Crew 19 was assigned their B-29 at Clovis, NM after completing combat training there. They were sent to Kearny, Nebraska where they were issue overseas equipment. From there "Old Eighty One" headed for Sacramento, CA.

They left the states 5 May 1945, flying over the Golden Gate Bridge. Total flight time to their destination was 36 hours with stops at Hawaii and Kwajalein. Crew 19 arrived at North Field Guam on 9 May 1945.

After flying familiarization missions to Rota, a by-passed island just north of Guam, they were ready for their first combat mission on 24 May 1945 - a night raid on Tokyo. It was always tough target - not particularly a good one for a crew's "Baptism of Fire" mission. For some reason first and second missions had seemed to claim a disproportioned number of B-29s.

During the bomb run on this mission, 12 searchlights were focused on P-19. They were nearly as frightened as the extremely heavy flak. After bombs away, Capt. Wren put the plane into a diving turn left, with flak exploding behind them. Fighter activity was light, though a couple of Jap aircraft attempted to drop phosphorus bombs. They would explode above the plane - the intent being to start fires from the trailing white-hot streamers.

On 26 May 1945, tail gunner Dick Curry, learned that his cousin David Curry, had been killed on the Tokyo mission. Only one of the crew survived - Harry Slater, a gunner. Slater was taken prisoner and confined to a POW camp in Yokohama for the duration of the war. He told about the rest of his crew not having much of a chance to bail out after being struck by several bursts of flak. Everything was burning and on fire himself, he bailed out the open bomb bay. The Japanese picked him up three days later. Imprisoned in 7x10 foot cell with 7 other Americans, his daily rations consisted of a handful of rice, a few " "greens" and a limited amount of water. In four months he lost 50 pounds. A Japanese farmer discovered the rest of the crew buried in common grave. The bodies were later interred in the National Cemetery in St. Louis. This particular crew seemed doomed from the start. Before sending a crew into combat it was normal procedure to first send the pilot and flight engineer on a mission with an experienced crew. During this mission, the crew they went along with had to ditch their aircraft in the ocean. The engineer and pilot survived along with a 8 of other crewmen. 2 others perished.

During periods of radio silence, crews looked to hearing "Tokyo Rose" on radio Tokyo. Contrary to the intended purpose of demoralizing American flyers, it had quite an opposite effect. Rather than taking her seriously, the airmen looked forward to the program as source of entertainment during the usually boring trip back to home base.

On 29 May 1945, the 39th struck Yokohama on a daylight raid. Flak was heavy and accurate - rocking P-19 with several bursts. Fighter activity was light and those that were in the area kept out of range. Few pressed attacks. After leaving the target, P-19 experienced an engine fire resulting in the feathering of that engine. The A/C radioed their emergency situation and was informed that the airfield at Okinawa had been secured and the troubled crew could land there. Shortly after, a second engine started leaking oil and also had to be feathered. Barely able to maintain altitude, "Old Eighty One" hobbled in to Okinawa. After taxiing to the end of the newly repaired runway, a third engine started throwing oil with and it too was feathered! To say that this crew was lucky would be a gross understatement. Inspection showed that they had also received flak damage to the wing and tail areas. One hole had been blasted through the tail section about a foot over the gunner's head. Dick wasn't too fond of wearing the cumbersome flak suit and helmet, as was the case with most airmen, but thereafter he found it much more tolerable.