… See more ** 2 articles **

The day after Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese, December 8, 1941 Edward J Sullivan a 15yr old High School Senior went to the recruitment office to enlist with his friends. There were many more trying to sign up on that day, more than military could handle. He was told “kid go home and finish High School we will call you when we are ready. He was called August the following year. Ed wanted to fly, to be a pilot, however his vision was not good enough. So he was told to come back in January. He trained to be a B-24 Belly (Ball Turret) gunner, when the crew was assembled there were two BT gunners so he was set back to school for a week and was trained to be a Nose Gunner on the B-24 Liberator Heavy Bomber. He was assigned to the 14th Air Force, 308 Bomb Group, 425th Bombardment Squadron Heavy in Kunming China.

Once training was completed the crew flew their B-24 East across the US to PA, South to FL then to North Africa, Iran, then finally to Karachi India (now Pakistan) to outfit the craft with machine guns and bombing equipment. The loaded up plane crashed on arrival to the jumping off point over the hump, the landing gear would not come down, destroying the ship however miraculously none of the crew were killed. This was the first of four crashes for Ed.

The second crash was at night. One set of runway lights was out, the Pilot and Co-pilot, argued whether to land to the left or the right. They landed where the pilot wished and missed the runway. The prop hit a large steel roller and a small piece of metal entered the plane hitting the navigator, John C Swisher, in the neck. He died in hospital a few days later. He was the co-pilot's best friend. For a few days the co-pilot hunted the pilot with a pistol and intentions to settle the score, eventually the co-pilot realized that would not solve anything. They flew together again after that, to live another day was a role of the dice, war reality . Ed would lose many more friends.

In the third crash a flight from Agra, to Lalmnar Hat, to Mohanbari India the plane skidded 4,500 feet before spinning around and coming to rest. Ed sustained an injury to his back. He lived with this too in silence.

One thing Ed commented on about being a nose gunner was that in addition to it being freezing cold out in front of the plane in his Plexiglas bubble, he heard nothing, saw nothing, and worried about nothing that was going on behind him in or around his B-24. He just concentrated on his job, taking out the zeros, bearing in on him from 10 and 2 o’clock with his 2 M2 50 cal. Machine guns, the job was too important for distractions or fear to intrude. With typical humility his flight books would list take off time, ack ack heavy / light etc. and maybe "two zeros" or "one zero" today, he considered bragging to be dispensable.

The job of the 14th Airforce B-24 bomber crews was to bomb and degrade Japanese installations but also to bring fuel, bombs, munitions, and the supplies from India to Kunming needed to sustain their own bombing Campaigns. It required four supply missions over the Hump to supply one bombing mission. Of Ed’s 55+ missions 42 were over the hump. On return flights over the Hump to India for more supplies, they would bomb Japanese resources and supply points using outdated Chinese and French bombs. The flying through and over the Hump was treacherous, bad weather, Japanese fighter attacks, and Ack Ack when bombing roads, bridges, harbors, and ships. The route over the Hump became knows and the "Aluminum Trail" due to all of the lost aircraft. For each Mission flown points were awarded. Combat flights received more points than supply flights however with dangerous conditions and Japanese fighters the supply missions just as dangerous.

Ed chose the Army Air Corps as he did not wish to sleep in a trench and he thought being a pilot would be glamorous. The reality of war knocked all of that out of him. There was an active Black Market in all kinds of supplies Ed found this disgusting. He and his buddies risked their lives every day and many died bringing those supplies into China. Ed reached his maximum points quickly and after 10 months in China and 4 months in India he and a few other men found a discarded B24 and flew it home, he had no intentions of spending weeks on a crowded crew ship. Many of these flights ended in disaster as the planes were pretty beat up by this time.

When the war broke out Ed was a naïve young teenager. By the time he came home at 18 years of age he'd earned:

The Distinguished Flying Cross

The Air Medal

The Good Conduct medal

The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 4 Bronze and 1 Silver Star

The American Campaign medal

The Aviation Gunners Badge

The Good Conduct Medal

Expert Marksman Badge

WWII Victory Medal,

and multiple other awards

After coming home alive Ed looked at war and life differently. Now with a wise though cold philosophical eye beyond his 18 years. He recognized the reality of war; the necessary of it and the waste of life and death. He was no fan of war, nor war mongers, nor politicians who are quick to have someone else’s child spill blood. He was courageous beyond the honors for heroism, the honors meant little to him, he always acted out of a sense of principle, purpose, duty and doing the right thing. I was privileged to witness the way Ed lived his life, his actions and deeds. Ed feared no man of any rank, he stand up to power, not in petty little ways, but in ways that were meaningful, impactful and important. In my career when time got tough I'd ask myself "what would Ed do". It was and is a valuable compass.

RIP May 26, 2001, Dad you are my hero and always will be. I Love You Dad!