36 Man killed during pillow fight, friend sees Japanese plane crash: Cleveland, p. 203.
37 Louie, Pete learn of Pearl Harbor: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Peter Zamperini, telephone interview, October 19, 2004.
PART II
Chapter 6: The Flying Coffin
1 Pancakes: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 31, 2005.
2 “Calm!”: William Manchester, The Glory and the Dream: A Narrative History of America, 1932–1972 (New York: Bantam Books, 1974), p. 258.
3 Eleanor Roosevelt writes Anna: Doris Kearns Goodwin, No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt—the Home Front in World War II (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994), p. 289.
4 Butler overheard president: Ibid., p. 290.
5 Japanese staffers burning documents: “Japanese Embassy Burns Official Papers,” Wisconsin State Journal (Madison), December 8, 1941; Manchester, p. 258.
6 Days after December 7: Carl Nolte, “Pearl Harbor Was a Close Thing for the City in 1941,” San Francisco Chronicle, December 7, 2006; Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interview, August 25, 2004; “Entire City Put on War Footing,” NYT, December 8, 1941; “U.S. Cities Prove They Can Swing into Action,” Wisconsin State Journal (Madison), December 8, 1941; Adam Fjell, “ ‘A Day That Will Live in Infamy’: Buffalo County and the Attack on Pearl Harbor,” Buffalo Tales, November–December 2002, vol. 25, no. 6; Goodwin, pp. 295–96.
7 Wake’s defense: Lieutenant Colonel R. D. Heinl, Jr., USMC, The Defense of Wake, Marines in World War II: Historical Monograph (Historical Section, Division of Public Information Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, 1947).
8 Men on Wake singing: Ken Marvin, telephone interview, January 31, 2005.
9 Louie’s test scores: Certificate of Proficiency, Air Force Preflight School (bombardier, navigator), Ellington Field, from papers of Louis Zamperini.
10 Norden bombsight: William Darron, Army Air Forces Historical Association, Oradell, N.J., interview and bombsight demonstration, courtesy of Robert Grenz, 2004; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; “Bombardiers’ Information File,” War Department, Army Air Forces, March 1945.
11 Twice the price of a house: “The Year 1942,” The People History, http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1942.html (accessed September 11, 2009); “The Norden M-1 Bomb Sight,” Plane Crazy, http://www.plane-crazy.net/links/nord.htm (accessed September 11, 2009).
12 Ephrata: Sam Britt, Jr., The Long Rangers, A Diary of the 307th Bombardment Group (Baton Rouge: Reprint Company, 1990), pp. 4–5.
13 Phillips: Karen Loomis, telephone interview, November 17, 2004; Monroe Bormann, telephone interview, June 7, 2005; Phoebe Bormann, telephone interview, June 7, 2005; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Jesse Stay, telephone interviews, July 23, 2004, and March 16, 2005; Kelsey Phillips, “A Life Story,” unpublished memoir.
14 Sandblaster: Jesse Stay, telephone interviews, July 23, 2004, and March 16, 2005.
15 Cecy Perry: Karen Loomis, telephone interview, November 17, 2004; Monroe Bormann, telephone interview, June 7, 2005; Phoebe Bormann, telephone interview, June 7, 2005; letters from Russell Phillips to Cecy Perry, 1941–43.
16 Cecy’s ring: Russell Allen Phillips, letters to Cecy Perry, March 11, 21, 1942.
17 “I’ve wished 100 times”: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Phillips, summer 1942.
18 Phil’s bomber crew: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 2004, March 9, 2005, and August 18, 2006; Charles McMurtry, “Liberator, Hit 594 Times, Wings Home Safely,” Richmond News Leader, May 14, 1943.
19 Harry Brooks’s fiancée: “Sergt. H. V. Brooks Served in Pacific,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN.
20 B-24s: Charlie Tilghman, B-24 pilot, Commemorative Air Force, telephone interview, February 14, 2007; Consolidated Aircraft, Flight Manual: B-24D Airplane (1942), Flight Manual for B-24 Liberator, Aircraft Manual Series (Appleton, Wisc.: Aviation Publications, 1977); Martin Bowman, Combat Legend: B-24 Liberator (Shrewsbury, Eng.: Airlife, 2003); Frederick A. Johnsen, B-24 Liberator, Rugged but Right (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999); Fiske Hanley II, telephone interview, July 30, 2004; Byron Kinney, email interview, April 26, 2007.
21 “it was like sitting”: Byron Kinney, email interview, April 26, 2007.
22 Left arms stronger: Stephen E. Ambrose, The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s over Germany (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2001), p. 77.
23 Tails falling off: Johnsen, p. 28.
24 “It’s the Flying Coffin”: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
25 Training: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 2004, March 9, 2005, and August 18, 2006.
26 “I grew a little”: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, August or September 1942.
27 “I guess you read”: E. C. Williams, letter to Louis Zamperini, July 1, 1941.
28 Stateside crash statistics: Army Air Forces Statistical Digest, World War II, Office of Statistical Control, December 1945, Tables 213 and 214.
29 Deaths of friends: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, October 1942.
30 Phil runs from meeting to write home: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, October 7, 1942.
31 Training for crashes: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, Service Department, Emergency Procedure: B-24 Airplane (San Diego: Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, 1944), pp. 21–25.
32 “kind of silly”: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.
33 “a damn swell pilot”: “Son of Pickett ‘Sky Pilot’ Pilots Bomber Over Wake I,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN.
34 Phil’s B-24: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 2004, March 9, 2005, and August 18, 2006; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.
35 Phil’s dream of Cecy: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, August 15, 1942.
36 Phil misses Cecy by three days: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, November 2, 1942.
37 B-24 names: “Warpaint Photo Album,” Something About Everything Military, http://www.jcs-group.com/military/war1941aaf/warpaint1.html (accessed September 26, 2009).
38 Moznette names plane: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Kelsey Phillips, February 13, 1943.
39 Phil says plane masculine: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, March 25, 1943.
40 Japan’s empire: West Point Atlas for the Second World War, Asia and the Pacific, map 22.
Chapter 7: “This Is It, Boys”
1 Oahu in 1942: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 2004, March 9, 2005, and August 18, 2006; Cleveland, p. 158.
2 “one sees only about ⅓”: Cleveland, p. 158.
3 Barracks: Jesse Stay, “Twenty-nine Months in the Pacific,” unpublished memoir.
4 “You kill one”: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Kelsey Phillips, December 8, 1942.
5 “like a dozen dirty”: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, April 2, 1943.
6 Water fight: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, May 12, 1943.
7 Beer fight: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
8 Pornography: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, December 29, 1942.
9 Greenhouse windows froze: Cleveland, 103.
10 Phil hits pole: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, March 27, 1943.
11 Gunnery, bomb scores: Louis Zamperini, war diary, January 20, 30, February 2, and March 21, 1943 entries.
12 Sea search: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interview, August 27, 2004; Louis Zamperini, war diary, March 14, 1943, entry; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
13 Diving over sub: Louis Zamperini, diary, March 14, 1943.
14 Practical jokes: Louis Zamperini, telephone interviews.
15 “kind of daring”: Russell Allen Phillips, television interview, CBS, La Porte, Ind., January 1997.
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16 Leisure-time activities: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, war diary, November 1942–May 1943 entries.
17 Wake attack: Louis Zamperini, war diary, December 22–25, 1942, entries; Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 27, 2004, March 9, 2005, and August 18, 2006; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Jesse Stay, telephone interviews, July 23, 2004, and March 16, 2005; “Son of Pickett ‘Sky Pilot’ Pilots Bomber over Wake I,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; Walter Clausen, undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; “Delphi Flyer Is Given Medal for Pacific Bombing,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; “Former La Porte Youth Helps to Bomb Wake Isle,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; “Fledglings’ Raid on Wake Token of Things to Come,” Berkshire Evening Eagle, January 2, 1943; St. Louis Globe, undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; “Their Raid on Wake Biggest of Year,” Mansfield News-Journal, January 2, 1943; “Tells of Raid on Wake Island,” Mansfield News-Journal, January 2, 1943; “Nobody Scared in Raid on Wake Island, Ace Says,” Ada Evening News, January 2, 1943; Walter Clausen, “Hawaii Fliers Get Jap Planes in Wake Raid,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; Britt, p. 12; Jesse Stay, “Twenty-nine Months in the Pacific,” unpublished memoir.
18 New Year’s: Louis Zamperini, war diary, January 1, 1943, entry.
19 STEEL FILLS JAP SOX: Undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN.
20 “fled in terror”: “Tells of Raid on Wake Island,” Mansfield News-Journal, January 2, 1943.
21 Japan finished within the year: “U.S. Can Take Care of Japan, Halsey Thinks,” Ada Evening News, January 2, 1943.
22 “it’s a little premature”: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Kelsey Phillips, December 31, 1942.
Chapter 8: “Only the Laundry Knew How Scared I Was”
1 Coxwell’s crash: Louis Zamperini, diary, January 8–10, 1943; Missing Air Crew Report No. 16218, Air Force Historical Studies Office, Bolling AFB, Washington, D.C.; Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Kelsey Phillips, February 13, 1943.
2 Buried in Honolulu: American Battle Monuments Commission.
3 Crashes over the past two months: Army Air Forces Statistical Digest, Table 64; Louis Zamperini, diary, December 27, 1942, and January 9, 1943; Britt, pp. 10, 13.
4 Crash, loss statistics: Army Air Forces Statistical Digest, Tables 100 and 161.
5 In the air corps, 35,946 personnel: Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths in World War II: Final Report, 7 December 1941–31 December 1946, Department of the Army, Statistical and Accounting Branch, Office of the Adjutant General, p. 7.
6 Disease kills 15,779: Preventive Medicine in World War II, vol. IV: Communicable Diseases, Office of Surgeon General, Department of Army, Washington, D.C., 1958, Table 1.
7 In the Fifteenth Air Force, 70 percent of KIA: Mae Mill Link and Hubert A. Coleman, “Medical Support of Army Air Forces in World War II,” Office of the Surgeon General, USAF, Washington, D.C., 1955, p. 516.
8 Super Man flies into storms: Louis Zamperini, diary, January 1943; Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interview, August 18, 2006.
9 Planes land together, bulldozer: Frank Rosynek, email interview, June 15, 2005.
10 “The takeoff”: Frank Rosynek, “Not Everybody Wore Wings,” unpublished memoir.
11 Foot on “off” switch: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interview, August 18, 2006.
12 Plane hits mountain: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
13 Inadvertent release of life raft: Britt, p. 13.
14 Navigation difficulties: John Weller, email interview, September 21, 2006; John Weller, “The History and Flight Log, Jeter Crew,” unpublished memoir.
15 “We just sat there”: Martin Cohn, telephone interview, August 10, 2005.
16 Half of a Zero on B-24 wing: Cleveland, p. 103.
17 Japanese range finders: Louis Zamperini, diary, March 1, 1943.
18 B-24 drops mine into another: Jesse Stay, telephone interviews, July 23, 2004, and March 16, 2005; Cleveland, pp. 130, 137, 181–82.
19 AAF combat deaths: Army Battle Casualties, p. 7.
20 Odds of dying: Jesse Stay, telephone interviews, July 23, 2004, and March 16, 2005.
21 Ditching: W. F. Craven and J. L. Cate, eds., The Army Air Forces in World War II, vol. XII: Services Around the World (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1966), p. 482.
22 Statistics on ditching: Johnsen, p. 29.
23 Death of Almond: John Henry, “Flier Wins 18-Hour Fight with Sharks,” San Antonio Light, July 13, 1943.
24 Rescue statistics: “Air Sea Rescue 1941–1952,” USAF Historical Division, Air University, August 1954, pp. 66–99; Air Force Historical Studies Office, Bolling AFB, Washington, D.C.
25 Half of Catalinas crashed: Craven and Cate, p. 493.
26 September 1942 raft ordeal: Cleveland, p. 237.
27 Raft found off Christmas Island: Katharina Chase, “Unraveling a WWII Mystery,” Defence, November–December 2006.
28 Rape of Nanking: Chang, pp. 4–104; Yuki Tanaka, Hidden Horrors: Japanese War Crimes in World War II (Boulder: Westview, 1996), p. 80.
29 Rumors of Japanese killing on Kwajalein: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
30 All but one man choosing to die in crash: John Fitzgerald, POW diary, Papers of John A. Fitzgerald, Operational Archives Branch, NHC, Washington, D.C.
31 Nervous airman: John Joseph Deasy, telephone interview, April 4, 2005.
32 Louie copes: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, diary, early 1943 entries; Russell Allen Phillips, letters to Cecy Perry, spring 1943.
33 Bracelet, silver dollar: Russell Allen Phillips, letters to Cecy Perry, August 20, 1942, and March 25, 1943.
34 “When I do get”: Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, March 10, 1943.
35 Tradition of drinking booze of lost men: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
Chapter 9: Five Hundred and Ninety-four Holes
1 Exploding sharks: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview.
2 Makin, Tarawa missions: Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, diary, February 17, 20, 1943; Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 27, 2004, March 9, 2005, August 18, 2006, January 23 and April 21, 2007.
3 Sharks circle: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 27, 2004, March 9, 2005, August 18, 2006, January 23 and April 21, 2007; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, diary, March 5, 1943; Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Kelsey Phillips, March 5, 1943.
4 Shooting sharks: Louis Zamperini, diary, April 3, 1943.
5 Nauru: Jack D. Haden, “Nauru: A Middle Ground During World War II,” Pacific Islands Report, Pacific Islands Development Program/East-West Center for Pacific Islands Studies/University of Hawaii at Manoa, http://166.122.164.43/archive/2000/April/04-03-19.htm (accessed September 13, 2009); Jane Resture, “Nauru: A Short History,” http://www.janeresture.com/nauru_history/index.htm (accessed September 13, 2009); Britt, p. 34.
6 Nauru preparations: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 27, 2004, March 9, 2005, August 18, 2006, January 23 and April 21, 2007; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, diary, April 17, 19, 1943.
7 “We only hope”: Louis Zamperini, diary, April 15, 1943.
8 Nauru raid: Stanley Pillsbury, telephone interviews, August 25, 27, 2004, March 9, 2005, August 18, 2006, January 23 and April 21, 2007; Louis Zamperini, telephone interview; Louis Zamperini, diary, April 20–22, 1943, and memoranda; Charles McMurtry, “Liberator, Hit 594 Times, Wings Home Safely,” Richmond News Leader, May 14, 1943; “Catonsville Air Gunner Has 95 Raids to Credit,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; Russell Allen Phillips, letter to Cecy Perry, May 1, 1943; “Shapleigh Youth, Injured, Credited with Downing Zero,” undated article from papers of Stanley Pillsbury, NPN; Cleveland, pp. 257, 349–50; Howard and Whitley, pp. 137–38; Charles P. Arnot, “Bombardier Zamperini Saves Lives in Shell-Riddled Plane,” O
akland Tribune, May 4, 1943; Charles P. Arnot, “Japanese Phosphate Plants Are Blown Up,” Honolulu Advertiser, May 1, 1943; “Gen. Landon, Bomber Commander, Tells the Story of Nauru Attack,” May 5, 1943, from papers of Louis Zamperini, NPN; “Two Southland Officers Classified as Heroes in South Pacific Dispatches,” Long Beach Press-Telegram, May 4, 1943; Charles P. Arnot, “Lt. Phillips on Another ‘Thriller,’ ” May 4, 1943, from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; “Brave Flying Son of Pickett Chaplain Bears Charmed Life,” May 1943, article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; “Yank Pilot, Son of Pickett Chaplain, Saves Crewmen,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; Charles P. Arnot, “Lieut. Phillips Escapes Death on Pacific Raid,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; “His Toughest Fight: Lou Zamperini, Former Track Star, Aids Five Wounded as Plane Limps Home,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; Charles P. Arnot, “Track Star in Heroic Role,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; Charles P. Arnot, “Raid on Nauru Told in Detail by Eyewitness,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; “Lou Zamperini Plays Great Role on Bombing Trip,” undated article from Phillips scrapbook, NPN; Louis Zamperini, interview by George Hodak, Hollywood, Calif., June 1988, AAFLA; Charles P. Arnot, “Zamperini, S.C. Track Star, in Epic Air Adventure,” Los Angeles Herald Express, May 4, 1943; Charles P. Arnot, “Track Star Zamperini Hero in Jap Air Fight,” Los Angeles Herald Express, May 4, 1943.