Page 34 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2020- Online Magazine

Andy Winnegar
66 Combat Missions

as told to Jane Bromley

fire was subjected to Following are excerpts from his
extreme dangers in flight log:
the performance of his
duties. In addition, June 15, 1944:
he rendered valuable D-Day on Saipan, and the USS
aid to his pilot and White Plains flight deck swarmed
observer by his own with air crews scrambling to get
careful observations. fighters and bombers in the air.
Throughout, his (Ed. Note: Fighters could take
courageous devotion to off from the deck, but the larger
duty in the successful torpedo bombers had to be
completion of these catapulted.)
missions reflected great At 0900 we launched from the
credit upon himself catapult and were over the invasion
and the United States forces minutes later.
Naval Service.” Assisting Capt. Gatlin gave me the
additional duties of copying Shackle
It only took the US Code, using the K-20 camera,
Navy 73 years to get throwing out leaflets and assisting
those medals to him, in spotting naval gun fire. My pilot
but a presentation Lt. Owens and I, along with two
ceremony was finally other crews, had “volunteered”
held in 2017. for these missions, which were
t has been 76 years since considered hazardous duty, due to
Andy Winnegar flew on Andy was born, at home, in the flying low and slow over enemy
I66 combat missions during Missouri Ozarks to James and positions.
WWII, supporting the invasions Ellen Winnegar and graduated The battle for Saipan ended on
of Saipan, Tinian, Palau, Ulithi from Thomasville High School July 9th, and we headed back to
and the Philippines. He was in 1942. He was 17 when he Eniwetok for supplies.
awarded a Distinguished Flying enlisted in the Navy on July
Cross and seven Air Medals 23, 1942. Boot Camp was at July 24, 1944:
for his service. A citation in Great Lakes Naval Training D-Day Tinian – We landed on
December 1944 signed by Station, and he attended Saipan at dawn and picked up Capt.
Admiral Chester Nimitz reads: Shipboard Radio School, Gatlin. We were over the beach on
Aviation Radio, Aviation Radar Tinian at 0700, and it was being
“For meritorious and efficient and Naval Gunnery Schools. pounded. Thirty minutes later, the
performance of duty as radioman of He was assigned to Composite first wave started in. They were
a torpedo-bomber during the period Squadron VC-4 at Sandpoint landing on two adjacent beaches.
15 June to 1 July 1944. During Naval Air Station, Seattle, WA. Then I remembered, I was supposed
this period, Winnegar, while The young sailor left San Diego to record this, and I grabbed the
participating in aerial flights, aboard the USS White Plains on K-20 and started taking pictures. It
carrying an Air Liaison Observer, April 24, 1944, and a month later was obvious we were not taking the
flying at low altitudes and joined an invasion force headed casualties we did on Saipan.
at slow speeds, in the face of for Saipan.
concentrated enemy anti-aircraft

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