AWARDED DFC: 1
CONFLICT/SPACE FLIGHT/EVENT:  -
MODEL:  B-17

Citation:  1.) The Pacific war, when the United States held half of Guadalcanal and the Japanese the other half, many land and sea battles were waged to allow ships from both sides to supply the island's garrisons. Our ships came from the Fiji, New Zealand area. Enemy supplies came down through the Solomon Islands via Rabul and Bogainville. Since the Japanese made their supply runs at night, the US stationed four cruisers just above Guadalcanal to intercept their supply ships. Tragically, one night the Japanese sent in a fleet of destroyers and torpedoed and sank three of our cruisers. The following morning while on a reconnaissance flight, flying a B-17 William S. Cope received a radio call from the Navy wanting to know what he could see. He answered "some oil slicks and a enemy destroyer shooting at us." With a little luck he got even. Four enemy transports were delivering supplies to the Japanese half of the island and his mission that morning was to pattern bomb the supply area. He was flying on the squadron commander's wing and they were to release their bomb load when his bombardier released his. Coming across Iron Bottom Bay (named because so many ships were sunk there), we were in range of enemy cruisers and destroyer anti-aircraft fire. As we neared the target, Zeros hit us head on. Knowing that his navigator and bombardier were busy manning the nose guns, he called the bombardier to remind him to get ready to get those bombs away. In the heat of the foray, the bombardier only heard the last of his transmission, "Bombs Away" and dumped the load. The bombs hit a heavy cruiser and damaged it so severely that it sank and added to the pile of steel on the bottom of Iron Bottom Bay. This first hand account came to me from William S. Cope who received his Distinguished Flying Cross during the Battle of Guadalcanal and flew 35 missions in B-17's from Henderson Field. William S. Cope retired as a Lieutenant Colonel and is a member of the Distinguished Flying Cross Society.