Chapter 180

5/19/2008

Ch 180 The Commando Creed                          "Any place, Any time, Anywhere"                             

March 5, 1943 Operation "Thursday", north of Rangoon, Burma at places like Mandelay, Meiktila, and Toungoo

April 2006 Syracuse Greywolves Hockey Tournament (Cicero Ice Rink)

Bill Wellington was there. If success is 90% showing up, Bill succeeded. Danbury, CT tournament no problem. And this, from his Silver Spring, MD home.

I failed to show up at tournaments the last 2 years, but he just sent me this Redwing picture from this Spring's action. Ch 120 describes our first meeting at the Syracuse tournament. He'll be 87 years old in July and still sticking. He flew during the not so well known C-B-I (China-Burma-India) phase of WW2 1943-45. For the 1st  Air Commando Group he flew this unarmed light Stinson L-5 Sentinel zipping into the jungle and enemy territory with poor short runway conditions to evacuate wounded troops on stretcher for the British. He also flew the twin engine Cessna UC 78 Nordsen and received  the Distinguished Flying Cross  for this hazardous duty. This is a high honor as Charles Lindbergh got DFC #1. As he says everyone is always amazed, including me, that there is still someone actually alive who was there. It was afterall, the FIRST air commando group, America's founding fathers of aerial long range penetration tactics.

He's not the only war vet playing hockey- one of my teammates was on a nuclear aircraft carrier in the first Gulf War. But, it's amazing that not only did Bill survive the big War, but he is not resting on his laurels.

I happened to have also logged some Stinson flight time back in my piloting phase described in the following Chapter 180B.

 Key to actual Chindit battle photo composite - bottom left to right:

    C47 shotdown by Japs at Blackpool

    Chindit casualties

    L-5 evacuating wounded from Mainghing

    Broadway airstrip construction for light aircraft

    restored L5 by Confederate Air Force

    Chindit muleteers

    White City airstrip for light aircraft

    L5 Sentinel (at Aberdeen?)

    L5 over Burma hills

additional pic of the Burma Road and the Hump they didn't enjoy flying over to get to China