24 Dec VMF 221
Dearest-- Just a note to let you know that everything is OK and should remain so for a while at least. The original plan didn't go through for some reason or another so we will take over another task of similar nature. They say swimming is better at our new post and that should help break the monotony as I have always said we deserve the very best. Nothing half way for us. If you have been writing, which I am confidant that you have, your letters will catch up with me in a couple or three weeks. It is hard to say how often the mail run will take place, but you have my assurance that you will get your share. By the way, have had my hair cut short. You should see your Daddy, Billy. Will open your presents, wish all of you a Merry Xmas.
Yours forever,
H. W. Bauer
Bauer and VMF 221 arrived at Midway on Christmas day, 1941. After a few weeks of preparing for battle, Bauer -- now a Major -- was recalled to Hawaii to take command of VMF 212, the squadron destined to be the first Marine Fighter Unit to reach the South Pacific.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor in December, 1941, the Japanese ruled the Pacific Basin. In the air they had planes of superior performance, greater numbers, and more pilots with more training. Their Navy boasted a similiar advantage in numbers, training, and support. Their nation was proud, their soldiers zealous, and their military successes seemed unending. Their conquest of the islands in the Pacific continued without defeat to the Southeast. In advancing past the Solomans east of New Guinea into the Coral Sea they met the US Navy and were held off. The Japanese Navy then sent the bulk of its forces toward the island of Midway in the Hawaiian chain. Here they were again repelled, leaving the US and Japanese fleets precariously equal. Air strength was still with the enemy. It would be the Spring of 1942 before the US could gather enough planes and pilots and ground personnel to build a force that could counter the Japanese attackers in a long, arduous war. Until then, the Marines rapidly organized squadrons and set up a command system to try to retake the offensive. Intensive training began at Midway and Ewa Field (pronounced Evva) in order to transform the onslaught of green Lieutenants into combat pilots. Joe was instrumental in these efforts before and after he was transferred to Hawaii for VMF 212 duty.
The next two months will be in Joe's words from his war diary:
"Here we go --
On December 1st, 1941, I was enjoying the serenity around and about Southern California, having been ordered there from the Hawaiian area to form a new VF squadron (VMF-221). I was the Executive Officer of this squadron and well pleased with my duties and especially so with my commanding officer, one V. J. McCaul, and the rest of our pilots.
True, we never doubted for a minute that we would eventually be at war with somebody, but, somehow we felt that it just could't happen till the summer of '42. We also felt quite certain that we were going to be allowed to be with our families for several more months before any emergency might arise to drag us away. The USS Saratoga was scheduled to leave San Diego for Honolulu about 9 Dec. and so far we were not included on her passenger list.
About that time, the lid blew off! We received orders to go to Honolulu on 8 Dec. aboard the USS Saratoga. That gave us exactly one week to get our personal affairs squared away, get our squadron gear together, and get packed. It was a very hectic week, I can assure, and as you no doubt remember, was climaxed by the news that Japan make a surprise attack on Oahu.
We were now at war with the Axis Powers and no foolin! It was no picnic saying goodbye to the wife and kid feeling all the time that I might very readily never see them again.
The USS Saratoga was accompanied by 3 old type Destroyers for our trip to Honolulu and you can believe me when I say they were of little or no comfort to us onboard the Sara. I, for one, expected a big explosion from an enemy torpedo almost continually. We zig-zagged all the way out and were met by a small task force a day or so before arriving -- Now we began to feel a little more safe. The radio aboard the Sara was quite a drawing card. Each news broadcast found a large crowd of wishful thinkers several deep around it. We heard of our ships being torpedoed in the Pacific -- we even heard that the Sara had been sunk.
[Pearl Harbor]
We pulled into Pearl Harbor about 16 Dec. and saw the sight of our lives. We were stunned at the severity of the damage accomplished by the Japs. Imagine seeing 6 or 8 Battleships either capsized or sitting neatly on the bottom of the harbor, 2 or 3 cruisers in the same fix, destroyers and other ships destroyed, hangars burned, and airplane remains littered about like a junk heap.
Needless to say -- the attack on Pearl Harbor was the trickiest, craftiest, most successful attack in Naval history and should rightfully go down as the most horrible defeat from a materiel point of view that any Navy ever suffered. Of course, we give the Japs credit for their cunning plans, their courage in carrying them out, but we can't help resenting the advantage they took of us. They say all is fair in love and war but I for one want the future generations of Americans to feel proud that their forefathers fought clean from the start and kicked the hell out of the dirty little yellow b_______ without striking a single blow below the belt or from behind the other fellow's back.
We heard numerous hair raising stories about the attack and these facts will no doubt find their way into book form sooner or later. When we first set foot on dry land we could hear anything we wanted to listen to -- quite a bit of which could be traced to certain individuals imagination. One thing was certain -- the Japs pulled a real surprise and carried it out practically unopposed. Hence the destruction. It is a shame they got away with it -- but why shouldn't they? We were at peace with Japan and they had envoys in Washington for that purpose -- a perfect set up for just what they did. It will prolong the war and no doubt be the underlying cause of early American setbacks in the Pacific.
[Bound for Wake]
Other news we received upon landing at Pearl Harbor -- namely, that we were to go to Wake, sorta stunned me. I felt very sorry for the Marines at Wake and wanted to go to their aid but at the same time I could see the futility of it all. Wake would fall to the Japs whenever they wanted to make the necessary effort. It could not be protected by our surface vessels due to its distance from Pearl Harbor. We felt the Wake Garrison should be evacuated rather than send more lambs to the slaughter. Wake or any small Pacific Island cannot accomodate the necessary force for self protection. The capture of Wake proved very costly to the Japs largely due to the state of training of its defenders and their never to be forgotten courage.
We left Pearl Harbor aboard the USS Saratoga bound for Wake feeling that we were to be sacrificed but we were determined to do our bit for our country and were proud to be able to serve her even for such a small thing as Wake Island. The general frame of mind then was that we knew it was curtains but we felt a sense of pride in our position for being called on to aid the gallant defenders of Wake and were completely resigned to our fate.
[Midway Duty - Early 1942]
Our task force reached the vicinity of Wake just before the final attacks and then quite by surprise we were ordered to abandon the mission. We were then dropped off at Midway, arriving there on Xmas day. Needless to say the Marines and other inhabitants of Midway considered our arrival as the best Xmas present they had ever received. They knew that if two fighters could accomplish what they did at Wake that there was great possibilities for a complete squadron.
The accomodations at Midway were scarcely what one might call adequate -- so it was several days before we could say that we were settled. When settled we lived in underground shelters of sturdy construction and were quite comfortable living with from four to six pilots per shelter.
[Food and Water]
Our food was never particularly good but our appetites never diminished on that account. The general idea was to eat two meals per day -- one at 0900 and one at 1500. This wasn't a bad set up at all and I don't recall of having heard any complaints. The food itself was adequately composed of starches and this type of menu sticks to the ribs. The water situation wasn't what I'd call encouraging. Fresh water was scarce and had a bad taste due to its storage in wooden tanks and its being transported from one island to the other in metal tanks on barges. Salt water was used for bathing, washing, & flushing of toilets. A heater was finally installed so, before I left, we had hot salt water for showers. (Not too bad for duty in the field!)
[Operations]
Operating conditions are ideal. There is unlimited space for flying, no one to interfere, and a grand airdrome to use. We made regular patrol flights during the day and training flights of short duration for tactical & gunnery practice. I would call Midway an ideal spot to train a new squadron and truly hope to get back there if I draw a full complement of airplanes and new pilots.
The members of our squadron became very familiar what with eating, sleeping, & living inseperable each day. There were no petty dislikes of any kind. A remarkable set up. We held a few practice air-raids to indoctrinate all hands and the results were very encouraging. We felt that if we ever rec'd as much as six minutes warning we could have our Fighters in the air.
We rushed work on airplane shelters and had them quite well protected and dispersed. Camouflage was practically impossible. Any disturbance of the natural landscape or vegetation stood out like a sore thumb. The ground defenses were very good as well as quite adequate. We all had a feeling of security and further felt that the Japs would not be able to capture Midway with less than 2 carriers, 4 cruisers, 8 destroyers, and a landing party of at least 10,000 men. This requires a large number of small boats and several transport and supply vessels.
The pilots of our squadron had to consider themselves on the alert from 0530 to 1800. He could not be anyplace where the sirens weren't audible nor could he be at a distance from his airplane that would not allow reaching it in 2 minutes after an alarm was sounded. A mechanic was with the airplane at all times and it was his duty to start the engine & have the pilot's flight gear ready by the time the pilot arrived. This way -- there was no lost time. The engine requires about 2 minutes to warm up sufficiently for take-off.
I received two good surprises while on Midway. One was concerning my promotion to Major which I didn't expect until the middle of the year. The other was the word to return to Honolulu. Six of the Fighter pilots and 6 of the Scout Bombing pilots received orders to return so naturally there was considerable conjecture over the reason for this change of station. We even let our imaginations get the better of us and thought that we might be going back to the mainland to form new squadrons. Another view point was that we were needed to fill up a Navy Carrier Squadron. Still another was that we might be going to Singapore or Australia. We were really ready for anything but slightly disappointed when we learned we were slated for Johnson or Palmyra. Johnson is even smaller than Midway and certainly less prepared for occupancy.
[Gooney Birds]
I understand there aren't even any Gooney Birds -- which by the way offered untold amusement for us on Midway. These darned birds went through the craziest rituals anyone could imagine. Too bad we couldn't take colored movies of their carryings on. The American public would become hilarious watching them. I have personally stood for several minutes totally absorbed in their antics. As a matter of fact -- all the bird life was a matter of considerable interest. There were quite a few different kinds that frequented the island -- each having its points of interest. The Gooney Bird was especially famous for its comical love making, large quantity present, and their graceful flyings. They would make an almost unlimited supply of "down" for pillows, blankets, mattresses, etc. One has to go a long way to find anything as cute as the newly hatched baby Gooney. It looks like nothing but a ball of fuzz.
[Harassing Attacks]
I can't say that we were never under fire at Midway 'cause we were on three separate occasions after the initial attack on December 7th. In each case the attack was initiated by a single enemy submarine at dusk. He would wait until our patrols had landed -- then would surface and fire about 7 or more rounds. Of course he at no time hit anything or even got the aviators excited and he had no sooner fired about 3 rounds until the shore batteries were throwing 5" shells right back in his lap. The batteries thought they got one of the attackers but I seriously doubt it. On yet another occasion soon after we left a sub surfaced just before two Fighters were about to land. They spotted him, drilled him with 50 cal., and dropped their 100# bombs. They also think they might have got that one.
Oh yes -- there was one more occasion when a scout bomber pilot thought he saw a submerged sub. He dropped his 500# bomb but it didn't explode.
I personally believe that subs are being constructed much more ruggedly than in the last war and that in order to sink one with a depth charge or bomb one must come about twice as close as was necessary in World War I. A lot of aviators have just been kidding themselves if they think they have been sinking subs. I'm thinking their mortality rate is comparitively low. This is a comforting thought what with my Young Brother John going into that branch of the Navy.
I often think how far I've been since the war started and the little action I have experienced. Me thinks the day will come when fate will make up for lost time. Just think -- from San Diego to Pearl Harbor to (near) Wake to Midway and back to Pearl Harbor. As I say -- all I have seen are a few insignificent submarine shellings and two large bombs dropped in Honolulu.
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