66 FlightJournal.com
PIGGYBACK IN A P-38
ThebigP-38musthavebeenquiteasight
totheRomaniantroopsonthegroundasit
mushedintotheairthroughthelineoftrees.
“Ithoughtforaminuteweweregoingtolose
apropandcrash,”saysWillsie,“butwepulled
outofthereandmanagedtostayintheair.”
Andrewsrecallscheckinghiswatchasthey
liftedoff.“Frommytouchdowntoourtakeoff,
theentireeventtookabouttwominutes.”
Onceairborne,Willsieputthenosedown
andgatheredairspeedastheLightningroared
lowovertheheadsofthetroopswhoa
momentbeforehadbeenintentoncatching
them.“IheldusaslowasIcoulduntilwe
wereoutofrangeoftheflakandthenstarted
togainsomealtitude.”WillsieaskedAndrews
foramap,buthedidn’thaveone.Willsietold
himtogetthemapfromhisescapekit.“He
unfoldedaclothmapofSouthernFranceand
discoveredwewereheadedforRussia.”
Theothermembersofthesquadronformedonthenowtwo-seaterP-38andprovided
closeescortastheysetofftocontinuethe
flighttoPoltava,whichwas21⁄2flyinghours
away.Soon,theyranintothunderstorms,and
Willsieflewthroughablindingrainstormthat
batteredtheP-38withtorrentsofwater.Still
atlowlevel,WillsietoldAndrewstowatchthe
groundwhileheleanedhisheadonthepanel
cowlingandflewinstruments.“Wedidn’t
talkmuchontheway,exceptafewwarnings
fromhimthatwewereapproachingahill
andneededalittlemorealtitude,”Willsie
remembered.
OnceatPoltava,Willsiewouldhavetoland
hot,withoutalotofcontrol,andtherewasn’t
goingtobeago-aroundbecausetheywere
practicallyflyingonfumes.Willsiebrought
theP-38inonalong,straightapproachand
droppeditonthemainsontotherunway.
Asheloweredthenosewheel,oneengine
sputteredfromfuelstarvation.“Nobody
thoughttoomuchofitwhenIclimbedout,”
saysWillsie,“buttheywereprettysurprised
whenAndrewspulledhimselfout.”Ground
crewsfoundtreebranchesinthewheelwells
whentheycheckedtheP-38later.
Thenextday,thegrouppublicrelations
officerwantedtorestagetheflightfor
photos.WillsieandAndrewsattemptedto
climbintothecockpitastheyhadbackat
Focsani,buttheycouldn’t.“Wecouldn’tdo
it!”Andrewsrecalled.“Tryaswemight,we
couldn’trememberwhatwehaddone.Ittook
usthirtyminutestofinallygiveup—andit
tookusthirtysecondstodoitthefirsttime!”
AccordingtoWillsie,“IjustsatonDick’slap
forthepictures,butwenevercouldhaveflown
itthatway.”
Wordoftherescuespreadthroughoutthe
ArmyAirForces.OnarrivalbackinItalyon
August7,FlightOfficerAndrewswasmet
byGen.NathanTwining,whoawardedhim
theSilverStarandapromotiontosecond
lieutenantonthespot.Insucceedingmonths,
pilotsofthe15thAFtriedtwicemoreto
affectsuchrescues.“Thesecondtryendedup
withthemcrashingintoahaystack,andit
wasdiscoveredtheywereactuallyinfriendly
territory,onlytheydidn’tknowit,”Willsie
recalls.“Gen.Twininggaveadirectorderthat
nobodywastotryitagain.“Shortlythereafter,
Willsiebecamethe96thFS’sCO.“When
DickAndrewshadtheminimumtimetobe
promotedtofirstlieutenant,alotofpeople
thoughtIwasprejudicedwhenIpromoted
him.Theywereright;Iwasprejudiced!”JIn 1947, with a smiling Mrs.
Andrews at his side, FO
Richard Andrews receives a
Silver Star from former 15th
Air Force CO Lt. Gen. Nathan
Twining. (Photo courtesy of
author)
At that time, a new added
weapon to the P-38 was
rockets carried in pods of
10 and what looks to be a
group of three to the left of
the pod. (Photo courtesy
of Jack Watson via Warren
Thompson)