William “Bill” Littlejohn is one of the unsung heroes of this country.

He was born in land-locked Mitchell, Nebraska in 1922. Thinking to see the world, Bill and three friends decided to go to Denver and enlist in the Navy in October of 1940. Bill was the only one who passed the physical.

Pacific patrols
He was assigned to the light cruiser USS St. Louis (CL-49) in December 1940. The ship conducted Pacific patrols during the winter of 1940–1941. Then it steamed to the mainland at Mare Island for an overhaul, returning to the Hawaiian Islands in June and resumed normal operations in the Hawaiian waters.

Two months later, St. Louis sailed west with other cruisers of the battle force patrolled between Wake Island, Midway, Atoll and Guam then, proceeded to Manila, returning to Hawaii at the end of September. On September 28, 1941, she entered the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard for upkeep.
Little did Bill know how his life – and the lives of his crewmates – would become as one with the St. Louis.

Pearl Harbor attacked
The ship was still in Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941 when the Japanese attacked. The firing leads were off of the St. Louis’ anti-aircraft guns, her engines were cold and two of the eight boilers were dismantled for cleaning.

Bill was on the quarter deck early that morning when Japanese planes were flying overhead. General quarters were sounded at once and Bill rushed to his duty station in the number two boiler room. His primary duty there was to be sure the oil-fired boilers were full of water. The water used in the boilers was distilled from sea water and the steam created by the boilers generated the power to propel the ship.

Steaming out of the harbor, under attack
Very quickly, guns were firing and preparations were being made to get the ship underway. The St. Louis was the first major ship of three to get out of the harbor and left by the south channel. It was able to get underway very quickly, in 67 minutes. Normally it took two to three hours to build up steam on the boilers to get a ship moving.

‘The Lucky Lou’
While the St. Louis was preparing to depart, it was fired on by a Japanese mini sub whose torpedoes missed. The St. Louis was strafed, near-missed by bombs but still made it out of the harbor and to the open sea, suffering minimal damage. With all that happening, the crew nicknamed her the “Lucky Lou.”

For the next three days, the St. Louis patrolled the Hawaiian Islands, looking for the Japanese Fleet. They were not able to find the enemy and were assigned to convoy duty escorting civilians back to the mainland and troops back to Hawaii. During the war, the St. Louis was part of the task force which was the Navy’s initial attack of the war in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands in early 1942.

The St. Louis delivered Marines to Midway and missed the main battle, which was the turning point of the war. Bill and the crew of the St. Louis cruised “The Slot” of the Central Solomon Islands, seeking to disrupt and halt the infamous “Tokyo Express” that supplied the Japanese war machine in the Pacific.

Serious action
The cruiser saw action at many locations in the Pacific, from the Philippines to the Aleutians – including damage to her bow from a torpedo at the Battle of Kolombangara in 1943 and a bomb hit from a dive bomber in 1944. The bomb that hit penetrated the 40 mm clipping room near the No. 6 gun mount, and exploded in the midships living compartment. Records from that day show that 23 men died and 20 were wounded, 10 seriously.
On November 27, 1944, a Japanese kamikaze dove on the ship at Leyte. The plane crashed on the hanger deck. The plane and its bomb detonated on impact, causing severe damage and killing 16 crewmen and injuring others.

During the war, 38 of the St. Louis’ crew and one officer lost their lives.

The St. Louis earned 11 Battle Stars during World War II, plus a Navy Unit Commendation for outstanding heroism in action against the enemy. The ship is credited with sinking two light cruisers, one heavy cruiser, five destroyers, one submarine, damaging five destroyers, and shooting down or assisting the shooting down of 20 enemy aircraft.

Bill stayed with the St. Louis for the duration of the war. He was the junior NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer) and attained the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In addition, he was awarded the Commission Pendant.

Peace time in Sacramento
After the war, Bill married his sweetheart, Josephine, in 1946. The couple raised two sons and now have one grandson and one great-grandson and a great-granddaughter.

Bill and “Jo” have resided in the Sacramento area since 1950. Bill worked for many years at the Big Boy Markets in Sacramento. He has done a lot of volunteer work with the Carmichael Elks. He is also a charter member of Pearl Harbor Survivors Chapter 6.

Bill’s wife Jo is the youngest of five girls. She and her three living sisters plus other guests recently attended a joint birthday party that was given for Bill and Jo. About 90 guests were in attendance for the event, some coming from as far away as Colorado.

The couple, both in their 90s, have been married for some 66 years.

Co-Grand Marshalls
Bill and Jo will be honored in the upcoming Carmichael 4th of July Parade as “Co-Grand Marshalls,” sponsored by the Carmichael Elks Lodge where they are active members. The theme of this year’s parade is: “Honoring American Spirit.”

Jesse Herbert Thomas has seen a lot – which is understandable, since he celebrated his 100th birthday at Merrill Gardens retirement community on Sept. 7.

Born and raised in Wilcox, Canada, he was the second of three children born to Jesse J. and Caroline Thomas. He grew up farming with his sisters in the Saskatchewan region until the family moved to Omaha, Neb. during his teen years.

During the Great Depression, he was the only member of the family who was fortunate to land a job to support the family.

During the years of World War II, Thomas served in the Pacific Theater as a bodyguard for General Douglas MacArthur.

“MacArthur was quite a guy,” Thomas recalled. “He would do his best thinking while he was walking. There were six of us who were his bodyguards, and he kept us moving.”

After the war, Thomas worked for Union Pacific Railroad. He was married for 25 years to the late Teckla Thomas. He moved to Sacramento in 1988 to be closer to his nieces, Carol Harris and Sharon Collins.

He loves to socialize, enjoys card games and community activities. Thomas is often seen walking about the community.

When asked his secret to longevity, Thomas said he has no real advice, other than “to sit down, stay out of jail and eat right.”

susan@valcomnews.com

In March of 1944, a P-17 Stearman biplane came to Eagle Field, near Dos Palos, and was stricken from U.S. Army Air Force records in June 1945 at the end of the war. The plane disappeared from the official records and went missing from all documents relating to its whereabouts.

This past summer, this historic plane flew out of a cloudy history and back home to Eagle Field.

Ultimately, the plane came into the hands of former Pocket-area resident (and pilot) Nancy Ginesi-Hill in 2008. It is particularly interesting that Ginesi-Hill is the current owner of this aircraft, as she lived and worked at Eagle Field for several years. Now she owns an aircraft that was once attached the famed airfield.

“I have been coming to Eagle Field for many years, and I have always wanted to own and fly a Stearman,” says Ginesi-Hill, “But never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever own one that had been stationed at this particular field. When I bought the aircraft in Santa Rosa from Jacques Gandolfo, I had no idea it had been at Eagle Field. But once I got it, and started going through the log books, I found these entries indicating it had been there.”

Although the plane is normally housed in a hanger in Lincoln, Ginesi-Hill felt a flight to the plane’s former home field would reconnect the plane – and its pilot – to a part of history that defined U.S. aircraft development and solidified a woman’s role in the wild blue yonder.

 

Connecting to history

During World War II, women pilots who were part of the Women’s Army Service Pilots, or WASP, moved aircraft from the factories and depots to the active bases. These young women, first organized by Jackie Cochran, flew all types of aircraft, in all kinds of weather. With all of the qualified men at war, Cochran, a race pilot, proposed that women be taught to fly the trainers, fighters, bombers and transports, and it proved very successful. Many of the WASP have been and are currently members of the Ninety-Nines International group of Women Pilots. As a member of the group, Ginesi-Hill has had the fortune of meeting some of them.

Ginesi-Hill joined the Sacramento Valley Chapter of the Ninety-Nines International group of Women Pilots 20 years ago. She is vice chairman of the chapter and she adds that the group is very active in promoting aviation in young and old alike and is a big part of the FAA Safety Team at which Ginesi-Hill is a representative. She also attends air shows with her Stearman P-T 17, organizes and volunteers at various shows throughout the year.

Ginesi-Hill is also on the board for the Lincoln Regional Aviation Association, vice president of the Grey Eagles and a member of the P-38 Fork Tail Devils.

“Sitting there listening to WWII aces and pilot stories I could do all day long,” said Ginesi-Hill. “I love the history of our men and women of the military and I proudly fly my Stearman in their honor.”

At one time, Ginesi-Hill seriously considered starting a military style flight school in partnership with Joe Davis, owner of Eagle Field. The plan was to teach students using “tail draggers,” which many say is the “only” way to learn to fly.

 

Bringing the Stearman home

Ginesi-Hill brought the Stearman back to Eagle Field June 12 for the first time in 65 years. She departed Lincoln Airport at 11:00 a.m. and arrived just in time for the big dinner, dance and Fly In. The plane, its pilot and the flight were all welcomed eagerly by the airfield, as one of their own had come home.