Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
3:49 | In a war, there always seems to be some humorous things that happen, though they can't always be enjoyed at the time. C-47 crew chief Jack Fletcher recalls some of those including some purloined steaks and a power struggle with a pilot.
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Rather than walking on the ground, when the draft came around in 1943, Jack Fletcher opted for the Army Air Corps. Pilot training was closed, so he was set to become a mechanic. He'd only begun training and had never worked on an engine when he was shipped to the Pacific, where the on the job training was superb.
Jack Fletcher's troop carrier squadron moved from New Guinea to Leyte, where there was still fighting. He just missed some Japanese paratroopers who landed on the other side of the air strip. While temporarily withdrawn to the beach during that battle, some Red Cross coffee was denied them, at least on a free basis. When it came time to transport those folks, it was payback time.
On his first day in Leyte, Jack Fletcher ran into a friend from his hometown. There were still Japanese there, too, about ten miles inland. He was an aircraft mechanic and a crew chief on a C-47, ferrying troops and supplies around the Philippines. It was on one of these missions that a stray bullet hit the cabin and gave him a leg wound.
Jack Fletcher recounts the life of a crew chief on a C-47 in the South Pacific. Flying everything from Bataan Death March survivors to crates of eggs, it was a very busy time. Shortly after the Japanese surrender was achieved, he was flying supplies into Japan itself.
There were plenty of interesting sights when Jack Fletcher landed in Japan. The C-47 crew chief was part of the supply effort for the occupation shortly after the war's end. He had no trouble there, but when he got back to Okinawa, he had to spend a long night during a typhoon trying to keep his aircraft safe.
Jack Fletcher recalls some of the odd and unexpected things that happened during the war in the Pacific. Before he deployed, he designed a coded map for his mother to keep track of his whereabouts, then he ran into his brother in the Philippines, who also had the map. We also hear about a search for Japanese gold teeth and some larcenous sailors.
As he was recuperating in a hospital in the Philippines, Jack Fletcher befriended a nurse who made the rounds among the wounded troops. When he found out she was getting married, he made a beautiful gesture that only an aviator could make.
Jack Fletcher recalls his interactions with the Filipinos he got to know during the war. He very much enjoyed visiting them and trading for curious souvenirs.
They did what they had to do. That's how Jack Fletcher remembers the war. He credits American can-do spirit with achieving victory over Germany and Japan.
