Harry Bernard, Jason Theriot, and Hewitt Theriot

-Was in school at VMI during 1941 when Pearl Harbor happened; went into the Navy
-Went to Pensacola for flight training and then Miami for further training
-Had to become a pilot before getting a commission for officer
-9 months of training

Invasion of Palau (8:25)
-Bernard’s squadron took out 25 ships and 121 Japanese planes
-Bernard was shot down and started swimming towards Hawaii (2,000 miles); submarine picked him up
-Rode the submarine for a month before getting to Hawaii

-Saw MacArthur land at Mindano, Philippines and watched them take pictures
-Took them 5 takes to get the right one
-Bernard was sitting on the beach
-Most of the boys did not like MacArthur
-They also hated the Red Cross as they wanted them to pay for their supplies
-They gave the worst materials for clothes and the everyday supplies they needed

-When the war started with Pearl Harbor, everybody wanted to join the Navy, never needed to draft them

Flew a TBM (19:27)
-Had rocket launchers
-100, 200, 500 and 2,000 lbs torpedoes
-And even a few bombs
-4 machine guns in the front and 2 on the wings

Back to the Carrier (21:00)
-Stayed on the at carrier for almost a year and half
-Flew every day; Hawaii was the only time he ever touched the ground
-Bernard rejoined his fleet and carrier in Majuro as they were secretly heading to invade Guam
-They had 4-5 big carriers; 18,000 ships in the fleet; 35 cruisers and 51 destroyers
-About a day into the trip Tokyo Rose (Japanese broadcasting) told them “We’ll be waiting for you at Guam.”

Memories (25:10)
-Had a pilot, machine gun operator and radioman on his plane
-Could carry up to 15 people on his plane ferrying them onto Guam to the carriers
-Bernard’s friend was shot down on the coast of Iwo Jima; he survived
-Once was flying in Davao Bay all day long taking pictures but saw no ships
-Coming back to the States heard that MacArthur had shot down 5-6 Japanese ships in the area;
-Bernard never saw MacArthur’s air force in that area at all (looking at photos)

-Bernard’s fleet hit Manila long before MacArthur came in
-They came in with a whole line of torpedo planes
-Dr. Castro, a Filipino now living in New Iberia, watched the whole thing as a child, dive-bombers hitting the waterfront
-Bernard sunk a 10,000 ton tanker
-Flew 200 knots at 200 feet, straight as an arrow so they would run right
-They targeted gun emplacements, road junctions, and ships, whatever they could find

Revisiting being shot down (38:13)
-Was in the water for about 12 hours before being picked up
-Started swimming to Hawaii but he knew he was never was going to make it
-Gave his lifejacket to a crewman who he lost
-The life rafts were dropped but once it inflated it flew away and they didn’t try to go after them
-3 people on the plane but Bernard was the only one to have survived
-They all got out for the plane; one of the men couldn’t swim and drowned immediately
-He had nothing and was stuck swimming/treading water that whole time
-Did not know if anyone was going to come find him;
-There were other planes above him but never knew if anyone had seen them

Manila and the end of the war (44:00)
-Manila was Bernard’s last engagement
-They were brought back to the States on a jeep carrier
-Landed in San Francisco and was reassigned to Atlantic City
-Received the DSC medal and almost refused it
-Later on sent to Boston to fly fighters
-They were to head back to Japan on another carrier group

-Then after V-J Day and they were told those that had families, enough points in the system, time put in to the service or the DSC medal and higher were to go home
-Bernard was sent home the next day
-Drove all the way back to New Iberia

Transcription:
Harry Bernard
Avenger Torpedo Bomber pilot
Pacific

I entered the service in late 1941. I was in school at VMI during Pearl Harbor. I joined the Navy. I went to Pensacola Florida for flight training. I went to Miami for further flight training after that. You had to become a pilot before you became an officer. My flight training lasted about 9 months. I trained with all the navy planes: N2N's, N3N's, Steersmen's, SNJ's, 0S2U's, Bruster Buffalo's, TBD's, and TBM's.

Our squadron, Torpedo II, was organized at Quonset Point south of Rhode Island. From there we went to the West Coast and boarded a carrier. We were on the USS Hornet, the second one. And we went to Hawaii.

On a carrier we had a bomber squadron, a torpedo squadron, and a fighter squadron. We had 30 fighter planes, 18 torpedo bombers, and about 18 dive-bombers.

We took part in the invasion of Palau (September 1943). Our squadron sunk 25 ships and knocked down 121 Japanese planes in that invasion. I was flying a TBM. I got my ass shot off there. My plane was shot down by antiaircraft. I hit the water and started swimming to Hawaii 2,000 miles away. When we crashed in the water, I undid my strap and got out. All three of us got out, but one guy couldn't swim. I was in the water for about 12 hours. I had nothing. I gave my lifejacket to a crewman, who I lost. The rescue planes would drop us life rafts, and as soon as they (rafts) would hit the water, they would inflate and blow away. I'm the only one that survived. The other two died, that was two too many. A submarine picked me up- USS Gar. I rode in that submarine for a month, till we got to Hawaii.

When I finally got to Hawaii, I tried to borrow some money and clothes.
I got back on the carrier and the issued me another plane. On a TBM we had rocket-launchers. We carried 100, 200, 500, and 2,000 lb. torpedoes and bombs. I had a machine gun in the back and two on the wings. It was a three-man crew: a pilot, a machine gunner, and a radioman. We had enough fuel to fly about 5 hours. We'd go back to the carrier, refuel and rearm, and take off again. We did this all day long. I stayed on that carrier for a year and a half. It was my home. My feet never touched the ground except when I went to Hawaii after I was shot down.

Our fleet left out of Majuro. We were 4 carriers with battleships and cruisers. We were secretly headed to Guam, to invade Guam. About a day or two into the trip, Tokyo Rose came on and told us where we were going. She said, "We'll be waiting for you at Guam."

So we invaded Guam (July 1944). There were a bunch of Japs and an airfield on Guam. We bombed the little towns and I took pictures of it. I flew a bunch of men from Guam to a carrier to get some ice cream one time. I fit about 15 men in that plane that day.

We hit Manila Bay way before MacArthur thought about coming back there. I was 22 at the time. Here is a picture of the ship that I sunk. I kept a camera on board. They wanted us to take pictures; we did what the told us to do. We used these pictures to find the spots that we wanted to hit. We targeted gun emplacements, road junctions, and ships, whatever we could find.

We came in with a whole line of torpedo planes from two ships. We hit the waterfront in Manila (He has a picture of the bay). The fighters hit Clark Field. Dr. Castro, the Filipino, in New Iberia was sitting right here watching the dive-bombers hit the waterfront. We came in and sunk all these damn ships. I got me a 10,000-ton tanker. I put a torpedo on him. I was flying 200 knots at 200 feet. You have to fly as straight as an arrow so your torpedo will run right. Castro was just a young boy. He told me years later that he watched the whole thing.

I watched MacArthur land ashore at Mindano in (October) 1944 (Philippines). I was sitting right there on the beach watching him do it. They were taking pictures of him land there. It took him five takes to get it right. Most of the boys didn't favor him much.

I had read a report that MacArthur's airforce had sunk 5 Japanese ships in Davao Bay, south of Mindanao. I was flying that area all day long that day and took pictures. I didn't see any ships. MacArthur's airforce was not flying in that area. These were falsified reports.

My friend got shot down off the coast of Iwo Jima. We were flying along with the fighters, and we were ordered to pick up any men who got shot down.

Our torpedoes weren't worth a shit at the beginning of the war. The Japanese had better torpedo's that we did. We got better equipment as the war went on.

After my last engagement in Manila I was sent back to the states. We came over on a jeep carrier. We landed in Frisco and I got reassigned to Atlantic City. I got my medal. It finally caught up with me, and I almost refused it. (What medal was that?) The DSC (Distinguish Service Cross). This skipper talked me into it, into accepting it.

I was sent to Boston to fly fighters. We had another carrier group together with nothing but fighters and we were headed to Japan. We had F6's, but we were getting F8's. Then V-J came. They started sending people home. If you had some points, you could go home first, or if you won the DSC. I was out the next day. I drove my car home.