{"id":25005606,"date":"2026-09-27T08:23:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T06:23:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/?p=25005606"},"modified":"2026-10-01T15:13:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T13:13:09","slug":"chichijima-1944-george-hw-bush-shot-down-eight-airmen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/fr\/chichijima-1944-george-hw-bush-shot-down-eight-airmen\/","title":{"rendered":"Chichijima 1944: The Raid George H.W. Bush Survived and Eight Airmen Did Not"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\n\n<style>\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid #0F1720;background:#fff;color:#0F1720;font-family:inherit;font-size:14px;font-weight:700;line-height:1;letter-spacing:0;text-transform:none;cursor:pointer;box-shadow:none;transition:background .15s,color .15s}\n.mfsh-trigger:hover,.mfsh-trigger:focus-visible{background:#0F1720;color:#fff;outline:none}\n.mfsh-trigger svg{width:18px;height:18px;display:block;flex-shrink:0}\n.mfsh-trigger.mfsh-bottom{margin:8px 0 28px}\n.mfsh-meta{position:relative;padding-right:190px}\n.mfsh-trigger.mfsh-inmeta{position:absolute;right:0;bottom:0;margin:0;height:30px;padding:0 8.9px;font-size:13px}\n.mfsh-trigger.mfsh-inmeta 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His target was the island&rsquo;s radio station. He hit it, and was shot down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Bush was rescued. Eight other American airmen who came down near Chichijima were not. What happened to them was hidden for decades, and it became one of the darkest war-crimes cases of the Pacific war.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>A post from @historyphotographed has brought the story back to a large audience this week. It is broadly right, but it collapses months of events into one day, and that detail matters to the families of the men involved.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"margin:28px auto;max-width:400px\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"skip-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DddNdbzlYue\/embed\" width=\"400\" height=\"600\" style=\"border:0;max-width:100%\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;font-style:italic;margin-top:6px\">The post that prompted this article.<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;border-left:4px solid #1a1a1a;padding:18px 22px;margin:24px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:20px\"><li><strong>Date:<\/strong> 2 September 1944<\/li><li><strong>Pilot:<\/strong> Lt(jg) George H.W. Bush, VT-51, USS San Jacinto<\/li><li><strong>Aircraft:<\/strong> Grumman\/General Motors TBM Avenger<\/li><li><strong>Target:<\/strong> Radio station on Chichijima, Bonin Islands<\/li><li><strong>Crew lost:<\/strong> Radioman John Delaney and Lt(jg) William &ldquo;Ted&rdquo; White<\/li><li><strong>Rescued by:<\/strong> Submarine USS Finback, after about four hours in a life raft<\/li><li><strong>Captured airmen executed on Chichijima:<\/strong> Eight, shot down in separate raids; four were partially cannibalised<\/li><li><strong>Trial:<\/strong> US military commission on Guam, 1946 to 1947; records kept secret for decades<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:28px 0\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/tbm-avenger-vt-51-uss-san-jacinto-1944.jpg\" alt=\"A TBM-1C Avenger of Torpedo Squadron 51 taking off from USS San Jacinto in June 1944\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;display:block\" \/><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;font-style:italic;margin-top:8px\">A TBM-1C Avenger of VT-51, George H.W. Bush&rsquo;s squadron, takes off from USS San Jacinto for a raid on Guam, 28 June 1944. Photo: US Navy, National Archives 80-G-238783 (public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Attack on the Radio Station<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Bush flew with Torpedo Squadron 51 from the light carrier USS San Jacinto. Chichijima mattered because of its radio and radar stations, which warned the Japanese home islands of incoming American raids. On 2 September the squadron&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/tbf-avenger\/\">Avengers<\/a> went in against the radio station through heavy anti-aircraft fire.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Bush&rsquo;s aircraft was hit during the dive. He pressed on, released his bombs on the target, and turned out to sea before ordering his two crewmen to bail out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:22px 26px;margin:30px 0\"><p style=\"font-size:19px;line-height:1.6;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 12px\">&ldquo;Suddenly there was a jolt, as if a massive fist had crunched into the belly of the plane. Smoke poured into the cockpit, and I could see flames rippling across the crease of the wing, edging toward the fuel tanks.&rdquo;<\/p><p style=\"margin:0;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>George H.W. Bush<\/strong>, recalling the attack on Chichijima<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Only Bush survived. Radioman Second Class John Delaney got out, but his parachute failed. Lieutenant (junior grade) William &ldquo;Ted&rdquo; White, the squadron&rsquo;s gunnery officer, who had asked to fly along that day, did not get out of the aircraft. Bush struck the tail as he jumped, came down in the sea, and climbed into a small inflatable raft while other American aircraft kept Japanese boats away from him. After about four hours the submarine USS Finback, stationed off the islands as a lifeguard for downed aircrew, surfaced and pulled him aboard. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"max-width:520px;margin:0 auto 24px\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/george-hw-bush-rescued-uss-finback-1944.jpg\" alt=\"Sailors on the deck of the submarine USS Finback pulling a downed airman aboard, 2 September 1944\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;display:block\" \/><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;font-style:italic;margin-top:8px\">Lt(jg) George H.W. Bush is pulled aboard the submarine USS Finback after being shot down off Chichijima, 2 September 1944. Photo: US Navy, National Archives (public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:28px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3pB8CBtNUV4\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Correction: Not Nine Pilots on One Mission<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The post says nine American pilots took off on 2 September 1944, and that the eight who came down with Bush that day were captured. That is not what happened. The nine were airmen who survived being shot down during the repeated American raids on Chichijima, not a single formation. Bush&rsquo;s own crew died with his aircraft. The eight men who fell into Japanese hands were Navy and Marine Corps aircrew brought down in separate attacks on the island. Bush was the only one of the nine to be rescued.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Their names were Lloyd Woellhof, Grady York, James &ldquo;Jimmy&rdquo; Dye, Glenn Frazier Jr., Marvell &ldquo;Marve&rdquo; Mershon, Floyd Hall, Warren Earl Vaughn and Warren Hindenlang.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">What Happened on Chichijima<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The prisoners were beaten and tortured, then executed, most by beheading, on the orders of the island&rsquo;s senior army officer, General Yoshio Tachibana. Officers then ate parts of the bodies of four of the men. Major Sueo Matoba was among those most directly involved. The accounts come from the post-war investigation and trial, and were brought to a wide audience by James Bradley&rsquo;s 2003 book <em>Flyboys<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>After the war a US military commission on Guam tried Tachibana, Matoba and other officers and men. Because neither military nor international law at the time specifically covered cannibalism, the charges included murder and &ldquo;prevention of honorable burial&rdquo;. Tachibana, Matoba and Captain Yoshii were among those sentenced to death and hanged; others received prison terms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The proceedings were classified. Bill Doran, who attended the 1946 trial on Guam, signed repeated secrecy oaths and kept silent until documents from the case were declassified in 1997.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #8a1c1c;padding:22px 26px;margin:30px 0\"><p style=\"font-size:19px;line-height:1.6;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 12px\">&ldquo;All these years I had this nagging feeling these guys wanted their story told.&rdquo;<\/p><p style=\"margin:0;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Bill Doran<\/strong>, who attended the 1946 war crimes trial on Guam, as quoted by CBS News<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:28px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Kh72XctOv5M\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Why the Story Still Matters<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>It is easy to tell this as a story about a future president&rsquo;s lucky escape. It is also the story of eight young aircrew whose fate was deliberately hidden from their families for half a century, and of the lifeguard submarines and escort fighters whose job was to get downed airmen out of the water before the enemy could reach them. On 2 September 1944 that system worked for George Bush. For the other eight, it did not.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Bush flew 58 combat missions in the Pacific. He spoke about Delaney and White, the two men he lost, for the rest of his life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What happened to George H.W. Bush at Chichijima?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">On 2 September 1944, Lt(jg) George H.W. Bush of Torpedo Squadron 51 was shot down while attacking the radio station on Chichijima in the Bonin Islands. He completed his bombing run, bailed out over the sea and was rescued after about four hours in a life raft by the submarine USS Finback. His two crewmen, John Delaney and William White, were killed.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What was the Chichijima incident?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Chichijima incident was the torture and execution of eight captured American airmen on the Japanese-held island of Chichijima in 1944 and 1945. Japanese officers then ate parts of the bodies of four of the men. The case was tried by a US military commission on Guam after the war, and several senior officers were hanged.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Were the eight airmen shot down with George H.W. Bush?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">No. The eight airmen executed on Chichijima were Navy and Marine Corps aircrew shot down in separate American raids on the island, not on Bush&rsquo;s mission of 2 September 1944. Bush&rsquo;s own two crewmen died when his TBM Avenger was lost. Of nine airmen who survived being shot down in the raids on Chichijima, Bush was the only one rescued.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Who was punished for the Chichijima executions?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">General Yoshio Tachibana, Major Sueo Matoba and Captain Yoshii were among the officers sentenced to death by a US military commission on Guam and hanged; others received prison terms. Because military and international law at the time did not specifically cover cannibalism, the charges included murder and prevention of honorable burial.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why was the Chichijima incident kept secret?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The records of the 1946 to 1947 war crimes proceedings on Guam were classified, and participants signed secrecy oaths. Documents from the case were declassified in 1997, and James Bradley&rsquo;s 2003 book Flyboys brought the full story to a wide audience.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Did George H.W. Bush get a medal for the Chichijima mission?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Yes. George H.W. Bush was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for pressing home his attack on the Chichijima radio station after his TBM Avenger had been hit. He flew 58 combat missions in the Pacific during the Second World War.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What happened to George H.W. Bush at Chichijima?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"On 2 September 1944, Lt(jg) George H.W. Bush of Torpedo Squadron 51 was shot down while attacking the radio station on Chichijima in the Bonin Islands. He completed his bombing run, bailed out over the sea and was rescued after about four hours in a life raft by the submarine USS Finback. His two crewmen, John Delaney and William White, were killed.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What was the Chichijima incident?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Chichijima incident was the torture and execution of eight captured American airmen on the Japanese-held island of Chichijima in 1944 and 1945. Japanese officers then ate parts of the bodies of four of the men. The case was tried by a US military commission on Guam after the war, and several senior officers were hanged.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Were the eight airmen shot down with George H.W. Bush?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"No. The eight airmen executed on Chichijima were Navy and Marine Corps aircrew shot down in separate American raids on the island, not on Bush\u2019s mission of 2 September 1944. Bush\u2019s own two crewmen died when his TBM Avenger was lost. Of nine airmen who survived being shot down in the raids on Chichijima, Bush was the only one rescued.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who was punished for the Chichijima executions?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"General Yoshio Tachibana, Major Sueo Matoba and Captain Yoshii were among the officers sentenced to death by a US military commission on Guam and hanged; others received prison terms. Because military and international law at the time did not specifically cover cannibalism, the charges included murder and prevention of honorable burial.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why was the Chichijima incident kept secret?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The records of the 1946 to 1947 war crimes proceedings on Guam were classified, and participants signed secrecy oaths. Documents from the case were declassified in 1997, and James Bradley\u2019s 2003 book Flyboys brought the full story to a wide audience.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Did George H.W. Bush get a medal for the Chichijima mission?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Yes. George H.W. Bush was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for pressing home his attack on the Chichijima radio station after his TBM Avenger had been hit. He flew 58 combat missions in the Pacific during the Second World War.\"}}]}<\/script><p style=\"font-size:14px;color:#777;font-style:italic;margin-top:28px\">Sources: US Navy and National Archives photo records; History.com; CBS News; TogetherWeServed; SOFREP; Wikipedia (Chichijima incident); James Bradley, <em>Flyboys: A True Story of Courage<\/em> (2003); George and Barbara Bush Foundation; Wikimedia Commons.<\/p>\n\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\n\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\n\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/tbf-avenger-midway-debut-vt-8-bert-earnest\/\">TBF Avenger at Midway: Six Went Out, One Came Back<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/grumman-tbm-avenger-restoration-first-flight\/\">The Avenger Returns After 17 Years<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/doolittle-raid-1942-b-25-uss-hornet-tokyo\/\">The Doolittle Raid: Sixteen B-25s That Were Never Coming Back<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On 2 September 1944 George H.W. Bush was shot down attacking Chichijima and rescued by a submarine. Eight other American airmen captured there were executed.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":25004868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25005606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Chichijima 1944: George H.W. Bush and the Eight Airmen | Afterburner - MiGFlug&#039;s Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"George H.W. Bush was shot down attacking Chichijima on 2 September 1944 and rescued by USS Finback. 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