Top 5 questions to ask yourself before you drive yourself to Pearl
Harbor
- Have I ever been there?
- Do I really know why we were attacked?
- While I figure out how to navigate the sites how much will I
miss?
- What do I do when the parking lot is full?
- What will keep my kids busy for 5 hours?
If you can't answer these questions confidently, then you would
probably be
better off with a tour and a guide who makes your experience smoother.
Select your Pearl Harbor Tour Now
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George Welch
 Welch
was assigned to the 47th Fighter Squadron, 18th Fighter Group flying
P-40 Kittyhawks at Wheeler Field, near Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 1941.
A fellow fighter pilot of the 18th Group, Francis S. Gabreski (who
would later go on to become the top American Ace in the European
Theater in World War II) described him.
"He was a rich kid, heir to the grape juice family, and we couldn't
figure out why he was there since he probably could have avoided
military service altogether if he wanted to." Many Japanese military
aviators would regret that he hadn't.
In the beginning of December, 1941, Welch and 2nd Lt. Kenneth Taylor
had moved their P-40s away from the main airfield at Wheeler to a
nearby auxiliary field at Haleiwa as part of a gunnery exercise. The
vast majority of Army Air Force fighters at Wheeler were parked in
neat rows on the main flightline; although war with Japan appeared
imminent, it was decided that the possibility of sabotage from the
ground presented a greater threat than a potential air attack, and
it was easier to guard them while parked in neat rows than dispersed
on the airfield perimeter. Thus when the Japanese carrier-based
sneak attack against Pearl Harbor and Wheeler and Hickam Fields came
on the morning of December 7, 1941, the majority of the Army Air
Force fighter force was easily destroyed on the ground, several of
them when the first P-40 pilot attempting to take off to fight was
hit and killed on his takeoff roll and his fighter went crashing
down the flightline at Wheeler.
That Sunday morning Welch and Taylor were just leaving an all-night
party at Wheeler Field, Hawaii. As they stood outside an army
barracks watching the tropical dawn grow brighter, neither had any
idea of the momentous event which was about to change their - lives.
Welch was saying that instead of going to sleep, he wanted to drive
back to their own base at nearby Haleiwa Field for a nice Sunday
morning swim.
Suddenly the Japanese swooped down on Wheeler Field, which was a
center for fighter operations in Hawaii. Dive bombers seemed to
appear out of nowhere. Violent explosions upended the parked planes,
and buildings began to burn. Welch ran for a telephone and called
Haleiwa as bullets sprayed around him.
"Get two P-40s ready!" he yelled. "It's not a gag--the Japs are
here."
The drive up to Haleiwa was a wild one. Japanese Zeros strafed Welch
and Taylor three times. When the two fliers careened onto their
field nine minutes later, their fighter planes were already armed
and the propellers were turning over. Without waiting for orders
they took off.
As they climbed for altitude they ran into twelve Japanese Val dive
bombers over the Marine air base at Ewa. Welch and Taylor began
their attack immediately. on their first pass, machine guns blazing,
each shot down a bomber. As Taylor zoomed up and over in his
Tomahawk, he saw an enemy bomber heading out to sea. He gave his
P-40 full throttle and roared after it. Again his aim was good and
the Val broke up before his eyes. In the meantime Welch's plane had
been hit and he dived into a protective cloud bank. The damage
didn't seem too serious so he flew out again--only to find himself
on the tail of another Val. With only one gun now working he
nevertheless managed to send the bomber flaming into the sea.
Both pilots now vectored toward burning Wheeler Field for more
ammunition and gas. Unfortunately the extra cartridge belts for the
P-40s were in a hangar which was on fire. Two mechanics ran bravely
into the dangerous inferno and returned with the ammunition.
The Japanese were just beginning a second strafing of the field as
Welch and Taylor hauled their P-40s into the air again. They headed
directly into the enemy planes, all guns firing. This time Ken
Taylor was hit in the arm, and then a Val closed in behind him.
Welch kicked his rudder and the Tomahawk whipped around and blasted
the Val, though his own plane had been hit once more. Taylor had to
land, but George Welch shot down still another bomber near Ewa
before he returned.
Perhaps twenty American fighter planes managed to get into the air
that morning--including five obsolete Republic P-35s. Most of them
were shot down, but their bravery and initiative accounted for six
victories in the one-sided aerial battle
Welch was nominated for the Medal of Honor for his actions on Pearl
Harbor Day, and the Air Force Chief, General Henry H. Arnold was
reportedly anxious to receive the nomination. Unfortunately for
Welch, the intermediate chain of command, their pride evidently
smarting from having been caught off guard and suffering the
devastation they did, reasoned absurdly that Welch had taken off
without proper authorization and could therefore not be awarded the
Nation's highest military award; the award was downgraded to a
Distinguished Service Cross.
Welch remained in the Pacific Theater of Operations and went on to
score 12 more kills against Japanese aircraft (16 in total). After
the war, he became the chief test pilot for North American Aviation,
makers of a long line of successful fighters that began with the
P-51 Mustang, generally recognized as the best fighter of any air
force in World War II. Welch began testing the prototype P-86 (later
redesignated F-86) Sabre, a new jet fighter which combined the
aerodynamic advances of the propeller-driven Mustang with the
lessons of swept-wing research the Germans had developed for their
jet aircraft toward the end of the war.
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