Mystery Tail Gunner "Bird"
I signed up for aerial gunnery, but when the war ended I was sent to Japan in the occupation. I got there in early October, 1945. An exciting time for a 18 year old kid right out of high school, and one who was a WWII history buff and loved planes.Occupation of Japan
During the occupation part of my job was, part of my job being to disarm the hundreds of planes left by the Japs. My job was to disarm the Jap planes and help dispose of them. I was stationed at Irumagawa and Tackikawa air bases outside of Tokyo and later Kamake airbase at Nagoya.
Mystery B-29 and Tail Gunner "BIRD"
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| Mullins with a bent .50 cal. | B-29 Wreck Site |
 B-29 Wing Wreckage |  Tail section of the B-29 |
During one weekend trip with George Mullins, in the countryside of Nagoya, we stopped in a small village about seven miles from Nagoya. We found a crashed B-29 there with all the guns still aboard and some locals advised that some of the crew bailed out.
The tail turret had the name "BIRD" on it and the escape hatch was gone, and not around the crash site. I have often wondered if he got out. He hopes that someone, possibly the survivor might see this, and contact him.
Since then, I Have learned that 3,600 B-29 crewmen went down and about 250 of that ditched and were saved and only 200 that were captured came back alive. On August 15,1945 the Osaka Kempe Tai shot 55 crewmen on the parade field.
Myer's office Today
The "War Room"
B-29 Training Aid & Decoy
Irumagawa Air Base
Tidewater
Veterans Memorial
Virginia Beach, VA
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I'm still a history buff to this day, and I'm enclosing a couple of pictures of what my friends call the "war room" in my attic. I have all Life Magazines from September 1939 until the end of the war. My mother saved some after I enlisted in the Air Corps. I also have many aviation magazines from that time as well as from our newspapers all during the war years.
Ki 67 "Peggy" Wreck
I have the turn and bank indicators and was working on the control column before I ran out of time. Got some great pictures of the Jap planes before they were bulldozed. This Ki-67 "Peggy" almost made it to the runway before being shot down.
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Fake Superfortress
The fake B-29 I saw at Irumagwa Air Base when I first got there in 1945. You would not believe the detail, complete with American insignia. From the air, it looked like fire coming out of one engine to act as a decoy to pull American planes down [to strafe it].From the book "Expedition to other Airbases"
"The mock up was created as a training aid. Near the end of the war suicide teams were being trained as to how best to place destructive charges in B-29s following a massive one way night air assault on the airfields of Guam and Tinian. Their plan was to destroy as many B-29's on the ground as possible before being apprehended."Today, Mr. Myers is part of the Mayor's Veterans Committee in Virginia Beach that built a beautiful memorial dedicated to all veterans.
Bill Myers
