operations by interdicting use of enemy searchlights at Hankow-Wuchang was off on the twenty-fourth. The bomber was pursued by enemy night fighters, but its pilot, 1Lt. Leo C. Baker, took cover in a patch of overcast encountered near Tungting Lake and lost them.

Carrying frag clusters fused instantaneous, the 4^th Bomb Squadron’s Capt. Moncure N. (“Monte”) Lyon, in command of Task Force 34 that flew out of Chihkiang (Zhijiang), took off in the 3^rd Bomb Squadron’s A/C #722 at 1805 on November 22, 1944. With him were the 68^th Composite Wing’s Maj. A. T. House as observer and copilot and a crew that included the 3^rd Squadron’s Sgt. Eril W. Peters and Cpl. Andrew R. Allegretto as waist and tail gunners, as well as the 4^th Squadron’s Capt. Wei H. S. as navigator and SSgt. Oswald Weinert as top turret gunner. They had volunteered for this hazardous mission without knowing what it entailed until the briefing just before takeoff. It was a joint mission with the 68^th Composite Wing that included twenty-two B-24s of the 308^th Bomb Group (H) and two P-51s of the 75^th Fighter Squadron, 23^rd Fighter Group. The “heavies” approached the target and made their runs singly or in small groups, dropping their 500-pounders. Each time the searchlights were illuminated in an attempt to pick them up, Lyon attacked the lights again. This mission against Wuhan was the first of many completed successfully by Task Force 34, as well as by its two bomb squadrons later operating independently.

In late 1944, as 3^rd and 4^th Bomb Squadron detachments constituting Task Force 34 were flying missions out of Chihkiang (now Zhijiang), personnel still at Peishiyi (Baishiyi) had more free time on their hands than they were prepared to endure. Their inactivity was the result of persistent foul weather and gas shortages that limited operations to near zero. Movies and baseball were among available activities, but many of the men made the grueling trip over the mountain to Chungking (Chongqing) to escape the monotony of existence on base. The city held attractions for them that included souvenir shops, restaurants, bars (with ice in their drinks), “catting,” and of course, the obligatory rickshaw rides.

In late 1944, it became clear to observers that Japanese forces coming from the north were moving toward a junction with troops advancing westward toward Nanning from Canton.  Col. John A. Dunning, in command of the 5^th Fighter Group at Chihkiang (Zhijiang), put in a request for four B-25s with crews to run missions in close conjunction with his "Flying Hatchet" fighters to resist the enemy drive. His pilots had found that daytime targets were scarce and scattered because the enemy was moving troops and supplies primarily at night, so that was when he intended to strike. Called "Task Force 34," its participants were detached from the 3^rd and 4^th Bomb Squadrons, and the majority of their missions were night single-plane strikes at river, rail, and road traffic in the Hsiang Valley and from Hankow to Kweilin. Many of them were accomplished without moonlight. So successful were these “moonless-night missions” that they became a specialty of Task Force 34.