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Gilbert Lodge Blog
The life and times of Mark and Paula Persons

Saturday, January 12, 2013: Paula decided to do some shopping along Waikiki Beach while Mark headed for the Pacific Aviation Museum on Ford Island in Hawaii.


Hangar 79 has bullet holes that still show through glass panes in the huge doors. Those bullets came on December 7, 1941, when Japanese warplanes attacked Pearl Harbor leaving 2896 casualties. It was a "date that will live in infamy" and the start of World War II for America.

One exhibit told the story of a Japanese pilot who was forced to crash land on the island of Niʻihau after loosing fuel trough a bullet hole in his plane. This happened during the Pearl Harbor attack. After attempting to take the island from locals, the pilot was killed by a farmer in hand to hand combat. The farmer suffered three bullet wounds, but survived the encounter. The story has many nuances that are better explained at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niihau_Incident

Very interesting history.


	This is the hangar shop where Paula's father Chester "Chet" Timman spent most of WWII. He was a US Navy seaman and arrived shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack when ships were still burning. His job was to repair airplanes and there was plenty of that to do.

Also on exhibit was a restored Curtis P-40E Kittyhawk, painted like one of the Flying Tigers which fought the Japanese from bases in China.

Commanded by Claire Chennault, the group drove the Japanese back with great success.

A movie was made about them in 1942 starring John Wayne and John Carroll. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Tigers_(film)

Just four months after the Pearl Harbor attack, the United States scored a huge psychological victory over Japanese on April 18, 1942. Some 16 North American B-25 Mitchell bombers took off from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet about 600 miles from Japan. The action become known as the Doolittle Raid. They dropped bombs on Tokyo and other Japanese cities before proceeding on to China. This restored B-25B bomber has a statue of Jimmy Doolittle and another crew member.