Flight Surgeon
Diary of Medical Detachment, 1943-1944
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
30 May 1944 ... Thirty ships were
dispatched from this command leading the division with Colonel Gross in
command. The designated target was the
Dessault Aircraft Assembly Plant near Leipzig, Germany. Bombing altitude was 25,000 feet and outside
air temperature was –29º Centigrade.
The lead and high group got the bombs away right on the nose and the
strike photos showed the bombs of the lead group right on the MPI and the bombs
of the high group scattered over their MPI.
The group was under hostile attack by ME-109’s on the bomb run and two
ships were knocked out of formation.
They were Lieut. Lapinski and Lieut. Burton. These ships have not returned to this base. Friendly fighters were apparently engaged in
enemy activity elsewhere as they were not in evidence in the target area. Lieut. Monahan was heard calling as the
ships were coming out of Germany but his whereabouts are unknown at
present. There were no wounded or
killed and the remaining ships landed safely at this base.
Lieutenant Yates, 535th Squadron, was
between the IP and the target and engines #1 & #2 were knocked out. #1 was feathered. But #2 windmilled all the
way home. The co-pilot, 2nd
Lt. Robert E. Klutho, O-815923, and the top turret gunner, S/Sgt. James E.
Dixon, 35448138, bailed out right after the ship was hit. The remainder of the crew was under repeated
hostile attack and did violent evasive action with two starboard engines and an
air speed of about 100 miles an hour.
They destroyed three enemy aircraft and probably more. Lieut. Yates used maximum power (2500 RPM
and 50 inches of mercury) on his two good engines for 1½ hours and eased it
back slowly while over the Channel. Six
of the machine guns went out of commission while under attack. The ball turret was salvoed and equipment
was thrown out to lighten the ship. He
landed wheels down without hydraulics on two engines and ground looped at the
end of the runway. Lieut. Yates and
crew are excited and shaken but in good condition. They are being admitted to the sick quarters for sedation this
evening.
R E S T R I
C T E D
DB #152, Hq AAF Sta. 167, APO 557,
Wednesday, 30 May 1944, cont’d.
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES:
Enemy fighter pilots near Dessau yesterday thought
they had a sure thing when their first attack killed the #2 engine on the
Fortress “Me and My Gal” and knocked the bomber way out of formation. They underestimated her pilot, 2nd
Lt. Howard R. Yates, 535th Bomb Sq., and the game crewmen who stuck
with him through 20 minutes of almost unbelievable evasive action. While the ME-109’s cut in and out with their
wing cannon blasting, Yates put his massive buggy through everything in and out
of the book, including slow rolls and wing-overs. His control work not only
left the Jerries with the worst possible target, but set his gunners up for the
kind of shooting that that destroyed three of the attackers. When four Lightnings (P-38’s) finally showed
up to cover him, Yates had both left wing engines out, a windmilling prop on
hand, and a three-hour trip home ahead of him.
He made the distance on an additional airspeed of 100 MPH.
R E S T R I
C T E D
5 June 1944 ... Thirty-nine aircraft from
this command took off this date forming a complete combat wing with thirteen
planes in each group. Target was the coastal defense area near Caen, France, 2½
miles off the French coast. This
mission is undoubtedly in aid of preparation for tomorrow’s anticipated
festivities and group dance with the Wehrmacht.
Briefing was scheduled unexpectedly at 0400 when a
cold front lifted. Takeoff was to be at
0530 hours but was delayed for 50 minutes because the bombs were not
loaded. All the ships carried 500 lb.,
armor-piercing bombs which was the first time this type of bomb has been
carried. Bombing altitude was 25,000
feet and the air temperature was –32º Centigrade. The IP was near Le Havre and fighter escort was good. No flak or fighters were encountered. Visual bombing was done. The only objects noted was a convoy of about
25 German trucks heading south. Strike
photos showed bombing results as excellent.
There were no killed or wounded and all ships returned safely to this
base.
6 June 1944 ... (Tuesday) Today was D--Day!! The day we have all
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
The inspiration and compilation of the updated text
for Flight Surgeon grew out of the whole litany of war stories William
Gaillard had heard as a child from both his parents and their nearby
relatives...all of whom were either military war veterans or former civilian
ancillary staff members who had directly supported the war effort.
Over the years, he had learned that his father had
kept a day-to-day war diary of his medical detachment in England. He had always
heard about it, but had never actually seen it...let alone, read it.
Shortly after his mother passed away in July 2001,
Mr. Gaillard finally discovered Dr. Gaillard’s actual war diary originals
(two volumes, no less) after their having been concealed for some sixty-odd years.
They also contained the former flight surgeon’s secret reports, letters,
analyses, footnotes, corrections, and additions that are now dovetailed into
the present manuscript.
Ostensibly, if you are a physician/MD, Nurse, or
EMT, or other health care professional, you will find this account to be of
particular, instructive benefit relative to today’s medicine; and, if you’re
not, you’ll enjoy it anyway simply for the marvelous adventure that it
tells. It is to be savored by all.
About the Author
Ernest Gaillard, Jr., MD was born December 12, 1913
to parents Ernest Gaillard, Sr. and Irene Keller Gaillard in Louisville,
Kentucky. Dr. Gaillard attended the University of Kentucky, Lexington, from
1930 to 1934 graduating with a BS Degree in Chemistry. He later attended the
University of Louisville Medical School achieving his MD in 1938, interning and
practicing medicine until Pearl Harbor. When war broke out so did the selective
draft of doctors and he was deployed to USAAF in England where he met and married
the former Dorothy Mignonne Nash of Colchester & St. Osyth, Essex, in
January 1944. He returned to the United States to both teach general surgery
and to bring into being a limited private practice in proctology and colon
surgery at Scripps Memorial Hospital, La Jolla, California. This lasted for
some thirty-two years from 1948 until his retirement as a fully-certified,
nationally-renown specialist Diplomate in his field in 1980-81. Dr. Gaillard
continues to reside in the Scripps Ranch area of San Diego, California with his
daughter, Cheryle Gaillard Tkach.
William N. Gaillard was born at high noon April 20,
1952 at the old Scripps Hospital, La Jolla, California, graciously interrupting
his father’s otherwise uneventful cafeteria luncheon in the process. He
attended the University of Southern California from 1970 to 1974 graduating
with a BA degree in International Relations and Economics. He spent some twenty
years in intensive, Middle Eastern petrochemical engineering and construction
contract work. Later, he participated in several proprietary designs and
developments for the Department of Defense. These were in aid of advanced
weapons, ordnance and targeting systems for the US Army’s Apache AH-64A “Tank
Killer” Attack Helicopter. This was the same series of gunships recently
deployed to the Gulf. He is quite active politically and has operated as a
freelance contract technical and prose writer, editor and research/military
historian since October 1994. Mr. Gaillard lives and works in Redondo Beach,
California.