By BGen George L. Bartlett, USMC (Ret)
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Col Peter Lambrecht, commanding VMF(N)-513, welcomes Henson upon his safe arrival back at K-8.
(Courtesy of the Bill Henson family) |
In 1951, Sergeant Bill Henson, the operations clerk for Marine Transport Squadron (VMR) 352 in El Toro, Calif., was sent to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., to attend RIO (Radar Intercept Operator) School. After graduation, he was assigned to Marine Night Fighter Squadron (VMF(N)) 531 at Cherry Point and spent about six months in the F7F Tigercat, flying radar intercepts and navigation/familiarization flights between Cherry Point and Puerto Rico.
Several RIOs, including Henson, received orders to the 17th Replacement Draft for movement to Korea. The RIOs headed to El Toro to join the Replacement Draft. Part of the overseas training for the 17th Replacement Draft was cold weather escape and evasion school at the Marine Corps Base in Pickel Meadows, Calif., high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The RIOs then headed to Naval Air Station Moffett Field, Calif., for further assignment to an overseas flight.
Their flight to Korea was via Barber's Point, Johnston Island, Kwajalein, Guam, Atsugi and Itami, Japan. They spent a few days at Marine Air Depot Squadron 1, where the squadron patch shows a butterfly and the words "Alla Time Changie Changie."
The RIOs arrived at K-3 in Pohang, South Korea, on New Year's Day 1952 and had their first taste of Korea's cold weather. They were processed and assigned to VMF(N)-513, which was then at K-18. The squadron was living in eight-man tents, and the runway was pierced-steel planking, called Marston Matting. The temperature was below zero.
The flying started almost immediately. They flew missions along the main supply routes (MSRs) leading from the "Punch Bowl" and the roads along the east coast of North Korea. They also flew several missions, called "hothouse scramble alerts," from the pad in Seoul; a mission that they shared with the United States Air Force. The Air Force was flying the F-94, which had only a 45-minute "on-station loiter" time compared to the Marines' four-hour "on-station" time. There were many, many hours on station over North Korea, but little or no action.
In April 1952, the squadron moved to K-8 at Kunsan on the west coast. The Air Force was repaving the runway, and operations were limited. The F7F personnel would pack their sleeping bags in the rear cockpit, fly to K-6 in the afternoon and fly their missions that night from K-6. They would recover at K-6, get some sleep and then fly back to K-8 in the morning.
The squadron was in full operations in July 1952 when Captain Paul Piana and Sgt Henson took off at 2200 for a night-intruder mission in F7F Bureau Number 80602 over Chaer-Yong, North Korea, about 100 miles north of Seoul. They reported on station to their flare plane, a Navy PB4Y-2 Privateer "Firefly," orbiting their target area. Firefly reported truck traffic along the MSR, and Capt Piana and Sgt Henson were loaded with 800 rounds of 20 mm, one 500-gallon centerline napalm bomb and four 250-pound bombs on the wing racks.
Firefly dropped a string of flares from 2,000 feet along the MSR, and Piana and Henson went down for a look. They located a parked convoy of trucks hidden under sheds and trees along the road. They came around and dropped their napalm on the trucks to fix the convoy so they could work them over. They did not have igniters on the napalm bomb because they had better coverage if they did not ignite on the drop. After Firefly dropped another string, the F7F went back with a 20 mm strafing run and managed to ignite the napalm and a couple of trucks.
During this run Henson felt a .30- or .50-caliber round impact the aircraft. Anything larger would have really jolted the airplane. He looked out his canopy and saw a red glow coming from the accessory section of the port engine. He reported it to the pilot, and the pilot asked him for a steer toward home. Henson gave him a steer of 170 degrees, and Capt Piana started a climbing left-hand turn.
By then, the skin had burned off the top of the accessory section. The pilot had attempted to fire the remaining ammo from the port guns, but the aircraft shuddered so badly that he was not successful in getting rid of it all. At this time the pilot told Henson to jump since he was not sure how long he could maintain level flight. Henson checked with Firefly and gave them their altitude, heading and airspeed and noted that they were passing through 1,800 feet. Firefly said they had them in sight and wished them good luck.
Telling the pilot he would see him on the ground, Henson jettisoned his canopy and bailed out. He pulled his ripcord immediately upon clearing the aircraft because he did not know the height of the mountains. The chute opened; he made one swing and hit the ground, but his chute was entangled in a small tree. He got out of his chute and yelled for Capt Piana, but received no answer.
Henson was unable to dislodge his chute. He got out of his harness and removed his "Mae West" vest, saving the flares in case he needed them. He knew there was not a survival radio in the seat pack because the ones that had them were marked with a big "X" across the seat cushion. He had his flashlight on a boot string around his neck. He could hear ammo going off in the distance, but could not determine if it was small arms or aircraft ammo. He be?gan to move out when he heard a rather noisy group headed his way.
The temperature was very mild, so Hen?son knew he would not have to worry about it. The terrain was hilly with rice paddies scattered around. Henson headed for the high ground, going almost to the top of the ridgeline. He moved along the ridgeline parallel to the MSR. He paused occasionally to rest and listen.
During one of these periods, the search party sounded quite close so he slid down the side of the hill, digging his heels into the earth to slow his slide. Henson readied his weapon since he was determined not to be captured. The search party passed by him, so he returned to the top of the ridgeline and began to move again. His plan was to make for the coast and hijack a boat. Shortly before first light, Henson found an anima's den behind some bushes. It would offer some concealment after day?light, and he made himself as comfortable as he could.
About daylight he saw an F7F in a low left-hand orbit. Using his flashlight, he gave the pick-up signal: a "V" in Morse code. The plane saw his signal and made a pass over his location. As he waited in his den, Henson realized that the low "cap" had moved away, so he lit one of his flares. This brought the cap back toward him, but stirred up a local garrison in the village at the bottom of the hill. He heard gunfire from the village and saw one of the F7Fs heading south, trailing smoke. The next thing he knew the F7s were drop?ping napalm bombs on the village and strafing the group heading up the hill toward him.
No more than 10 aircraft in low orbit were surrounding his hill. Seconds later, he heard a helicopter coming toward him, so he moved to the top of the hill. As soon as he spotted the helicopter, Henson lit his other flare. On the first pass the helicopter's horse collar knocked him down, but on the second pass he put his head and shoulders through the collar.
Once on board the chopper, he drained one of the crewman's canteens. The pilot asked if they could stick around as they had a report of a chute sighting. They stayed in the area, but were unable to confirm the sighting. It was decided to take Henson on to a classified location.
Bill Henson had been picked up about 10 miles from where his plane had crashed. He ate his first meal in 24 hours and slept for a while. He got back to K-6 in an R4D that came to get him, and at about 2200 an F7F flew up to take him back to K-8. He was greeted by Colonel Peter D. Lambrecht, Commanding Officer, VMF(N)-513. The colonel was lost a few days later on a mission near the Yalu River, but that is another story.
Bill Henson may be the only night-fighter aircrewman who got out of North Korea, and he may be the only successful rear-seat bailout from an F7F. He was debriefed by Marine and Air Force specialists who could pass his story along to other pilots who might be in harmÕs way. He completed his Korean tour in three or four months and returned to Cherry Point for duty.
Author's note: Bill Henson was selected for second lieutenant, attended the 27th Special Basic Class at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., and became a communications officer. Henson had several very interesting jobs in communications. Later he attended legal school in Newport, R.I.
He was the CO of the Marine Detachment, USS Eldorado (AGC-11). His next set of orders took him to Taiwan with the Marine Advisory Group in Tsoying, Taiwan, advising the Chinese Marines during 1958-59. Henson attended the Amphibious Warfare School and was then in the F-4 program as an NFO at Cherry Point. He was in Vietnam during the early stages, flying F-4s out of Da Nang and finished his career at El Toro in VMCJ-3, flying in the RF-4C. He retired, and lives in Knox?ville, Tenn.
Editor's note: The author, Brigadier General George L. Bartlett, USMC (Ret), is a ÒMustangÓ officer who enlisted in 1943 and fought in three wars, rising from private to brigadier general. He was the executive director of the Marine Corps Association from 1979 through 1988. |
