Rapid City B-29 Man Remembers P-51 Escorts from Iwo Jima

(P-51 Mustang fighters fly over Iwo Jima)

On April 7, 1945, one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific had just been brought under control.  Japanese holdouts were still hidden on Iwo Jima, from which American P-51 Mustang fighters flew for the first time to escort B-29 Superfortress bombers on the long flight from Tinian island in the Marianas to Japan’s home islands.

       Since Iwo Jima was halfway between Tinian and Tokyo, the P-51s were welcomed by B-29 navigator LTC Les Snyder of Rapid City, South Dakota.  Returning from a bombing run from Japan not long after Iwo Jima was secured, Snyder’s shot up and badly burning plane would never have made it back to Tinian.

     Fighting on the island at the time were Marines Loyd Brandt and Jack First, both of Rapid City.  Former SDSMT student and Navy Lieutenant Delbert M. Gerlach had just been there killed there while spotting artillery fire.

      You are invited to hear Vietnam War F-100 Super Sabre fighter pilot, the much decorated Charles Summers, speak on Saturday, April 12 about his three combat tours–at Western Dakota Technical Institute in Rapid City, starting at 9 am.