Tiger Crossing and Gin March

Led by 1st Sgt. William T. Earley (far left, front, dark pants), enlisted men take “the long drill” from their tents to the flight line. Column to the left: Andrew R. Allegretto, John P. Hanrahan, Elmer J. Thompson, unidentified (face not visible), unidentified, Herman L. Burton, next two unidentified, James A. Wadlow (wearing pith helmet). Middle column: Ewell F. Wilkerson, James H. Mills (white tee shirt, grinning into camera), unidentified (face not visible), Donald W. Grant, George Gruber, last two unidentified. Column to the right: Clyde L. Learn, Alvin A. Hall, Lloyd E. Jackson Jr., Philip Piecuch, unidentified, Homer L. Chasse, and William G. Duffin. J. H. Mills collection

Late July of 1944 brought some significant changes for the 3rd Bomb Squadron. Maj. Chester M. Conrad learned that his “Spray and Pray Boys” were moving from Moran in Upper Assam, India, to a new base at Dergaon, about eighty miles farther west-southwest. Recently vacated by a Royal Air Force fighter/bomber squadron, Dergaon’s location was of strategic advantage because it provided closer access to the route over the “Low Hump” by which the squadron’s Mitchells traversed the 9,000’ Chin Hills to reach their targets in Burma.

There was a considerable amount of confusion regarding spelling of the new base, and several versions appeared in records. The squadron historical officer, Capt. Louis F. Graves Jr., wrote in his report on the twenty-fourth, "Doesn't make a damn how this was spelled on July 23, this is correct, see?” He noted on the same date, “Col. Branch and party are still consuming our beans and hotcakes.”  The 1st Bomb Group’s CO, Lt. Col. Irving L. (“Twig”) Branch, with several others, were waiting for weather to clear enough to cross over “the Hump” to Kunming in China’s Yunnan Province.

An advance detail that included Capt. John C. Hinrichs Jr., 2Lt. George P. Wood, SSgts. William L. (“Shorty”) Armstrong, Frank T. Jakubasz, and James R. Summerville, Sgt. Allen B. Malone Jr., Cpl. John W. England, and Pfc. James A. Wadlow left for “Deragon” as the end of the month approached. Capt. Graves, 2Lt. John F. Faherty, and Sgt. William Meikle made up a second detail that arrived the following day.

Hinrichs inspected the facilities and found them acceptable. He reported that although there were no base functions or furniture, the field was better located and laid out than Moran. Mess halls and quarters (once again tents) were readied. The move was completed by remaining personnel two days later, when a truck convoy brought supplies that were unloaded at the new base. The squadron was to share the field with the 89th Fighter Squadron of the 80th (“Burma Banshees”) Fighter Group, which was setting up quarters in the basha area of the field. Graves described the situation: "No A/C on the field - just a handful of Uncle Sam's boys, a few Limeys, Wogs, and a helluva lot of cows."

As they were making the move to Dergaon, my father, then-Sgt. James H. (“Hank”) Mills, had an encounter that remained indelibly in his memory. He was driving along a dirt road with the convoy in an open weapons carrier filled with supplies. With him were two Chinese officers as passengers. Unexpectedly, a full-grown Bengal tiger stepped out of the dense bamboo thicket into the road a short distance ahead. Hank stopped the vehicle. The unconcerned tiger ambled across the road and then reentered the vegetation on the other side. Hank turned to the Chinese pilots and asked, "Did you see that tiger? It's not every day that a real, wild tiger walks out in front of you.”

“We saw it,” they answered. The two officers jumped out and pulled their handguns. "They started shucking those little ol' pistols.”

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"We're going to shoot that tiger."

"You're not going to shoot that tiger. You better get back on board, 'cause we're leaving here right now. You're not going to make that thing mad and come in here and jump on us.” The officers complied, and the three made their way to the new base without further incident.

Squadron B-25s arrived on the twenty-eighth. One had trouble with landing gear but managed to get down successfully after circling for about an hour. Squadron headquarters and organization were officially relocated from Moran (APO 629) to Dergaon (APO 466) on that date; personnel were noted as on detached service from Headquarters 10th Air Force. Unloading supplies continued throughout the day, despite a shortage of labor and rain that fell intermittently but persistently throughout the week. The remaining tents were erected and general preparations continued satisfactorily. Conditions can be summed up in a succinct message that Maj. Conrad sent to his family in Missouri at about this time: "I am ok. The weather is hot and the mosquitoes bad."

As they were settling into their new home, Capt. Graves cryptically noted, "The incident of 'who took the gin' presented a squadron headache for several days and the veteran enlisted men took the long drill to the line twice per day to no one's satisfaction and the case petered out.”

Hank provided more details. He explained that Maj. Conrad reported two bottles of "whiskey" missing from his quarters soon after the move. In his attempt to extract either a confession from the culprit or information regarding the crime, the enlisted men were required to march, morning and evening, from their living quarters to "the area where the planes were kept" and back again. As Hank remembered it, he did not march with the others, although he appears in a photo taken of the group. "I said, 'I didn't steal it, and I'm not going to march.' And I didn't.”

Lloyd E. Jackson Jr., a corporal at that time, remembered marching to "a made-up song" that went like this: "Somebody stole my gin. Somebody stole my gin. Didn't say they were leaving. Somebody stole my gin."

Eventually the matter was dropped due to lack of evidence, although some of the enlisted men suspected that Sgt. William H. Whearty, who had arrived with them aboard USS Mission Bay, was the guilty party. Before the war, Whearty worked for a dairy in Boston and had a delivery route that included several wealthy households, and he had boasted that he expected to retire within five years after returning to his route. Instead of dealing with the homeowners, he left the orders with their head housekeepers and charged about triple the price. "That's how he was gonna retire. He was stealing money from those rich people.” Hank was also critical of Whearty's behavior toward the Chinese mechanics. "He shouted at them, and they didn't like him. He was unkind."

On July 30, Graves reported that the squadron was "all tented and mess arrangements made,” although with a limited menu. The men were served a monotonous diet of pancakes and coffee for breakfast and "wieners and more wieners for lunch and dinner.” They were pleased when new personnel were attached as a base command that specialized in housekeeping and servicing the tactical units.

The commander of Myitkyina, an important enemy stronghold in northern Burma, ordered withdrawal by his troops and committed suicide on the same date. The Japanese began their retreat down the Tiddim road the following day, as B-25s from other units pounded enemy troops in the Hopin area.

Having settled into their new quarters, "We are ready for operations," declared Graves.

There is much more to this compelling story! Find it all in The Spray and Pray Squadron: 3rd Bomb Squadron, 1st Bomb Group, Chinese-American Composite Wing in World War II.