Battle of Y-29

Authors Marc Hamel and Punchy Powell told a good story about Y-29 which you published in the September through November 2002 issues. It was good reading.

In the January issue, a reader complained that Bill Whisner should not have shot at a German pilot bailing out of his aircraft. I flew my first combat mission on Bill Whisner's wing.

Readers of WWII fighter combat stories should realize that shooting at pilots was rare. A few pilots may have made it a practice but it was not promoted from above. Killing German pilots was not unethical or against any law. In combat, there was no law. War was one man against the other and the best man won his life. It was as simple as that.

If a pilot bailing out got in the way of a pilot's gunfire, so be it. If a German pilot provoked a P-51 pilot in any way he might, understandably, suffer continuous attack until he burned up in a crash. For the most part, American fighter pilots broke away from the attack once they were satisfied the German aircraft would fly no more.

In contrast, Japanese kamikaze pilots gladly gave up their lives in suicidal attacks on warships, a satanic act Americans believed atrocious. Russian fighter pilots were known to ram German aircraft.

In war, cruelty knew no bounds by those whose lives had little meaning. What we American fighter pilots did was good enough to win the war. I am proud of what I did in my 20 missions, a pride all fighter pilots know. My score was one in the air plus five on the ground in one day.

Major James Neel White JNWHITE51@aol.com

Copyright Challenge Publications Inc. Apr 2003
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