Introduction

This page honors my father-in-law, Lieutenant Colonel William Nelson Malone, who flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers in the South Pacific during World War II. What follows is what I’ve been able to piece together about his service over the years. 

His service

Bill Malone served with the 31st Bombardment Squadron of the 5th Bombardment Group (Heavy), part of the 13th Air Force in the U.S. Army Air Forces. The Air Force did not become a separate branch until September 18, 1947. Flying out of the Philippines in the final months of the war, his missions ranged from Samar Island to the Borneo area. Like most of the Pacific bomber crews, he struck enemy bases and airfields across the islands rather than the Japanese home islands themselves.

The Bomber Barons

His unit, the 5th Bombardment Group, was nicknamed the “Bomber Barons.” Its emblem was a winged skull with the Hawaiian motto “Kiai O Kalewa,” meaning “Guardians of the Upper Realm.” Our family still keeps a banner bearing the Bomber Barons name and emblem.

The group included a headquarters squadron and four bombardment squadrons, the 23rd, 31st, 72nd and 394th, all flying the B-24 Liberator. It began the war with the 7th Air Force in Hawaii, joined the 13th Air Force in 1943, and from June 15, 1944, served with the Far East Air Forces until the war’s end.

The 31st Bombardment Squadron’s war

When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the 31st Bombardment Squadron was based at Hickam Field on Oahu, flying B-18 Bolo and B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. The squadron lost four men killed and nine wounded that morning.

In late 1942 the squadron moved to Espiritu Santo and began flying combat missions in the South Pacific, then advanced to Guadalcanal in January 1943. By early that year it flew only B-24 Liberators. On August 12, 1943, nine of its B-24s joined a major raid on the Japanese airfield at Kahili on Bougainville, destroying an estimated twenty aircraft on the ground before fighting off some thirty Zeros on the way home.

As the Allies pushed north, the squadron moved with the front, from New Georgia to the Admiralty Islands, then to Wakde and Morotai. On March 17, 1945, it arrived at Guiuan Airfield on Samar Island in the Philippines, where it remained until the end of the Pacific War. This is the period when Bill Malone flew with the squadron.

The group’s commanders

Lt. Col. Edwin B. Bobzien, April 1941 to January 1942
Col. A. W. Meehan, January 1942 to October 1942
Lt. Col. B. E. Allen, November 1942 to August 1943
Lt. Col. Marion D. Unruh, August 1943 to December 30, 1943
Lt. Col. J. C. Reddoch Jr., December 30, 1943 to August 1944
Col. T. C. Musgrave, August 1944 to February 1945
Lt. Col. A. W. James, February 1945 to March 1945
Lt. Col. I. J. Haviland, March 1945 to July 1945
Lt. Col. A. W. James, July 1945 to January 1947

On December 30, 1943, Lt. Col. Unruh’s B-24D, “Pretty Prairie Special,” was shot down. Nine of its crew were captured, and only Unruh survived captivity to the end of the war.

Learn more

For the full history of the 5th Bombardment Group, visit Pacific Wrecks:
https://pacificwrecks.com/units/usaaf/5bg/index.html

For the 31st Squadron’s later history, including its operations from Samar, see Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/31st_Test_and_Evaluation_Squadron