NEWSLETTER #38 -- Mail Call

My name is Steven W. Whaley, and I'm writing a book about WWII and its lingering losses. Through my first book about my uncle who served on a LST (Landing Ship-Tank) in the Pacific, I met Arliss (Millikin) Hogue who worked at the Seneca shipyard in Northern Illinois. Her brother-Samuel Thomas Millikin-was MIA after the B-24 that he was on (Plane ID 42-40814 529th Squadron) was lost on a routinue flight over the Owen Stanley range from Nadzab to Port Morseby, Papua New Guinea.

Samuel has three older sisters (Arliss, Dorothy, and Delight) all still alive and still missing him after all these years. They hope that he survived and that he has his own tribe in the mountains (he was a good looking young man). I'm hoping that someone in the association might have met Sam and had some memories about him that they could share. The B-24 that Sam was on was from the V Bomber Command Replacement Center and was piloted by Robert W. Tosch. I got this info from the TAPS section on your webpage for the 380th.

I have a request for you. The wing built a new Flightline Dining Facility, and we received a "Name the Diner" idea submitted below. I was asked to find out more information about 1Lt Heet. I found the website http://380th.org/HISTORY/Group/GroupHQ-roster.html#H with lots of names and it appears the following two were the first Mess Officers.

Could you check with the 380 BG Association Historians (or other members) if they knew a 1Lt Donald Heet, Ground Staff, Administration, Group Mess Officer Nov '44? Also, Capt William Schiff was a Ground Staff, Mess, Group Mess Officer in Feb '44.

I think the name should be "D.G. Heet Diner" named after Heet, Donald G. 1LT, Ground Staff, Administration, Group Mess Officer 380th Bombardment Group (Heavy), Fifth Bomber Command, 4 Nov 44, Davis-Monthan Air Field.

Plus, "Heet" is a play on words for something this place has a lot of and let's face it ... This place has plenty of heat in the summer!!!!

From: Dick Dow

To: Bill Shek (copy to: Barbara Gotham)

Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:15:23 -0800

Subject: My uncle Lt. Wilbur Morris 380th/530th "Red Ass" pilot

Dear William,

I went to the 380th Org news site this morning find a place where I could report the death of my uncle Wilbur Morris at 3:00am this morning. You mentioned Redding, CA as the home of your father at one time. My uncle lived in Fortuna, CA, which is almost due west of Redding and is near the coast. My uncle was one of the original members of the original 380th BG. His crew was the only crew from the 530th Squadron, maybe even the 380th BG, to be shot down, captured and to spend 22 months in POW camps in Japan, including Zentsuji and Rokuroshi where he was repatriated on Sept 5, 1945.

I was fortunate enough ten years ago to be watching an interview with Steven Ambrose talking about the declining number of WWII veterans and the importance of preserving their history. I have gotten wonderful accounts by my uncle and a tremendous amount of other information from the internet. I thought I might be able to compile all of the information for my family members before his passing, but I failed. He has a brother named Orval who is 96 and a sister (my mother) Leila who is 86. I really thought I had more time. Alas, no!

Wilbur would have been 90 in May. He was diagnosed with liver cancer in November. He hung in there for a few more months than had been expected. I intend to complete the organization of all the information I have gathered so far and send it to the remaining family members. Ironically, former Speaker of the House James Wright wrote a book called the "Flying Circus" that I purchased and read a few years ago. Wright's tent was adjacent to my Uncle's which is described in the book. When my uncle's plane (he was piloting "Little Joe" when shot down near the Kai Islands) crashed, his navigator Skuzinski was killed when the ball turret broke loose and crushed him in his seat. Skuzinski was the best friend and Navigator school classmate of James Wright. The two pet dogs that Morris and Skuzinski had in their tent were adopted by James Wright in their absence. Wright excitedly called me after a message had been forwarded to him by Ted Williams at Purdue Univ. I wanted to purchase a copy of Wright's book and have it autographed for my uncle. After speaking with Wright and giving him my uncle's phone number, he called him. It was a great gesture!

I'm really anxious to return to the work that needs to be done on my uncle's WWII service history and you have spurred me on. Thank you.

Thank you for your condolences and a special thanks to Ted Williams for his past help in my research. Wilbur Morris was a very special part of our family.

Dick Dow

Fresno, CA