Hell in paradise Published Dec. 3, 2008 By Robert Michel 5th Bomb Wing Historian MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- "As a member of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, I am often asked what ship I was on. When I reply that I wasn't on a ship but was stationed at Hickam Field, I am usually asked, 'Where is Hickam Field?' The J apanese certainly knew!" --Former Master Sergeant Thomas J. Pillion, 400th Signal Company, Hickam Field This Sunday, as you are contemplating the events that occurred on 7 Dec 1941, remember that it was not just the Navy that was attacked on Oahu, HI. The following is a brief account of the actions of the 5th Bombardment Group at Hickam Field, HI, on that day. Sunday: a day of rest on the paradise island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii. The men of the 5th Bomb Group were anticipating a relaxed day of little flying activity. The peace of the morning was suddenly broken at 0757 when bombs began falling on Hickam, HI. Private Ira Southern of the 23rd Bomb Squadron got up to the sound of what he thought was heavy artillery. After grumbling that target practice should be held other than on a Sunday morning, he strolled over to the windows to look outside. He saw a plane, flying at about 500 feet, coming toward the barracks. He thought nothing of it until he saw a large object drop from the plane. The next thing he knew, there was a tremendous explosion, and the engine repair depot across the street seemed to disintegrate. Shortly afterwards, bombs began to fall on the barracks, driving men out of the building. After the initial shock of the attack, men quickly secured machine guns and set up hastily-prepared defenses in an attempt to protect the aircraft and their fellow Airmen. Ground crewmen from the 72nd BS had several positions set up within minutes after the attack began and were credited with shooting down one enemy airplane. The group began dispersing its aircraft as soon as the attack began, which undoubtedly saved many from certain destruction. Only the individual courage and sacrifice of personnel acting in fear and desperation prevented the Japanese from completely destroying the Army Air Forces on Oahu. Ground crews braved the stream of bullets and the hail of bombs through the attack to move the aircraft from danger and armed them for combat. Heedless of the danger, a number of personnel manned the guns in the bombers. One, an orderly room clerk, manned the nose gun of a B-18 and continued to fire at the enemy planes even though his plane was on fire and death was certain. Many other group personnel rushed to the flight line in hopes of getting the B-17s airborne and launching a counter-attack. Upon arrival, however, the men found the aircraft locked, with the keys being blown who knows where when the armament section was destroyed. They shot the locks off the planes, taxied them to dispersed locations, and started loading bombs by hand, since all the loading equipment had been destroyed. The 5th BG and the rest of Hickam had taken a beating for certain. However, through the quick action of the ground crews, the group's two remaining B-17s and several B-18s were ready to take the fight to the enemy within a few hours of the attack. The 23rd and 31st Bomb Squadrons' commanders led search missions throughout the day with whatever flyable bombers remained at Hickam. Unfortunately, no one was certain as to the location of the enemy fleet. The crews soon found the skies around Oahu to be more dangerous than what they faced during their searches. Captain Laverne Saunders of the 23rd recalled "the military forces on Oahu had seen B-17s around the island for six months but they really let go at us, like we were public enemy number one. I thought we were going to be shot down by our own forces." The 5th Bomb Group suffered 65 casualties during the attack, 21 men were killed in action and 44 were wounded. Two thirds of the group's B-17s were destroyed or damaged and over half of the B-18s were knocked out of action. Maintenance personnel worked tirelessly to salvage whatever was undamaged to rebuild the Hawaiian Air Force. Itching to get into the fight against the Japanese, the group would have to wait until June 1942 to strike the enemy during the Battle of Midway.