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HOW IT WAS!KUNSAN AIRBASE 731st BOMB SQUADRON (ANG)
(1951-1952) |
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of Excellence: Waves |  Grey Eagle's Award of Excellence:
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 HOW IT WAS:
KUNSAN AIRBASE
(1951-1954) |
731st Bomb Squadron (L-NA):Acknowledgment: Thanks to the 731st Bomb Squadron Website for the following information on the unit. Also thanks to Roderick W. Clarke for his narrative of life with the 731st during the Korean War.
IN THE BEGINNINGThe missing chapter from Chet Blunk's book: "Every Man a Tiger"
The 731st USAF Night Intruders Over Korea
(The book chapter entitled: In The Beginning should have been "Our Proud Heritage") (NOTE: This book "Every Man a Tiger" will be included in a new book by Chet Blunk and Andy Anderson called, "Involuntary." As of November 1999 it was about ready for publishing.)
Having to wait for a dog show to end before we could hold our monthly meeting in the Glendale
High School gymnasium, was the ultimate degradation. For two years beginning in early 1947, we
had acted out a classic comedy of errors as the nucleus of the 452nd Bomb Wing, USAF
Reserve; not knowing whether we were to be "medium" or "heavy." Not knowing for certain
whether it was all somebody's grand idea of a joke.
We conducted training sessions in every conceivable place -- from a condemned WWII barracks
at Van Nuys Airport, to a church fellowship hall in Covina.
Our intended role in the Air Force Order of Battle was as uncertain to us as next month's weather
forecast.
While the Pentagon Planners made up their minds, we grumbled and griped as we successively
studied charts, statistics and tactics on the C-47, B-25, AT-11and eventually the B-29.
As the majority of our WWII experience had been in B-17s and B-24s, the transition into
Superforts made a lot of sense. At least it seemed a realistic and practical course to pursue. There
were still uncertainties, however. We had no airplanes, and no airfield to put them on. Would we
get paid, and when? Would there be promotions, and when? Lots of questions, but no answers.
Nobody seemed to have a handle on the "Big Picture." Our early pride and enthusiasm was being severely wounded by the "water-drip" torture of the continuing frustration. Some people decided they had better things to do after all, and dropped by the wayside. The "diehards" hung on. The new-found esprit de corps, and the rekindled camaraderie of a not yet forgotten era breathed new
life into our struggle for reorganization.
After what we had already experienced, the announcement that another change was in the wind
had little effect on us other than resigned acceptance. Even the assurance that the indecision and
vacillation were over -- that we would become a Douglas B-26 light bomber unit -- generated
only wary exultation. But this time it was for real. The seed of conception of the "night-intruders",
though far from being "immaculate", had been sown.
Whether just by an odd quirk of predestination, or by someone's astute analysis of military
intelligence, the decision to equip the 452nd with B-26s rather than B-29s couldn't have been
more timely and appropriate. Somebody must have foreseen the eventual need for a whole lot
more B-26s with trained air crews, than those comprising the two under-strength Regular Air
Force squadrons of the Japan-based 3rd Bomb Group.
Somebody must have known something that the general public -- including us --didn't know. But
we were now into 1948, and the Korean debacle was still over two years away.
In any event, the die was cast, and by mid-summer the 452nd Bomb Wing (Light) had hung out
their shingle at the Long Beach, California Airport.
Instead of the intense "pressure cooker" of seven months training imposed on our WWII
progenitors before they met their enemy, we proceeded more or less leisurely through weekend
after weekend of training -- blissfully unaware of what fate had in store for us.
Among the troops, at least, there was not the remotest concern about the possibility of another
conflict. We were too caught up in the excitement of getting back into our old "pinks and
greens"-tight-fitting and reeking of mothballs; readjusting the crush of "fifty-mission" hats, and
enjoying the reprieve from the strange and unaccountable boredom of being a "civilian" again.
Gradually and painstakingly, the compels machinery that would transform the nucleus of a few
dozen eager and dedicated men into a fully operational and finely tuned fighting machine, shifted
into high gear.
Earlier question marks were erased with the promise of full pay and allowances, with flight pay and
an extra bonus of promotion to the next highest rank for all eligible personnel. We began to train
one weekend a month from Friday evening to Sunday evening, with a two week active duty tour to
occur within a year. Pilots and crew chiefs flew by C-47 to Hill AF Base at Ogden, Utah, to pick
up our de-mothballed "Invaders." Hundreds of personnel--from clerks and cooks, to pilots and
propeller specialists--were recruited through a concerted radio, newspaper and mail campaign.
The long-dormant facilities at Long Beach were soon vibrant and pulsating to the rhythm of
clacking typewriters, clanging tools and roaring Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engines.
Less than a year later, in May 1950, the "week-end warriors" assembled for their promised tour of
active duty. For fifteen days classrooms, cockpits, offices and hangars hummed with activity;
serious men training for a serious mission that they had no inkling of soon being called upon to
perform.
But unfortunately, the decision makers who had somehow foreseen the need for an augmented
light bomber force, had not anticipated needing a night attack unit. So on 25 June 1950, when the
Communists raised the curtain on Act I of their South Korean invasion, the men of the 452nd were
almost, but not quite, prepared for their roles in the forthcoming drama.
We didn't have long to wait. Our invitations to attend a full-scale dress rehearsal at George AF
Base, Victorville, California, came by telegram dated 1 August, 1950. The honeymoon was over.
Effective 10 August, the 452nd was back on active duty. Only this time there would be no more
"leisurely" training week-ends -- the tour was for twenty-one months.
To say that there was a state of confusion at "George" as the troops swarmed in that red-letter day
in August, would have been the grand daddy of understatements. It was more akin to
pandemonium. But gradually, as the shock of the unexpected and "involuntary" recall wore off, and
the disappointing, discouraging effects of: leaving homes and loved ones; businesses; studies and
careers; had run their course, we began to create order out of chaos.
While the Combat Support Group was submerged in the morass of paper work and physical labor
involved in the mobilization and preparation for deployment of the Wing, lock-stock-and-barrel to
Japan; and while the other tactical squadrons resumed the daylight training conducted during the
June active duty tour, it was virtually back to "square one" for the 731st. Having received the
dubious honor of becoming the 5th Air Force's first officially designated "night-attack" bomber
squadron, we had just sixty days--or more accurately, nights--, to learn how to fly, navigate,
bomb, rocket and strafe at low-level, in pitch dark, over the Mojave Desert.
The reincarnation of the 731st Bomb Squadron was consummated. Except for our twin-engine
B-26 "Invaders" in lieu of the B-17 "Flying Forts", the scenario was essentially the same as in
WWII. The old "pressure cooker" was boiling on the front burner. We had a deadline to meet.
We would soon be on center stage--playing our parts in the tragedy of a war that was erroneously
and unforgivably--though perhaps technically correctly--referred to as a "police action", but on
which the impact of our presence would long endure.
But the 5th Air Force and 3rd Bomb Group's calls for help were urgent. The North Korean Reds
had become a tenacious and formidable force to deal with. In response to the emergency, four
731st air crews double-timed through a modified training schedule, flew their aircraft to Japan, and
were in the thick of the action by the middle of September, 1950.
Although it would take almost two more months for the remaining troops and aircraft to join them,
our initial calling cards to the "bad guys" had been superbly and insuperably delivered.
FIGHTING IN KOREA(The following history was given by Bob McFarland)
After WWII ended in 1945, there were drastic cuts in all branches of the military. Five
years later, when hostilities broke out in Korea - actually 40 years ago this month - I
don't believe the average person realized how under strength the military was. In
particular, in the Air Force, in low level attack capability.
Long gone were the scores of A-20 Havocs, B-25 Mitchells, & B-26 Marauders -
either scrapped or replaced with the faster Douglas A-26 Invaders. And of the 48
WWII squadrons equipped with the A-26, only two were left, the 8th and 13th in the
3rd Bomb Group stationed at Johnson AFB Japan. In the early months of the Korean
War, these two squadrons bore the brunt of destroying road and rail traffic and
providing close air support for ground personnel.
All this was not apparent in March of '51 when I started flying with the 731st. It
appeared that this squadron was a regular Air Force Unit that had been active for a
number of years with the 3rd Bomb Group. As time passed, I learned that they had
been recalled from reserve status less than a year before I joined them.
Their history started in 1946 when a group of WWII veterans in the Los Angeles area
started holding reserve meetings. Initially they met without pay in classrooms -
condemned barracks - wherever. By 1949, two wings had been formed, the 448th
and 452nd. Then shortly after the Korean War started, both wings were recalled and
combined into the 452nd with 4 squadrons: 728th; 729th; 730th; and 731st.
Lead elements of the 731st were flying combat within 5 weeks of recall, but for most
aircrews 60 days of intensive flying training had to be completed. Also, ground crews
had to be trained, records had to be updated etc... The aircraft used during reserve
status was replaced by the A-26, which had been redesigned as the B-26 in 1948.
These had to be pulled out of mothballs, renovated at Hill AFB, Utah and then flown
to George AFB, California, where the squadron trained.
By September, four crews had completed a stepped-up schedule and flew their planes
to Japan where they were attached to the 3rd Bomb Group and started flying combat
the day after arrival. A short time later, the balance of airplanes, crews and ground
support personnel were transported by air and water.
 Iwakuni Tower 1950
Click on the photo to enlarge
(From the 731st BS (L-NA) Homepage)
With their training focused on RADAR & SHORAN, they became the Night
Intruders, the radar and electronic eyes of the Tactical Air Force. This was the only
B-26 squadron trained in this fashion. They were pulled out of the 452nd and assigned
to the 3rd Bomb Group to bring that group up to strength. The 452nd flew daylight
missions from Pusan Korea and the 3rd flew night missions from Iwakuni, Japan.
In late June 1951, the 731st was deactivated - ON PAPER - and the 90th which was
one of the other WWII squadrons with the 3rd, was reactivated. All the equipment and
remaining personnel was then transferred to the 90th. By this time the 731st had flown
more than 9000 hours of combat and 2000 missions under every conceivable
disadvantages: bad weather, patched-up airplanes; weary personnel and few
replacements. They had flown all sorts of missions including high, medium and
low-level bombing, visual and radar bombing, front-line support, flare drops, armed
reconnaissance, strafing and rocketry... and had the distinction of flying the 10,000
mission for the 3rd Bomb Group.
The causalities were: 3 wounded; 2 killed; 5 injured; and 10 missing.
The education level: 2.2 years of college per man; highest of any Air Force squadron at
the time.
COMMENT FROM SOMEONE WHO WAS THERE Roderick W. Clarke of Old Town Alexandria, Virginia
wrote, "When I arrived in May 51 the unit was designated as the 731st Sq which had been
one of the four squadrons of the 452nd Wing, a reserve wing based at Long
Beach, CA when the war broke out. Many of the ground crew members had been
employed by the Douglas Aircraft Company, the manufacrurers of the A (B)-26.
They provided excellent maintenance and other support which we, the aircrews,
thought was a tad better than that provided to the 8th and 13 Squadrons."
"When we deployed from Iwakuni to Kunsan in late August 1951, most of the original
ground crew members were still with us although most of the original aircrews
had returned to USA-jima. If you have access to the combat loss stats by
squadron I think you'll find that there were significantly fewer losses in the
731st/90th Sq than the 8th and 13th. Much of the difference is attributable to
the fact that the aircrews were somewhat older (mid to late 20s) than those of
the other two squadrons. But the the ground crews deserve some of the credit."
Another man who was there was Ed Moynagh one of those crew chiefs Roderick spoke of. He said, "I got to K-8 from Iwakuni in mid 1951 & left in May of 1952. I was in the 90th Bomb Sqdn & the 731st Bomb Sqdn before that. I got to Iwakuni Oct 1950. We island hopped with five B-26s & a B-29 mother ship. I was crew chief & flight engineer on the same aircraft for the whole time I was in the 3rd (44-35978)."
He added, "Kunsan was "out of bounds" for us, so the only contact we had with the people was the ones who worked on base. When I was on my way home & checking out, I was picking up my medical records, there was a Korean women in the emergency ward that had been shot by a ROK guard that nite as she was trying to come thru the fence for food. I often wondered if she made it."
HISTORY OF THE 731ST BOMB SQUADRON (L-NA) From the 731st Squadron Book (Published by Hiroshima Publishing Co. 1951)
TO WHOM WE ARE INDEBTED
To the men of the 731st; to those who are together now; to those suffering from the wounds and
injuries of the War who have returned home from the conflict, and to those who have made the
supreme sacrifice; to all who have given their utmost through the long hours of day and night, in
good weather and foul, with unstinting effort and selfless devotion to duty; to the men who
surmounted tremendous odds with insufficient and obsolete equipment to compile a magnificent
record against the Communist aggressors; to these and their posterity, this book is humbly and
respectfully dedicated.
WHOM WE REMEMBER
They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years
condemn. At the going down of the sun, and in the morning we will remember them.
MISSING
Hayden Vaughn
Carter Skare
Walter Kepley
John Wands
Claude Batty
D.H. Park
A.M. Austin
Martin Howell
Ralph Yarosh
John Lausberg
WOUNDED
Chet Blunk
Bernard Specht
Sandy Sandberg
INJURED
Fred Small
Dan Healy
Richard Kuhn
Tom Loyd
Jim Silva
KILLED
John Vesser
Bob Clarke
WHO WE ARE
Early in 1946 the Air Force Reserve Program in Los Angeles took its first toddling steps. With life
breathed into it and fed with the enthusiasm of dozens of eager, young veterans, it thrived and grew
to give birth to the well organized and trained fighting machine we know today as the 731st Bomb
Squadron (L-NA).
In the beginning, small groups of us met once each month in whatever space was available;
schoolrooms, condemned barracks, and on occasion we even sweated out a dog training class so
we would have a gathering place. Who would have thought we would take second place to a dog
show?
Confusion and indecision as to our purpose was a bitter enemy in those early days, and there was
no pay to ease the pain. We persisted, however, because in spite of all, there existed an inner
sense of satisfaction of being back in uniform - tight fitting and smelling of moth balls though many
of them were - and enjoying once again the spirit of camaraderie we had once known so well.
Little by little the fruits of our labors began to blossom. The long months of uncertainty and
changing patterns passed. We were a Squadron, our mission was clear, but there was much work
yet to be done. From T-6's, T-11's, and B-29's, we were finally to fly B-26's. Our headquarters
which had been originally the old Van Nuys metropolitan Airport was changed to Long Beach and
by 1949 two complete Wings, the 448th and 452nd swung into full-geared operation. An
extensive recruiting campaign was initiated to augment our ever-increasing roster of Officers and
Airmen.
We were meeting now one full week-end a month. Full pay and allowances plus flight pay had
been authorized and two weeks' active duty for all personnel was soon to arrive. The toddling
child of 1946 had donned its first pair of long trousers. Little did anyone at that time expect that he
would ere long exchange them for a suit of armor.
On August 10th, 1950, less than 6 weeks from the outbreak of hostilities in Korea, men of both
Wings were consolidated into one combat strength unit and sent to George Air Force Base at
Victorville, California, to complete an intensified Combat Training course. At Victorville, the 731st
was born again. We became the Night Intruders, the radar and electronic eyes of the Tactical Air
Force. In the incredibly short time of 60 days, pilots, navigators, and observers trained and
became proficient in every phase of night attack work. Support elements not only had to start from
scratch, but they were working under the handicap of an Air Base that had been inactive for four
years and was just beginning to stir again.
Observers were sent to Mather Field on TDY to learn the rudiments of Radar. Pilots attended
long hours of classes during the day and flew through half the night until they felt as much a part of
the B-26 as a piston or an aileron. In two weeks the observers returned from Mather and
immediately stepped into a schedule crammed full of training flights in B-25's and C-47's, many
hours of ground school, bomb trainers, navigation and crew training to reach the highest peak of
efficiency.
We ferried de-mothballed and modified B-26's in from Hill Field, Utah to bring our Squadron to
full combat strength. Through the cold of the desert night we flew hundreds of hours and many
thousands of miles. Hundreds of rockets and bombs and countless rounds of .50 caliber
ammunition were expended on low-level attack practice.
By September, four of our crews had completed a stepped-up schedule and with less than 24
hours leave with their families, climbed into their airplanes and took off over the endless miles of
ocean for Japan. Arriving there, they were attached to the famous 3rd Bomb Group and the next
day flew a mission over Korea. This was the beginning of an outstanding and enviable combat
record that was to be written by the 731st.
 Involuntary - #958
(From 731st BS (L-NA) Homepage)
Click on Photo to enlarge
In a very short time the balance of our airplanes and crews were transported by air and water to
join the four advance crews. The transition of almost 5 years from civilians to closely integrated
and efficient combat crew members was complete.
From November 1950 until the later part of June 1951 as these words are being written, the 731st
has flown a total of more than 9000 hours of combat in racking up 2000 sorties. Under every
conceivable disadvantage; weather, patched-up airplanes; mentally and physically weary personnel
and no promise of relief, the 731st proved its versatility, and admirably upheld Air Force tradition
by achieving highly creditable results on various types of missions including high, medium and
low-level bombing, visual and radar bombing, front-line close support, flare drops, armed
reconnaissance, strafing and rocketry. Unfortunately, working under the cover of darkness the
731st has been unable to have pictorial proof of results, but in our own hearts, when we knew that
fire or explosion on the ground means a little less help for the enemy soldiers, we were well repaid.
Fortunately, this tour of duty has resulted in remarkably light operational losses. Especially so when
consideration is given to the high degree of damage and destruction inflicted upon the enemy. It is
indeed a further tribute to the skill and ingenuity of both ground and air crews in their fight against a
cunning and relentless enemy.
As the first Air Force Reserve unit in History to be recalled to duty intact, and as the first such unit
to strike against the enemy in Korea, the 731st has proudly and creditably discharged its duty. Let
the spirit, courage and determination live on.
WHO OUR COMRADES ARE
When the 731st landed in Japan, we were detached from the 452nd and attached to the 3rd
Bomb Group (L). There were mixed feelings concerning the shift. Mostly, we, as Reservists, were
being thrown in with the Regulars, like so many lambs thrown to the wolves. It wasn't long until we
discovered that as a whole, the Officers and Airmen of 3rd were a swell bunch. Little did we now
the 3rd is one of the oldest organizations in the Air Force. Thereby hangs the tale. (Go to 3rd Bomb Group for its history.)
Back in the year of our Lord, 1918, in February at Gerstner Field, Lake Charles, Louisiana, a unit
was formed, known as the 279th Service Aero Squadron. The unit sailed for France in July of that
year. It is interesting to note that in a transition period in France "numerous aircraft were broken"
because of checking out the pilots, who had flown Nieuports in the States, and the fact the landing
fields were "extremely rough and rutty". However, the 8th, 90th, and 104th Aero Squadrons did
invaluable service in artillery correction, reconnaissance work, and numerous brushes with the
Boche. The 19 black Maltese crosses on the Group Insignia of today denote the enemy aircraft
destroyed by the Squadrons in the course of their duties.
Returning to the States the unit was re-designated the 3rd Attack Group. Then followed a number
of years service at varied stations in the US. The Group consisted of the 8th, 90th, and 13th Aero
Squadrons, the 13th having emerged from the wartime 104th.
In 1934, you may recall, the President cancelled all the civilian Airmail contracts. The 3rd took
over the mid-continent division and flew the mail from February until June.
In 1939, the unit was once again re-designated the 3rd Bomb Group (L). It was sent to Australia
in February of 1942, at the height of the New Guinea campaign and went immediately into action.
The 8th was using A-24's, the Douglas Dauntless at the time, and the 13th the new B-25's. The
Group flew several missions in support of the Philippines evacuation, flying from secret fields on
Mindanao, and on leaving for Australia, ferried personnel out. Flying A-24's, B-25's, A-20's, and
later A-26's, the Group slugged its way up from New Guinea through every major campaign in the
Pacific, to the Philippines and the Ryukus. Earning battle stars to the Asiatic-Pacific theatre ribbon
and two Presidential Unit citations, the 3rd finally arrived in Japan in September, 1945.
At the outset of the Korean conflict the 3rd was at two Squadron level. Nevertheless, they swung
into action, and became the first Air Force Unit to carry out a strike north of the 38th Parallel, on
the Airfield at Pyongyang. Since that time the 3rd has been carrying out daily missions with
practically all sorties carried out under the cover of darkness. As the First operational Night
Attack unit in the Air Force, work has been highly diversified, developing new tactics,
experimenting and evaluation. It was at this point we entered the picture with our own organization.
We now have become part of this History.
On June 25, 1951, the 731st was redesignated the 90th Bombardment Squadron (Light Night Intruder). (Go to 90th Bomb Squadron (L-NI) for its history.)
Also check the 731st Bomb Squadron Website for more info and photos about the 731st Bomb Squadron (L-NA).
For inputs or comments, contact Kalani O'Sullivan.NOTICE/DISCLAIMER: The content of this page is unofficial and the views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of anyone associated with this page or any of those linked from this site. All opinions are those of the writer and are intended for entertainment purposes only. Links to other web pages are provided for convenience and do not, in any way, constitute an endorsement of the linked pages or any commercial or private issues or products presented there. None of this site has been endorsed by the DOD, the Air Force, the 8th Fighter Wing or Mickey Mouse. All Air Force links are publicly accessible through the world-wide web. When eye-witness accounts conflict with OFFICIAL DOD materials, this website opts to lend credence to the people who were there.
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