The 73rd Bomb Wing was one of five bomb wings assigned to attack Japan. Each of these bomb wings consisted of 100-120 B-29s. The 73rd was the second bomb wing to be formed but the first to be based in the Mariana Islands. The Star Duster was part of the 73rd.
Each bomb wing was a huge organization with hundreds of personnel. Each of the wings had three bomb groups with these further divided into four squadrons of about 10 crews (the Star Duster was in the 870th Squadron which was part of the 497th Group). In addition to the flight crews (eleven men per crew) each plane had its own ground crew of mechanics. There were also specialists who were assigned to maintain various systems in several planes in a squadron. Then there were the personnel working in command, intelligence, photography, weather, ordinance, medicine, food service, etc. An air base was actually a small city.
Training
The men serving in the 73rd came from all over the United States. Some had previous combat experience from serving tours of duty in Europe. Many were newly enlisted. All of them needed training on the new B-29. When the 73rd began its training program B-29s were just rolling off the assembly line, and most planes were going straight into combat with the 58th Bomb Wing in India. This left the 73rd with precious few Superfortresses in its training fleet. A substantial amount of flight training was actually done in B-17s.
Most of the Star Duster's crew were only a year or two out of high school when they joined the Army Air Force. After completing basic training they were evaluated for the jobs they could perform and sent to various specialist schools around the country to learn how to perform their duties on the plane. Toward the end of their training they would come together as a crew and learn to function as a team. When their training was complete they shipped out for Saipan.
Becoming a Crew
The crew of the Star Duster was in some ways a replacement crew. The officers of the crew were among the first to reach Saipan and participated in the first mission against Tokyo on November 24, 1944. The enlisted men were actually en route to Saipan at this time with a different set of officers. Upon their arrival the officers were split up, but enlisted men stayed together and were assigned to another group of officers. They made their first mission together on December 3, and flew together during their entire tour of duty. This is an amazing feat given the number of planes destroyed and the number of individual crewmen wounded or killed on a mission even though their planes made it home safely. Their plane, the one they named the Star Duster, arrived a few weeks later. They would fly 21 of their missions in this "ship."
Life on Saipan
Saipan was, and still is, a tropical paradise. However, the island had been through a fierce battle by the time the 73rd arrived so practically all of Isley Field was newly built. The city of Garapan with the majority of the local Chamorro people was at the opposite end of the island. Airmen flying missions against Germany from Great Britain in B-17s (as depicted in the film Memphis Belle) had ample opportunity to get passes off base to fraternize with the British people. The airmen of the 73rd, as well as those in the other four bomb wings, being on small, remote islands really had no where to go and nothing to do whenever they got permission to leave base other than a little sightseeing of battle damaged countryside.
Isley Field (now the Saipan International Airport) had been a Japanese airstrip at the southern end of the island before the Battle of Saipan. When the area was secure the Seabees quickly moved in to lengthen the runway, pave a second runway, and build all the necessary structures to support the air base. Within a matter of weeks an array of Quonset huts were erected to house personnel, offices, infirmaries, mess halls, supply depots, and shops. Living conditions were primitive, but far nicer than moving from one foxhole to another. For entertainment there was the beach, baseball fields, and the oil drum theater (an outdoor theater with oil drums for seats) which featured movies and talent shows.
Air Raids
The 73rd was subject to Japanese air raids during its early time on Saipan. These attacks were launched from Iwo Jima and would come to an end when that stronghold fell into American hands. Saipan happened to be under attack when the enlisted men of the Star Duster crew were en route to the island. They were diverted to Guam for an unexpected layover until the raid was over. When they finally got to Saipan they could see a couple of B-29s still smoldering on their hardstands. Quite a welcome to a war zone.
When the air raid sirens sounded everyone scrambled for cover on the cliffs going down to the beach. The Japanese usually attacked with Bettys (the Mitsubishi G4M — a twin-engine bomber) and concentrated on destroying the planes on the ground. It was the job of the ack-ack (anti-aircraft) guns and the P-47 fighters to defend the island. While several B-29s were damaged or destroyed in air raids the majority of personal injuries sustained were cuts and abrasions from coral rock as soldiers ran for cover in the dark.
Tour of Duty
These soldiers and airmen were on Saipan to fight a war. Their main objective was to conduct bombing raids against the Empire of Japan. When they first arrived a tour of duty was considered the completion of 25 missions. This would be increased to 30 and again to 35 missions before the spring of 1945 was over. Those who started under the rules of a shorter tour of duty were not "grandfathered in," and were disappointed to learn that the Army moved the finish line on them twice.
At first Japanese resistance over the targets was very high. When the 73rd was fighting from the Marianas alone casualties were very high. The airmen got to the point where they did not want to make friends with the replacement crews that arrived because they had watched helplessly over a target as planes in their formation would be hit. It became an all to common and tragic sight to watch their friends would wave goodbye before falling into Japanese hands or to their deaths. As the damaged plane would fall away everyone would hope to count eleven parachutes in spite of the unpleasant fate of becoming a prisoner of war.
By January 1945 casualties were so high that it was statistically improbable any crew would live to complete their tour of duty and go back home. This all changed when General Curtis LeMay assumed command of B-29 operations and changed strategies from high altitude, precision bombing to low altitude, nighttime, fire bombing. This new strategy was one factor that allowed the crew of the Star Duster to beat the odds and be on their way home by June of that year.
Decorations for Service
All of the members of the Star Duster's crew received decorations for their service with the 73rd Bomb Wing. Each man received a Good Conduct ribbon as well as the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign ribbon which denoted their theater of service. They were also awarded the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
After the War
When the war was over all of the crew of the Star Duster returned to their various homes and civilian life. Some kept in contact with each other, some did not.
In the 1970s several men who served in the 73rd Bomb Wing organized the 73rd Bomb Wing Association. They held their first reunion in 1976 and have held one at various locations around the United States ever since. In 1981 they even returned to Saipan for a reunion. These reunions give veterans and legacy members alike a chance to visit, share war stories, and peruse memorabilia belonging to the Association.
