All P-38’s from Henderson Field were to be ferried to Sydney ASAP to be fueled, armed and ready at a moment’s notice. This included the fueling of the drop tanks as well.

Major Hamilton led the ten remaining P-38J aircraft to Sydney in a Double Diamond formation with the twins in the six position to roam; It was a HAM favorite combination with the crazy cartwheel team.

HAM was feeling a little nostalgia with this group going who knows where but likely to the Philippines since General MacArthur arrived and it will be a little hot up there waiting for Clark Field with the Thirteenth Air Force to build up as soon as they can and clean up all the Jap aircraft junk yard that was caught on the ground.

A fleet of forty Zeros caught Mitch and DALs Attention. They were high, very high, leave them alone they don’t see us signaled, Mitch with the smooth palm down and moving slowly back and forth DAL went thumbs up.

A minute later turning his head severely as he saw the contrail they were leaving he went on the radio and announced “Bandits coming down at six o’clock, break formation split and spit and climb unless followed otherwise go to twenty or thirty thousand before reversing and ughh.

DAL looked for him and did not see anything, he rolled into a ”split “S” without seeing any sign of a P-38, they were all climbing. He pulled up and climbed calling Mitch not expecting him to answer because he would be busy but a voice said “He got it”, sorry!

Dal was stunned; this is the way it is when you’re too close in battle; at some point it will be me he thought and “sorry” is the toughest thing to hear.

He got reckless and pursued a zero that was already hit and shot at it until there was nothing more of it; and then came awake with the tattoo of bullets raking his aircraft. Both engines had been hit and a steep dive had to be lessened it he was to make it to an Island close by.

Using a speed that would give him the most distance for altitude lost; he picked out a sandy beach slid onto it with the left wing overhanging the shallow green water.
This would be nice if you had a picnic basket and a lovely hulu girl. Damit poor Sandy this is terrible she loves him so much. He pushed an ugly thought out of his mind. It would come back often.

He climbed out and swung the goofy step down that really was a work of art and it swung itself back up into position that produced no drag.

While doing all that, his eye caught some movement at the edge of the jungle, and six uniformed Japanese soldiers were walking toward him. He had a 45 cal pistol but they could produce six of some other brand if he drew his out. They kept walking at the same pace, like a stroll to the water; then they all raised hands up in surrender. DAL was dumfounded. The Captain spoke good English and said “You are a Captain too I see and we wish to surrender to you. Would you please take your 45 Cal handgun out and hold it on us..

DAL hesitated fearing they then might shoot him and have the excuse that he was trying to capture them; but he did as told.

The Captain then said that he and these five soldiers do not believe in this war and have never killed or injured anyone. I myself went to Harvard in the USA before the war.

There is a Marine base here on the Island that we would like to surrender to but I don’t feel safe enough to approach them.

DAL was seeing the situation now and they led the way always keeping their arms slightly up in surrender so that no one makes an error.

It was a couple of miles they said but DAL was getting
Thirsty, the Japanese Captain smiled and offered him his canteen; of which he took a mouthful and thanked him.

This seemed surreal, who would have believed it. Obviously not the six marines who saw us and raced over to us. They tried to take over for DAL but he resisted and wanted to speak to the commanding officer.

The commanding officer listened to DALS explanation beginning with the ditching of his plane. And he asked him to talk to the Japanese Captain who was very pleasant and had gone to Harvard. The Marine Captain said he would talk to him and smiled and said OK and the Japanese Captain smiled and then still smiling started to run toward the Marine Captain and six shots rang out killing all six of the Japs. Dal then realized that certain marines had held their weapons on them the whole time and now a disastrous mistake has taken place. Dal walked over to them shaking his head and crying at what happened.

The Marine Captain kept telling him to stay away; but DAL bent down to hold the Captains hand in death and the Grenade went off wounding DAL in the right lower leg and would have killed him if not for a dead Japanese soldier laying over a portion of his Captain.
.

The grenades were strapped in their arm pits in such a way that when they would lift their arms up fully it pulled the pin.

DAL felt foolish and used but as he thought about it he had taken the high road, they had deceived him, they are dead without success and I am slightly injured.

I am going to miss Mitch; he is always in DALS thoughts; of all the times to die, I hardly knew my brother and he hardly knew me; and then there was Sandy again.