Jack R. Musburger
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Navy
Jack R. Musburger entered the Navy in October, 1942.
He was an Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class with Crew 18, Fleet Air Wing 14, Bomb Squadron 109 and a waist gunner on B-24 Liberator bombers (Navy nomenclature: PB4Y) in the Pacific Theater.
"Appamama Island near Tarawa in Gilbert Islands. We used auxiliary gas tanks in 2 of the 4 bomb bays so we could fly up to 16 hours to patrol and seek out the enemy. We bombed and strafed at tree-top level to avoid radar. The atolls of Little Makin, Makin, Mille, Jaluit, Majuro, Wotje, Maloelap, Roi, Kwajalein and Eniwetok were our targets. When Kwajalein was falling we used airstrip to attack Marshall Islands of Kusaie, Pingelap and patrolled Wake Islands so no supplies could reach them.
"From Eniwetok we sank a cargo ship and knocked out radar stations at Oroluk in the Carolines. We encountered a 6-ship convoy off Truk and sank a destroyer and strafed another one. During the invasion of the Mariannas (Guam, Tinian and Saipan) we flew submarine patrol. Our squadron flew around the battleship Maryland whose bow was blown off from a torpedo attack. Five knots was best speed she could make. She got back to Pearl Harbor. After August we lost another plane and crew and were sent back to the States. I was in crew 18, a spare crew, and we had 15 planes in a squadron. After we lost 3 planes and crews we got our plane and called her ''Sugar Queen.'' We flew our planes past the 600-hours which then required an engine change.
"This caused gas and oil leaks in the engines and many times we had to feather engines and fly with 3 or 2 to get back to base. On another occasion, a 500-pound bomb fell through the bombay doors without being released by the pilot. We were able to get it up and tie the door down. This was not supposed to happen....VB 109 was one of the most decorated squadrons in the Navy. 65 ships were sunk by VB 109. Our squad also attacked Iwo Jima. These sorties were almost all single-plane attacks. After returning to the States, I was assigned as a turret instructor from September, 1944 to discharge."
He received the:Air Medal with a citation which read, in part:
"...Musburger rendered invaluable service to his pilot during an attack on an enemy convoy of five ships in the face of intense anti-aircraft resistance, assisting materially in scoring a low-level direct bomb hit and a near miss on an enemy escort vessel which caused it to explode internally and sink immediately. Continuing his efforts, he aided in effective strafing attacks on two other hostile escort ships which silenced their return fire and left one blazing and dead in the water...." Members of Bomb Squadron 109 also received a Presidential Unit Citation.
He was discharged on February 5, 1946.
Source: Hometown Heroes: The St. Louis County World War II Project. 214.
