US RESCUE OF DOWNED AIRMAN IN AUG 1944, Rescue from under the nose of the enemy.

Story seen at: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/07/04.../7305192212.txt

Locals push for military medal upgrade

By: LAURA MITCHELL - Staff Writer

MURRIETA ---- One engine was shot out, the other was leaking radiator fluid and Lt. Richard Willsie knew he was in trouble when he radioed to his P-38 flight group that he was going to take his plane down.

"Pick a good spot. I'm coming down after you," Willsie's wing man, Flight Officer Richard Andrews, replied.

Willsie, 24 at the time, was flying his 60th combat mission deep behind enemy lines to strafe air fields that were protecting Germany's oil supply during World War II.


"If we could knock out those oil fields, the Germans would have to quit, but we had a terrible time trying to do it," Willsie said recently. Willsie, who is 85 and lives in Huntington Beach is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, but he may never have lived to fight in two more wars if he had not been saved in a never-before-seen "piggyback" rescue on Aug. 4, 1944. Under heavy enemy fire, Andrews landed to pick up the stranded Willsie ---- both of them squeezing into a single-seat plane.

Three days later, Andrews, who was 20 at the time, was awarded the Silver Star, the highest military honor that can be awarded in the field, and promoted from flight officer to second Lieutenant for his gallantry in combat, according to Andrew's commendation report. Andrews, 81, now lives in Blue River, Ore.

Murrieta residents Don and Carla Pechous and Stan Jones, are lobbying congressional representatives to upgrade Andrews' Silver Star to a Medal of Honor, the highest honor the military bestows. The three are members of the P-38 National Association, based out of March Field Air Museum at March Air Reserve Base near Riverside, and are fans of the World War II fighting airplane and its pilots.

"I was listening to these older guys talk about the rescue ---- they still can't believe this happened," Don Pechous said. That's one reason he decided to work on getting Andrews' medal upgraded, Pechous said.

As members of the U.S. Army Air Force's 82nd Flight Group in World War II, Andrews and Willsie flew P-38 Lightning fighters from a base in Foggia, Italy.

Willsie said their mission on Aug. 4, 1944 was to strafe the air fields in Foscani, Romania, that were protecting oil fields and refineries at nearby Ploesti. Because of the distance, they did not have enough fuel to return to Italy after hitting the targets, so they were ordered to fly on to a Russian air base at Poltava, Ukraine, to rest and refuel, he said.

According to a military report, Willsie and Andrews were both successful hitting enemy targets that day. Willsie lost one engine due to ground fire before reaching the target, but managed to hit a Messerschmitt fighter plane and a Blom Voss six-engine transport plane, used to carry fuel. Andrews strafed three locomotives, two trucks and the entire length of a troop train, according to the report.

With targets hit and ammo gone, Andrews could have turned to go on to Russia but instead risked his life to save Willsie, retired U.S. Air Force Capt. Albert Campbell wrote in a sworn statement. As one of the members of the flight group, Campbell witnessed the rescue, helped keep the enemy off Willsie and Andrews' back and followed the two to Russia.

Andrews' radio message that he was coming down after Willsie "was the beginning of one of the greatest actions of courage and gallantry," Campbell wrote.

Andrews, who had 10 missions under his belt, followed Willsie to a nearby farm field, with the German Me109's aiming at them from the sky and trucks loaded with machine guns driving toward them on land.

Members of their squadron protected them from the sky while Willsie, who was bleeding from his head due to an injury he received when ground fire exploded next to his cockpit, blew up his plane and ran about 100 yards towards Andrews' plane. The P-38 was only built for one pilot so Andrews threw his parachute out the window to make as much room as possible in the cockpit, Willsie said.

Andrews said recently the two exchanged about six words before jumping into the plane.

"I said 'Are you OK?' He said, 'Yeah,' and I said 'You fly,'" Andrews said.

"We didn't know if two people could fit, but there was no time to think ---- no time to be scared," he said.

Willsie said he got into the plane first and Andrews got in behind him, putting his right leg over Willsie's shoulder, so Willsie could maneuver the airplane's controls.

Andrews said the fact that he was out of ammunition helped Willsie get the P-38 out of the soft farm field because it made the nose of the plane lighter.

Once airborne, Willsie said he asked Andrews for his flight maps, but they had blown out during the fighting. But Willsie had been to the Russian airbase before and remembered the directions.

When Andrews returned to Italy, he was awarded the Silver Star.The Russians were equally impressed and awarded Andrews and Willsie the Order of the Red Banner, the oldest Soviet award presented to Soviet citizens and noncitizens for acts of bravery and self-sacrifice.

Jones, who is president of the P-38 association, said it is possible to have the Silver Star upgraded to a Medal of Honor, but it takes an act of Congress.

In 2001, President George W. Bush awarded belated, some posthumous, Medals of Honor to service men who fought in World War II and Vietnam.

"The precedent was set. They can do this after the fact, but it takes the support of state congressional representatives," he said.

Once that support is in place, the request would be reviewed by a congressional committee in Washington, D.C., Jones said. If the committee believes the medal should be upgraded, it would recommend Congress prepare a bill, he said.

The P-38 association has the written testimony of Andrews, Willsie and several of the other pilots who flew the mission and saw the rescue.

"We hope this happens rather soon," Jones said. "These veterans are getting older."

In addition, there is a precedent for awarding a Medal of Honor for a similar rescue in Vietnam, as reported in the July 7, 1966, edition of the Pacific Stars and Stripes.

Pechous said the group so far has the support of U.S. Rep. Peter De Fazio, who represents Andrews' district in Oregon and is planning to lobby all congressional representatives, he said.

Despite all the attention, Andrews said he doesn't believe the award will be upgraded.

"I'm happy and honored that the troops in the 82nd flight group thought enough to do this, but it will never happen," he said.

Andrews said his attitude in life is to take care of today, don't worry about the future and forget about the past.

"Nostalgia hits old people ... but what was said and done 61 years ago ---- who cares?" he said. "Today they have more things to worry about such as the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. My recognition was from the people in the mission who knew what really happened."


Dick Willsie stand next to a P38 at March Air Museum, one just like the aircraft that help rescue him in World War II.
Picture by Steve Thornton.


Contact staff writer Laura Mitchell at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2621, or lmitchell@californian.com.

Kevin in Deva .

This post has been edited by New Connaught Ranger on July 06, 2006 06:38 pm

And below a picture with the two friends in the cockpit of a P-38. Source book "Adorimini" - Steve Black

Unfortunetly not all the pilots from 82FG were so lucky on that day ( 4 august'44).

One was shot down by romanian ace Cpt Cantacuzino and three others (including group leader Col Litton) were shot down by AA gunners from Focsani airfields.





MACR 7318 8/4/1944 P-38 J-15 Lightning “ Lucky Lady ” Sn: 42-104145
Radio code “ HA”. Pilot –Col. William P. Litton 82FG leader. Shot down by AA on airfield north Focsani and taken - P.O.W.


MACR 7187 8/4/1944 P-38 J-15 Lightning Sn: 43-28757 Pilot – 2Lt. Alfred H. Ellison 97sq., 82FG
Shot down by AA near Focsani and taken P.O.W.

MACR 7298 8/4/1944 P-38 J-15 Lightning Sn: 43-28811 Pilot - 1Lt. Thomas W.Vaughan 97sq., 82FG. - P.O.W.


8/4/1944 P-38 J-15 Lightning Sn: ??-????? Pilot 2Lt. James C. Hardin 95sq., 82 FG K.I.A.
Shot down by Cpt. Cantacuzino near Ramnicu –Sarat ( comuna Baltati )

8/4/1944 P38 J-15 Lightning Sn.??-????? ( Maj.Isaacson’s plane)
Pilot Lt. Dick Willsie 96sq, 82 FG - force landed.
Escape with the help of F/O Dick Andrews. The plane was blow up by the crew.

This post has been edited by Cantacuzino on July 06, 2006 10:24 pm

Cpt. av. Cantacuzino actually claimed two Lightnings that day.
IIRC, the Germans filed claims, too.

Gen. Dénes

This post has been edited by Dénes on July 07, 2006 12:13 am

Yes, but only one claim (James Hardin) was confirmed 100%. The second claim could be a shared victory with AA.

This post has been edited by Cantacuzino on July 07, 2006 07:10 am