Survival of The Reckless Mountain Boys Crew
The IHRA presents the conclusion to the intense story of The Reckless Mountain Boys… Please follow the story through…
When we last left off, Capt. Byron L. Heichel and his seven surviving crewmembers had reached the shore near their B-17’s crash site. They noticed a crowd of natives had come to see what all the commotion was about, and the crew attempted to communicate with them in Pidgin English to get help moving three of the crewmen who had been severely injured: James E. Etheridge, Kenneth P. Vetter, and 2/Lt. Marcus L. Mangett, Jr. Heichel and his co-pilot, 1/Lt. Berry T. Rucks, Jr. were also injured in the landing (both had been thrown face-first into the instrument panel), although they were able to move on their own two feet.
They had landed near a plantation called Komalu, which was owned by a German named Rudolf Diercke. That day, he and the Japanese overseer, Tadashi Imamura, were inspecting some construction on the plantation when Diercke was told that an American…
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Posted on November 13, 2015, in First-hand Accounts, WWII and tagged 1940's, Air Force, aviation, History, veterans, WW2, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 33 Comments.
Pacific Paratrooper 
Very interesting and sad story. I forwarded on to a friend interested in WWII stories. Thank you. My husband said the Germans were way worse than the Japanese in those camps. And look what these men went thru.
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Not trying to be competitive, but the survival rate was far better in a German camp. I thank you for your interest and for helping to share the memories these troops are leaving behind.
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What a series of frying pans and fires that poor crew had to endure. It is a miracle that any survived at all.
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That my dear sir, is the truth!!
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Great story. What angers me is how the Japanese whitewash the actual history of World War II to their citizens. Most of them have no idea that they actually initiated the war in the Pacific. Their textbooks actually blame the Americans for their attack on Pearl Harbor! They claim that they were “forced” into it by the American government.
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It took a lot to cover this information and here are 2 links of mine you can begin to try and sort it out, if you so desire. Never under-estimate the censorship of ANY country.
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I’ve witnessed it fits hand in Manila. They have lots of Japanese tourists. Several of them denied a bunch of the historical markers at Ft. Santiago calling it American propaganda and lies. I was actually able to re-educate some of them. Whether or not they believed me is doubtful. 😕
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The Japanese Co-Prosperity was first devised in 1938 by idealists, but it was taken over by those exploiting for their own reasons (power, etc.). I believe by grouping everyone together in one group or the other is what causes the confusion we have in looking back 75-90 years.
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Schönes week-end lieber Freund Grüße und Umarmung Gislinde
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Ich bin im Ruhestand. Eine gute Zeit ist mein Job! Danke, Gislinde.
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It was a sad ending for a lot of the crew as it was for many of those captured by the Japanese.
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You said a lot right there in that one sentence. For so many it was the final stage of the war.
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What a great story… The narrator had detailed his story that I am like watching a movie and imagining their predicament. Thanks for sharing this.. 🙂
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Yes, the IHRA did a great job!! With all these compliments they’re receiving, maybe now they’ll know why I was anxious to get the last part of the story!!!
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Thank you! We are flattered. When the first book in the Eagles Over the Pacific series was written (Warpath Across the Pacific), it was done in a way for readers to feel like they were right there with the men. Two more have since been published and there are still others being worked on. We aim to publish all the books at the same high standards as the first three.
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You’re very much welcome! 🙂
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It is a good follow-up, albeit sad. It’s awful to see what are probably moral people do in the name of war.
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VERY true statement, Jacqui. Terrible times do bring out the very bad and best in all of us.
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Thanks for another reblog! (My, that one went up fast.) 🙂
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I was impatiently waiting for it!!
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😀
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Thank you for sharing this!
HUGS and Happy Whee-kend to you and your loved ones! 🙂
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Thank you very much!
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An excellent story, which deserves not to be forgotten. Thank you so much for putting it our way.
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You are more than welcome, John. I thank you for stopping in!
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Great to see this follow-up to the first part of the story. I was jumping the gun when I asked if they got home safe last time! Sounds as if their imprisonment was a tough time indeed.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Don’t worry about jumping the gun, the story still needed to be told. Thank you for stopping in, it must be getting late by you.
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It was before 8 pm, GP. A long time before bed yet, even at my age
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Sorry about that – I had my time-zones wrong — not your age!!!!
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No problem, GP. I find time zones baffling at the best of times!
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Can’t imagine what they must have experienced in the prison camps. Thanks for reading the story.
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I’ve read and heard a lot about those camps – but without ever having gone through it…….
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