Valor Friday

I’ve highlighted the bravery of many aviators in this column, but the more research I do, the more incredible stories turn up. Here’s another one.

William Shomo hailed from a small town near Pittsburgh, where he was born in 1918. After high school he attended both the Cincinnati and Pittsburgh Schools of Embalming from 1937-1940. After graduating he worked for a time as a mortician before enlisting with the Army for their aviation cadet program on August 18, 1941.

Shomo received his wings and was assigned to the 82nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, island hopping its way across New Guinea. Tactical reconnaissance squadrons were outfitted with fighters, usually a generation removed from frontline dog-fighting and escort roles, specially equipped to do photographic reconnaissance. They also had a ground attack role.

During Shomo’s first year or so with the squadron they were flying P-39 Airacobras and P-40 Warhawks. Both aircraft pre-dated the war and were by 1943 being replaced with more capable aircraft for the bomber escort missions. Both the P-39 and P-40 lacked the “legs” (range) to serve as more than a recon and close air support aircraft.

In December of 1944 the squadron received a big upgrade. They got the lusty lady of the Air Force’s fighter stable, the P-51D. They got the F-6D version though, which is a D-model P-51 with cameras added to the fuselage (one oblique and one vertical) and a radar directional finder. They were still equipped with the six wing root-mounted .50 caliber machine guns.

On 24 December, Shomo, by now a captain, was placed in command of the squadron. They were ordered to move forward to Mindoro, an island near Luzon, Philippines. They were to support MacArthur’s landing on the northern tip of Luzon at Lingayen Gulf. It was during that landing on January 9 that he led his men into combat for the first time in these new airframes.

As he was coming in to reconnoiter an enemy airfield, he caught a Japanese “Val” dive bomber on final approach, shooting it out of the sky. This was his first “kill” of the war, which was probably pretty exciting since the photo recon guys weren’t expected to be doing aerial warfare.

Shomo received the Distinguished Flying Cross for combat operations that day. He flew at minimum level, repeatedly exposing himself to enemy fire to conduct low level strafing runs. According to the DFC citation he destroyed “one large oil tank, 19 trucks, one sedan, one locomotive, one bomber and three single engine aircraft, four boxcars, three freight and three artillery pieces with horses and accompanying troops, and killed many Japanese out of a detachment of 200 that hid in the ditches along the road. Severely damaged were one truck, sixteen freight cars, and two sedans.”

Flying his F-6D “Snooks 5” (his previous aircraft had all been named Snooks) two days later, he would have the sortie of his life.

January 11, Shomo and his wingman Lieutenant Paul Lipscomb, were flying reconnaissance over several Japanese airfields, headed northerly. They saw a group of several enemy airplanes flying south, 2,500 feet above them. Despite being outnumbered, the airmen performed an Immelman turn (pull back on the stick until you’re upside down and facing the wrong way, then roll the plane back to level) to put them on the same heading and above the enemy warplanes.

They were faced with 11 Japanese Kawasaki Ki-61 “Tony” fighters, one Nakajima Ki-44 “Tojo” heavy fighter, and the Mitsubishi G4M “Betty” medium bomber they were escorting.

The Tony was one of the Japanese military’s most advanced fighters of the war. History (written by the victors of course) says that the P-51 is the superior aircraft, but the two aircraft are comparable in performance and armament. Head-to-head, I’d say the winner of any fight between the two would be the better pilot.

Shomo was definitely the better pilot. As he and his wingman dove into the formation of 13 (thirteen!) enemy aircraft, he held his fire until he was within 40 yards of the enemy aircraft.

The F-6’s six machine guns belching hot lead, Shomo shot down four aircraft in the first pass. I hope he got photos of it, it’d be ironic for a photo recon mission to not bring home some souvenirs. Four kills for the day, his fifth overall. He was now an “Ace” (an aviator with five air-to-air victories).

Coming back up on the formation, he set his sights on the Betty bomber, raking fire across its belly. The bomber caught fire and started to descend to a crash landing. Two of the Tonys escorting it followed to cover it.

Shomo had decidedly lost the element of surprise, and the Tojo heavy fighter pulled up onto his tail. Shomo went into a vertical spiral to gain altitude. The Tojo behind him fired his guns until the aircraft stalled and dropped into the clouds, Snooks 5 unscathed.

Meanwhile, the Betty bomber crash landed and exploded on impact. Shomo’s fifth kill for the day, and his fifth within minutes. This elevated him in the already very exclusive Ace club, to an “Ace in a day.”

The two escorting Tonys broke off the doomed bomber and stayed low. Shomo took one last run at them from above. His aerial gunnery instructors can beam with pride, because Captain Shomo’s aim was true. He downed both of the fighters.

This one man wrecking crew of aerial warfare downed six enemy fighters (more than half the formation) and the bomber they were escorting. Time elapsed? Six (6!) minutes. Only Navy pilot Commander David McCampbell would outscore Shomo’s number of aircraft downed in a single mission (he got nine in one day, but it took longer than a tenth of an hour).

Shomo’s wingman, Lieutenant Paul Lipscomb wasn’t just watching the boss work. He shot down three of the enemy planes in the formation. For those keeping count, that’s a total of ten downed aircraft between just the two pilots. I think they’d have kept going if the remaining three hadn’t disappeared into a couldbank.

Shomo was promoted to major and received the Medal of Honor for his performance that day. His citation notes his “extraordinary gallantry and intrepidity in attacking such a far superior force and destroying 7 enemy aircraft in one action is unparalleled in the southwest Pacific area.”

Lipscomb received the Distinguished Service Cross. His citation notes “ Lipscomb’s unquestionable valor in aerial combat is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.”

Shomo’s F-6, Snooks 5, was destroyed by another pilot. His following plane was briefly “Snooks 6”, but was soon renamed “The Flying Undertaker” by his ground personnel. What a great name for a man formally trained as a mortician and now earning a living sending enemy fighters to their end. The aircraft received a distinctive paint job as well.

During the course of the war, Shomo flew 203 combat missions. He only saw 14 enemy airplanes while flying and destroyed eight of them.

After the war, Shomo remained with the Air Force, being promoted in 1951 to lieutenant colonel. He served in a variety of command billets across the northern United States, Labrador, and finally Thule, Greenland before retiring in 1968. Shomo’s other combat awards and decorations include five Air Medals and three Presidential Unit Citations. He died in 1990 at the age of 72.

Category: Air Force, Army, Historical, Medal of Honor, Valor, War Stories, We Remember