GUEST OPINION: Resident lost life during World War II bomber mission

By JIM WATKINS, guest columnist

As wretched as New Guinea’s “Green Hell” was for the foot soldier — including Brown County boys James Mullis and Frank Snyder Jr. — the skies above the world’s second largest island likewise presented a deadly killing zone.

The danger was not only provided by the Japanese pilots in their treacherous Zero fighters, but also by the daunting peaks of the Owen Stanley Mountain Range.

The range dominates the eastern part of the island extending 200 miles and reaching a height of over 13,000 feet at its highest point: Mount Victoria. The steep elevations combined with the tropical heat and humidity of the coastal areas creates a recurrent haze that often hides the mountain peaks. In World War II this was a critical factor for the heavily loaded Allied bombers flying missions from bases on the southern coast to attack Japanese held sites north of the mountains.

Such was the case for “Little Beaver,” the B-24 Liberator bomber in which Tech Sgt. Jacob Kesler, who grew up in Brown County, was aerial engineer.

Kesler was born in Indianapolis, but as a small boy his parents moved to Hamblen Township where he grew up. He attended grade school here and later graduated from Helmsburg High School.

After high school he would end up back in Indianapolis where he was employed as a truck driver for the Mayflower Transit Company.

Unlike so many of “The Fallen,” Kesler was able to experience a greater portion of life. Kesler was a few months short of his 34th birthday when he entered military service in June of 1942. He underwent basic training as well as specialized training in airplane mechanics at Keesler Field close to Biloxi, Mississippi. Keesler Field would be historically famous as the training base of the Tuskegee Airmen.

Watkins

Kesler was sent overseas in June of 1943 first to Australia and then as part of the 5th Air Force, 403rd Bombardment Squadron to Seven Mile Drome airfield near Port Moresby on the southeast coast of New Guinea. The mission of the 5th Air Force in New Guinea was to support the Allied troops working their way across the northern coast of the island as General MacArthur pursued his goal of returning to the Philippines.

Kesler’s 403rd Bombardment Group was nicknamed “The Mareeba Butchers.” The nickname was the result of one of their first raids they conducted on a raid from Mareeba, Australia over Rabaul, New Britain — the key Japanese military base in the Southwest Pacific just northeast of New Guinea. It seems a few of their bombs found the local Geisha-girl house.

Soon after the attack was reported by Japanese propaganda radio. Just like Lord Haw Haw spewed Nazi propaganda across the European theatre of the war and Tokyo Rose did likewise for the Japanese over much of the Pacific, the Southwest Pacific Japanese forces employed a Madam Tojo to motivate their troops and harass the Allies. After the Geisha house bombing she was immediately on the airwaves scolding the 403rd bombers.

The damage to the darlings of the Japanese soldiers, according to Madam Tojo, was little more than devastating, and she swore vengeance on the “butchers” of these “innocent girls!” This tirade, of course, delighted the men of the 403rd and they soon had their nickname and a colorful logo patch to go with it!

The patch of Kesler’s 403rd Bombardment Group, which was nicknamed “The Mareeba Butchers.”

With the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Allies had successfully prevented the Japanese from taking Port Moresby and the southern coast of New Guinea. Soon enough the Allies were building air strips along that southern coast and moving 5th Air Force squadrons from Australia to be nearer the Japanese targets of the northern coast as well as New Britain.

One of the new bases was Seven Mile Drome exactly that many miles north of Port Moresby and staring in the face of the Owen Stanley Mountains. This is where the “Little Beaver” and Tech. Sgt. Kesler were stationed.

Their mission for Aug. 31, 1943 was twofold. Its primary mission was to bomb Lae, Papua New Guinea 190 miles due north on the Japanese controlled coast. It also had a secondary mission classified as top secret. In addition to the 11 American crew members there was Gerard M. Keogh of the Royal Australian Air Force aboard.

Keogh’s mission was to drop a letter with urns containing the cremated ashes of Japanese personnel over Lae Airfield. The Allies hoped the Japanese would view the gesture favorably and afford the same privilege to Allied war dead or even result in improved treatment for Allied Prisoners of War in Japanese captivity.

Before even dawn’s early light at 3:52 a.m. the “Little Beaver” rumbled down the newly constructed runway with a load of 500 pound bombs, adequate fuel and ammunition for the mission, and a crew of now 12 counting Keogh. A normal B-24 crew was 8-10.

The official Army Air Force mission report stated: “After takeoff, this B-24 proceeded northward and climbed to an altitude of 4,000 feet then crashed in the predawn darkness. On impact everyone aboard was killed, and the fully fueled bomber caught fire. Aboard, three of the 500-pound bombs exploded scattering the wreckage over a hundred yards in every direction and down the cliff face.”

The tragic story of the “Little Beaver” would not end there. Two days later a small Piper Cub search plane with pilot and passenger was sent out to look for the missing B-24. The little Cub ran out of fuel and crashed. The pilot was killed. The passenger, although injured, did survive.

The searches would continue. In fact, searches and examinations of remains would be ongoing right into the 21st century. As recent as 2018 additional remains from the crash were identified and reinterred back in the United States.

Kesler’s Purple Heart and Certificate were received by his father, Frank O. Kesler, two months after his son’s death. His remains were eventually identified and he along with those of three other crew members were brought back home in September of 1949 where they were buried with full military honors at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.

The cover of “The Fallen” by Jim Watkins that memorializes Brown County soldiers who never returned home from World War II. “Every fatality of war is a tragic story. The enormity of it nationwide taxes all comprehension, but when narrowed down to a little rural area of middle America one is more able to appreciate the terrible sacrifices made during that time,” Watkins said.

In addition to his father Frank, Jacob was survived by three sisters, Mrs. Anna B. Sumner, Mrs. Emmie Pierce and Mrs. Rachel Clark, and two brothers, John W. and George F. Kesler.

The family remembered Jacob in an “In Memoriam” that appeared in the Aug. 31, 1944 edition of the Indianapolis News.

Jim Watkins is a Brown County Historical Society member who wrote “The Fallen,” a memorial document about young men from Brown County who never returned home from World War II. Watkins was a public school teacher for 42 years and has always been interested in learning about WWII. He can be reached at [email protected].