Hide Article Text (OCR)
Medals For Record BreakersAN ADVANCED B-26 BASE— Under a blazing Tunisian sun, 307 officers and men of the field filed by one at a time as decorations were pinned on the men by the Commanding General of the wing. Twenty-three of the men, all gunners, were particularly happy about it all because two short days before that they had broken all records for shooting down enemy fighters in one day.The record breaking began last Saturday when another Marauder group destroyed 22 ME-109*s in a raid on Villa Litemo, north of Naples. The next day, the first group topped the mark by blasting 24 ME-109’s out of the sky.On Saturday tail-gunner Charlie Position was jumped by at least 30 ME’s. Sgt. Vernon B. Tomlinson of Yakima, Wash., got one ofthe Nazi ships and a few seconds later another was sent down In flames by Sgt. Hewitt L. Ellison of Temple, Texas. The tail gun of Sgt. Carl E. Tackmann of Columbus, Ohio, was out of action so he nanned one of the waist guns and got a third ME.A bombardier on another Marauder, Lt. Charles R. Beatty of Chicago, 111., took time out from bombardiering to bag himself a plane too.The group that bagged 24 the next day is the oldest medium bomber unit in this theater. They arrived here late in 1942 but they took themselves out of action for awhile to get a well deserved rest.On the big day they started outfor the marshalling yards at Salerno. Five minutes away from thetarget the sky suddenly was covered with enemy planes. It was in this ruckus that S-Sgt. Thomas Roike of Newark, Ohio, got two planes. He was the only one during both days to get a double order of ME’s.'•The air was full of enemy planes/* Sgt. Roike related. **They came through the solid wan offire of our guns. I was mighty glad I got two of them. That means two less to bother us/*Sgt. G. M. Miller of Pine Grove, Pa., kept his head as the enemy fighters flashed by. He noticed a plane coming into the left wing and he called to his pilot, **How about dropping that left wing. I need a little space.” The pilot obliged and another ME bit the dust with one wing missing.. —P.S.G.
Newspaper Details
Mediterranean Stars and Stripes
Naples, Naples, IT
Sat, Aug 28, 1943
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
Patricia J.
OH, USA 18 Mar 2018
Other Publications Near Naples, Naples
Naples Star and Stripes Italy
Naples Star and Stripes Mediterranean
Mediterranean Stars and Stripes
