American Valor Quarterly Issue 9 - Summer 2012 | Page 25

single-engine planes, very near, seemed
to be strafing coastal assets near
Soerabaja. Earlier Dutch officers had said
that three enemy aircraft carriers were
prowling off the Java coast. To be caught
at this altitude with no room to dive
would have meant disaster for both of
us. The single Japanese plane was still
trying to figure out an approach on the
C-45 when the Soerabaja airport came
into view. And wouldn’t you know—a
friendly anti-aircraft gunner would start
firing on us!

Morehead’s first combat tour in Korea, 1950. There he flew the F-84 as the 64th FBG Flight Leader.
Morehead oversaw the training program for the Taiwanese Air Force during his second tour.

Kurtz ordered me to escort the C-45 to
Soerabaja. They took off down the strip,
narrowed by craters, and I followed.

Top: Leon J. Delisle Collection; Bottom: U.S. Air Force photo

The takeoff for me was a real sweat, as
little can be seen directly over the long
nose of a P-40 until you get the tail up
and the nose down, but I managed to
get into the air. No sooner had I retracted
the wheels and flaps, reduced the pitch
and throttle, adjusted the trim control, shut
off the booster-pump and closed the
canopy, when I saw an enemy plane at
ten o’clock high at about 5000 feet.
I tried to call Captain Kurtz, but the C45 had different radio equipment,
something that plagued many throughout
the war. Our P-40s were camouflaged,
but the C-45 was unpainted, bright
aluminum. It was spotted immediately,
and the enemy plane dove on the small
transport. I rammed full throttle and
pulled up into his path. He suddenly saw
me and jerked away. He swung out and
flew parallel for a bit before beginning
another approach.
Most Japanese reconnaissance planes I
had studied carried nose guns, and each

two-seater had a gun in the rear seat. This
pilot appeared to be trying to use his nose
gun, so I turned back into him and again
he pulled away.
About that time, a formation of twinengine bombers escorted by about 15
single-seat fighters crossed over high
above at about 20,000 feet. I could see
that the pilots in the C-45 had seen them,
so I pulled closer to it for an imagined
morale purpose. Fifteen Zeros would not
have even been able to get warmed up
on us, but it seemed as if they had not
been contacted by the recon; in fact, the
recon seemed intent on distinguishing
himself with a C-45 kill. He eased in on
a parallel course with the transport to
perhaps give his rear gunner a crack at it.
I turned into him again, but I never got
close enough to fire. He was fast. I knew
Captain Kurtz would greatly disapprove
if I gave chase, because he had told me
to stick close to him all the way in to Java.
The flight to Soerabaja was not long.
What worried me most were the 15
Zeros heading in the direction of our
destination.
Then another chill ran up my spine. Nine

Captain Kurtz dropped down almost to
housetop level and bored into the airport
as bombs started falling on it. The highlevel bombers had beaten us there. As
the bombs danced across the airdrome,
Kurtz ignored them and set up a low
traffic pattern. I covered his landing as
he put the small plane down in a clear
area just as the Zeros started breaking up
overhead and diving on us.
I turned to face them head-on, but they
pulled up, preferring to come around on
my tail. This gave Kurtz time to
complete his landing roll, and I bent
throttle, scurrying away inland, where I
hoped my over-speeding engine would
hold together long enough to stay ahead
of my persistent pursuers. No one caught
up to me, and after some time away I
returned to the airport and landed
between bomb craters. I was given a
revetment to park in and went into the
city for an overnight hotel.
For those two days’ action, I was awarded
my first Distinguished Service Cross.
Things only grew hotter in the skies over
Java. On Feb. 23, we scrambled to
intercept a force of 36 enemy bombers
and an unknown force of fighters. I had
a war-weary plane that could not keep
up with my flight of four, and I was
thousands of yards behind when my
leader reached the altitude of the
bombers. Lt. Kiser bravely engaged the
Zero ́ѡ