18th Fighter-Bomber Wing in Korea

INTER-SERVICE APPRECIATION...a Twenty on the Bar

Early August 1950

During the early days of the Korean War, the holding actions of the 8th Army and Marines had failed to sufficiently slow Red troop advances and, despite the heavy pounding by our fighter planes on all three fronts encircling Taegu, even with a mass saturation raid by B-29s near Waegwan, we could not keep the enemy from crossing the Naktong River.

As the battle lines drew closer... as the noose tightened around Taegu, there were actually fewer Red supplies being intercepted because the Reds were 'holing-up' during daylight hours, and making their long moves at night, when our fighter planes were on the ground. It took them longer, but the supplies were still reaching the front. And, secondly, we were having to expend much more of our aerial resources at the front lines, supporting our troops. We didn't have time to go searching far behind the lines on interdiction missions.

But as the lines closed in on Taegu ...from the west and from the north, our ground forces had to back steadily into an ever-shrinking defensive perimeter; we found it necessary to direct almost all of our mission effort to close tactical support of the frontlines, reducing the sorties we could send north to interdict their supplies. It was a "Catch 22" ... we couldn't afford to slack off on our interdiction attacks because the armor coming onto the line would jeopardize our fragile hold on the perimeter's front lines ... but if we didn't help our troops on the front, there wouldn't be any perimeter left to defend!

It is not possible to adequately describe the intense feeling of gratification we pilots felt when we could hit the Reds attacking our front-line troops. By August there were enough radio jeeps operating on our frequencies, and airborne T-6 Mosquito spotter planes, that we could work with reasonable safety within just a few hundred yards of our own troops. When the verbal orders of the man on the ground were insufficient to tell us precisely where to strike, we'd ask the spotter to fire a smoke rocket, or the ground artillery to place a white phosphorus shell onto the target.

With positive target identification like that, we could work over the Red's dug-in positions with a venegence. It was doubly gratifying because we were not only taking the enemy pressure off of our troops, but our men would often stand right up in plain sight to cheer us on.

We knew that our close-support efforts were deeply appreciated, so we would inevitably press our attacks a little harder ... a little closer, or a little lower than was prudent for the safety of our own hides. But we knew too, that when we finally ran out of ammunition and had to head back over the hill to our base at Taegu, those poor characters below had to stay in their foxholes all night to protect our position and our lives.

Too often they didn't make it through the night, for that was when the Reds liked to attack ...at night, when our planes weren't around to break up their thrusts.

But as the battle fronts closed in around our Taegu base, we soon had a steady flow of casualties passing through for medical air evacuation to hospitals in Japan, and for the first time we pilots had a chance to talk face-to-face with some of the Army and Marine people we'd been supporting during those close ground support missions along the front lines.

They had nothing but praise for the job we had been doing, and told us of the hundreds of 'kills' which we had been unable to see because we were moving too fast.

Little did they realize that it wasn't really our display of 'bravery' when we'd fly into those heavy concentrations of ground fire ...it was just plain ignorance on our part!

We just couldn't see all the scores of enemy troops who were so busily shooting at us.

As the front lines neared Taegu airstrip, the stream of casualties increased proportionately. Seeing the maimed bodies of those youngsters quickly dispelled any remaining thoughts we might possibly have had about the war being a "game...a test of skills" among pilots.

I was especially touched one evening, after we'd been experiencing some especially rough close support missions just a short distance from Taegu, resulting in several severely damaged Mustangs and a couple of wounded pilots.

A young Army Captain hobbled into the little tent which we used for an 'Officer's Club'... he was bandaged from head to waist, had one arm in a sling and one bandaged foot, but he was managing. He made his way slowly and silently, with the aid of a makeshift cane, over to our packing-crate 'Bar', as the few of us patrons moved aside to make room for him.

But instead of ordering a drink, he looked to both sides, laid a twenty-dollar bill on the bar, then said: "Thanks, men", 'turned around and hobbled out without another word.

My morale went up a thousand points upon hearing his appreciation for our risks.

Duane E. 'Bud' Biteman,
Lt. Col, USAF, Ret
‘...One of those Old, Bold Fighter Pilots’
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