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In the background, Seventh
USAAF B-25G pilot Gene Olsen (48th Bomb Sqdn./41st Bomb Group)
Fires the 75mm cannon that his aircraft carries at the Japanese
coastal defense gun atop Kokaj Rock, as the Japanese return fire...
a duel which was repeated on several occasions prior to this
date, 26 March, 1944.
VMF-113 Corsairs which escorted
the B-25s on this date can be seen sweeping around the 700 foot-high
volcanic rock outcropping which dominates the entrance to the
harbor at Ponapeh... on their way to the nearby Imperial Japanese
Navy airfield to battle the Zero's which had been harassing the
B-25s on previous unescorted missions to this target. VMF-113
USMC Corsair ace Frank Drury, of Guadalcanal fame can be seen
in the foreground in #64, with Lt. J. Shellack, in #44 on Captain
Drury's left wing. Beyond Kokaj Rock, a small portion of Ponapeh
Town can be seen. Another view of this area is seen from the
opposite direction in the picture of the Zero's, below. Both
the 48th Bomb Sqdn. B-25s and the VMF-113 Corsairs flew from
Eniwetok, in the Marshalls Group to Ponapeh, in the Carolines
Group.
Signed and numbered by the artist. |