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 Joseph
Raymond Sarnoski, enlisted in 1936, was rated an aircraft observer, bombardier
at Lowry Field, Colorado on 5 April 1940. He was the bombardier in
B-17E-BO-41-2666 Lucy assigned to the 65th BS, 43rd BG at a jungle base in New
Guinea called Dobadura. The pilot of Lucy was Jay Zeamer and he and his seven
man crew (known locally as the "Eager Beavers") had a reputation of
being, well, different. They were a wild bunch on occasion, and would volunteer
for the worst possible missions in any and all weather, day or night. Nothing
could keep them on the ground.
Lucy
was not a standard E model B-17. Zeamer had found the wreck in Australia and he
and his crew modified it into a gunship-replacing old 30-caliber guns with 50s;
installing double 50s in the waist and radio positions and another .50 in a hole
in the belly cut just forward of the tail wheel. Both the bombardier and the
navigator had their own .50 in the nose, and another one was mounted on the
decking of the ship, pointing forward, and was fired by the pilot. Extra
.50's were carried on board to quickly replace jammed weapons. Zeamer's B-17
bristled with fire power. They would soon need it. On 24 May 1943 Joseph
Sarnoski was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant, Army of the United States.
Back row: Bud Thues, Jay Zeamer, Hank Dominski, Joe Sarnoski
Front: Vaughn, George Kendrick, Able, Herbert Pugh
On
16 June 1943 Zeamer and his crew volunteered for a photographic mission to Buka
and Bougainville Islands. Bougainville was next on the invasion list and the
Marines and Army had to know where the enemy air opposition was coming from, how
long were their runways, and whether they could launch bombers against the
assault forces. The 600-mile flight northeast to Buka was a milk run and Sgt.
George Kendricks, the photographer and ninth man on board, hadn't quite
completed taking all his pictures when the ball turret gunner saw the streaks of
dust on the fighter strip on Buka:
"Belly
gunner to pilot. Here they come, sir. ! make out at least ten fighters in the
air. They're climbing for us."
Joe
Sarnoski at his bombardier's position in the nose of Lucy was operating the
vertical camera switches and assisted the navigator (Lt. Ruby Johnson) monitor
drift, airspeed, altitude and other factors bearing on successful photo mapping.
The following account is taken directly from the June 1990 issue of Crosshairs
Newsletter:
About
0700 hours, as later determined from the camera log maintained by Sgt. Kendricks,
Buka airstrip was photographed and revealed that 21 fighters were taxing or
taking off at that time. Ball turret gunner SGT Forrest Dillman notified
the crew by interphone that he could see fighters scrambling from the airstrip.
At
07:40, about three-quarters through their runs, pilot Zeamer recalled that they
counted 15 single engine Zero and 2 twin-engine Dinah fighters closing on them
from below and behind. By the time the fighters had climbed and nearly
attained the Fort's
25,000 foot altitude, there were only a few minutes remaining for completion of
the assigned mission.
Tail
gunner Sgt. Herbert "Pudgy" Pugh and ball turret gunner Dillman put up
such an effective screen of fire that the fighters moved from their range to
form for a coordinated attack on "Lucy's" nose....only scant minutes
remained for the recce part of the mission to be fulfilled!
From
experience the Eager Beavers had developed a defensive tactic against two-air-craft
frontal attacks. This procedure had proven successful on several previous
occasions. It worked thusly Pilot Zeamer would watch for a give-away sign
that the lead fighter was turning to the attack. When this was observed, by the
time he rolled out for his needed few seconds of 'aiming' run, the aggressor
pilot found himself directly confronted by the B-17 which Zeamer had turned!
This
not only added an element of surprise against the attacker, but shortened the
time he would have to align and fire his fixed armament. When the fighter turned
to the outside to avoid collision or the withering fire from the added guns in
"Lucy's" nose, he exposed his belly to raking fire of first the bombardier
or the navigator, depending on which way he broke, and then had to run the
gauntlet of fire from the upper-turret (or) appropriate waist and ball turret
gunners.
Thus
it was that three not two - Zeros formed for a frontal attack which obviously
was to 6e coordinated with a .simultaneous attack by two fighters from the rear.
This change to three called for quick change in the old "squeeze play"
defense tactic. Sarnoski was to fire on the Zero at the left, or 10
o'clock, position, Zeamer to take the head-on, or 12 o'clock gent, and Johnson
would handle the right or two o'clock attacker.
"Lucy"
shook violently as all forward guns erupted as the attack began. Sarnoski' s
opponent got off the first successful round. His 20mm shell exploded in the nose
as Joe's tracers were seen ripping into the Zero! As Joe was hammered backwards
from the flying shrapnel, mortally wounded, he saw the Zero disintegrate in a
fiery ball of smoke and flame. Joe managed to stagger back to his gun position
and resume firing as Zeamer held "Lucy" on course to complete the
photo assignment. Johnson managed to keep his opponent from putting accurate
fire into the B-17. Zeamer kicked rudder to aim for the center attacker and
touched the firing button on the control yoke. All saw fire and smoke erupt,
spewing from this Zero as it flashed by. Zeamer's opponent was later
determined to be Yoshio Ooki of the Buka based 251st Squadron. Japanese reports
revealed that he managed to nurse his stricken aircraft back to base, land and
rejoin the fray in a backup Zero.
Although
Ooki had been hit, he too managed to get off an effective 20mm round. His shell
ripped into the rudder (pedal) area, exploded and seriously wounded pilot Zeamer
in his thighs and legs. He was unable to make rudder corrections thereafter.
With
the recce part of the mission achieved, Zeamer decided it was time to try and
evade his swarming antagonists. Unable to use his legs, he called on co-pilot
Johnny T. Britton to assist him in making a sharp, diving turn.
As
the turn began, a twin-engine Dinah fighter zoomed up from below to press home
the attack on a Fort with a crippled nose! He didn't consider Joe Sarnoski who
was still pulling his weight. Joe caught him in his sights and according to
Zeamer, flamed him for kill number two for the day.
When
"Lucy" leveled out at I0,000 feet, where the crew wouldn't be affected
by the loss of their oxygen system, the Japs lined up in trail to continue
pounding Lucy from the front. Only through skillful coordinated tactics between
the pilot and crew were they able to down two more fighters and damage two
others before finally seeing the enemy withdraw from low fuel.
Tail
gunner "Pudgy'' Pugh came forward to help administer aid to the wounded and
dying Joe Sarnoski. Pudgy held Joe iri his arms and watched the flow of life ebb
from him for about two hours.
Bombardier
Joseph Sarnoski was the only crew member to die on the mission. Of the other
eight only co-pilot Britton, tail gunner- Pugh, and ball turret gunner Dillman were
not wounded. Pilot Zeamer recovered from inter-mittent unconsciousness
sufficiently to land the Fort at Dobadura, New Guinea, the first available
Allied landing site.
Sarnoski
was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. Zeamer also received the MOH and
the remaining seven crew members received the Distinguished Flying Cross.
This is believed to have been the only instance to date where all individuals of
the same crew have been awarded Medals of Honor.
Joseph
Sarnoski is buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl).
Honolulu, Hawaii.
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MEDAL OF
HONOR
