CIRCLE OF LIFE REVISITED A Continuing Tale of the 500TH Bomb Squadron
15 March 1945: 6 B-25s of the 500th Bomb Squadron approached Hong Kong Harbor, hunting for targets. They found shipping in the harbor and, following squadron protocol, the aircraft spotting the target and closest to it led the attack. Squadron CO Capt Rex Reheis flew that B-25, and he rolled in leading the attack. He skipped-bombed a freighter and pulled off. Aircraft #2, nicknamed “Bold Venture” (B-25J, s/n 43-36171), followed him and also bombed the target… then Fate intervened. As Bold Venture pulled up and over the freighter, the target exploded. The blast knocked out the aircraft’s #2 (right) engine and set the bomb bay (doors still open) on fire. The 345th Bomb Group’s B-25s were gunships and therefore very heavy. Hills surrounded the inland perimeter of Hong Kong. They weren’t mountains, but they were big enough so that a B-25 struggling for altitude on 1 engine could have a problem. The pilot feathered #2 engine and fought to climb to give his crew at least a chance to bail out, while trying to sideslip his damaged B-25 between two ridge crests. The tail gunner and radio operator likely did jump but were too low. The others—pilot, co-pilot and gunner/engineer—didn’t make it either; the aircraft impacted 75’ from the top of one hill, 1 mile from the Chinese village of Nam Long. The crew:
Pilot: 2Lt Robert W. Jensen Co-Pilot: 2Lt Orville L. Garrison Gunner/Engineer: Sgt Henry M. Worley Radio/Gunner: Cpl Frank M. Tubb Tail Gunner: Sgt Robert H. Waggy
Fast-forward to August 2008. My uncle was Bold Venture’s pilot, Bob Jensen. I grew up hearing about my mother’s favorite cousin, Bobby. He became a personal hero of mine, a major factor in my joining the USAF in 1972 (Col, [ret] 1994). I had been in contact with Lynn Daker for years to discover more about a relation I never knew. I was also aware that Lt Jensen had a son, also named Bob Jensen, whom he never knew, as he was born after his dad died. I tried to find my cousin, and finally did in Aug ’08 after about 30 years of looking. “Cuz” Bob (also a former USAF pilot—KC-135s, C-7s) and I met, attended the 15th 500th BS Reunion in Ogunquit, ME together, and wrote up the story of our reuniting (“Circle of Life”) for a previous Squadron Newsletter. We’ve become fast friends and our families are very close. I also had forged close ties with 2 others, Toby Brown and Chris Davis, who had taken an interest in the Bold Venture saga, the mission, the aircraft, her crew and the crash. Toby actually live(s) in Hong Kong, has visited the crash site on numerous occasions, and even sent minor—but meaningful—bits of wreckage to Bob, me and previously to Lynn Daker.
Fast forward again to August 2011. My daughter, Shannon, got married on Cape Cod (getting the job done mere hours before New England got hit by Hurricane Irene). She and her husband, Brad, had decided to honeymoon on Bali in Oct, which necessitated transiting through Hong Kong. Shannon had met Cuz Bob previously, knew his dad Jensen’s story, and was very keen to learn more about our family history in general. I had made arrangements on their trip home for them to meet Toby Brown, who, in turn, had contacted the US Consulate in Hong Kong. Shannon and Brad accompanied Toby to the actual Bold Venture crash site above Hong Kong. They examined the ground and collected small pieces of the wreckage. They viewed the ground where the villagers of Nam Long had carefully interred the crew’s remains (later identified and retrieved by the USAF in 1949), leaving any of their possessions with them out of respect for the “American Flying Gentlemen.” They had the distinct honor of meeting one esteemed village elder, a youngster himself in 1945, who actually helped bury the crew that fateful day. The village of Nam Long is very special to our families because of the honor and respect they paid to our loved ones long ago, in the direct presence of Japanese troops, actions taken in the name of humanity that transcended other considerations. While at the site, Shannon, a niece of Lt Jensen, read the 500th Bomb Squadron’s poem honoring its fallen members. They videoed it and we forwarded it to Harlan for inclusion on the Squadron website (www.500thbsq-b25s.com), along with many other photos and other film of the area (“Photos of Now” on the website).
To commemorate the visit, the US Consulate in Hong Kong hosted a gathering for Shannon, Brad and Toby. LtCol Dan King and TSgt Greg Bauman, USAF, presented Shannon a silver bowl (pics below) citing Lt Jensen, but really in honor of the Bold Venture crew’s sacrifice. The Hong Kong visit, especially the ceremonies at the crash site and Consulate, were most-meaningful to Bob’s and my families. However, as “old” vets ourselves, we think of all 500th Bomb Squadron and 345th Bomb Group “families,” of those who fell during the war like Lt Bob Jensen and his Bold Venture crew, and those who have “Gone West” since, and we are humbled and deeply grateful for the honor and respect afforded to each of these warriors.
For more of the Bold Venture saga, access http://boldventureb25.com/Bold_Venture/Welcome.html a website put together by Chris Davis telling the entire story, including some crew biographies and many pictures, of then and now.
Brad, Shannon, LTC King, Toby Brown Commemorative Bowl
Bob Jensen Pearson with commemorative bowl at Lt Jensen’s graveside, Punch Bowl, HI