Presentation Date: October 24, 2002
CAPT Ray Edinger US Navy (Ret.)
WWII and Korean Vet, In 1947 he flew one of the first remote control aircraft, Flew a total of 16,000 sorties and 60 missions, Flew TBM Torpedo Bombers, SBD Douglas Dive Bombers, F8N Bearcats, F4U Corsairs, and Bell Helicopters.
- WWII and Korean Vet
- In 1947, he flew one of the first remote control aircraft
- After helping to form the Pittsburgh Flight Squadron, he joined Air Task Group One and entered into the Korean War
- Flew a total of 16,000 sorties and 60 missions
- Flew TBM Torpedo Bombers, SBD Douglas Dive Bombers, F8N Bearcats, F4U Corsairs, and Bell Helicopters
The Bridges of Toko-Ri: The Real Story
The 50th Anniversary of a mission immortalized by James Michener, as told by US Navy Corsair pilot Ray Edinger.
It was 52 years ago, September of 1950, when "hostilities broke out" in Korea. And, this next fall will mark the 53th anniversary of the cessation of hostilities in that Far East Asian conflict. In the short time span of the Korean War, American jets and propellor driven aircraft flew hundreds of missions from air bases and carriers to attack enemy strongholds, cut supply lines and destroy transportation links running from North Korea to the South.
James Michener wrote the novel "Bridges at Toko-Ri", based on his experiences with Naval aviators in the Korean War. Michener, already a noted war correspondent and author, went aboard the carrier USS Essex and USS Valley Forge to write essays and short stories, notably "The Forgotten Heroes of Korea", "An Epic in Failure" and "All for One". All published in early 1952, these stories became the basis of the book Bridges at Toko-Ri , released in July,1953. Years later, Michener offered a disclaimer that the real missions had been flown by Corsair and Skyraider pilots instead of by jet pilots as in the "Toko-Ri" story line.
Ray Edinger was one of the Navy pilots who flew F4U Corsairs on some of the missions depicted in Bridges at Toko-Ri . At October's Golden Gate Wing dinner meeting, he described what he saw, and what he has read and heard over the years about the missions and their portrayal in Michener's writing.
Edinger says when he was flying in Korea, the carriers had a mix of propellor driven planes and jet fighters, because jets were underpowered and could carry little more than a couple hundred pounds of bombs under each wing. By contrast, the single engine Douglas AD Skyraider could carry 7200 pounds of bombs - - a heavier payload than the four-engined B-17 of World War II.
The F4U Corsair had become a carrier borne fighter/ bomber in World War II, only after Britain's Royal Navy ordered them for their fleets. With landing gear problems sorted out, carrier pilots tackled the technique of landing the long-nosed, bent-wing birds. With a carrier headed at 30 knots into a 25 knot wind, for instance, Edinger says the landing procedure called for, "Coming downwind right above stall, about 80-85 knots. You have to make a turn (to the left)... it's a matter of timing. You start at 200 feet, you're hanging on the prop. And you want to get into position 50 feet up, 35 or 50 feet back while you're still right in the turn and get your cut. You drop your nose, lower your wing, and then you can look down and see the carrier deck, and then you land."
Edinger says the pilots Michener wrote about became the characters of the stories and then, of the novel:
Brubaker - - portrayed in the book as a Navy Reserve pilot who was a Chicago lawyer, recalled to active duty and flying jets from the carrier Essex, Edinger says the character was patterned after Lt. Don Brubaker, an AD Skyraider pilot with VF 194 aboard the carrier Valley Forge.
The Air Group Commander - - was patterned after Cdr. Marshall Beebe, the CAG of Air Group 5 on the Essex . He had the Corsairs of VF 53 , the Skyraider attack bombers of VF 54, F9F Panther and F2H Banshee jet squadrons under his command. Beebe was a Banshee pilot, and not only led his pilots into battle, but became friends with Michener. Michener dedicated the book to Beebe.
Chief Aviation Pilot Mike Forney, the helicopter pilot - - played by Mickey Rooney in the film version of "Bridges at Toko-Ri" - - was modeled after Duane Thorin, a helicopter pilot aboard the cruiser USS Rochester , and who made more than 100 aerial rescues, and co-developed a sling to help pull pilots out of the chilling waters off Korea. Another ship, LST 799 in harbor, also had a pilot who flew rescue missions. Thorin was popularly known for the green baseball cap he wore.
The Admiral, George Tarrant in the book - - was patterned after Rear Admiral John Perry, Commander of Carrier Division Three. As Michener wrote, the admiral had lost a son about the same age as Brubaker, so he took a special interest in Brubaker.
When Edinger reported aboard the Valley Forge, he says he ran into an old buddy with whom he used to fly seaplanes, and who became the carrier's photographic officer. Edinger made arrangement with him that after each flight, Ray would get his gun camera film and copies of reconnaissance still photos, which Edinger showed as slides during his talk.
Edinger explained the Navy had a squadron ratio of pilots to planes of 1.5 to 1 - - 24 pilots and 16 airplanes - - with four squadrons comprising an Air Group. "When we went to Korea, they gave us four more (pilots) because our tactics were a lot different in World War II. Pilots were flying day after day and sometimes two combat strikes in one day. So they increased the squadrons from 24 to 28 pilots, and the aircraft from 16 to 18," Ray recalls.
The peninsula of Korea is militarily strategic to Japan - - across the Sea of Japan - - and to Manchuria, China and Russia which border the mountainous country. Edinger told of how its steep, sharp ridges of mountains above narrow valleys and canyons could only be crossed by a series of tunnels and bridges.
The Korean climate is one of extremes. Summer high temperatures are frequently 110 degrees with 90 percent humidity, with bitter winters dumping snow on the mountain ridges and turning the water of the Sea of Japan into an ice bath. According to a settlement made in the 1911 Russo/ Japanese War, Russia agreed that Japan could have Korea. After WWII ended, Korea was jointly occupied by the United States in the South and the Soviet Union in the North. When 90,000 North Korean troops invaded South Korea in 1950, the United States poured troops and materiel into the country to turn back the invaders.
After the North Koreans had been pushed back above the 38th parallel, the post WWII dividing line between North and South, the conflict evolved into two armies digging into trenches, fighting a war of attrition. Edinger says interdiction came in the form of daily aerial attacks, to deprive the Northern army of its supplies, "Cut the rails, blast the trains, shoot up the trucks, ox carts, boats... stop the supplies. It (took) 5000 tons of supplies a day to support the Communist troops. There was a railroad in North Korea, which carried most of the load."
Targets for the Air Group were troop barracks, headquarters buildings, railroad lines and roads, marshaling yards, bridges and tunnels, supply dumps and boats. Edinger says a railroad locomotive was a prize target. "If you could find a locomotive on the tracks, it'd be great if you could cut the tracks in front and in back of it... The first strike group would try to cut the tracks so the next group could come in and gnaw at the train."
And there were targets of opportunity, including ox carts, with "A-packs" on them. The challenge was knowing from the air whether an ox cart was hauling a farmer's produce or weapons and food for the North Korean army.
"We had a procedure... we made a dummy run, we didn't fire. If it was a farmer, he would take the time to untie his oxen and take them in the field with him, because that was probably his entire life's savings. If the guy just ran, we figured it was military and on the next pass we'd open fire. And sure enough, they'd blow up. They were carrying ammunition."
US Navy aviators flying repeated missions against North Korean transportation, often facing heavy antiaircraft fire and having to return to their carriers, had to brave the bone chilling possibility of ditching in the Sea of Japan. Winter water temperature was all of 33 to 34 degrees and the air temperature below zero. Survival in the water was a matter of minutes, Edinger says, and nobody lived in that water after more than a hour's exposure.
"So the Navy came up with what we call the Ôpoopy bag', a suit you put on absolutely watertight, around the neck, wrists and ankles," says Edinger, referring to a slide showing a pilot wearing a G-suit, covered by flannel shirt and trousers, a kapok garment and then the Ôpoopy bag', a rubber suit with a front opening that would seal tight. Edinger says once you put it all on, "You can't do anything that your body may want to do for four and a half hours. On top of that you wore your parachute Mae West, your .38 cal. revolver, your dye marker, shark repellant, your flashlight and your whistle."
Ray describes ditching a Corsair in water a very unpleasant experience, because the pilot had to quickly disconnect seat belt and harness, the G-suit hose and radio headset wire, and wrangle with the lanyard to the life raft under the seat. Quickness was the key, because the aircraft floated for only 60 to 70 seconds.
Edinger tells the story of a Lt.jg Ettinger, who was shot down in December of 1951. Two months later, in February 8, 1952, a rescue party was put together to rescue the alive but injured pilot. Three night fighting Corsairs and four AD Skyraiders went out to rendezvous with a helicopter from the cruiser Rochester. Duane Thorin was the copter pilot. "Ettinger was about ten miles inland and 8-10 miles south of the city of Wonsan. When the helicopter arrived, instead of having Thorin's normal crewmember, at the last minute an Army lieutenant from the Secret Service or whatever they call it, said ÔI'm going with you. I've got some supplies for some of our guys over there.' Thorin said it was too much weight, and made them take off half of it. They loaded the helicopter with the Army lieutenant and proceeded to the rescue site."
Edinger says when the copter landed at the snow-blanketed rescue site, a valley surrounded by ridged mountains, Thorin set one wheel down and tried to pull Ettinger on board. Between the maneuver and the extra weight, Thorin couldn't keep the copter from crashing. The call went out for another helicopter. Meanwhile, one of the covering Corsairs was hit by ground fire, and Edinger says the pilot, John McKenna radioed he was trying to reach a beach to crash land.
"We never saw John again. And another of the Corsairs got hit so badly, he had to go down to (air base) King-18, and one of the ADs also. So we didn't know whether it was a trap or what it was, but we lost a couple of airplanes and failed to make the rescue. The LST sent its helicopter in. And it got in close to the area, but was shot up so badly he came back, tried to make a crash landing on the Rochester. He said he'd try again, but he couldn't make it... those helicopter pilots were heroes. They were great." Edinger says during the failed rescue attempt, scheduled air strikes hit three railroad bridges in the mountains 50 miles east of Samdong-ni. Along the railway, there were two towns called Koko Ri and Toko San, whose names Michener combined for his book title "Bridges at Toko-Ri".
A flight of four AD Skyraiders and two Corsairs flew the mission, preceded the day before by high altitude photo reconnaissance by F9F Cougars. The images they brought back, shared in the pilot briefing, clearly showed a hornet's nest of dug-in antiaircraft guns. The ADs were carrying bridge busting 1000 pound bombs while the Corsairs dropped bombs and used their machine guns to suppress anti-aircraft fire.
Edinger says he got a call about ten o'clock that morning, on his day off, to fly in support of the failing rescue mission. "They gave me three Corsairs and one AD and I was supposed to go out and relieve the Res-CAP that was out there. So I proceeded. And on my way out they called and said, Ôdeploy your second section to a hill,' and they gave the coordinates, where a pilot had been shot down... I took my wing man and proceeded to the Ettinger rescue."
Ray says they flew for about two and a half hours, in a gun duel with the AA positions, trying to keep the pilot safe until he was rescued. Then Ray was relieved by a group from the carrier Philippine Sea. As they came in, Edinger took their leader down to show him the crash site. Ray says the helicopter was covered by the Corsair pilot's parachute, and was hard to see against the snowy backdrop.
Edinger made a second pass, flying over the grounded airplane by 50-100 feet. As they were pulling up, Ray says the other leader radioed him that Ray's Corsair had been hit and was losing oil. "I looked out at the left wing and sure enough, it's all running out the left wing."
Heading out towards the coast, and the Valley Forge beyond, Edinger heard a there was a long boat out, and he could land next to a cruiser carrying out the rescue attempt, and be fished out of the water.
By the time the carrier had asked Ray the condition of his Corsair, the pilot had determined the leak was hydraulic fluid and not oil. But he had a hung rocket, and he figured the engine had been hit because it was running rough. Valley Forge radioed Edinger to tell him to head for the air base at King-18.
"No, we went on to the ship. They wouldn't let me land until... they put the fences up and were going to put a line of donkeys (tow vehicles) there... "We didn't know if I had a tailhook. But to make a long story short, I landed (gear up). That rocket that was on the left wing, it bounced off and slided on the deck, and you don't see anyone in sight at all. The reason is the guns might have gone off, we didn't have hydraulics, that rocket was armed, and we didn't know exactly what would happen. So everyone's in back of something."
Edinger says a firefighter ran out in his white suit to pull Ray from the airplane which, along with the rocket, was pushed overboard. Ray was taken to sick bay, where he says he got two ounces of "liquid pacifier." Meantime, one of the Valley Forge AD pilots involved in the bridge attack, Ensign Marvin Broomhead, had been shot down. Landing on the top of one of the mountains, he crawled with broken ankles from his F4U and laid on the wing, radioing for a helicopter. While another group of Navy planes flew cover, a third helicopter flew in from a cruiser up the coast. The copter pilot, Navy Lt. Moore, and his navigator, Marine 1st. Lt. Henry, came to Broomhead's rescue, only to be shot down near the AD. As the afternoon's shadows lengthened, and Korean troops closed in on the crash sites, it was clear this rescue attempt had failed.
Morning's light revealed to a rescue flight nothing but the broken remains of aircraft of the Korean hilltops. There was red snow where Broomhead and the copter crew had crashed, leading to a belief the pilots had been massacred, even though it was later realized the red coloring was from dye markers. Back on the Valley Forge, Michener heard the radio traffic and wrote notes for his story "All for One," based on Michener's amazement that men who didn't even know each other would give up their life in a rescue attempt. Edinger recalls reading Broomhead's personal account of the mission, which said Broomhead made a first run on a target, then was hit on his second run. Too low to bail out after dumping his bombs, Broomhead had crashed relatively close to the hill near the bridges. And he had survived the overnight ordeal, but was a prisoner of the Koreans.
Far before his call to service, Ray Edinger built model airplanes as a boy growing up, and he marveled at the fictional stories of 'Tailspin Tommy'. Graduating from high school in 1934, he attended Todds School of Aeronautics in Pittsburgh and earned his private license in 1940.
Edinger was commissioned in the Navy in October, 1942. During WWII he served as a flight instructor and then went thru refresher training as a seaplane pilot, and flew ASW missions in the Vought OS2U in the Gulf of Mexico.
After joining the Navy, in 1945, Ray became seaplane qualified for catapult and recovery on sea sleds on battleships and cruisers. In the next year, Edinger was assigned to the Naval Academy to help train midshipmen to become pilots. From there he had assignments at Patuxent River Naval Flight Test Center, and the Naval Air Transport System, logging hours in a wide variety of aircraft, including the four-engined Lockheed Constellation.
One of his most alarming moments as a Navy pilot came when Ray landed a "Super Connie" on Kwajalein Atoll. He says that on many of these tiny Pacific coral islands, visibility on final approach was fine until you'd hit a bank of moisture between 50 and 100 feet from the tarmac. Being able to see to land meant having the co-pilot turn on windshield wipers just before hitting the wet air. Edinger recalls a final approach at night to the airstrip at Kwajalein, when he was less than 100 feet in the air and he didn't get his visual reference before hitting the wet air.
"All of a sudden the airplane started to fall. And I had literally stalled at 75 to 100 feet. I pushed forward all four throttles and it sounded like an explosion... The airplane responded and it caught just before I landed, made a nice landing. The passengers wanted to know what that explosion was. I didn't tell anyone. But I think, that I nearly lost 76 passengers and a crew of nine, was probably one of my most harrowing experiences.
When the Korean War broke out, Edinger was assigned to flying F4U Corsairs from the carrier USS Valley Forge, where he flew 61 combat missions. Ray Edinger retired from the Navy as a Captain, and spent many years in his second career at Lockheed Missiles and Space Company in Sunnyvale.