American Valor Quarterly Issue 9 - Summer 2012 | Page 33

of me and started to rendezvous. Once
the entire air group was together, we
climbed slowly toward the north. We
hung in the night sky, unaware of speed.
The noise of my engine had long since
disappeared. The entire scene was unreal.
We were each in our own universe, that
tiny cockpit. It’s the only world that was
real.

U.S. Navy photo

I was strangely
calm; in fact, I was
totally relaxed. I
had never felt real
fear despite the
danger of the
action I’d been in.
Why was that? I
certainly wasn’t
particularly brave,
and I certainly
didn’t want to die.
Could pure hatred
drive someone to
do
the
unimaginable?
Did everyone in
the squadron feel
the same way?
There were many
questions but no
answers.

22,000 feet, and I didn’t want trouble with
my ears when I dove.

We continued toward the target, picking
up speed as we went. We were still twenty
miles from the fleet when we saw a
tremendous explosion on one of the
battleships. Some other groups must have
been attacking,
although
I
thought we were
to go first.
Moments later an
antiaircraft shell
exploded in the
center of our
formation,
fortunately
missing everyone.
The Japanese
were
firing
antiaircraft shells
from their 16inch guns and laid
it right on
target—not a
welcome greeting. We continued
toward the enemy, still circling
the formation and
watching for
Zeros.
The Zuikaku showing Davis’ bomb hit, the white spot

Two hours of located to the right and center of the flight deck.
this, and suddenly
Our division
the sun spread its light and brought me happened to be on the side of the
back to reality. The sea was still dark and formation closest to the Japanese when
invisible, but in only a matter of the order came over the radio from Hugh
moments it appeared. “Contact, ships’ to attack. Bill Masoner never hesitated;
wakes visible, thirty mil