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Interviewed by: Kristen Richards |
| My name is Orvis Fitts. I was an
unmarried student at St. Olaf College in Northern Minnesota when war broke out. I
volunteered as a Naval Aviation Cadet on December 8, 1941, the day after we heard about
Pearl Harbor. The whole country was abuzz with excitement. I think that this
is why I failed my first physical because of high blood pressure at the Naval Air Station,
Minneapolis, Minnesota. I retested after the first of the year with no problem.
While awaiting orders at home, my parents paid for 10 hours of flight instruction
in a Piper Cub. On Jaunary 7, 1942, I was accepted into the Navy as part of the
Naval Aviation Cadet Program and was to report to the Naval Air Station on March 26, 1942. I remember the day I was ready to leave home. My father wrote an inscription with both of our names on the cover leaf of a small New Testament that he had carried in the First World War. He cried in front of me for the first time as he handed me that New Testament — it was a most emotional time for us. I still have that New Testament. Seventeen of the twenty-two members of my first class went on to become naval aviators. From June 15, 1942, I was considered a Naval Aviation Cadet. My hardest class focused on celestial (by the stars) navigation. We were tested extensively by the instructors on our flying abilities and they gave us "safe for solo" or "unsafe for solo" ratings. In Corpus Christ, Texas, I took my advanced training in Squadron 18-B flying PBY Catalinas, also known as "Flying Boats." Our program there included athletics and physical fitness, and we were taught how to fire various weapons, from the .30 caliber machine gun to the .45 caliber pistol. That pistol had a terrific kickback! I became experienced in flying in bad weather and at night "on instruments." After I graduated from advanced training I was re-assigned to Corpus Christi as an instructor. I think that my parents were relieved that I was going to be serving my country as an instructor and not in a war zone. As collateral duty, I was appointed Officer-in-Charge in Squardron
18-A. I trained my students in basic flying, navigation, anti-submarine tactics,
gunnery, night flying and bombing. I was promoted to Lieutenant, JG (junior grade)
Our quarters were large tents with elevated wood floors and side screens with canvas flaps that could be lowered to keep out rain. We slept on metal cots with rather thin mattresses. I never liked the fried potatoes and navy beans that we were served for breakfast. We flew a number of patrols at this time in the area known today as
Vietnam, back then it was called French Indo-China. In the summer of 1945 we flew
patrols over the South China Sea. We flew over Camranh Bay on July 23, but we must
have surprised the defenses in the area because they didn’t fire at us. Our
fourth patrol on July 26 took nearly twelve hours — we found some railroad engines at
Phan Rang and strafed them with our guns. On patrol on August 7, we approached the
seacoast to find a river steamer hidden in one of the delta channels. It must have
been carrying a deck cargo of oil drums because it burned furiously after we attacked
it. We went up the Mekong Delta to attack other enemy ships but our bomb-release
mechanism failed. Just after we cleared the ship we’d intended to bomb, there
was a loud explosion, and I suddenly saw holes appear in the plane’s body in front of
me! I heard the end of the war (V-J Day) announced during a USO show. People began firing into the air and someone ended up burning down our "head" or bathroom tent! It took a while for the celebrations to end and the show to resume. After the war had ended, I visited places where the fighting had
been very thick, Guam, Okinawa, and the Japanese mainland. I was the staff pilot for
Admiral Gunther, flying a specially modified PB4Y-1 with its armor and arms removed for
passenger service. I saw the destruction that the Japanese had brought down upon
themselves, from the graves on Okinawa where they had made their last stands, to their
wrecked ships and tanks on Okinawa and Marcus and Wake Islands. The navigator of the Admiral’s plane and I went on a short day-tour of Tokyo in a borrowed Jeep. The Japanese seemed poor and made many attempts to prove their deference to me, as an American officer. I knew about their warrior’s code, "Bushido," which meant they’d fight to the death. They’d just as soon shoot you as look at you. This code led to many atrocities like the Bataan death march, the occupation of Manchuria and China, and the Rape of Nanking. I think that the Japanese were cruel and mean back then, and while the current generation may have changed, I still refuse to buy Japanese products if I can help it. After my service as the Admiral’s pilot I left active duty and returned to the States. I landed at Seattle and took a train back to Great Lakes, Illinois. My parents met me on a short stopover and we had a short, joyous and emotional meeting. I got a job with Standard Oil, and was active in the Naval Reserves in my community from 1946-64. Some of my fondest memories involve the reunions of our squadron, the "Blue Raiders," beginning in the mid-1980s. I met many old friends and we honored those who died in the line of duty and those who have passed away since. I think that the most important difference in America between now and then was that back then we all worked together for a common cause. We all came together to win the war. There wasn’t as much division, violence and crime in American society as there is today. My hope is that my grandchildren and other Americans never have to participate in another World War. Freely adapted from the interview with and memoirs of Orvis N. Fitts, Lieutenant Commander Permisson Granted for Use by: Orvis Fitts ©
2001
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Orvis Fitts
effective March 1, 1944. The Navy had not experienced the losses that
it had expected and thus there was a substantial reserve of pilots. The pace of
training began to slow, and we were soon assigned to prepare for fleet operations in the
Pacific Theater. I was subsequently stationed at Jacksonville, Florida; Hutchinson,
Kansas; Miami, Florida; and Camp Kearney, California. In Florida I picked up the
crew that I’d be flying with. I formed a real bond with those guys in training and in
action. There was a common bond between us as aviators, a camaraderie that made a lasting
bond with those friends. At Camp Kearney we changed to the PB4Y-2 or
"Privateer," a plane similar to the Army’s B-24 with heavy armament and
extra armor. Boy, would I be glad about that armor when we got into combat! 
We had a crew of three officers, myself and two others named Whiteman and
Braakman, as well as nine enlisted men. We were told that we were going to fly out to
Hawaii on May 31,1945. From Hawaii, we flew to Johnston Island, the Kwajalein Atoll in the
Marshalls, Tinian in the Marianas, Samar in the Phillipines and to our Squadron VPB-117 on
Mindoro. Our runways were Marston metal mats placed on the sand near the beach and
was called Maguire Field. We flew both the Liberator and the Privateer
aircraft. 
The sound had come from what was probably a
20-millimeter round striking the armor plate in front of me. The plate was bowed in
from the impact and the nuts on the bolts holding the plate in place were stripped.
That piece of armor plate saved my life! You asked me if I was afraid during
combat. Well, I don’t remember being afraid — I was too busy doing my
job. It was only after you landed and had some time to think about what had happened
that you were afraid. We didn’t make much of the holidays back then either. 