On the morning of July 28, 1945 several small groups of B-24 Liberators took off to fly their mission. The target was the Japanese Battleship Haruna, one of the few battleships remaining in the once mighty Japanese Navy.
The Lonesome Lady took a hit and the pilot, T.C. Cartwright thought that he could make it back to the ocean but he soon realized that the damage was to allow for that strategy. The plane became so uncontrollable that it deviated from its heading toward the sea back toward the land on its own.
With an engine in flames and the hydraulics lost, the plane was completely out of control. Cartwright ordered the crew to bail out and, to the best of his knowledge, Cartwright was the last to leave the doomed bomber.
All of the crew came to earth safely but in a very wide area. Each one was alone and each one was eventually captured and taken to a military installation for detention and found themselves housed in a military detention center on a military base in Hiroshima, Japan.
All of the crew came to earth safely but in a very wide area. Each one was alone and each one was eventually captured and taken to a military installation for detention and found themselves housed in a military detention center on a military base in Hiroshima, Japan.
While the base was one of many in Hiroshima, none were intended to be military detention centers and so they had no experienced interrogators. Cartwright said that he answered all of the questions put before him, nevertheless, the Japanese thought he was lying so they sent him to the Imperial General Headquarters in Tokyo for further questioning.
On the morning of August 6, 1945 the US B-29 Bomber called the Enola Gay dropped, “Little Boy”, the first atomic bomb used in warfare on Hiroshima, Japan. About a half mile from the target were survivors of three flight crews that had been shot down.
On the morning of August 6, 1945 the US B-29 Bomber called the Enola Gay dropped, “Little Boy”, the first atomic bomb used in warfare on Hiroshima, Japan. About a half mile from the target were survivors of three flight crews that had been shot down.
Amazingly, the solid brick walls somewhat withstood the force of the initial blast, but only 3 of the prisoners are known to have survived the initial blast. Pilot Normand Brissette and Lonesome Lady gunner Ralph Neal managed to get to a cesspool, where they remained nose deep in the muck until the flames died down. When they emerged from their ghastly position, they were quickly recaptured by the fanatic Japanese guards. The city was totally destroyed by a nuclear weapons and they were still keeping an eye on a couple of US flyers who had hidden in a cesspool.
Lonesome Lady pilot Tom Cartwright survived the war. Cartwright said that 50 POW’s were beheaded after the Japanese surrender but he was spared. On August 28, a month after he was shot down, the POW camp where Cartwright was being housed was liberated by US Marines. Of the 3000 Japanese Americans who were stranded in Hiroshima at the beginning of the war, about 1000 survived the atomic bomb and returned to the United States.
Lonesome Lady was one of at least 28 B-24's that were assigned to the 866th Bomb Squadron of the 494th Bombardment Group of the 7th US Army Air Force. Likely beginning service on 29 May, 1944 in Mountain Home, Idaho, she was brought into the Pacific Theater of Operations by the crew of Pilot 2nd Lt. Emil Matthew Turek. The Lonesome Lady completed 46 combat missions beginning 22 November, 1944, and ending 28 July, 1945.
The nose art of the Lonesome Lady was inspired by Gil Elvgren, who was one of the most widely known "pin-up girl" artists of his time. He painted a beautiful image of a distressed damsel in duress titled Short on Sails...
The Lonesome Lady was painted by Barut, who was employed before the war as an artist with Owens Illinois Glass. The marker at his final resting place indicates that he was a Corporal who was awarded a Silver Star.
Lonesome Lady pilot Tom Cartwright survived the war. Cartwright said that 50 POW’s were beheaded after the Japanese surrender but he was spared. On August 28, a month after he was shot down, the POW camp where Cartwright was being housed was liberated by US Marines. Of the 3000 Japanese Americans who were stranded in Hiroshima at the beginning of the war, about 1000 survived the atomic bomb and returned to the United States.
A Date with the Lonesome Lady: A Hiroshima POW Returns, Pilot T. C. Cartwright provides a poignant firsthand account of his experience being shot down by aircraft artillery on that mission and subsequent events that he experienced in Hiroshima, Tokyo, and liberation from Omori Prisoner of War camp near Yokohama.
The Lonesome Lady was painted by Barut, who was employed before the war as an artist with Owens Illinois Glass. The marker at his final resting place indicates that he was a Corporal who was awarded a Silver Star.
This post took 2 hours of research, reading, and editting. Most this size about history, do, just to get the details on stuff like the artist, the art, the inspiration, and the crew, what happened to them, etc etc
The only POW story I recall that compares, was Mr. Piechowski that stole the German POW camp's warden's Steyr, and went out the front gate of Auschwitz in SS uniforms https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2017/12/kazimierz-piechowski-member-of-polish.html and in retaliation, the Nazis began the tattoo program
Your endeavors reinforce our country's valor. I hope that this information is read far and wide.
ReplyDeletea very cool compliment, thank you!
Delete