The mission to Otake was a success. Reilly, in the tail position, was able to observe black smoke rising to an altitude of over 10,000 feet. One aircraft was lost when landing at Guam. The 39th was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation, the first of two that would be bestowed upon them. There were no casualties.

Before leaving North Field for the USA, Elmo left a case of whiskey with his friend, Rick Paquette, Airplane Commander of Crew 52. Captain Paquette and all but one of his crew would perish over Tokyo only 11 days later. Reilly learned that during this long mission, a cousin, Lt Edward T. Smith, Engineering Officer on an Aircraft Carrier, had briefly put into Guam. He visited the 39th, was treated to the Officers' Mess, and offered a ride in a B-29. After the war he confided that he was well received by the officers of the 39th, but had declined the ride, and should have declined the food as well.

We left the wounded P-7 on Guam and continued on to the USA for Lead Crew training at Muroc AAB (now Edwards) via the Air Transport Command. Those that may remember traveling by ATC will recall the waiting. We were not the only would-be passengers that day and the prospects for our group getting a ride seemed remote. Capt. Juvenal took the flight engineer and squeezed into an early flight that left on the 12th. The rest of us didn't get out until the 15th, one day after the expiration of our orders. Juvenal assumed correctly that if part of the crew left on time, the trip for the others would not be cancelled.

We returned to Guam and the 39th Bomb Group six weeks later with a new B-29, the "City of Laredo," equipped with the latest radar bomb sight and navigational equipment to complete eight more missions.

As far as "old P-7" was concerned, she was a lucky aircraft and would continue to fly another day with another crew. We felt some sense of loss because she had taken us through some tough times. But, there were those maintenance problems, one aborted mission, and the loss of #3 engine on the Otake raid. These lingered in our memories. Though some of us felt that her best days were all behind her, nothing could have been further from the truth. As her future unfolded, she went on to become one of the workhorses of the 39th Group.

It wasn't until 45 years later that we were able to piece together the full story of P-7. "Biff" Badgley photographed her nose when we returned to Guam from our six-week assignment in the States. He wanted a record of the "Rising Sun" flag that indicated a confirmed kill by tail gunner, Sgt. Ed Reilly. That picture was added to "Biff's" scrapbook.

Continued