"… in adverse weather, 15 TBM's took off, on this occasion to fly across Hokkaido to its western coast to bomb industrial installations in Rumoi." (Official Navy History of VT-1, pg 7)

Ens Mehelich's plane was shot down (or possibly damaged by their own bombs) during this attack on Rumoi Japan. A low overcast of 900-1000' necessitated they drop their four 500-pound bombs at dangerously low altitudes. They ditched 15-20 miles off shore and all three successfully got in to their life raft. They were later captured by the Japanese military and on July 20th radioman ARM3c Joseph Dortsch "was beaten to death by a group of Japanese fishermen upon being landed from a boat by the Japanese military". Ens Mehelich and gunner AOM3c Ernest Davis would survive and they spent the remainder of the war in a Japanese POW camp. The airplane they flew that day was a model TBM-3E with side #108 (bureau #86132).

Aircraft Action Report for 15 July 1945 pg1

Aircraft Action Report for 15 July 1945 pg2

Aircraft Action Report for 15 July 1945 pg3

Aircraft Action Report for 15 July 1945 pg4

Aircraft Action Report for 15 July 1945 pg5

Aircraft Action Report for 15 July 1945 (5 pages above). Note that on this same mission Ens Budd's aircraft was significantly damaged by fragments of their own bombs.

Bennington & CAG1 Report of Operations pg 63

Bennington & CAG1 Report of Operations pg 103

Bennington & CAG1 Report of Operations pg 13

Bennington Diary Entry pg9

USS Bennington & CAG1 (Air Group One) Report of Operations (3 pages above) and USS Bennington Diary entry (1 page above)

USS Bennington Cruise Book entry

POW camp Sapporo, Cliff is third from the left, bottom row

POW camp photo dated 20 August 1945 with Ens Mehelich and (presumably) AOM3c Ernest J. Davis

Sapporo military POW camp

C Mehelich (1923)