November 14, 1944 . . . As smoldering enemy ships mark a trail
to Manila Bay, Avengers and Hellcats of Air Group 51 overfly
the island of Corregidor on their return to the carrier U.S.S.
San Jacinto. With the misty mountains of Bataan standing as a
silent sentinel, Naval LT (JG) George H.W. Bush pilots his TBM
in one of his last combat missions of WWII. The valor of Bush’s
group in the Battle of Leyte Gulf and in the strikes on Manila
Bay helped pave the way for MacArthur’s campaign to liberate
the Philippines.
Signed by VT-51 pilots Jack Guy, John Raquepau, and VF-51 Hellcat
Ace Robert Maxwell, plus four veterans who fought on Bataan or
Corregidor during the early days of WWII . |