The first flight left early the next morning. It was “show time.” We were about to drop bombs on military installations, ships and factories. Several days later, we rendezvoused again with the rest of the fleet about 200 miles off the coast of Japan. On occasion, a jazz band played up there. There was one on board, in a cubicle on side of the hanger deck, but it was locked up. At one point, I was plunking on a mandolin that someone had brought aboard and it made me miss the piano, terribly. We played a lot of cards (pinochle), chess, poker, etc. Yet, needless to say, there were not many ship hands who would have traded places with us. So until it was our time to go on a mission, we had nothing to do but sit and wait. We had a short liberty in Honolulu, and the next morning headed west for an unknown destination.Īs a squadron, we had no special duties aboard the ship. It is about 2,600 miles to Hawaii, so at 33 knots (38 mph) it took us just under three days to travel there.

We were filled with pride but also apprehension as to what might lie ahead. 24 and slowly made our way under the Golden Gate Bridge on the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill. After two years of schools, training and flying all over Jacksonville, Fla., San Diego and Santa Rosa, Calif., in both SBD Dauntless and SB2C Helldiver dive bombers, I was finally heading out for sea duty. For his service, Schmeling was awarded several air medals and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Here he recalls a period of six months during the war that included a kamikaze attack on his ship, the USS Bunker Hill. Navy’s Squadron VB-84 during World War II. Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close MenuĮditor’s note: Bill Schmeling of Elizabeth, now 85, was a gunner in the U.S.

Helldivers boom 2