Aircraft Action Report #2 for 12 June 1944 Guam (5 pages)

Ltjg James Thorburn was in the second group of aircraft to attack Orote Airfield the morning of June 12th. This was VT-1's first taste of combat and certainly Ltjg Thorburn would have been quite nervous and apprehensive. To add to that, just before they took off they likely heard the radio transmission from the first strike group stating that Lt Merrell's plane was hit and went down. He was crewed with AOM2c Marvin Lieberman and (probably) ARM1c William Richards. They took off about 7:09 in the morning (local time) with seven other VT-1 aircraft, each carrying three 500-pound "General Purpose" bombs in their bomb bay and two rockets mounted on each wing. They were each assigned specific targets on Orote Airfield and made just one bomb run. Dropping their bombs and firing rockets on the same bomb run proved to be very ineffective.

VT-1 would encounter intense antiaircraft fire that day. According to radioman Horace Harris "…didn't see how it was humanly possible for a plane to go through the barrage without being hit. I said my most fervent prayers right. It worked - we came through without a scratch, while nearly every plane in the formation was hit."

James Thorburn (1918)