Major Thomas B. McGuire Jr.

A group of twenty P-38's flew in to Tacloban air field on Leyte, which badly need more fighters. Suddenly a Japanese Tojo fighter appeared. One of the P-38's opened up full throttle, hit the gear and flap levers, sounded a warning to other pilots, and swung around to face the Tojo. In full view of the Tacloban airstrip, the P-38 pilot attacked and shot down the intruder with one short burst.

The Tojo crashed in flames just outside the field. Finding no other Jap planes, the P-38 pilot circled and landed.
Major Thomas B. McGuire of the 475th Fighter Group climbed down from his beloved Pudgy V and grinned. He had just shot down his twenty-fifth Japanese aircraft. "This is my kind of place. You have to shoot down Japs to land on your own field."

Shooting down aircraft was something Tommy McGuire excelled at. He stood about five feet seven inches tall, and sported a big black mustache to make himself appear older. He was extremely aggressive and wanted to be the number one ace and win the Medal of Honor before going home. He was also a magnificent pilot. On one occasion, he was approaching a Japanese fighter head on, neither willing to move, and pulled out at the last second. Later at his base, the ground crew had to use steel wool to scrape away the paint left by the Japanese fighter! McGuire was the commander of the 431st Fighter Squadron of the 475th Fighter Group. The pilots of the 431st felt that McGuire could do things in a P-38 that were virtually impossible. His skill with the P-38 was so extraordinary, he almost defied reality. He had tremendous faith in his skills as a pilot and the plane he flew.

Tommy McGuire was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey on August 1, 1920. His parents, Thomas and Polly, divorced when he was a child, and he spent most of his youth living with his mother in Sebring, Florida. They were well off, and Tommy always had plenty of toys to attract friends. Among his other diversions, he flew kites and model airplanes. During high school, he played clarinet in Sebring's nationally acclaimed marching band. He also acquired a reputation as a hell-raiser by driving his car too fast through the small town. He attended Georgia Institute of Technology and enlisted as an aviation cadet. He trained at Corsicana, Texas, and at San Antonio, where he met his wife, Marilynn. She was a trim, attractive young woman, who had somehow picked up the incongruous nickname "Pudgy."

He earned his pilot's wings and Lieutenant's bars in February 1942. McGuire pleaded to be sent where the action was, and was eventually sent to Alaska. There he flew P-39s and shivered in the cold in Nome. There was little combat flying in the Alaska, and McGuire soon began to ask to be transferred. Late in 1942, he was transferred to Harding Field in Louisiana. He and Marilynn married in December, shortly before his next transfer, this time to California, where he began flying P-38s full-time. He learned all about the big twin-engine Lockheed, and put in for all the flight time he could get.

In March 1943, McGuire was ordered to report to the 49th Fighter Group, Fifth Air Force, in the Southwest Pacific. While he was with the 49th, he first met Dick Bong, already known as the group's hottest pilot. In mid-July, he reported to the 431st Squadron of the 475th Fighter Group, General Kenney's new, all P-38 group. Kenney, C.O. of the Fifth Air Force, had made it known that the new group was his special project. "Don't send any dead-heads," was the word that went around. (The thought of a Dead Head flying any kind of airplane, let alone a high-performance fighter, really scares me. - SS) Consequently, the 475th started off with some of the best pilots and enlisted crews in the Pacific. The Group started at Port Moresby in southern New Guinea, flying P-38H's. McGuire was always hanging around the flight line, always wanting to learn more about the aircraft. Captain Nichols, CO of the 431st, noticed this, and made McGuire the squadron's Assistant Engineering Officer. This small event was typical of McGuire, and of the reactions it caused. Some other pilots felt McGuire was an "eager beaver," a "brown-noser." McGuire, his superiors, and McGuire's defenders would have only observed an excellent young pilot, who always wanted to do as much as he possibly could.

They flew their first combat missions in August, 1943, up and over the Owen Stanley Range, flying in support of McArthur's drive up New Guinea's northern coast and attacking the Japanese airdrome at Wewak. On the 18th, 1st Lieutenant McGuire faced the Japanese fliers in combat for the first time. He made the most of it, hitting five of them.

One could not be confirmed and he lost a coin toss for another, leaving him with official credit for three, still not too bad for a rookie pilot's first fight. (This was the time that his crew had to use steel wool to scrape off a Jap fighter's paint from his Lightning.) Three days later, the 431st visited Wewak again, and McGuire shot down two more Zeros. He was an ace after only two missions! His success was part of the 475th's outstanding combat debut; in its first 10 days, Kenney's new group had downed 40 enemy planes - an unrivalled achievement.

Tommy McGuire Combat Chronology
Date	Mission	Medals	Victories	Comments
Aug. 17, 1943	First Raid, started operations at Port Moresby
Aug. 18	Wewak	DFC	3	Silver Star (SS) for late August
Aug. 21	Wewak	DFC	2 Zeros
Aug. 29	Wewak	DFC	2
mid Sept.	*assigned Pudgy II; moved to Dobodura*
Sept. 28	Wewak	DFC	2 Zeros	shot up & lost one engine, landed at Tsili-Tsili
Oct. 15	Oro Bay	.	1	visible to cheering ground crews at Dobodura
Oct. 17	Oro Bay	SS	3	borrowed Capt. Nichols' plane, bailed out, injured
late Oct. - Dec. 12	hospitalized, R&R in Australia, off flying status
late Dec.	promoted to Captain, flew 2 missions a day, no combat
Dec. 26	Cape Gloucester	DSC	3 Vals	cut cards & lost credit for a 4th; 16 kills to-date
Dec. 29	little combat, no kills in these 5 months			promoted to 431st Sqn Operations Officer
Jan. 1944				flew 27 hours
Feb.				flew 60 hours, moved to Finschhafen
March				*assigned Pudgy III, a P-38J-15; moved to Nadzab*
April				some big missions for the 475th, no luck for McGuire
early May				promoted to CO 431st Sqn; moved to Hollandia
May 16	Noemfoer	.	1 Oscar	broke 5 month drought
May 18	Manokwari	.	1 Tojo	total 18 to-date, promoted to Major
June 16	Jefman	.	2	an Oscar & a Sonia
June	Charles Lindbergh arrived at 475th Group
mid July	475th FG moved to Biak
late July	Halmaheras	.	1 Oscar	.
August	shared tent with Lindbergh, explored cave and went "fishing" with him
August	*assigned Pudgy IV, when Pudgy III* was wrecked**
Sept.	*assigned Pudgy V, a new P-38L*
mid Oct.	Balikpapan	.	3	"tacked on" to 9th FS for bomber escort
Nov. 1	Tacloban	.	1 Tojo	*see opening story*
Nov. 10	Tacloban	.	1 Oscar	total 26 to-date
Nov. 12	.	.	2 Jacks	.
Nov. 19	moved to Dulag
Dec. 7	Ormoc Bay	.	2 Tojos	flew with Dick Bong
mid Dec.	Cebu	.	1	new pilot orientation flight
Dec. 25	Manila	.	3	awarded Medal of Honor for these 2 days
Dec. 26	Manila	.	4	awarded Medal of Honor for these 2 days
Jan. 7, 1945	Negros	.	.	Final Mission

On Christmas Day 1944, McGuire volunteered to lead a squadron of fifteen planes to provide protection for B-24 Liberators attacking Mabaldent Airdrome. As the formation crossed over Luzon, the Americans were jumped by twenty Zeros. McGuire shot down three throughout the fight. The following day, he volunteered for a similar mission. One of the B-24's was being hit and while firing at extreme range of 400 yards at a 45 degree deflection shot, McGuire hit the Zero in the cockpit and it burst into flames. During the course of this engagement, McGuire shot down four Zeros, bringing his total to thirty-eight overall. By this time Dick Bong had gone home, for a triumphant tour of the U.S., with 40 victories to his his credit. McGuire had 38, was still in combat, and there were still plenty of Jap planes around. Everyone, including McGuire, expected him to break Bong's record. It seemed like just a matter of time, not too much time at that. Afterwards, McGuire would have gone home to a hero's welcome as well. But time ran out for Tommy McGuire, just as he almost had his goal within his grasp.

On Jan. 7, 1945, Tommy McGuire led a flight of four planes on an early morning fighter sweep over the Japanese airdrome on Negros Island. Flying McGuire's wing was Capt. Edwin Weaver, whom McGuire had given demerits to when they were cadets in San Antonio. Major Jack Rittmayer and Lt. Douglas Thropp formed the second element. All were veteran combat pilots. The P-38's each carried two 160 gallon external fuel tanks. They spotted a single Jap fighter coming right at them. They departed Marsten Strip around 0615 and leveled off at 10,000 feet, but in the vicinity of Negros the weather forced their descent to 6,000 feet. McGuire led Daddy Flight to an airdrome over Fabrica Strip and made a futile attempt at provoking an enemy response by circling the area for approximately ten minutes. They were now flying at 1,700 feet.

When this effort failed, McGuire proceeded to another airdrome on the western coast of the island. En route, Rittmayer throttled back while breaking through the clouds and became temporarily separated from the rest of the flight. McGuire ordered his pilots to regroup, but learned that Rittmayer's aircraft encountered engine trouble. Thropp, therefore, moved into the number-three position.

Suddenly, Weaver spotted a Japanese fighter heading in their direction, 500 feet below and 1,000 yards ahead. The Ki-43 Oscar, piloted by Warrant Officer Akira Sugimoto, passed below McGuire's P-38 before either pilot could react. Meanwhile, Sergeant Mixunori Fukuda, piloting a Ki-84 Frank, was attempting to land and noticed his comrade's plight. Sugimoto fired into Thropp's aircraft, destroying one of the turbo-chargers. The Lieutenant's first thought was to drop his belly tank, but McGuire anticipated his intention and ordered his pilots to refrain from doing this. It is assumed he issued this order to avoid an early return to Leyte, thereby scrubbing the mission.

Rittmayer, meanwhile, had rejoined the flight and maneuvered his malfunctioning fighter to an advantageous position. He fired into Sugimoto's Oscar, frightening the Warrant Officer off Thropp's tail, but the enemy pilot didn't flee as anticipated. Instead, he turned his fighter tightly and fired several long bursts into Weaver's P-38. Weaver summoned McGuire's assistance.

McGuire's response was immediate as he turned sharply to the left, but something went wrong as his Lightning shuddered and threatened to stall. He sharply increased his turn in an attempt to get a shot at the enemy fighter, but his plane lost momentum and snap-rolled to the left. It was last seen in an inverted position with the nose down about 30-degrees.

Weaver momentarily lost sight of McGuire's fighter, but a second later witnessed an explosion. Sugimoto broke off his attack against Weaver just before McGuire's plane crashed. Rittmayer and Thropp pursued the damaged Oscar as it climbed to the north, and the young Lieutenant managed to deliver one last burst into Sugimoto's aircraft before it crash-landed in the jungle. He died shortly thereafter from six bullet wounds to the chest. Now Sergeant Fukuda arrived on scene and charged head-on at Thropp's P-38, but Weaver recovered from his ordeal in time to fire at the Frank. Rittmayer turned his aircraft to assist, but Fukuda caught the Major in a vulnerable position and fired a burst into his aircraft. The bullets struck the P-38 with telling effect, and it exploded outside the village of Pinanamaan. McGuire had crashed near this area a few minutes earlier.

Thropp's aircraft bellowed smoke from its engine, while Fukuda tried to advance on Weaver. When this failed, Fukuda chased Thropp and discharged a burst from his guns, but the lieutenant escaped to the relative safety of a cloudbank. Weaver sought to locate the Frank, but could not; he and Thropp returned to Dulag about ten minutes apart. They gave their combat reports, which disagreed on several points; and it wasn't until after the war that it became known that two, not just one, Jap planes were involved.

It can be said that McGuire was never shot down by enemy fire, only a split second violation of his rules for combat resulted in his death. Some critics have maintained that McGuire's order to keep the tanks was greedy and foolish; supposedly he wanted to score a 'quick kill' on the lone Japanese plane. Charles Martin, McGuire's biographer makes a persuasive case for other motivations. McGuire almost certainly ordered his flight to keep their drop tanks so that they could complete their mission. There's not much question that McGuire wanted the three extra kills he needed to surpass Bong's record. But it seems unlikely that he would have been foolish enough to violate his own rules of combat in pursuit of that goal. Far more likely he thought the single Jap fighter would pass by his four Lightnings, and then he could go about his mission.

He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in March 1946 for his actions on December 25-26, 1944 and January 7, 1945. His score of 38 enemy kills made him the second leading American fighter pilot of World War II, following Major Richard Bong. McGuire Air Force Base in his home state of New Jersey was named in his honor, a P-38, decorated as Pudgy V sits outside the base.

McGuire was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions, especially in the December 25-December 26 missions and the final mission on 7 January 1945. McGuire AFB was dedicated in his honor in January 1948.

Maj. MaGuire's Medal of Honor is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, along with his other medals and decorations.

McGuire is enshrined in the Aviation Hall of Fame of New Jersey on the grounds of Teterboro Airport, The Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame, and The National Aviation Hall Of Fame, Dayton, Ohio. He is also honored in the Florida Medal of Honor Grove, the National Medal of Honor Grove, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and in the Georgia Tech Alumni Medal of Honor Garden.

WASHINGTON, June 16, 1949 – The Air Force announced today that it had recovered the body of Major Thomas B. McGuire of Ridgewood, New Jersey, who had thirty-eight Japanese planes to his credit when he was shot down in the Philippines over four years ago.

He was already a leading ace with a record of 31 Japanese planes shot down when he volunteered on December 5, 1944 to lead a squadron of P-38s on a bomber escort mission over Mabalacar Airdrome on Luzon, Philippines. He shot down 3 of 20 Japanese Zero fighters that attacked his squadron. The next day, on a similar mission over Clark Field, near Manila, he exposed himself in order to draw fire away from a crippled bomber and shot down 3 of the 4 fighters that were attacking it. Another score on his way home that day brought his total to 38. On January 7, 1945, while leading a flight of four P-38s over Los Negros Island, he attempted a highly-dangerous maneuver in order to aid a comrade who was losing an encounter with a Japanese Zero and crashed.

His body was among the war dead arriving at San Francisco on an Army transport. Burial will be in Arlington National Cemetery.

He was listed as missing for four years after he disappeared during combat over Los Negros Island. He was last seen going to the aid of a fellow flier who was outnumbered by enemy planes. Early this year a graves registration team found his body, today’s announcement said. Nearby was the wreckage of a P-38 identified as the plane he had been flying.

New Jersey’s only Air Force Base, McGuire Field at Fort Dix, was named after Major McGuire.

The Air Force’s top-ranking ace was Major Richard Bong, who downed forty enemy planes. He died in a crash after the war had ended.

WASHINGTON, May 17, 1950 – Major Thomas B. McGuire, Medal of Honor winner during the war in the Pacific, was reburied with military honors in Arlington National Cemetery today.

Seven BV-25 medium bombers flew over as the Fifth Air Force ace, a native of Ridgewood, New Jersey, was laid to rest in the presence of his family and members of the New Jersey Congressional delegation. General George C. Kenny, Major McGuire’s commander in the South Pacific, was chief honorary pall bearer.

The P-38 fighter pilot was killed after he had shot down thirty eight Japanese planes in action. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry over Luzon, Philippine Islands, on Christmas Day, 1944. He was killed two weeks later in the same area attempting to aid a comrade under fire by Japanese planes.

The services today were attended by his father, Thomas B. McGuire of Ridgewood, and his widow, now Mrs. Marilyn Stankowski of San Antonio, Texas.

On Sunday January 7, 1945 at approximately 0710 local time a flight of four U.S. Army Air Corps P-38 aircraft were conducting a fighter sweep of the northern part of Negros Island in the central Philippines. Their mission was to search for and engage any airborne Japanese aircraft they might encounter. After circling one Japanese airfield at Fabrica they headed for a second airfield at Carolina. Approximately three miles from the Carolina Airfield they suddenly observed a lone Japanese single engine fighter aircraft flying below them and heading directly towards them. As the Japanese aircraft passed directly underneath the flight leader an intense aerial engagement broke out. In less than two minutes two of the P-38 fighters lay burning on the ground, their pilots killed. The two remaining P-38’s continued to fight the lone enemy fighter but eventually sought the safety of the overcast clouds and headed back to their base on Leyte. The lone Japanese fighter apparently got away undamaged.

The news of this dogfight devastated the morale of the American fighter pilots prosecuting the war against the Japanese. The top Army brass immediately slapped a “Top Secret” classification on any talk of this incident. For two decades after the war any details of this incident was kept from the public. Finally in the late 1960’s the Freedom of Information Act finally opened up the military’s records on this incident and allowed military historians to finally learn the truth about what happened that day over Negros Island.

Why was this incident so sensitive to the U.S. military? Because on that day America lost one of the greatest fighter pilots in its history. Major Thomas B. McGuire, Jr. aged 24 from Ridgewood, New Jersey. Major McGuire was the top ace of the 475th Fighter Group of the Fifth Fighter Command with 38 confirmed aerial victories. He ranked second only to Major Richard I. Bong who had been credited with 40 victories. At the time of his death Major McGuire was the highest scoring American ace still involved in air combat against the enemy. At war’s end Major McGuire’s total of 38 victories would place him as the second leading American ace of World War II. Major McGuire was also one of the highest decorated pilots during WW II and was posthumously awarded the nation’s highest award, the Congressional Medal of Honor. Today McGuire Air Force Base located near his home town in New Jersey stands as a daily reminder of his sacrifice.

What sparked my interest in this incident was just how could such a superb fighter pilot as Major McGuire meet such an unlikely fate during a seemingly routine combat patrol? And just who was that Japanese fighter pilot that took on four P-38’s, caused two of them to crash, chased the other two away, and apparently got away without a scratch? I also wondered exactly where Major McGuire went down and if there were any parts of his aircraft left at the crash site. I really wanted some answers to these questions. Unfortunately there were no easy answers to be found in the history books. In fact searching the internet and the history books I found about five different versions of what happened to Major McGuire that day. I couldn’t help but wonder which version was really the truth. So in 2000 I decided to undertake my own investigation into this tragic incident.

As a former USAF fighter pilot and mishap investigator I felt my military training and experiences might come in very handy in this investigation. It was also very helpful that I live in the Philippines, speak a little Filipino, am familiar with Negros Occidental, and that I’m an airline pilot with the ability to travel for free anywhere in the world that this investigation might presumably take me.

My first step was to gather as much information about this incident as possible. I first contacted Mr. Charles Martin who authored the book The Last Great Ace which is a biography on the life of Major McGuire. I traveled to his home in Jacksonville, Florida to meet with him. He very graciously opened up some of his files to me and referred me to some other key people that had helped him in writing his book. Most notably he introduced me to Mr. Doug Thropp. On January 7th, 1945 2nd Lieutenant Doug Thropp was flying as Major McGuire’s number four wingman on that fateful day and witnessed his fatal crash. I traveled to Mr. Thropp’s home in Richmond, Virginia and interviewed him extensively. We went over every detail of the mission and for the first time drew out detailed diagrams of the engagement that took place. The information that Mr. Thropp provided to me was invaluable in this investigation.

Mr. Thropp in turn referred me to Master Sergeant Gary Boyd of McGuire AFB and to Lee Northrop the Director of the 475th Fighter Group Museum located at March AFB, California. I traveled to McGuire AFB to meet with Sergeant Boyd and received from him some extremely relevant documents pertaining to this incident that had been released under the Freedom of Information Act. He also referred me to Mr. Michael Terry, an aviation historian, who also provided me with some important documents along with a recording of Major McGuire’s CBS radio interview conducted shortly before his death. For the first time I was able to put a voice to the many pictures I had collected of Major McGuire.

I then traveled to March AFB, California to meet with Mr. Lee Northrop. Lee very graciously opened up the 475th Fighter Group Museum’s archives to me and allowed me to search through their unit history logbooks, maintenance records, and aircraft logbooks as well as viewing never before published photographs and documents that detailed the day to day operations of the 431st Fighter Squadron and the 475th Fighter Group. What I was able to learn in doing so helped me determine the history and the condition of Major McGuire’s mishap aircraft and understand why Major McGuire was not flying his personal “PUDGY V” aircraft that day. This information would later prove invaluable. Lee also referred me to Mr. Craig Anderson who is the son of Carroll “Andy” Anderson.

Carroll Anderson was a fellow pilot in the 475th Fighter Group and frequently flew with Major McGuire on combat missions over New Guinea. In the early 1970’s, on his own imitative, Carroll Anderson launched the first and only investigation into Major McGuire’s fatal mission. At the end of his investigation he wrote a superb article describing what happened and titled it “McGuire’s Last Mission”. This article was eventually published in the January 1975 issue of Air Force Magazine.

I then traveled to Craig Anderson’s home in Linden, California where he allowed me to view all of his dad’s old files. While casually reviewing these old files dating back to the 1970’s I came across a hand drawn map written in Japanese. Looking a little deeper I discovered that this map had apparently been drawn by the Japanese fighter pilot that had engaged Major McGuire’s flight that day.

In his investigation in the 1970’s, Carroll Anderson had discovered that there was not just one Japanese plane involved in the dogfight but TWO planes. He was also able to learn the identity of the two Japanese pilots’ and had contacted one of them to get their side of the story. The surviving Japanese pilot eventually provided Mr. Anderson with a description of what had happened along with a hand drawn map of northern Negros where the dogfight had occurred. On this map the Japanese pilot clearly identified where Major McGuire had crashed. This map, hidden away for 25 years, became the lynch pin that led me to successfully locate Major McGuire’s crash site and eventually recover artifacts from his aircraft.

Even more remarkably I discovered that the Japanese pilot was still alive and residing in Kagoshima, Japan. His name is Mr. Mizunori Fukuda and I was able to contact him and receive permission to interview him. The information provided by Mr. Fukuda proved to be invaluable in this investigation. Not only about the location of Major McGuire’s crash site but also about his and the other Japanese pilot, Warrant Officer Akira Sugimoto’s, background and detailed information about what happened during the dogfight and how Major McGuire may have been killed.

As it turns out both Warrant Officer Sugimoto and Sergeant Fukuda were highly experienced air combat instructor pilots with many thousands of hours in single engine fighters. They also had extensive combat experience dating back to 1941 and recent combat experience against P-38’s and P-51’s over Leyte. They were also flying two of the highest performance aircraft in JAAF service, the Ki-43-III and the Ki-84A. It was no surprise that they handled themselves so competently against the four P-38’s in Major McGuire’s flight that day.

After almost a year of research I finally decided I had enough information to warrant a field trip to Negros, Occidental. On January 5th, 2001 I traveled to Bocolod City the capitol of Negros Occidental and assembled my search team. Assisting me would be Edwin Kho, an archeology student from Bocolod City University, along with his driver and an armed university security guard. The area that we would be working in was not totally secured from MLF and NPA terrorist activity so we wisely took these precautions. Edwin was also familiar with the area we would be searching in and had already recovered numerous WW II artifacts. Equipped with detailed maps, metal detectors, cameras, GPS receivers, digging tools, communication equipment, and plenty of funding we proceeded north to the area where the dogfight had occurred.

We immediately located the abandoned airfield at Carolina where Mr. Fukuda had been based. There we observed the concrete remains of the command post bunker that Mr. Fukuda had told us formed the center reference point of his hand drawn map. We then proceeded to locate and interview elderly local Filipinos that had been living in this area during the occupation. We located one individual, Mr. Orinco Remagio, who had been conscripted by the Japanese in 1942 and who was forced to work as a laborer at the Carolina Airfield until February 1945. He was very helpful in providing us with detailed information regarding runway orientation, aircraft parking areas, and day-to-day operations at this airfield. He also directed us to an area where he said numerous Japanese aircraft were junked after the war. Using a metal detector we were able to recover numerous Japanese 20mm shell casings and an HO-5 20mm cannon. The Ho-5 is the same type of weapon used by Mr. Fukuda’s Ki-84A Hayate fighter aircraft. Unfortunately we did not locate any significant aircraft parts.

The following day Mr. Remagio led us to a field south and west of the Carolina Airfield where an American aircraft had crashed during the war. He and some other workers were led there on a work detail in early 1945 to load parts from that aircraft and bring them to the Carolina Airfield. He advised us that the Japanese officers showed a lot of interest in examining the wreckage. Unfortunately he could not offer any description of that aircraft or what may have happened to the pilot. We searched the area with metal detectors but did not locate anything significant. In a follow up interview with Mr. Fududa he advised me that this was the P-38 aircraft that he had shot down and that his fellow officers were trying to confirm the aerial victory for him. Although I have not yet been able to positively confirm this fact it is probable that this was the P-38 aircraft of Major Jack Rittmayer, who was flying as Major McGuire’s number three wingman.

After completing our inspection of the Carolina Airfield complex we followed Mr. Fukuda’s map and proceeded to an area approximately three miles to the east. In this area we proceeded to a plantation identified as Hacienda Progresso. This plantation was identified in a U.S. Army Search and Recovery report as the location where Major McGuire’s remains were recovered in 1947.

While at this location we made contact with the current owner of the land, Mr. Bert Capay, but he could not offer any information to us regarding this incident. He did however identify an elderly woman by the name of Lourdes Cosa who had worked as a maid for the plantation owner, Mr. Vladimir Terrogoff, during WW II and that she might provide us with some information on this incident. Eventually we located her in the nearby city of Cadiz and interviewed her. Although she did remember the plane crashing near the owner’s house she could not pin point the exact location of the crash site. She did however refer us to the plantation foreman Mr. Vincente Vidoria whom she said lived in the nearby city of Conception.

The following day January 7th, 2001 we located the residence of Mr. Vidoria and sat down to interview him. We told him that we were investigating the crash of a plane in this area towards the end of WW II and if he knew anything about it? He replied: “Oh yes, I certainly do!” To my surprise he accurately described the type of aircraft involved, the markings on that aircraft, the time of day, the presence of three other “double body” aircraft, the presence of a Japanese single engine aircraft, and provided us with a description of the personal equipment that the pilot had been wearing.

Of particular interest was his statement that the pilot was wearing an unusual gold ring with a black stone. He also described the condition of the pilot’s remains and how he and some other workers had placed the pilot’s remains in a wooden box and carried it to the owner’s house. There they buried it under a large tree and replaced the grass so it would not look like a freshly dug grave. He then described how he had made contact with U.S. Army troops in 1947 and led them to the gravesite where they took custody of the body.

The information that Mr. Vidoria provided us with was cross referenced with the U.S. Army’s 1947 Search and Recovery Report, Major McGuire’s autopsy report, Major McGuire’s Missing Aircrew Report, and most vividly a photograph taken on January 5th, 1945. In this photo. taken two days before his death, Major McGuire is clearly seen wearing a black and gold ring on his left ring finger. Without reservation I determined that Mr. Vidoria had indeed witnessed Major McGuire’s crash and had assisted in recovering and securing his remains so they would not fall into the hands of the Japanese.

I then asked him to lead us to the crash site. After a 15-minute walk he led us to the western slope of a shallow ravine and standing midway up the slope stated that this is where the plane came to rest.

At the location that he directed us to look we began excavating the soil and over the next three days recovered more than 200 pieces of metal parts. One part we recovered was a 5-inch round geared pulley. This geared pulley was a precisely manufactured part recovered approximately 10 inches under ground in the middle of the crash site and showing extensive corrosion. Eventually this part was taken back to the U.S. and positively identified as a part of the window cranking assembly of the P-38 aircraft. This part is unique to the P-38 aircraft. We also recovered two .50 caliber brass shell casings with unfired primers, heavily corroded and showing extensive evidence of heat stress, and stamped with the number “4” on the casing base. We also recovered a single 20 mm HEI bullet fragment that was also extensively corroded.

Based on the testimony of Mr. Vidoria, the recovery of unmistakable P-38 aircraft parts at the location, the U.S. military documentary evidence, and the direct testimony from Mr. Fukuda and Mr. Doug Thropp I determined that this was in fact the crash site of Major McGuire’s aircraft.

The artifacts recovered at the crash site have been donated to the Clark Air Base Museum as part of a display honoring Major McGuire. It was in the sky over Clark Airfield on December 25th and 26th that Major McGuire distinguished himself and was subsequently awarded the coveted Medal of Honor.

Today a memorial marker with the following inscription has been placed at the crash site identifying the location of Major McGuire’s death:

During my investigation into Major McGuire’s unfortunate mishap I tried to rely on direct eyewitness testimony from individuals directly involved in the dogfight and on the evidence collected at the crash site. I also conferred with many P-38 pilots from the 475th Fighter Group who flew with Major McGuire and knew him personally. I feel the conclusions that I have drawn concerning the dogfight over Negros on January 7th, 1945 are the best idea we may ever have as to what really happened that day. I am currently writing a final report describing the details of the dogfight and analyzing exactly what happened. I hope to eventually establish a website on this incident and make my final report available on the internet.

I would like to thank the following individuals for their extremely valuable assistance in conducting this investigation:

475th Fighter Group, Medal of Honor Recipient