MCAS Ewa’s Most Famous Medal Of Honor Combat Pilot Was Civilian Charles Lindbergh
by MCAS Ewa historian John Bond
Excerpts from The Wartime Journals Of Charles A. Lindbergh
are used with 1944 era MCAS Ewa photos
This is a history of MCAS Ewa that few people have ever heard before. If Lindbergh
had just been another WW-II military veteran and not been a keen observer and
prolific writer this account would not be known today. Recent research at the
Marine Corps and National Archives has revealed these snippets of the photographic history.
Prior to arriving at MCAS Ewa, Territory of Hawaii in 1944, Vought consultant Charles
Lindbergh in a factory-fresh Vought F4U Corsair, left the Vought plant at Stratford, Conn and
flew to Navy and Marine bases around the continental United States. He delivered his well-
traveled Corsair to the Navy at NAS, North Island San Diego and then worked to line up air transportation to Hawaii.
Lindbergh in a factory-fresh Vought F4U Corsair, left the Vought plant at Stratford, Conn and
flew to Navy and Marine bases around the continental United States. He delivered his well-
traveled Corsair to the Navy at NAS, North Island San Diego and then worked to line up air transportation to Hawaii.
While
waiting for a flight, he went to MCAS El Toro for two days of aerial
gunnery practice
with Marine pilots in formations of F4U Corsairs. Firing at towed targets, his gunnery was remarkably accurate. In a six plane formation, Lindbergh had the highest percentage of hits in spite
of not having fired an aircraft's guns since his Army Air Corps cadet training days 19 years earlier.
with Marine pilots in formations of F4U Corsairs. Firing at towed targets, his gunnery was remarkably accurate. In a six plane formation, Lindbergh had the highest percentage of hits in spite
of not having fired an aircraft's guns since his Army Air Corps cadet training days 19 years earlier.
Lindbergh caught a ride with a Navy R4D (the naval designation of the Douglas C-47), which
took him to Hawaii where he was able to meet with Marine Major General Ross Rowell and
BrigGen Walter Farrell about fighter operations in the Pacific. Lindbergh was
took him to Hawaii where he was able to meet with Marine Major General Ross Rowell and
BrigGen Walter Farrell about fighter operations in the Pacific. Lindbergh was
given a staff car to use and was checked into the MCAS Ewa BOQ – Bachelor Officers Quarters
for pilots. These were small but comfortable little screened in bungalows sheltered from the
nearby roadway with a wavy cinder block wall where Ewa Marine squadrons
for pilots. These were small but comfortable little screened in bungalows sheltered from the
nearby roadway with a wavy cinder block wall where Ewa Marine squadrons
painted on their names and histories.
US Marine Corp R4D on the still existing Japanese bullet marked concrete ramp built
just prior to the December 7, 1941 air attack. Lindbergh caught a ride from Ford Island
at Pearl Harbor over to MCAS Ewa which would barely require retracting the landing
gear before making the landing on Ewa's main runway just five miles away.
MCAS Ewa was still Ewa Field when after the attack on Pearl Harbor the Navy immedately
needed a large military airport for two carrier air groups as NAS Barbers Point still under construction and would not be ready for at least six more months. Ewa Field became widely
known as Naval Air Station Ewa and supported Navy operations that included the April
1942 Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, May 1942 Battle of Coral Sea and the hugely important
June 1942 Battle of Midway. Many of the Ewa based Navy and Marine pilots and aircraft
were lost in heroic and valiant efforts against the largely superior Japanese Navy
and Zero combat pilots at the Midway battle. The U.S. lost the Yorktown, the destroyer USS Hammann, 145 aircraft, and suffered 307 casualties. Japan lost four carriers, a cruiser, and 292 aircraft, and suffered 2,500 casualties.
"A Peacetime Hero Confronts Armageddon," American Heritage, October 1970
Charles A. Lindbergh flew out of the West into immortality, a shining figure of hope and courage
in a frivolous, uninspiring time. Yet within less than fifteen years all had changed. Lindbergh and
his brilliant young wife had been the victims of an atrocious crime and had been driven into exile
by a sensation-seeking press. Finally, as World War II drew on and Lindbergh came home to warn
his country against getting into it, he became to many a figure of obloquy and sinister rumor. In
his travels around Europe, studying its aviation, flying its fighters and bombers, he had seen many
Nazis, hadn‘t he? Was he pro-German? His resignation from the Air Corps Reserve was accepted
with alacrity. President Roosevelt attacked him by name. He seemed to drop out of sight, although
it was known he was doing something in military aviation.
By 1928 Lindbergh had been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor (1927), Distinguished Flying
Cross (1927) and Congressional Gold Medal (1928.) He had also been awarded top medals from Britain,
France and Belgium and in 1938 was awarded the Order of the German Eagle with Star in Nazi Germany.
It was Lindbergh’s public advocation against the US involvement in the 1940-41 European war that
caused FDR to greatly criticize him, resulting in Lindbergh resigning his Army commission.
From September 1940 until December 7, 1941, the American First Committee was the most powerful
isolationist pressure group in the United States. And from the time he joined in April 1941 until Pearl
Harbor nearly eight months later, Charles A. Lindbergh was the committee’s most popular speaker. On
June 20, 1941 Lindbergh spoke at the Hollywood Bowl to an estimated crowd of 60,000 – 70,000
which at that time was the largest attendance ever amassed at that stadium.
Public opinion polls of the time indicated that up to 80% of the American people opposed entry into
WWII, but the continuing tragedies of the wars in Europe and China by Axis powers was beginning to shift
public opinion. The American First organization quickly desolved after the December 7, 1941
attack on the island of Oahu and Pearl harbor. Most shocking was the high death toll of US
sailors on the USS Arizona.
in a frivolous, uninspiring time. Yet within less than fifteen years all had changed. Lindbergh and
his brilliant young wife had been the victims of an atrocious crime and had been driven into exile
by a sensation-seeking press. Finally, as World War II drew on and Lindbergh came home to warn
his country against getting into it, he became to many a figure of obloquy and sinister rumor. In
his travels around Europe, studying its aviation, flying its fighters and bombers, he had seen many
Nazis, hadn‘t he? Was he pro-German? His resignation from the Air Corps Reserve was accepted
with alacrity. President Roosevelt attacked him by name. He seemed to drop out of sight, although
it was known he was doing something in military aviation.
By 1928 Lindbergh had been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor (1927), Distinguished Flying
Cross (1927) and Congressional Gold Medal (1928.) He had also been awarded top medals from Britain,
France and Belgium and in 1938 was awarded the Order of the German Eagle with Star in Nazi Germany.
It was Lindbergh’s public advocation against the US involvement in the 1940-41 European war that
caused FDR to greatly criticize him, resulting in Lindbergh resigning his Army commission.
From September 1940 until December 7, 1941, the American First Committee was the most powerful
isolationist pressure group in the United States. And from the time he joined in April 1941 until Pearl
Harbor nearly eight months later, Charles A. Lindbergh was the committee’s most popular speaker. On
June 20, 1941 Lindbergh spoke at the Hollywood Bowl to an estimated crowd of 60,000 – 70,000
which at that time was the largest attendance ever amassed at that stadium.
Public opinion polls of the time indicated that up to 80% of the American people opposed entry into
WWII, but the continuing tragedies of the wars in Europe and China by Axis powers was beginning to shift
public opinion. The American First organization quickly desolved after the December 7, 1941
attack on the island of Oahu and Pearl harbor. Most shocking was the high death toll of US
sailors on the USS Arizona.
By 1944 the Marines were well settled in with flying the F4U Corsair and knew it's
strengths, problems and issues. As the manufacturer's aviation consultant Charles Lindbergh
wanted every detail that could be used for the next version upgrade as well as anything that
could be done to further extend or maximize the existing flying aircraft inventory.
Ewa Field was the Marine Corp's first operational airbase in the Pacific in 1941. MCAS Ewa by
1944 had become primarily a hub for all logistical support and training of the wartime pipeline of Marine pilots, mechanics, aircraft and equipment headed out to the front line Pacific combat
airfields. Ewa Field, which was a sister base of the San Diego Navy and Marine air stations in
1941, had spun off it's own new sister airbase at Henderson Field, Guadalcanal by August 1942, named in honor of Marine Corps Major Lofton Henderson, commanding officer of VMSB-241who was killed during the June 1942 Battle of Midway.
Charles A. Lindbergh at Marine Corps Air Station Ewa, 1944
Charles Lindbergh was a legendary figure in 20th Century American history,
especially aviation history. Many would state he was America's first world celebrity, his name
and face known all over the globe. But Lindbergh was never really comfortable with all of the
constant attention and ultimately sought seclusion whenever possible.
By all accounts Lindbergh had one of the most unusual, complicated, adventurous, controversial
personal and professional lives imaginable. He was also a prolific writer, publishing his wartime
diary and book “Spirit of St. Louis” which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1954 and became a major movie
in 1957. He had also been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, Distinguished Flying Cross,
Congressional Gold Medal and many other international medals and awards in the 1920’s. His father
had been a US Congressman and in Lindbergh’s younger days he was a daredevil wing walker and
barn storming stunt pilot.
especially aviation history. Many would state he was America's first world celebrity, his name
and face known all over the globe. But Lindbergh was never really comfortable with all of the
constant attention and ultimately sought seclusion whenever possible.
By all accounts Lindbergh had one of the most unusual, complicated, adventurous, controversial
personal and professional lives imaginable. He was also a prolific writer, publishing his wartime
diary and book “Spirit of St. Louis” which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1954 and became a major movie
in 1957. He had also been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, Distinguished Flying Cross,
Congressional Gold Medal and many other international medals and awards in the 1920’s. His father
had been a US Congressman and in Lindbergh’s younger days he was a daredevil wing walker and
barn storming stunt pilot.
Much of the original Ewa Field and MCAS Ewa still exists today with visible
historic archeology found all over the former WW-II base. These huts were
removed but the concrete floors and hut area still remains with little archeology done.
Lindbergh flew almost every day either in the F4U Corsair around the Hawaiian
Islands, mostly over to Maui areas, or in transport rides to places like Midway.
Lindbergh was greatly impressed by the islands, especially Maui. He would
ultimately retire and own a small "A" frame home in a very remote coastal area and died
there on August 26, 1974. He was buried in a small private ceremony in a simple earth grave
in the Palapala Ho'omau Church Cemetery in the village of Kipahulu on Maui.
ultimately retire and own a small "A" frame home in a very remote coastal area and died
there on August 26, 1974. He was buried in a small private ceremony in a simple earth grave
in the Palapala Ho'omau Church Cemetery in the village of Kipahulu on Maui.
“The Wartime Journals of Charles A. Lindbergh”
Civilian Charles Lindbergh arrived at Marine Corps Air Station Ewa,
Territory of Hawaii in April 1944. His stay there has never been officially
well documented other than in his own WW-II diary.
“The Wartime Journals of Charles A. Lindbergh.”
Many photos of his 1944 time in Hawaii are still buried away in archives
someplace. However his diary mentions places and structures at 1944 MCAS Ewa that have
recently been discovered in archives while researching the National Register nomination for
1941 Ewa Field and the later 1942-43 Navy-Marine aircraft revetment historic district.
The reason why Lindbergh was able to do so many things, despite being on wartime President
Roosevelt’s persona non grata list, was because many US military aviators still regarded him as an
American aviation folk hero and a brilliant detail oriented pilot with exceptional flying skills. Lindbergh
still had friends in high places, which included US Navy Admiral John Towers, a US Navy pioneer aviator
and Admiral Nimitz's chief advisor on naval aviation policy, fleet logistics, and administration. Towers
was also greatly involved in the establishment of 1941 Ewa Field as a Marine Corps base and expansion
of MCAS Ewa, and after the war became the first CINCPAC (Commander in Chief Pacific.)
Civilian Charles Lindbergh arrived at Marine Corps Air Station Ewa,
Territory of Hawaii in April 1944. His stay there has never been officially
well documented other than in his own WW-II diary.
“The Wartime Journals of Charles A. Lindbergh.”
Many photos of his 1944 time in Hawaii are still buried away in archives
someplace. However his diary mentions places and structures at 1944 MCAS Ewa that have
recently been discovered in archives while researching the National Register nomination for
1941 Ewa Field and the later 1942-43 Navy-Marine aircraft revetment historic district.
Roosevelt’s persona non grata list, was because many US military aviators still regarded him as an
American aviation folk hero and a brilliant detail oriented pilot with exceptional flying skills. Lindbergh
still had friends in high places, which included US Navy Admiral John Towers, a US Navy pioneer aviator
and Admiral Nimitz's chief advisor on naval aviation policy, fleet logistics, and administration. Towers
was also greatly involved in the establishment of 1941 Ewa Field as a Marine Corps base and expansion
of MCAS Ewa, and after the war became the first CINCPAC (Commander in Chief Pacific.)
WW-II staff cars in the Navy and Marine Corps were supplied by several US automotive manufacturers and usually provided through a motor pool assignment of need and purpose.
The area of these MCAS Ewa base BOQ - Bachelor Officer Quarters where Lindbergh stayed
were located in a semi-private compound area with a "wavy" squadron wall providing privacy
from the nearby main base road. The screened in private room bungalows were within brief
walking distance to the officers mess, base exchange and base commanders office.
The MCAS base and tenant unit commanders with staff could meet together for
meals and get briefings while eating. Sometimes newsreel movies would be
shown after dinner with a few drinks and choice of smokes - usually cigarettes.
Lindbergh was known to not smoke or drink. However he had an affinity for
sweets, especially chocolate bars.
At MCAS Ewa in 1944 Lindbergh was on a civilian technical mission
as an aircraft consultant who would show Marine and Army AF pilots
how to greatly improve aircraft performance and capabilities. Even
though an Army Air Corps Colonel before the war, Lindbergh was not
allowed to participate as a military officer, due to major political
differences with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Somewhat ironically,
Lindbergh left MCAS Ewa just prior to an official visit to the MCAS
Ewa air station by FDR in July 1944.
By 1944 MCAS Ewa had a very nice new Officers Club built by the 130th Navy SeaBee
battalion. The contracted architectural design was extremely modern even by today's
standards and featured a high vaunted ceiling, large band stand, dancing floor and long
bar in a modernistic tropical motif.
Numerous Anti-Aircraft batteries were all around the airfield with 40 mm Bofor gun flak towers
directly behind the Marine Wing headquarters building. Also nearby were much bigger 90 mm and 120 mm AA gun batteries, all manned by Army troops. Many underground air raid bunkers and ammunition bunkers are still found throughout the MCAS Ewa area with yet no official
historic archeology or site documentation as the US Navy turns the Marine air base over to
private land developer Hunt Corp. of Texas in an insider political deal.
The Northside Base Exchange closest to where Lindbergh was staying in 1944 and where he
could pick up his favorite chocolate bars. The BX design was utilitarian but featured a food
court privacy area using former Sisal plantation stalks. Ewa Field was built in a former Sisal plantation and the dried strong stalks were used throughout the base for fences and privacy walls.
Sisal plants, a species of Agave native to southern Mexico, are still prolific growing wild
throughout the former MCAS Ewa air base.
Charles Lindbergh was the first TIME Person of the Year and received a major
New York City multi-ship harbor welcome and ticker-tape parade down Broadway.
Lindbergh was at MCAS Ewa in 1944 because United Aircraft had hired him
as a researcher, test pilot, and advisor in its production of military aircraft. United Aircraft, whose subsidiary, Chance Vought, developed the F4U Corsair fighter for the Navy as a carrier
plane with folding wings but found its greatest use and fame with the US Marines and legendary squadrons like VMF-214 "Black Sheep" commanded by Gregory "Pappy" Boyington.
plane with folding wings but found its greatest use and fame with the US Marines and legendary squadrons like VMF-214 "Black Sheep" commanded by Gregory "Pappy" Boyington.
The Corsair was destined to become the most versatile fighter
and Marine Corps air-ground support aircraft of the Pacific war
and a mainstay of WW-II Marine Corps aviation. The first one to
see combat had arrived at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal in early
1943, flown by Marine Fighting Squadron VMF-124. The airplane
was so effective against the Japanese that within six months
every Marine fighter squadron in the Pacific had re-equipped
with the F4U Corsair.
One of things most people forget about wars and wartime sacrifices are the
many service members who died in training accidents. There were many aircraft
crashes and collisions during wartime and MCAS Ewa was no exception. The wartime
skies over Oahu were crowded with aircraft of all services with many flying without
contact with other close by flights sometimes causing horrific deaths. "Hot" airplanes
like the F4U required enormous concentration and flying skill. A single missed
switch, required procedure or attention to detail could quickly result in disaster.
Lindbergh took every chance to fly in different airplanes and went on a hop out to
Midway from the recently constructed MCAS Ewa air transport ramp and a little seat time
flying the Curtiss R5C (C-46) Commando. The Commando was comparable to the Douglas
R4D (C-47) but was capable of higher altitudes and twice the cargo volume of the C-47.
On the other hand it required more attention to maintenance issues. The Marines used both
with the Commando generally used for longer Pacific flights. However many more
C-47's still survive and fly today 75 years after their wartime service.
As a consultant for Vought, Lindbergh wanted to study the Marines' combat experiences and problems with the new fighter, so that improvements could be made for future models. Early in
1944, he met with Brigadier General Louis E. Woods, the Marines' director of aviation, to discuss
the idea of making a survey tour of F4U squadrons in the Pacific. Woods approved the plan and forwarded the request. There was little if any publicity and a relatively small number of people
knew of Lindbergh’s mission.
1944, he met with Brigadier General Louis E. Woods, the Marines' director of aviation, to discuss
the idea of making a survey tour of F4U squadrons in the Pacific. Woods approved the plan and forwarded the request. There was little if any publicity and a relatively small number of people
knew of Lindbergh’s mission.
Had Lindbergh remained in the Army Air Corps as a colonel he could have very likely been
a consultant if not a participant in the April 1942 Jimmy Doolittle Raid on Tokyo. This would have been exactly the kind of daring but precisely planned aviation mission that Lindbergh would love.
Fortunately Doolittle had exactly the same kind of technical knowledge, skill and daring that Lindbergh had to successfully direct 16 bomb loaded B-25's off the short deck of the USS Hornet.
Navy aircraft on the USS Hornet from Ewa Field were immediately brought on the flight deck
as soon as the last B-25 departed the carrier. Many of these same pilots and aircraft based at Ewa Field would fly from the Hornet just seven weeks later in the June Battle of Midway.
a consultant if not a participant in the April 1942 Jimmy Doolittle Raid on Tokyo. This would have been exactly the kind of daring but precisely planned aviation mission that Lindbergh would love.
Fortunately Doolittle had exactly the same kind of technical knowledge, skill and daring that Lindbergh had to successfully direct 16 bomb loaded B-25's off the short deck of the USS Hornet.
Navy aircraft on the USS Hornet from Ewa Field were immediately brought on the flight deck
as soon as the last B-25 departed the carrier. Many of these same pilots and aircraft based at Ewa Field would fly from the Hornet just seven weeks later in the June Battle of Midway.
Lindbergh catches a ride back to MCAS Ewa from Midway on a PBM Mariner seaplane
The Martin PBM Mariner was a Navy patrol bomber fitted with five gun turrets, and bomb bays
that were in the engine nacelles. They were also used for small cargo, personnel transport and
search and rescue with great long range capabilities. No doubt Lindbergh enjoyed the seat time
in this powerful twin engine seaplane. NAS Honolulu, which later became HNL airport, had
seaplane water landing areas and mooring docks for the constant WW-II Navy seaplane traffic.
Lindbergh discovered that even being a celebrity aviator and aircraft factory representative that
military SNAFU's were common as he came "home" to find his comfortable little hut had been cleaned out and belongings removed. With little recourse but to deal with it in the AM,
everything was located and returned to his living unit.
May 3 Is A Big Day Including Lindbergh First Exposure To The Tropical
Reef At Ewa's White Plains Beach Navy Recreation Area
This experience at the beautiful sandy beach located just below MCAS Ewa, later
known as White Plains Beach, had a major impact on Charles Lindbergh and his
view of the world. He retired to Maui after the war and became a major
influential conservationist, including raising money for Haleakala National Park.
In 1968 he made his first public speech in 27 years to implore the Alaska Legislature
to consider conservation legislation. He was already recognizing that world population
and over development was a major future danger for world civilizations. And he
made his famous statement that if he had to chose between birds and airplanes he
would chose birds.
Charles Lindbergh Prepares To Leave For The Southwest Pacific
Corsair pilot Lt. Rollin N. Conwell's body was never recovered,
Friday, May 5, Lindbergh leaves for the Pacific Southwest
Part II of the Charles Lindbergh WW-II Journey flying 50 combat missions
“The Wartime Journals of Charles A. Lindbergh.”
The 1944 West Loch disaster near MCAS Ewa, subject of an upcoming blog post
The historic National Register eligible "wavy" Squadron Wall, and Ewa-Kapolei area landmark, which had insignias of many famous MCAS Ewa squadrons and later also used by Navy and
Coast Guard units was graffitied in 2012. Without any community notice to restore and repaint it
the Navy's chosen land developer Hunt Corp of Texas immediately had it knocked down. Hunt
Corp has also destroyed other local cultural walls and had the 1942 Naval Air Station Barbers
Point memorial taken down and removed in 2018 without public notice. Hunt aims specifically
at historic sites to eradicate which may hinder their land development schemes and bulldozing
of historic MCAS Ewa Field.
Look for Part II of the Wartime Journals of Charles A. Lindbergh which will cover his adventures in the Southwest Pacific flying Marine F4U Corsairs and Army AF P-38
Lightnings in combat. Lindbergh as a civilian shot down at least one Japanese plane
and dropped huge bombs on targets at great personal risk in order to show the military
pilots the extended capacity and range of their combat planes.
NAS Barbers Point B-52 Loads, Takes Off and Drops Mk 36
Atomic Bomb
https://pearl-harbor-blast-zone.blogspot.com/2020/10/nas-barbers-point-b-52-loads-takes-off.html
Ewa Mooring Mast Field - Two Main Phases of the Ewa Mooring
Mast – 1925 and 1932
https://barbers-point.blogspot.com/2023/07/ewa-mooring-mast-field-two-main-phases.html
Historic WW-II Barbers Point Housing District Decimated,
Fire Drill Ghost Town
https://barbers-point.blogspot.com/2013/09/Navy-Homes-Being-Destroyed.html
BRAC! NAS Barbers Point Base Realignment And Closure A
Twisted Tale
https://barbers-point.blogspot.com/2013/09/Navy-Insider-Land-Deals.html
The 1942 Japanese Military Invasion of Hawaii – How This
Could Have Actually Happened
https://ewa-battle-of-midway.blogspot.com/2019/09/hawaii-under-imperial-japan.html
Nisei US Soldier Aided MCAS Ewa Marine B-25’s In Bizarre End
Of Pacific War Mission
https://ewaflightline.blogspot.com/2019/08/nisei-soldier-aided-marines.html
Famous 369th Regiment Provided WW-II Anti-Aircraft Defense
For MCAS Ewa
https://ewabattlefield.blogspot.com/2016/06/369th-AA-Regiment-Hawaii.html
Hawaii’s Top Secret Japanese Prisoner of War Camp – Camp
Iroquois, Ewa Beach
https://ewabattlefield.blogspot.com/2016/02/hawaiis-top-secret-japanese-prisoner-camp.html
Nisei Military Intelligence Service And The Pacific
Psychological Warfare Campaign
https://ewabattlefield.blogspot.com/2016/02/nisei-military-intelligence-service.html
Ewa July 4th Train Ride 2011
