HomeMy WebLinkAboutDan Chadburne, Brazos Valley HeroesOne in a series of tributes tc
Generation" who served our
When Danville "Dan" Chadburne turned 18 in
December 1942, he knew what he wanted to be
- a Marine. He even had an operation so he could
pass the physical exam required by the Marines.
"When I volunteered, I couldn't pass the physi-
cal, so I had an operation so I could get in. They
gave me a letter saying that when I got well and
passed the physical, I could be in the Marine
Corps. After I got well, the Marine Corps had
closed all enlistments, so I volunteered for the
draft. When I was drafted, I was given the option
of the Army or the Navy. I said no - I want to be
a Marine and showed them my letter. They finally
sent me to the Marines."
Chadburne attended boot camp and went on to
radio school to be a radio man/gunner on a B-25
bomber. He was sent to Marine Bombing Squad-
ron 443 at Cherry Point, N.C. After crew training,
which included afree-fall parachute jump, they
were sent, with new planes, to the South Pacific
in 1944 to the Island of Emirau.
"We bombed Japanese positions on new Brit-
tain, New Ireland, Rabul Harbor and other posi-
tions in the area. We always had a primary and
secondary target. If you couldn't bomb the pri-
mary target because of weather or some other
reason, you bombed the secondary target on the
way back. On each mission, a PBY would fly with
us just in case you had to crash land on water. If
you did, the PBY could land and pick you up.
"When we were on a mission, if it was a straf-
ing run, we would come in over the water. If it
was a bombing run, we would come in with three
squadrons from three different directions and at
three different levels. That way, by the time the
Japs had found our range, we were on our way
home." But not always.
"On one mission, anti-aircraft fire knocked out
World War li
plane. We were about to bail out over the ocean
when our pilot said, `If we haven't blown up yet,
we can probably make it.' We cut off all our elec-
trical and came home on one engine. My admira-
tion for our pilot went way up."
Chadburne, and his group helped move the 1st
Marine Air Wing from Green Island to Okinawa in
June 1945 during the Okinawa invasion.
"When we landed on Okinawa, there were two
Marines pitching horseshoes near the tarmac.
When the sirens went off because of Japanese
planes overhead, those guys just kept pitching
horseshoes. When we questioned them about
not jumping in the bunkers, they said, `the Japs
are trying to hit the ships out in the harbor -not
us.' They were still pitching horseshoes when we
took off."
Dan Chadburne survived 38 missions before
being discharged in January 1946. After coming
home to Beaumont, Texas, he enrolled at Texas
A&M and graduated with degrees in entomology
and biochemistry in 1949 and 1950. He was an
entomologist in Mexico for several years before
returning to Texas in the agricultural chemical
business. He and his wife operated a nursery in
College Station for several years until recently
selling the business. He still maintains green-
houses in Milam County.
"I would love to visit all those places I served
while a Marine. Except for the 21 Marines killed
or listed as missing in action from our unit, I have
nothing but positive memories about everything."
Dan Chadburne's name can be found on the
Brazos Valley Veteran's Memorial. For more in-
formation, to make a contribution, or if you know
a World War II Veteran whose story needs to be
told, contact the BWM at www.veteransmemo-
rial.org or Bill Youngkin at (979) 260-7030.
~pwyt'
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