Henry M. Blanchard II, 2nd Lieutenant, Army Air Corps

For a very long time, I have been trying to find some information on my dad's first cousin, Henry M. Blanchard II, whose bomber was shot down over the South Pacific during WWII. Through some websites that I came across recently, I found his squadron, rank and date of death and the placement of a monument in Manila, Phillipines

Today, I came across the above picture, which shows my cousin, Mac, third from left on the top row, with the rest of the crew. The man to his left, the reader's right, is the captain of the bomber. Its hard to believe I could find such information. I am still looking for additional information.

The bombers were apparently coordinating bombing runs over Palua, where a Japanese airstrip was located. MY cousin's plane was shot down over Palau on August 25, 1944. There were no survivors and the bodies were not found. This has been a source of mystery for the family ever since.

December 9, 1941

Imagine what Pearl Harbor was like on December 9, 1941. I am sure the ships that had been hit and damaged by the attack were still smoldering in the harbor. The local surviving populace was probably still in a state of shock. At that point, most of the population of the mainland in the United States was aware of the damage in Pearl Harbor and the surrounding air bases. The attacks on the Phillipines were in full swing and we were battling to save our territories in the South Pacific from the Japanese.

I read a book which was a diary of a young man from Winder, Georgia named Rocky Gause. He was assigned to act as a radar operator, even though few people really knew anything about operating radar. When the attack occured in Manila, he and his buddy headed up to the mountains above Manila to take their posts and were ultimately captured by the Japanese invaders. Later, they escaped the Bataan Death March and ultimately made it to Australia. Its an amazing book and I highly recommend it.

Rocky Gause wanted to be a fighter pilot. Later in the war he died in a training mission. It was ironic that after making such an amazing escape from the occupied Phillipines he ultimately died in a fluke.

My dad had a first cousin named Henry McKoy "Mac" Blanchard. Mac grew up in Chattanooga and attended McCallie School in Chattanooga. Later, he attended a year at the University of Florida before he enlisted in the Army Air Corp during World War II. He was a Navigator/Bombadier in a bomber stationed in the Pacific. Growing up I knew that his plane crashed and he was not found, but no one knew much beyond that.

On December 7th, I was able to look up some military records on Cousin Mac and found some information on him. He was a liuetenant in the Army Air Corp. His plane was shot down on August 25, 1944. He remains missing. However, there is a monument to him and the other members of his crew at Fort McKinley in Manila. I would like to visit that site some day. I have never had much of a desire to visit the Phillipines, but I wouldn't mind visiting for that purpose some day.

I was born five days and fifteen years after Pearl Harbor. I understand that the USS Enterprise returned to Pearl on the 12th of December, 1941. I can only imagine what they found when they returned.

Recuscitation

Between driving up and back to Ballground for a closing on Friday evening, working in the yard on Saturday and driving back and forth between Griffin and Dunwoody on Sunday, come Monday morning I was tuckered. I did not get much sleep on the night before and was not very awake on Monday morning when I was driving Cindy to Southern Crescent Technical College.

Afterward, I had to drive over to Office Max to drop off a closing package for delivery to the lender. When I got there there was a young mother and her toddler son, who appeared to have had some type of surgery, as he had a tube coming out of his mouth. As the mother waited for the clerk to make copies and ring up the sale, the little boy walked around staring at the world of Office Max.

Finally, his eyes lit on my face and I smiled down at him. At the receipt of my smile, the little boy came forward and hugged me around the knees. It happended so quickly and not many of the people in the store seemed to notice. It did make my morning and allowed my world to rescusitate from the slumber in which it had been travelling up to that point.

Fall and Winter coming

After a long weekend in the mountains above Blue Ridge, waking up to the sun rising orange over the mountains and the fog rising up from the valleys below us, we had just begun to see the leaves turning color on the trees. We drove home on Sunday. The turning of the leaves had been a small part of the enjoyment of our trip.

Then Monday rolled around and the other side of Autumn came to visit: dark, grey clouds and drizzle from morning to sunset. With the exception of Wednesday, we have been covered with grey flannel skies all week and it appears that it will continue at least until sometime tomorrow.

Don't get me wrong. Fall drizzle and clouds have been with me since I was old enough to be aware of the weather. It is part of the season. But on the other hand, I do remember those Autumn afternoons in Virginia when I was in college and the air was cool and dry and the sun reflected off the orange and crimson leaves on the trees around the campus. It was what made the season sublime.

It will only be awhile before we get to that point in late November and early December when the air turns dry again and the leaves have left the trees and you can travel through the world of early Winter and see the dying light of day creating silhouettes with the bare trees and the pines against the western sky. Feeling the warmth from the heater in the car and catching sight of the art of Early December.

It brings me comfort in a comfortless time of year.

October is upon us

The rust of Autumn is attacking the leaves on the dogwoods and maples. Beginning tomorrow or Saturday the high temperatures are supposed to be in the high 70's. Lows should be getting down in the forties. The coolness of the dying year will soon be upon us and we will have those days where the morning is chill, with an afternoon warmth followed by a new chill as the evening brings its darkness. Deutsches bier weather. A good time for flagons of ale and sausages with potatoes and cabbage. A trip to Helen, the ficticious Alpine village in north Georgia. Day dying in the western mountains.

Next weekend we will be traversing up to Blue Ridge for a weekend in the mountains of Union County. Buying fresh apples and apple bread and pumpkins and cinnamon spices in the air. Checking the effect of the passing clouds and the sun on the ridges of the mountains surrounding us. Reading a book in a rocking chair. Chasing the raccoons down the road. The light from the headlights reflecting in the eyes of the possums and other critters.

I have a hard time picking between Spring and Autumn. Then again, there are some wonderful things about Summer and Winter, as well.

September sunshine

The sun is high in the early afternoon sky. Soft fleecy clouds hang in the baby blue above. The humidity which hung heavily in the first part of the week is gone now. The temperature is in the low eighties today. Kate is coming home for the weekend. I am travelling to Columbus this afternoon. I hope to return early enough to eat seafood with Cindy and Kate at Sixth Street Pier. I look forward to the rest of the afternoon and the weekend. Its good to have the whole family reunited.

Tomorrow, Carolyn Jones will be married in the grass behind the Buggs' house. We will eat barbecue and enjoy friends and family. The visit from Kate will be over too soon.

Tripping

I am wishing I could be in Lexington this weekend. Watching football and enjoying the scenery and walking around campus at W&L. Rediscovering old mental photos in the album of my brain. Wishing I could do something to show the value of my education. Enjoying the Virginia.