by Adam Makos
“Perhaps we will have to get”: “New Year, New Chance,” New York Times, Jan. 1, 1950.
CHAPTER 12
“an armed attack against one”: North Atlantic Treaty Organization, The North Atlantic Treaty (Washington, D.C.: NATO, 1949). Official Texts, Dec. 9, 2008, www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/official_texts_17120.htm.
CHAPTER 13
“Little Stalins”: Anne Applebaum, Iron Curtain (New York: Anchor, 2012).
“An iron curtain has descended across”: John L. Gaddis, The Cold War (New York: Penguin, 2005).
CHAPTER 14
“could be pulled through a wedding ring”: “Jul 5, 1946: Bikini Introduced,” This Day in History, The History Channel, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bikini-introduced.
“Hey, hurry up so we can”: William H. Koenig, “On Jesse’s Wing,” 2007, MS.
CHAPTER 19
“police action”: William L. Miller, Two Americans: Truman, Eisenhower, and a Dangerous World (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012).
CHAPTER 21
The Leyte had just steamed 4,700: One of Fighting 32’s newest pilots, Bill Wilkinson, remembered how the squadron ferried their Corsairs from Norfolk airfield to the Leyte: “We parked for about an hour, then taxied 1.5 miles through the naval base streets to the Leyte pier. Police blocked traffic for us as we flapped our wings over stop signs, etc. We folded our wings at the dock and a crane lifted our Corsairs aboard.”
Not a minute later, Dad: The veterans still remember the hotel with disdain. The author has chosen to withhold the hotel’s name out of respect for the present-day employees who have no ties to this incident.
CHAPTER 23
“The United States Government”: Henry B. Lieberman, “Chou Brands U.S. China’s Worst Foe.” New York Times, Oct. 1, 1950.
CHAPTER 24
“All I see is a white helmet”: Koenig, “On Jesse’s Wing.”
“If I have to bail out”: Ibid.
CHAPTER 25
“Enemy flak isn’t very accurate”: Charles L. Black, “Briefing Off Wonsan.” Flying, Feb. 1951.
CHAPTER 26
“Bean soup with crackers, grilled beef”: Charles L. Black, “A Carrier Goes to War.” Flying, Dec. 1950.
“I believe that formal resistance”: Substance of Statements Made at Wake Island Conference on 15 October 1950, compiled by General of the Army Omar N. Bradley.
CHAPTER 27
Sasebo had once been an Imperial: During WWII, Sasebo was home to a Japanese POW camp that held 245 American prisoners, mostly civilians captured on Wake Island. The POWs were forced to build a dam in the mountains, during which 113 perished.
“Never hoppon, Joe!”: Jack Sauter, Sailors in the Sky (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2011).
CHAPTER 28
“volunteers”: Paul M. Edwards, Korean War Almanac (Almanacs of American Wars) (New York: Facts on File, 2006).
“stragglers”: P. K. Rose, “Two Strategic Intelligence Mistakes in Korea, 1950,” Studies in Intelligence (2001), CIA Library, Center for the Study of Intelligence, Apr. 14, 2007.
“I’ll be careful”: Lawrence Elliott, “Widows of Honor,” Coronet, Sept. 1953.
“Gentlemen, you may soon be fighting”: Bud Hannings, The Korean War: An Exhaustive Chronology, vol. 1 (Jefferson: McFarland, 2007).
“will reverberate around the world”: Ibid.
CHAPTER 29
“Our naval pilots have been given”: Malcolm W. Cagle and Frank A. Manson, The Sea War in Korea (Annapolis: Naval Institute, 1957).
His record was intact: A day later, Wilkie would write to his parents about the mission while camouflaging the reason he didn’t drop his bomb, for fear that the skipper might read his mail. “My bomb didn’t release,” Wilkie wrote, “don’t think I pressed the pickle [button] hard enough. God that made me mad….I didn’t have the guts to drop it on the city as I went by. I just can’t bomb or shoot at something that isn’t military. I’d probably have killed 50 innocent people that didn’t want this war in the first place….”
CHAPTER 30
a lieutenant named Tarshinov: Leonid Krylov and Yuriy Tepsurkaev, Soviet MiG-15 Aces of the Korean War (Oxford: Osprey, 2008).
“bridgehead”: “Letter from Feng Xi (Stalin) to Kim Il Sung (via Shtytkov),” Oct. 8, 1950, History and Public Policy Program Digital Archive, Archive of the President, Russian Federation.
“hug the enemy”: Patrick C. Roe, The Dragon Strikes (Novato: Presidio, 2000).
“First Phase Offensive”: Eric M. Hammel, Chosin: Heroic Ordeal of the Korean War (New York: Vanguard, 1981).
“Second Phase”: Ibid.
Now the U.S. 8th Army: The forces of democracy called their attack the “Home by Christmas Offensive.” It lasted just a day and covered roughly fifteen miles before enemy resistance brought it to a standstill.
“There’s nothing special about me”: “Last Days of a Navy Pilot,” Ebony.
“He’s one of the best pilots”: Ibid.
DIEU ET PATRIA: Pilot Lee Nelson designed ’32’s patch and chose the words “Dieu et Patria.” The words were half-French and half-Latin in tribute to the squadron’s cruise with the Dancing Fleet.
“The key to Jesse’s popularity”: “Last Days of a Navy Pilot,” Ebony.
CHAPTER 32
“Maybe we’ll see a saber tooth tiger”: Patrick K. O’Donnell, Give Me Tomorrow (Cambridge: Da Capo, 2010).
CHAPTER 33
the cold had contorted: The army’s preeminent WWII historian, General S.L.A. Marshall, was recalled for duty in Korea. He’d later conclude: “The fighting at the Chosin Reservoir was the most violent small unit fighting in the history of American warfare.” Tony Perry, “Remains of Camp Pendleton Marine Killed in Korean War Identified,” Los Angeles Times, Aug. 10, 2013.
CHAPTER 35
“There has always been active”: Gaddis, Cold War.
Pilot has been seen: Fighter Squadron Thirty Two Operational Report, October 1950–January 1951.
“The Lost Legion”: Frank Kerr, “At the Reservoir: Through the Eyes of a Combat Photographer,” Leatherneck, Dec. 1990.
Normally, the commander oversaw: The air group commander, or “CAG,” that day was Cmdr. Wally Madden, who had flown F4F fighters in WWII. Another veteran in the formation was Maj. William Powell Jr., who led a flight of ’33 planes. Powell was an active-duty air force pilot on exchange duty with the navy. He, too, had flown in WWII, as a P-40 pilot in the Philippines, where he was ultimately captured when the islands fell.
CHAPTER 36
“picnic ants going across”: Martin Russ, Breakout: The Chosin Reservoir Campaign, Korea 1950 (New York: Fromm International, 1999).
The FAC glanced at the low: The author’s staff interviewed Captain Dan Holland, a FAC, who called in air strikes during the attack described on the column.
“Kill these Marines”: Ibid.
a young black Marine: Thanks go to Jesse’s brother Fletcher for sharing this black Marine’s eyewitness account with the author.
“The Great Slaughter”: Lynn Montross and Capt. Nicholas A. Canzona, U.S. Marine Operations in Korea: The Chosin Reservoir Campaign, vol. 3 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Marine Corps, 1957).
CHAPTER 37
“[I] saw the 5th and 7th”: Richard P. Hallion, The Naval Air War in Korea (New York: Zebra, 1986).
CHAPTER 39
“The country needed Jesse Brown”: “Last Days of a Navy Pilot,” Ebony.
“outstanding heroics”: Fighter Squadron Thirty Two Historical Report, July–December 1950.
CHAPTER 40
It is with deep regret: “Last Days of a Navy Pilot,” Ebony.
CHAPTER 41
“ideologically contaminated”: Russ, Breakout.
CHAPTER 42
“I guess it was the will”: “Last Days of a Navy Pilot,” Ebony.
“The 26-year-old Hudner landed”: “Hudner Tried to Save First Negro Naval Officer Ever to Lose Life in Action i
n Any U.S. Campaign,” Herald News [Fall River], Dec. 11, 1950.
“Navy rescue planes rushed”: “1st Tan Navy Flier Dies in Korea Crash,” The Afro-American [Baltimore], Dec. 16, 1950.
At Sea, Sunday Nite: “Last Days of a Navy Pilot,” Ebony.
“We felt this way”: “Leyte Pilots Raise $2,700 for Late Buddy’s Daughter,” The Afro-American [Baltimore], Apr. 28, 1951.
The crowd parted as the skipper: Earlier that morning, a handful of ’32’s pilots had ferried Corsairs from the carrier to the air station. They then rejoined the squadron on the pier to collect their belongings.
CHAPTER 44
“I am very proud to wear”: “40,000 Cheer Tom Hudner in Parade,” Herald News [Fall River], Apr. 20, 1951.
“This has been one day”: Ibid.
“To the fellows there now”: Ibid.
“With all the cold, the mud”: “Lt. Hudner Grateful for Fete, Proud to Be Fall River Man,” Herald News [Fall River], May 3, 1951.
PHOTO CREDITS
tp.1: Bill Wilkinson
1.1, 8.2: Martin Goode
2.1, 20.1: Thomas J. Hudner, Jr.
3.1: Daisy Brown Thorne
4.1, 6.1, 6.2, 7.1, 9.1, 10.1, 10.2, 11.1, 12.1, 13.1, 23.1, 29.1, 29.2, 37.1, 39.1: U.S. Navy
4.2: Lura Brown
7.2: Courtesy of the Jesse Leroy Brown family
13.2: Richard Fowler
15.1, 17.1, 22.1, 35.1: John E. Parkinson
15.2, 39.2: W. Carl Jeckel
15.3: Halley Bishop
19.1: Ed Coderre
19.2, 23.2, 33.1: U.S. Marine Corps
22.2, 43.1: National Archives
24.1: Bill Wilkinson
afw.1: U.S. Navy, via Ebony
afw.2: Daisy Brown Thorne, via Ebony
INSERT
pai1.1 Teenage Tom Hudner with his siblings: Thomas J. Hudner Jr.
pai1.2 Nineteen-year-old Tom during a visit home: Thomas J. Hudner Jr.
pai1.3 Daisy holds Pam: Courtesy of the Jesse Leroy Brown family
pai1.4 Jesse as an ensign: U.S. Navy
pai1.5 Jesse and Daisy with Pam: Courtesy of the Jesse Leroy Brown family
pai1.6 Marty Goode aboard the Leyte: Martin Goode
pai1.7 Jesse in the Quonset Point chapel: U.S. Navy
pai1.8 A Leyte LSO signals: U.S. Navy
pai1.9 Marty catches the last cable: Martin Goode
pai1.10 Fighting 32 during the Mediterranean cruise: U.S. Navy
pai1.11 Leyte deckhands prepare a Corsair: U.S. Navy
pai1.12 The beach at Cannes: W. Carl Jeckel
pai1.13 Elizabeth Taylor, Nicky Hilton, and friends: U.S. Navy
pai1.14 Elizabeth Taylor dines with the officers: U.S. Navy
pai1.15 6th Fleet Marines practice: U.S. Navy
pai1.16 Red Parkinson and his platoon: John E. Parkinson
pai1.17 A Marine aims an M20 Super Bazooka: U.S. Marine Corps
pai1.18 Ed Coderre during a visit home: Ed Coderre
pai1.19 Enjoying watermelons on Crete: John E. Parkinson
pai1.20 Marines assemble aboard the Leyte: U.S. Navy
pai1.21 Red Parkinson naps: John. E. Parkinson
pai1.22 Jesse during a stop in Tennessee: Courtesy of the Jesse Leroy Brown family
pai1.23 Jesse plays with Pam: Courtesy of the Jesse Leroy Brown family
pai1.24 Bill Wilkinson during flight training: Bill Wilkinson
pai1.25 Wilkie’s photo of a practice flight: Bill Wilkinson
pai1.26 Jesse and Koenig in their cabin: U.S. Navy, via Ebony
pai1.27 On the Leyte’s first day at war: U.S. Navy
pai1.28 Squadron 32 at the front of the pack: Bill Wilkinson
pai1.29 Tom in the cockpit: Thomas J. Hudner Jr.
pai1.30 Sailors muscle a Corsair onto an elevator: U.S. Navy
pai1.31 “Dad” Fowler as a Hellcat pilot: U.S. Navy, via Richard E. Fowler Jr. family
pai1.32 Dad Fowler launches down the center line: Bill Wilkinson
pai1.33 Marty and others review maps: U.S. Navy
pai1.34 Sisson and the skipper with captured flags: U.S. Navy
pai1.35 Jesse’s buddies carry him: U.S. Navy, via Ebony
pai1.36 At anchor in Sasebo harbor: U.S. Navy
pai1.37 Black Market Alley: U.S. Navy
pai1.38 Artillery pounds Hill 891: U.S. Marine Corps
pai1.39 Chinese soldiers captured near 891: U.S. Marine Corps
pai1.40 A Skyraider returns from a mission: U.S. Navy
pai1.41 Jesse as seen through a windscreen: U.S. Navy
pai1.42 The Leyte’s special mission planes: U.S. Navy
pai1.43 The bridges of the Yalu: U.S. Navy
pai1.44 Cevoli and Jesse play backgammon: U.S. Navy, via Ebony
pai1.45 Jesse checks the rockets: U.S. Navy, via Ebony
pai1.46 Jesse in the cockpit of a Corsair: U.S. Navy, via Ebony
pai1.47 Jesse up high on the Leyte’s tower: U.S. Navy, via Ebony
pai1.48 Leyte deckhands clear the deck: U.S. Navy
pai1.49 The Chosin Reservoir: National Archives
pai1.50 Stalin propaganda poster: U.S. Marine Corps
pai1.51 Marines press onward: © David Douglas Duncan, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas
pai1.52 Daytime firefight at the Chosin: U.S. Marine Corps
pai1.53 Marines watch an airstrike: U.S. Marine Corps
pai1.54 Nicolas Trudgian’s Off to the Chosin: ValorStudios.com
pai1.55 Gareth Hector’s Wingmen to the End: ValorStudios.com
pai1.56 An HO3S at Hagaru: U.S. Marine Corps
pai1.57 Matt Hall’s painting Devotion: Mall Hall and ValorStudios.com
pai1.58 During the withdrawal: © David Douglas Duncan, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas
pai1.59 Marines manage to smile: U.S. Marine Corps
pai1.60 Marines follow the precipitous trails: U.S. Marine Corps
pai1.61 Ed Coderre’s parents visit him: Ed Coderre
pai1.62 The Leyte returns to San Diego: U.S. Navy
pai1.63 Red Parkinson strums a guitar: John E. Parkinson
BY ADAM MAKOS
Devotion
A Higher Call
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ADAM MAKOS is a journalist and the author of the New York Times bestseller A Higher Call. Inspired by his grandfathers’ World War II stories, he has interviewed countless veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and present-day battles. In pursuit of a story, Makos has flown a World War II bomber, accompanied a Special Forces raid in Iraq, and organized an expedition into North Korea in search of an MIA American serviceman. He lives in Denver.
adammakos.com
@AdamMakos
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