WW II Commemorative - 13th AF Long Rangers

This very special B-24 Liberator Bomber of the 13th Air Force, was part of the 307th Heavy Bomber Squadron, 370th Bomber Group, 13th Army Air Force. She had two separate and very special crews. Lt. James H. Scholl, of Gonzales, TX, was my father and served as Navigator in the original crew. Stationed at Carney Field, Guadalcanal, they saw action from May 29 to July 6, 1943.

      After a heavy drubbing by the enemy on July 3, the Billie B,   was grounded for repairs. July 6, her crew received orders to take a different B-24 out on a bombing mission to Bougainville Island, Philippines. Under the command of 1st Lt. Joseph Robins Littlepage, of Bloomington, Ill., they successfully completed the night mission. On their return to base, their plane and one other from their squadron was last sighted about two-thirds of the way back in the vicinity of Choiseul Island, in an area known as "The Slot". The aircraft and crew of both planes vanished. January 21, 1946, the airmen were officially declared dead.

     Of the ten airmen, only two were married. Of those, only 2nd Lt. James H. Scholl had any direct descendents. I was born 4 months after he was MIA.  I got to know him through letters and other memorabilia, as well as family stories shared by my mother, Joyce Lynne Hickman Scholl, who is still living, and from other relatives.

     In my search to learn more about their final mission, and about Billie B's second crew, I found a WW II Honorarium on behalf of Jimmie. It was posted by Ray Justus, nephew of T/Sgt. Harold Hutton Justus, Crew Engineer of Billie B.  Ray has posted similar honorariums to commemorate the other crewmembers, as well. He was instrumental in locating several relatives of crew, and we have been sharing our experiences and information with one another, which has been a very moving experience.

     Billie B had a second crew, under the command of Lt. Homer Faucette.  In August, 1943, she had recovered from her battering and welcomed her new airmen.  Together, they flew many missions which earned great honor for both craft and crew.

     An Oklahoman-Times article, March 18, 1944, stated that Faucette was rated the "top Liberator pilot" in the Thirteenth Air Force, with more than 500 combat hours. The crew received a total of 83 decorations and is credited with downing 12 Zeros during 53 bombing missions, plus many search missions.

     My mother, "Jo", was able to get acquainted with many of Billie B's first crew. From their training at Alamagordo, up to their final departure from Topeka, Kansas, she enjoyed the comraderie that developed, and has many stories of the experience which will be shared as this commemorative website grows.

     One story she shared is how Billie B got her name. Lt. Littlepage told the crew about a close friend he greatly admired. She was a woman with an indomitable spirit and zest for life, despite having a physical handicap. The crew unanimously agreed. My father designed the nose art for the aircraft.

     Her performance in the South Pacific proved the name was a good choice.  It turned out that this B-24 was imbued with the same strong spirit as her namesake.  Despite having been battered and grounded, it seemed as if Billie B was determined to get revenge on the enemy for taking away her "boys".   Considering all the honors she and her second crew received, she not only got her revenge, she also brought every airman in the crew back to base.

     On her last mission, August 30, 1944, after wrecking devastation on Bougainville, she actually turned back to drop a life raft for another bomber which had crash landed at sea. During the rescue mission, Billie B was jumped by more than 30 Zeros. Faucette dived for the water and flew so low, the Japanese couldn't get beneath. Before the Zeros quit, the crew shot down seven of them. Only two airmen were injured. Tailgunner S/Sgt. Donald O. Harrison, was shot in the stomach during the attack. He was reloading when the Zeros gave up. S/Sgt Ray McDonough was wounded in the right hand, but he soon recovered and rejoined the crew.

     Each of the ten lost airmen of Billie B's original crew were honored posthumously, with an Air Medal and Purple Heart. In addition, in the Field of the Missing in the American Cemetary, Manilla, there is a Tablet for each airman. Their names appear on the WW II Memorial, Washington, DC, and online honorariums placed in the online WW II Memorial Registry.