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A Tour That Relives The Days After Dec. 7
Steve Murray of MidWeek wrote this article for the December 4, 2013 edition of MidWeek
about the Pacific Warbirds Pearl Harbor Experience.
Read MidWeek Article
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Above the ‘Infamy’ |
| October 7, 2012 |
Honolulu Star Advertiser |
| A seasoned pilot takes his passengers back to December 1941 on an aerial "mission" with the Pearl Harbor Experience |
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By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
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WISPS of smoke rise from the cigar in the ashtray on Bruce Mayes' desk, the pungent odor blending with the aroma of strong coffee. On a wooden Philco radio, Frank Sinatra croons "As Time Goes By" — his soothing voice muting the persistent staccato of a teletype machine in the adjoining room.
Scattered around the office are helmets, footlockers, duffel bags, a manual Royal typewriter and other equipment and furnishings circa 1941. The desk calendar is turned to Dec. 10.
"Ensign, our mission today is classified ‘Secret,'" Mayes says. "The full extent of damage from the Japanese attack three days ago has not yet been determined. Our orders are to fly around Oahu and get aerial shots of the areas that were hit. When we finish our photographic survey, you'll take the film to the Navy's intelligence department, so it can be processed and analyzed."
Thus begins Pacific Warbirds' Pearl Harbor Experience, which Mayes describes as a "memorable immersion into World War II history." A seasoned pilot, he assumes the role of a Coast Guard Air Detachment commander for the two-hour air tour, the only one of its kind in Hawaii.
One passenger, who plays an ensign assigned to shoot photos during the aerial reconnaissance, flies tandem in Mayes' 1944 SNJ. Manufactured between 1937 and the 1950s, the single-engine plane, dubbed the "Pilot Maker" during World War II, was primarily used to train student pilots to fly advanced fighter and bomber aircraft.
With a top speed of 200 mph, it was not as fast as a fighter, but it was easier to control and it could roll, loop and spin, honing aviators' skills to execute tactics ranging from strafing to dogfighting.
Mayes, who captained flights for Aloha Airlines for 23 years, purchased his SNJ in Olympia, Wash., in 1999 to fly in air races and air shows around the West Coast. He intended to keep it on the mainland, but in 2008, Aloha went out of business.
The following year, Mayes accepted an offer to transport his SNJ to Oahu so it could appear in an air show with the Thunderbirds, the U.S. Air Force's precision flying team. Before long, he was doing ceremonial flyovers over Pearl Harbor and responding to people's requests to ride in his vintage plane. That provided the impetus for him to launch Pacific Warbirds and the Pearl Harbor Experience.
During the 45-minute briefing before embarking on the "mission," Mayes presents a timeline of the catastrophic December 7, 1941, attack that thrust the United States into World War II. On a large wall map, he shows the routes of the two major waves of Japanese warplanes that bombed six military installations on Oahu: Hickam Field, Wheeler Army Airfield, Bellows Army Airfield, Ewa Marine Corps Air Station, Kaneohe Naval Air Station and Pearl Harbor Naval Base.
As he talks, the roar of propeller-driven planes and the clatter of the teletype machine add realistic sound effects. "The attack began around 7:55 a.m. and by 9:45, the Japanese planes were gone, and chaos had set in," Mayes says. "In less than two hours, America's military presence in the Pacific was decimated."
In flight, he guides the SNJ over seven sites related to the attack and shares tidbits about them gleaned from years of research. For example, above Wheeler, he points out a little-known runway in a gulch.
"The runway was used to move fighters and bombers from a nearby assembly facility to the main Wheeler base," Mayes says. "Because it was hidden, it kept outsiders from knowing the exact number of aircraft at Wheeler at any given time."
Although Haleiwa Auxiliary Field was not bombed, it's on the tour route because Army 2nd Lts. Ken Taylor and George Welch took off in their P-40s from there and subsequently shot down seven enemy planes.
Meanwhile, Mayes says, a Japanese midget submarine ran aground on the coral reef off Bellows. Its pilot, Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki, was captured and became the United States' first World War II prisoner of war.
PEARL Harbor sustained the most damage and casualties, including 2,402 deaths. Nearly half of those killed were aboard the battleship USS Arizona, which sank less than 10 minutes after taking several direct hits.
"Many people don't realize most of these sites not only still exist, they're clearly visible from the air," Mayes says. "Pacific Warbirds is not about ‘rides.' We have a unique opportunity, if not obligation, to combine the history of those hallowed battlegrounds with a flight in a real military plane from World War II. Pacific Warbirds is dedicated to the preservation of vintage aircraft and to the people who designed, built and flew them, so their proud legacy can live on."
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.
ABOUT BRUCE MAYES
Childhood finds stoked interest in Pearl Harbor
As a boy, Bruce Mayes enjoyed hiking in and around the Koolau and Waianae mountain ranges, where he discovered many World War II sites, including airstrips in Kualoa, tank traps at Dillingham Air Field and log-and-sod pillboxes near Pupukea.
Mayes' father, an Air Force pilot, was stationed at Wheeler from 1959 to 1962, when Mayes was in elementary school. Because of that, his family had access to military areas that were off-limits to civilians.
"We'd go to Ford Island on the car ferry and picnic near the airfield," Mayes recalls. "The Navy had virtually abandoned the place. Bomb racks were still piled up along the hangars, and we had fun exploring the seaplane ramp, office buildings and other structures. We saw bullet holes everywhere, and I wondered what it was like for those who were on duty on that terrifying day -- Dec. 7, 1941."
Mayes also visited Barbers Point Naval Air Station (now called Kalaeloa Airport) during the filming of a 1970 movie that chronicled the events of that day. He roamed around the flight line, admiring the B-17s and Japanese Zeros that were parked on the runway.
"I was a senior in high school when 'Tora! Tora! Tora!' was made, and it ignited my interest in the attack," Mayes says. "During that time, I also read 'Day of Infamy' by Walter Lord. I wasn't a great student of history in the classroom, but I was hooked on everything related to Pearl Harbor during World War II."
Mayes' aviation career spans nearly 40 years. He served stints as a helicopter and airplane pilot for the Army and Coast Guard before he began flying for Aloha Airlines and various tour companies throughout Hawaii.
"When I was younger, I often wondered what it was like to see the Dec. 7th attack as the pilots saw it from the air," Mayes says. "Over the years, I realized there might be a niche market for that type of air tour. I'm glad I was able to turn those musings into reality, and, through Pacific Warbirds' flights, help shed light on that significant period in American history."
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PEARL HARBOR EXPERIENCE
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- Place: Kalaeloa Airport, Kapolei, Oahu (directions will be given upon booking)
- Available: Daily by appointment; make reservations on the website
- Cost: $1,200
- Phone: (808) 753-1346
- Email: bruce@vintage-aviation.com
- Website: www.vintage-aviation.com
- Notes: Participants must be at least 18 years old, weigh no more than 250 pounds, and be able to climb in and out of the plane on their own. Wear long pants and closed-toe shoes.
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OTHER OPTIONS
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Two other options are available by appointment.
Familiarization Flight
20 minutes, $285
This introductory flying lesson in the SNJ replicates the early training of many World War II aviation cadets.
Silver Eagle Flight
30 minutes, $475
Experience the thrill of performing aerial maneuvers -- and even take control of the SNJ if you're game.
Bruce Mayes also offers free flyovers for veterans' funeral services and special free flights to Wounded Warriors, Medal of Honor recipients and children sponsored by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
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