HomeMy WebLinkAboutGeorge Scearce, Jr., Brazos Valley Heroes
One in a series of tributes to mem ers of 'The Greatest
Generation" who served our country during World War II
George Scearce Jr. of Navasota w~s a radio operator-
gunner on a B-25 bomber in the China-Burma-India Theat~r
during World War II. His memories are of a different part of
the world, a part of the war not often in the public eye and
of one of the most dangerous places in the world to fly - the
"Hump." The Himalayas.
Scearce, now 92, was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, in
1914. He graduated in 1933 from high school in Florence,
Alabama, where his father, an engineer with the U.S. Corp of
Engineers, was stationed.
"I attended the University of Kentucky until the money
ran out for me to continue my course work. I worked at
various jobs to include farming in Michigan. In 1937 I
headed to Houston and got a job as a florist, which I enjoyed
primarily because it was steady work. About this time, my
family also migrated to Texas. After Pearl Harbor, it didn't
take long for me to receive greetings from Uncle Sam, and I
entered the Army in June 1942."
Scearce received his basic training at Shepherd Field in
Wichita Falls and was sent to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for
radio training for the Army Air Corps. The next step was for
him .to become a gunner. Gunnery school was held at Fort
Meyers, Florida, and Greenville, South Carolina.
In South Carolina they were assembled as six-man
crews for the B-25 bomber. On March 3, 1943, he and his
crew mates were shipped to New Delhi, India, to become
part of the Tenth Air Force.
"We were a crew that was being sent to replace the famous
Tokyo Raiders, who had been serving in that theater since early
1942. We flew over in a G-54 transport plane and arrived at our
first base, Chakulia, India. We flew with other crews who were
experienced before we took over our own plane.
"Our crew took some losses early while flying with
other crews. Our co-pilot was lost in the Bay of Bengal and
our gunner on a mission over central Burma. After that, our
flight engineer requested that he be allowed to transfer to
ground operations. That left only three of us. The pilot, Lt.
David Hayward, and I are the only ones left now."
In January 1944, the squadron moved from India to
the 14th Air Force at Yangkai, in southwestern China. To get
there you had to fly over the "Hump," which had mountains
up to 17,000 feet and downdrafts that could drop a plane
2,000 feet in a matter of seconds. .
"If the Jap Zeros shot you down or if a downdraft
sucked you into the mountains, no rescue was possible,in
such terrain."
It Was while stationed at Yangkai that Scearce
participated in one of the most successful raids conducted
by his squadron, the raid on Chiang Mai, Thailand. The
Japanese were building up their forces at Chiang Mai with
the intention of wiping out the American Air Force in China.
"It became a situation of hit them before they hit us. The
only problem was that Chiang Mai was 500 miles away, the
limit of our distance. We were told the mission may extend
beyond the point of no return. We were to attack at low level at
dusk and fly back in the dark. That way if Jap Zeros got off the
ground they would have trouble finding us in the dark."
Twelve B-25s left on the mission. Amazingly, 11 made it
back to their landing destination. Of the 11 that made it back,
all were severely damaged and more than one crash landed.
Virtually all were out of fuel. Scearce and the men of his crew
received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with
Oak Leaf Cluster. They received the medals not for flying there
and getting back, but for what they did while there.
. "We came in at about 300 feet and got as low as 50 feet
We caught them by surprise and wiped out most of the Jap
bombers. Instead of flying away, we banked and Cilme back in,
firing everything we had left. Then it was a long haul back over
mountainous terrain with depleted fuel levels and in the dark."
Scearce had just completed his 47th mission and. was
sent home. He arrived home in May' of 1944 and remained
in the States until the end of the war. After the war he went
to work in his brother Edward's business, a physical testing
business in Houston. He tested the welds on the Alaska
Pipeline during its construction. He retired in Houston and
has resided in Navasota since 1986. .
The men of ttie 22nd Bomb Squadron formed an
association' in 1987 and have compiled a collection' of their
memories in what is entitled "World War II Diary by the
Men of the 22nd Bomb Squadron of the China Burma India
Theater." If you ever want to get a glimpse of that part of the
world and that part of the war, it is ~n excellent read.
If you know of a World War II veteran whose story needs
to be told, contact Bill Young kin at (979) 260-7030. If you
would like to add someone's name to the Brazos Valley
Veterans Memorial, names must be submitted by August 15,
2006, in order to be engraved on the memorial by this year's
Veterans Day observance.
I!!~u~~le