George Gay
TBD Devastator
By Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette
Aviation Art Store
Print Size 18 x 24"
Limited Edition $125.00
George only signed 400 of these prints.
George was hospitalized and passed away before we finished signing the series.
These were the last prints that George Gay signed.
This was also the first in my series of "Famous American Aviators."
George Gay is on the right with one of his rear gunners. This is a rare color photo for its time.
Ensign George Gay
George Gay and Artist Ernie Boyette at the Warner Robbins Aviation Museum.
Ensign George Gay’s Story
By: Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette
George Henry Gay Jr.
was born on March 8, 1917 in Waco, Texas. His father’s family came from
England. His mother’s families came from Germany and were some of the early
settlers on Long Island. Both families came to Texas via the covered wagons and
both families settled in Corpus Christi at different times. After George’s
parents met and married they moved to Waco.
George’s family
moved to Dallas and he attended a private grammar school. His mother taught him
how to swim at an early age. His father was in the oil business where he would
negotiate the lease of land for exploration and drilling. George was always
impressed with his father’s integrity both in business and with his family and
home.
George worked many
different jobs during his youth including working at the local A&P food
store. His first introduction to aviation was when his grandmother took him on a
ride in a Ford tri-motor. Both his father and mother refused to take him on the
ride but his grandmother said to young George, “I came here in a covered
wagon, and I’m not afraid of that thing!” (Referring to the aircraft.) Both
George and his grandmother enjoyed the ride as the lumbering and rattling
tri-motor flew over the Texas countryside. The 1929 stock market crash hurt
everyone nationwide. George was lucky to earn ten cents an hour at the local
drug store. He said that at the time a hamburger cost five cents.
In 1935 George graduated from San Jacinto High School while his family was living in Huston, Texas. His father was able to assist in getting George into A&M collage. He studied Mechanical Engineering and he learned Coast Artillery in the ROTC. Unfortunately George only attended two years and his monies ran out.
The situation in Europe was getting serious. It was apparent that war in Europe was in the near future. George did a lot of thinking about what he would do if war broke out. He did not want to serve on the ground in the infantry. He had read of the great battles in Europe during WWI in the mud and the trenches and of the complete futility of this type of combat with its open slaughter of millions of men.
Advances in aviation were obvious with many air bases in Texas. The sight of an airplane always lifted the heart of every young man. George decided that if he had to go to war then he wanted to be a pilot.
George approached the idea with his father. They both discussed the matter with his mother. His mother was surprised but did not openly object. She thanked George for asking for a discussion with the family on such an important decision. But they let the eventual decision be his.
George applied to the Army at Randolph Field. After filing all the proper papers and reporting for his physical George was turned down! He was stunned. They told him to go home and forget about it! He was greatly disappointed and went to work on several jobs in the area. Meanwhile the war in Europe had started. George was about to go to Canada to join the RAF when he realized that the U.S. Navy had pilots. George immediately went to the local Navy recruiting office and signed up. George went through all physicals and was accepted.
George was ordered to Opalocka, which was located just north of Miami, Florida. On February 15, 1941 George was issued a marine uniform and as a Seaman Second Class he was designated V-5 as an aspiring aviator. His first flying was in an aircraft he loved, a N2S Stearman, “yellow pearl” bi-plane.
Flying came easily for George. On April 3, 1941 he was officially an Aviation Cadet Class 4-A-41-J at Jacksonville Naval Air Station, Florida. His training continued with formation flying on “hops” and everyone trained in dive-bombing and all aerial maneuvers. On September 6, 1941 George Gay was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navel Reserve.
He was detached from Opalocka with orders to report to Advance Carrier Training at NAS, Norfolk, Virginia. On November 3, he was classified as ACTG and ordered to VT-8, Torpedo Squadron 8.
In all the services, Army Air Force, Navy, or the Marines the pilots never got to choose what type of aircraft they would eventually fly after their training. Yes, they did post their request, however not every pilot could be a fighter pilot. Some aviators would be torpedo bomber pilots, some would fly supply and cargo aircraft, and some would fly observation craft.
For George his orders were to report to Torpedo Squadron 8, which at that time was only a few months old. Its squadron commander was considered a “wild man”, a descendent of the Sioux Indians, Lt. Commander John Charles Waldron. When I say wild I do not mean the “Pappy” Boyington type. Lt. Comdr. Waldron was a veteran Navy aviator. He was a solid man, a great leader and was much respected and liked by his men. He was mischievous and demanding. George studied navigation and would be the navigator for the squadron.
Waldron knew something was in the air and that he and his squadron would be called to arms. He worked his squadron hard yet the aircrews held a positive attitude with him because they also sensed the skills they were learning would be needed for their country and their very survival.
VT-8 was to get the new Grumman TBM Avengers in September however at first they had no aircraft at all. The group was to be a Torpedo Bomber Squadron, with no torpedo bombers! They received the SBN scout plane to continue training with. Two and a half months later the group commander qualified the unit as a torpedo squadron. The day that George reported to VT-8 they had 12 TBD-1’s and ten SBN’s. George reported two months after the group was formed while training was already in process. George found that his training would be far more rigorous to catch up with the rest of the squadron. Waldron had to have all members trained equally by a certain date.
In Navel aviation torpedo-bombing enemy ships was still quite popular. The English had used obsolete bi-winged aircraft to carry out brilliant attacks against the Italian navy only recently in Europe. Even the Italians were having excellent results against the English navy in the Mediterranean Sea with their torpedo bombers.
On December 7th the Japanese attacked. The Japanese used torpedo bombers at Pearl Harbor with devastating results. The development of the Douglass Devastator was a milestone in aviation with its introduction to the carrier fleet in 1934. It was the first all metal aircraft that had folding wings for easier storage on the carrier. The TBD was superior to the English and Italian aircraft but fell short of the Japanese “Kate”.
At this time however the TBD was considered old, and was drastically underpowered. In fact to save gasoline during the late 1930's the Navy actually had the engine that originally came with the TBD replaced with a smaller more fuel efficient engine that made the TBD operational but not adequate for combat operations. War with Japan caught America off guard and no one though about replacing the engine. Actually there was no time to think, only to act.
The TBD was slated to be replaced with the new Grumman TBF Avenger however VT-8 was shipped out quickly before the aircraft was available to its crews. Six more months and VT-8 would have been outfitted and the pilots and aircrews trained in the new Grumman bomber.
In mid December 1941 the Hornet, which was America’s newest carrier, sailed out of Norfolk for its shake down cruse. As the carrier ran through its Atlantic maneuvers the aircrews of VT-8 continued their aircraft orientation.
On March 7, 1942 the Hornet sailed with a convoy bound for Panama and then on to the Pacific. It was out side Panama that George landed on the carrier’s deck for the first time!
Because of the short time table and the need to train so many pilots George and a few other pilots were not carrier qualified as they left Norfolk, but continued training as they sailed. Waldron had George and the others take off and land back on the carrier over and over. George was taught to land on the Hornet on its way to combat! George was a natural pilot and took off and came back on to the deck with little difficulty on his first try. When George crawled out of the cockpit after his first landing Waldron ran up and slapped him on the back and told him “with just two more landings like that you will be carrier qualified!” Waldron was completely confident that George could do it and he did.
I must add here that the TBD had a large wing area and controlling this aircraft as it floated onto the deck was far easier that the quicker and smaller F4F fighter. Several new fighter pilots were killed on that cruse to California in their practice landings.
After interviewing many Navy pilots many spent hours upon hours sweating out their carrier qualifications. What simple times these were, but it was obvious that George was a natural in the cockpit. He had no anxiety or problems with landing on a moving ship at all.
George and the other pilots of VT-8 wanted new airplanes. The fighter pilots had the Grumman F4F Wildcats and the dive-bombing crews had the SBD’s, which were both new aircraft for the fleet.
VT-8 also was able to practice group formation and bombing. It was squirrelly at best but they tried to be efficient and that is the most important part of training. Waldron was able to pull off one thing that would prove to be beneficial for his crews. He was able to obtain armored seats for the pilots and twin .30 caliber machine guns for the rear gunner. The single gun was nothing more than a nuisance for an attacking enemy fighter, but two .30’s could bring it down or damage it enough to run the enemy off. The pilots and gunners installed the new equipment themselves.
As VT-8 was about to sail for the war in the Pacific the Navy imposed upon the Hornet a secret mission. Secret missions are surely the most exciting opportunity military men wish for. The chance to really prove your mantle.
Everything was hush-hush and many were in the dark as to what their mission would be as they watched giant cranes load B-25 twin-engine Mitchell bombers onto the decks of the Hornet. As far as George remembers they were simply under the impression that the carrier would transport the bombers to advance bases. As the mission unfolded most everybody would learn all the details.
On April 2nd the Hornet sailed from San Francisco with a flight deck full of B-25 Mitchell medium bombers. Their special guest was Jimmy Doolittle and the Army Air Crews who would fly these bombers off the flight deck. George and everybody on the Hornet were excited to be part of this mission. They knew it would be a risk but they did not know the moral building value this mission would be to the American people.
While they were heading to Japan George and the other aircrews were drilled over and over by Waldron on navigation plotting and everything they may need to know in order to find the enemy and then find their way back to the Hornet. On April 18th the Hornet sailed into the wind with Doolittle and his crews taking off towards the Japanese homeland.
After the mission the Hornet arrived at Pearl Harbor on April 25th and sailed back out on May first. George and his fellow aviators had been rushed through their aviation requirements to get them to the front as quickly as possible. Lt. Commander John Waldron had been in the Navy twenty-one years and was a torpedo specialist. Torpedo Squadron 8 was his first command of a squadron and he was excited at the opportunity. He was well aware that they had a lot to do in little time. Waldron had a slogan and that was summed up in one word, “Attack”!
After a short cruse the Hornet arrived back to Pearl on May 26, 1942 with the Yorktown arriving the next day. An odd twist happened that Navy historians over looked but George felt the story should be told. VT-8 did receive new TBF Avengers. Six of the aircraft and the aircrews of VT-8 were flown out to Midway for the defense of the Island. The other TBF’s stayed at Pearl Harbor. VT-8 with its original 15 TBD was left on the Hornet. There was simply no time for all of the aircrews of VT-8 to transfer to the new torpedo bomber.
Things were simpler
in 1942 but just flying an airplane wasn’t enough. The Grumman TBF Avenger was
almost twice as large and much heavier than the TBD Devastator. The crews that
were sent out to Midway were already checked out in the TBF but not carrier
qualified. However they could operate the aircraft from a land base. George told
me that his squadron would have to “dance with the lady that they brought to
the dance.”
With all the rushed training and qualifications required to get the aircrews ready there was one training exercise that was completely over looked. Lt. Comdr. Waldron was the only aviator in the squadron to have ever practiced dropping torpedoes. The squadron had no “dummy” torpedoes to practice with and no way of ever getting experience in the very duty they were assigned to before actual combat.
Eventually VT-8 would actually have two different units of the group to engage the enemy in the battle of Midway. VT-8 would be represented by the 15 Devastators from the Hornet and the six Avengers from Midway. As my story continues I will carefully explain how each approached the enemy. The Hornet with its crew and all the aircrews were now heading for Midway Island. This was the time they all waited for, combat with the enemy.
The rumors of the Japanese Fleet and its size were overwhelming with 187 ships including eight aircraft carriers and 713 aircraft dwarfed the American Task Force 16, which had the Hornet and the Enterprise. Task Force 17 had the Yorktown. The total number of American aircraft was 255 on the carriers and 110 on Midway.
As the Admirals planned the up coming battle the pilots were getting ready. VT-8 was in Ready Room Four when Waldron gave all of his men a mimeographed letter. This is what it said.
“Just a word to
let you know I feel we are all ready. We have had a very short time to train.
And we have worked under the most severe difficulties. But we have truly done
the best humanly possible. I actually believe that under these conditions, we
are the best in the world. My greatest hope is that we encounter a favorable
tactical situation, but if we don’t and worst comes to worst, I want each of
us to do his utmost to destroy our enemies. If there is only one plane left to
make the final run-in, I want that man to go in and get a hit. May God be with
us all. Good luck, happy landings, and give ‘em hell!”
George told me that
at that moment he knew that Waldron’s statement was worth remembering yet it
was to be so real too soon. This was it, they were sailing towards war. Waldron
told his men after he handed out this memo, “The approaching battle will be
the biggest of the war, and may well be the turning point. It is to be known as
the Battle for Midway. It will be an historical and, I hope, a
glorious event.” All I can add here is that this commander was a great man.
Hollywood could not write such a script or make up such a solid man. His
aircrews would follow him into hell itself if he told them to “Follow me men,
Attack!”
Midway was a strategically located island in the Pacific. The wide expanses of ocean made this island important and was used by both military and commercial aircraft for a refueling stops between the islands. The Hornet sailed southwest towards Midway. The aircrews studied charts and went over their duties. They also spent many hours looking out at the never-ending Pacific Ocean. Each man with his own personal thoughts. Thinking about how they would handle combat when they saw it. Would they be brave, would they ever get to see their families, girlfriends, or wives and children again?
The intelligence reports proved to be accurate. The Japanese were closing in for their attack on Midway from the northwest. The American carrier group was carefully cursing into place on the northeastern side of Midway. Soon the Japanese would be in range of the Island and start their attack. The date was June 3rd.
On the morning of June 4, 1942 George and “Abbie” Abercrombie were eating breakfast early when the alarm bell sounded “General Quarters”. Over the ships intercom “All pilots report to your Ready Rooms!” As George and the others filled the room they read the message on the Teletype screen: “MIDWAY BEING ATTACKED BY JAPANESE AIRCRAFT!” Everyone pulled out their plotting boards and took notes on the intelligence the fleet recently received. They got the approximate location of the Japanese fleet and its size. They wrote down the Japanese location and distance from the Island. They got the wind conditions. The direction they were heading now and the direction they would be launching from since they would have to change course to head into the wind.
The fighters were launched first. The scouts launched next and finally the bombers. The United States was desperate for a victory. The fall of Midway to the Japanese would leave the Hawaiian Islands and California open to Japanese attacks. Last to launch was the torpedo bombers with Navigation Officer Gay and his rear gunner Robert Huntington first in line.
Waldron was on the bridge as the fighters started to launch. He pleaded desperately for fighter escort. The answer was no. He even asked for just one Wildcat to fly along. The answer was no. He then asked for one fighter that could be flown by one of his pilots. The answer was no! The Group Commander was under the impression that the torpedo bombers were safe if they keep low to the water and stayed together to combine the effect of their rear gunners. The Commander directing the launch and attack felt that the SBD’s needed protection because they would be at high altitude and more venerable with a heavy bomb load.
In the previous Battle of the Coral Sea the TBD’s had been lucky and had gotten some hits on the Japanese fleet. This time the Japanese fighters would be on the look out for the torpedo bombers.
Waldron left the bridge where he had been arguing for fighter protection. He then tried to convince the fleet commanders that the Japanese will not attack the island if they know the American fleet is near by. The Japanese will send their fleet and planes north towards the Hornet and the rest of the fleet. The response he got was as if he was talking to a light post.
Waldron left the bridge frustrated and meet George on the way to man their bombers. Waldron told George that the Group Commander was going to send the entire group to a location they thought the Japanese fleet would be at if the Japanese attacked the island for the second time which would be further to the south of their last location, closer to the island.
Waldron was convinced that the Imperial Fleet would be further to the north to avoid any attack from aircraft from the island. Waldron told George since he was the squadron navigator his idea and that he would led his squadron a little to the north. The torpedo squadron would be taking off last and since they were slow in flight Waldron figured that by the time the others realized their mistake they would head north and all of them including VT-8 would meet the Japanese Fleet together.
I don’t mean to criticize anyone here because in war when men are under the pressure of going into combat, mistakes are made. Some of them are honest, and some are criminal. Some are based on over confidence; many are based on good training and solid confidence. Some are based on egotistical stupidity, and some are cowardly. What happened at Midway was excusable. Some say that it worked out for the best, but men were slaughtered. Is that acceptable? Yes. At times it is. No matter what you believe.
All crews reported to their aircraft and were strapped in. The aircrafts engines were already running and the propeller blades were cutting the early morning air. As George sat in his cockpit the steady breeze form the prop came back on his face. The Hornet was speeding into the wind to increase the flow of air over the flight deck.
There was no regular way that a squadron was launched. Today George would be first off. As with all operations there was a ten-minute delay. George and the rest of VT-8 sat as the fighters and bombers flew off. One of the pilots behind George took this time to climb out of his TDB and jumped up on George’s wing. He was concerned that the extra weight of the torpedo was going to really hamper their take off.
Mind you, these torpedo bomber pilots had not received torpedo-bombing practice, they also had never flown with a torpedo at all and the entire experience would be new to them. The weapon weighed about 2000 pounds and would radically effect the flying characteristics of the aircraft.
George was taking off first so he told his fellow pilot that if he went into the sea, try to get the carrier to go faster for more wind over the bow so the rest would get off safely. Did what you just read sound funny? Did I happen to mention that none of the squadron except Waldron had ever taken off with a torpedo? Had never flown with a torpedo, and had never dropped a torpedo?
This is were the real bullshit hits the fan. Let me explain. George Gay had never dropped a torpedo! They had attended class and learned what altitude they needed to be flying at to drop the torpedo properly. The pilots were taught what air speed they needed to be flying at, and they were taught how to led the enemy ship in order to have their torpedo make contact. But they had never flown with or dropped a torpedo.
Worst of all was that the torpedoes that the navy was using were made for use in World War One for use in submarines! The torpedoes the Naval Aviators were using were never developed to be dropped by aircraft. And even worse is that the torpedoes almost never worked correctly at all! The failure of the United States torpedo was as much as 50% in the beginning of the war and only got a little better as the war progressed.
There were Navy pilots and American Submarine Captains that risked their lives with many actually loosing their lives and the lives of their crews to get close enough to the enemy to strike them with a torpedo only for the torpedo to fail! The Japanese went through an elaborate process to perfect their torpedoes and the delivery of the ordnance. Enough of my ranting but can you see where I am going with this?
George was able to take off from the Hornet with little difficulty. Once VT-8 had all launched and formed up the squadron was spread out in flights of four two plane groups led by Waldron and the second formation was led by Jimmie Owens with two groups of two planes and one of three planes. Navigation Officer George Gay bringing up the rear of the three-plane formation. Waldron had a feeling where the Japanese fleet would be. It was his Sioux Indian instincts that led him. His men knew him and did not blindly follow him, they trusted him!
After an hour of flying Torpedo Squadron 8 was spotted by a Japanese reconnaissance plane. Waldron broke radio silence when he spotted a Japanese scout plane. The crews of VT-8 looked up and saw the Japanese aircraft. It flew right over then and straight in the direction that they were heading. Then appearing before them on the horizon was the Japanese navy and its carriers. Waldron looked around and saw that his flight was properly set up.
The Japanese fleet was large and there was no battle action in process. Waldron had expected that the other aircraft, which were faster would be attacking the fleet as his squadron slipped in and attacked. Waldron knew that they were alone and in his gut he knew that the odds were against his brave men. Waldron broke radio silence with his last order to his men. "We will go in, we won't turn back. Former strategy cannot be used. We will attack. Good luck."
Waldron was suddenly under the impression that they were the first to find the Japanese fleet. This was not true however in that twice the aircraft from Midway had already attacked the Japanese fleet. The reason for the grim message from Waldron to his squadron was that he saw the size of the enemy fleet, but he also saw the swarms of Japanese fighters. The Zero’s looked like bees protecting their hive. For him and his men, getting to the enemy fleet to attack would prove ripe with danger. First of all their gas gages proved that they did not have the fuel to return to their carrier. No one considered this as a suicide mission now, they were just taking a chance that they would get back or make it to Midway. No one questioned Waldron because they had as much confidence in him as he had in them.
As I said above, Waldron’s squadron was not the first to find and attack the Japanese fleet. Several flights of Navy and Marines pilots from Midway had already attacked the Japanese Fleet with their attempts shattered by the Japanese defense. The attacking Midway aircraft achieved no successful results.
The first attack came from Midway with VT-8, the other part of Waldron’s squadron with their new Grumman Avengers followed by old SB2U Vindicator dive bombers flown by the Marines along with four brand new B-26 Martin medium bombers that were hurriedly equipped to carry torpedoes joined the fight. Their efforts were devastating with all aircraft shot down or sent back to base damaged with wounded or dead aboard. Every one. Not one aircraft was even able to get close enough to the Japanese fleet to strike them.
The fighter aircraft on Midway were occupied with defending the island. Many of these fighters were obsolete Brewster F2 Buffaloes fighters along some of the new F4F Wildcats. Many of these fighters were destroyed or damaged in the first raids on the island by Japanese fighters.
As we go back to Waldron and his men who were now lining up for their attack they were immediately attacked by the Japanese fighters miles before they were close enough to the fleet for their offence. Waldron and his fellow aviators were flying low on the water to protect themselves from enemy attacks. This kept the Japanese from flying under the low flying bombers so the Zero’s flew crisscross from left to right back and forth over the Navy planes strafing the aircraft one by one. Some of the Zero’s would fly head on firing at the bombers and some would come in from behind. However the Japanese mostly avoided attacking from the rear to avoid the bombers rear gunners.
But the main attack came from left to right and right to left. The Japanese pilots knew that the rear gunners in the American bombers could not bring their guns to bear on them with this tactic. George was at the end and the last of the squadron and watched the attacking Japanese and their methods on his fellow aviators.
The Japanese first attacked Waldron in an attempt to take out the squadron leader. His Devastator was hit right away. Smoke and flames streamed out of the engine cowling. George watched Waldron's aircraft catch on fire. He painfully watched his leader try to fly on. Flames and smoke erupted in the cockpit with flesh pealing heat shooting up his Commanders legs. Waldron was forced to unbuckled himself and tried to leave the cockpit as the fire from the engine flared into the cabin driving him from his seat.
George saw Waldron grab the top of the windshield pulling him self up from his seat and throw one leg out and a foot on the wing of his TBD in an attempt to escape. It appeared that Waldron’s rear gunner Horace Dobbs was at his station with his guns firing apparently unaware of what was going on with his commander. Maybe the electronics in Waldron’s plane were damaged and he couldn’t talk to Dobbs.
George knew that
Waldron would never survive jumping from the aircraft from only twenty feet or
so above the water going 120 mph. The aircraft’s control stick was unattended
and the smoking and burning bomber started to wobble. George watched his
commander try to escape the fire, when the wingtip of the plane hit the water
sending his commander and the aircraft into a cartwheel with the sea swallowing
up his leader. George and the rest of the squadron flew over his aircraft as it
settled into the water.
George being at the rear had a front row seat to the death of his squadron mates before him. One plane went down and then George watched another blow up. Some cart wheeled and some did a half roll and hit the water on their back.
Bullets rained on the advancing brave bomber crews. George and the other pilots were trained to fly straight and level to give the rear gunner a steady platform to defend the aircraft from. The gunner could not be effective if the bomber was weaving back and forth. This would prove to be a fatal tactic in the over whelming odds they found themselves in. George soon felt the hammer strikes of enemy bullets hitting his aircraft.
Gay's rear gunner had been trying his best to fend off the pursuant Japanese but he heard Bob on the intercom say that he had been hit and his gun fell silent. George was concerned with his gunner and repeatedly called back to him. George looked around to see Harrington slumped over. When George looked back the aircraft that was in front of him was gone.
One by one George watched each of his squadron mates that he had trained with for the last six months die as their aircraft exploded or cart wheeled into the sea. George wiggled and weaved his aircraft to avoid the oncoming enemy fighters.
The TBD did have a forward firing .30 caliber machine gun and George was able to hit two of the Japanese fighters as they flew by ahead of his bomber. George realized that he was now the only one left of his squadron. With all his efforts to avoid the enemy gunfire he repeatedly felt his aircraft shudder from incoming slugs. George could actually feel bullets slam into the rear of his new armored seat followed by bullets going past his head shattering the front canopy and instrument panel. George still was able to concentrate on the approaching Japanese carrier that was filling his field of vision.
While lining up his target, one of the enemy carriers, a bullet struck George. The bullet lodged in his arm and he grabbed the wound and squeezed as hard as he could. George told me the pain was intense and then num. George was squeezing his arm to tightly that the bullet backed out of his mussel into George's hand. Having nowhere to put the bullet he shoved the blood-covered bullet into his mouth because he wanted to save it for a souvenir.
George was not only able to fly, evade, and track his target, but he could also think things through like saving the bullet and what he was going to do after he released his torpedo. All this was happening so quickly yet George was able to focus. This separates the pro from the amateur. Even though George was an amateur, he was a natural warrior. To fight and think, that combination is hard to come by. Some of his fellow pilots that he watched die had panicked. And yes, they died because they were completely out numbered, but George commented to me that he saw some of them make mistakes. Many of the TBD’s had been damaged by enemy fire to a point that skill could not have saved them. Parts of their control surfaces had been shot away.
George was now close enough to the carrier that the Zero’s had broken away from the fight to avoid the anti-aircraft fire form the carrier. George had no choice but to concentrate on lining up the carrier, which meant that he had to fly straight, level, watch his speed and altitude. George felt he had all things lined up for hitting the carrier as he pulled the lever to release his torpedo.
George personally told me as I sat across from him at his home in Marietta Georgia that he doesn’t know if his torpedo dropped or not. Strange as this may sound and no matter what he ever told anyone else he confided in me he could not tell because at this exact moment he started jockeying his aircraft around to avoid being hit by enemy fire.
His bomber was already being knocked around by exploding rounds hitting near him and in the water around him. A typical defensive tactic of a ship was to fire into the water ahead of a torpedo bomber to deflect it, damage it, or drop it with the geyser of water that would erupt from the cannon fire. George had now seen, avoided, and dodged these geysers for the last couple of miles as he approached the carrier.
As George approached the enemy carrier all the guns on the side of the ship were firing at him. George was very close to the carrier. Too close. George was not taking the fire works and geysers as a welcome. He kept his bomber close to the water because the closer he got to the carrier the harder it was for the defensive gunners to hit him. He knew that the guns from the ship could only be directed down so far so at the last couple hundred yards to the carrier they were unable to fire at him at all.
This was another brief moment that George was able to think and fight. He knew that he was going to have to pull up and fly over the carrier, which would then give the guns on the other side of the ship a shot at him. George knew that if one of the gunners on his side of the ship didn’t hit him he would only be giving the guns on the other side a shot at him.
If George had gone straight he would have hit the carrier half way between the water line and the deck just 30 yards from the tip of the bow. At the last minute he pulled up and kicked his rudder hard left and changed directions. George found himself flying down the carrier deck from the front towards the stern, or towards the rear of the carrier. George had already calculated that this was his best chance of escape since the guns on the stern were far fewer than along the other side.
George looked down on the deck of the Japanese carrier. He was just barely high enough to keep from hitting the tails of the Japanese aircraft that were on the deck being armed and fueled for combat.
He watched the Japanese deck crews run, duck, and leap for safety as George flew over them. George told me that a little voice in his head told him that if he just pushed his stick forward and crashed into the carrier deck filled with aircraft and munitions he would take out this carrier himself. He said he listened but ignored the idea. As George flew off the end of the carrier he turned his head to look back and said out loud, "I'll be back!"
However as George cleared the Japanese carrier and flew among the enemy cruisers and destroyers a Zero that was following him fired into his holed aircraft. An incoming 20mm shell came past George’s head and over his right shoulder and blew out the floor of the cockpit destroying his rudder pedals barely missing blowing off his feet. George was low over the water to avoid the fire from the other ships around him. The TBD was giving up. A fire had started in the engine and was entering the cabin. The heat was unbearable and he though of Waldron. George cut power and pulled the nose up so the plane panned into the water and quickly started to sink as George unbuckled himself getting ready to bail out.
He had hit the water hard and the canopy that was opened had slammed shut. As the water started to rise George beat on the canopy to open it. Once the water got up to his chin George panicked and stood up so hard and so fast that he broke through the canopy. He immediately tried to save his gunner Huntington but found him quite dead. With his bomber sinking and the Japanese Navy firing on him he scrambled out but lost the bullet he was holding in his mouth.
George found himself floating in the middle of the Japanese Navy! He pulled a black seat cushion that floated free of the sinking airplane over his head. He kept his life jacket and his inflatable raft under him and dared not deploy them, which would make him a target for the Japanese. He hid his head in an attempt to hide from the guns that were still trying to kill him.
This was about the same time that the torpedo squadron from the Enterprise VT-6 was lining up for an attack on the Japanese fleet. The squadron was flying the TBD like the one’s George’s VT-8 flew. Unfortunately VT-6 received the same reception that VT-8 had encountered. They too were all shot down with only two bombers returning to the Enterprise. Both aircraft were totally destroyed arriving with only three of the four aircrew alive, the rest wounded or in shock. The attack was repelled.
The Japanese were victorious. They had repelled every attack from the American aircraft from Midway and now had wiped out two entire torpedo squadrons from two different American carriers. The Japanese were now as history shows us were in the middle of changing from bombs to attack Midway Island to torpedoes and armor piercing bombes to attack the American fleet.
The Japanese Admiral on the Carrier Flagship watched each attack. He watched as each American aircraft was shot down until all were destroyed with only a few smoldering aircraft fleeing. The Japanese Admiral commented on how brave the American pilots had been. In his heart he felt the loss of the Americans and their disciplined drive on to attack. Truly a great complement from a fellow warrior.
As George was trying to cover his head and sneak a peek once in a while to watch what was going on. He watched as the Zero fighters started to land to refuel and rearm. As George looked up he witnessed what no other American would ever get to see. Out of the sky he watched as American SBD dive-bombers dropped onto the unsuspecting Japanese carriers. The Japanese were caught off guard because all of their fighters were flying low after shooting down all of the American aircraft. The Imperial Fleet had at that moment no top cover. A sincere mistake.
The Japanese were unaware of the approach of the American bombers. With the Japanese aircraft on the flight decks with bombs, torpedoes, and fuel lines everywhere they were vulnerable. There was no defense from the Zero's and almost no anti-aircraft fire until it was too late. George watched as three of the carriers were turned into infernos. He saw aircraft blown off the decks along with men and machines. The Japanese fleet was consumed with terror. The American bombers flew off.
The Japanese Navy sailed past George several times as he watched the carrier’s burn. He watched other ships trying to rescue crewmembers off the burning ships and from the water. George kept his seat cushion over his head. He definitely did not want to be picked up by the Japanese. Every once in a while explosions would erupt in the burning carriers. George felt the concussions in the water. After the sun started to set the last of the Japanese fleet had drifted away out of his eyesight. He was left him alone in the Pacific Sea.
George was alone. Alone, floating in the middle of the vast Pacific. It had been a beautiful day. And now a beautiful South Pacific sunset. George was injured but his spirit to live was still strong. Salt water stung his wounds but George was sure that an American aircraft would fly over to review the area. Several days later by complete chance George was spotted and picked up by a PBY.
Torpedo Squadron 8 had sacrificed their lives for this victory. If the dive bombers, torpedo bombers and fighters had shown up at the same time like they were exposed to the dive bombers would have had hell to pay with the Zero's and the anti-aircraft fire. The Americans may have hit one or two of the Japanese carriers, but the defenders would have drawn their blood.
George was the sole survivor of Torpedo Squadron 8 from the carrier Hornet. After a brief recovery the Navy department offered George any cozy job he wanted, but he insisted on going back into combat.
George flew many missions in the TBF Avenger up and down the "Slot" dropping tons of bombs on enemy targets until his tour was over and he was sent back to the States.
George Gay was my hero as a boy. I knew his story from Junior High School onward. He was the first in my series and the first aviator I interviewed. When I called him a hero he quickly but politely corrected me. He said that he was doing his job. He continued to say that the real heroes were the ones that fell to the enemy on June 4, 1942.
I had planed my series of “Famous American Aviators” for a year and I wanted George to be my first. It took me six months of making phone calls to locate him. He lived in Marietta, Georgia just north of Atlanta. In my trips back and forth to visit him I had to drive through Atlanta morning rush hour traffic and back through the afternoon rush hour traffic. There are not enough four-letter words to describe the drivers in the Atlanta area.
I met with George on several occasions and he agreed to work with me on this project. His health was bad. After I got the print finished, I drove up to meet with him. He signed prints for about two hours that afternoon and then he needed to rest. I left and drove back to Jacksonville Florida. The trip was eight hours one way but we had plenty of time or so I thought.
I came back the next week and George met me at the door. He did not look very well at all. He said he was not feeling well and could I come back tomorrow. I did not want to go back so I spent the night in the local town.
The next morning
George signed prints for two hours. We talked and I enjoyed interviewing him. I
could not ask him enough questions. As I left I told George that I will see him
again next week. George was checked into the hospital several days later and he
passed away soon thereafter. George had his last wish granted when his wife
poured his ashes into the sea where his fellow aviators gave their lives many
years ago as they turned the tide of the war.
All research, writings and artwork are by Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette.
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Sir. Ernie Hamilton Boyette
904-282-4198
Started 2-9-07