- 7 minutes ago
Under Japanese guns and towering Pacific swells, Navy pilot Nathan Gordon landed his Catalina four times to rescue 15 airmen stranded near Kavieng Harbor. When American bombers were shot down in February 1944, Gordon flew into a heavily defended stretch of the Bismarck Sea despite a damaged aircraft, dwindling fighter cover, and conditions that made each water landing perilous.
This World War II military history story follows the rescue mission from its first dangerous descent to the return flight, and the crew’s courage under fire. Gordon later received the Medal of Honor, the only PBY Catalina pilot to earn the decoration. Discover a remarkable aviation rescue story for viewers interested in WWII history, Pacific War combat, Navy pilots, and true accounts of wartime heroism.
This World War II military history story follows the rescue mission from its first dangerous descent to the return flight, and the crew’s courage under fire. Gordon later received the Medal of Honor, the only PBY Catalina pilot to earn the decoration. Discover a remarkable aviation rescue story for viewers interested in WWII history, Pacific War combat, Navy pilots, and true accounts of wartime heroism.
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LearningTranscript
00:00At 0740 on February 15, 1944,
00:03Lieutenant Junior Grade Nathan Gordon
00:05sat in the cockpit of his PBY-5A Catalina
00:08over the Bismarck Sea,
00:10watching columns of black smoke
00:12rise from Kaviang Harbor 15 miles to the north.
00:1527 years old, 18 months in the Pacific,
00:19already decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross.
00:22The Japanese anti-aircraft batteries at Kaviang
00:25had just opened fire on the 5th Air Force bombing raid,
00:28and American planes were falling from the sky.
00:31Gordon commanded a nine-man crew aboard a flying boat
00:34he had named Arkansas Traveler.
00:36They were part of Patrol Squadron 34, the Black Cats,
00:40based at Samurai Island in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea.
00:43Their mission that morning was simple.
00:45Wait near V-2 Islands, 200 miles southwest of the harbor.
00:49Monitor the radio.
00:51If any bombers went down, go get the crews.
00:54The 5th Air Force had sent everything they had
00:56against Kaviang.
00:58Four squadrons of A-20 Havocs from the 3rd Bombardment Group
01:01attacked shipping in the harbor.
01:03Seven squadrons of B-25 Mitchells from the 38th and 345th groups
01:08bombed facilities along the harbor front.
01:10Low-level strafers hitting Japanese positions
01:13at near-suicidal altitudes,
01:15some as low as 50 feet.
01:17The Japanese were ready.
01:19Kaviang Harbor sat on the northern tip of New Ireland,
01:22one of the most heavily defended positions
01:24in the Bismarck archipelago.
01:26Anti-aircraft batteries ringed the harbor.
01:29Gun emplacements dotted every stretch of shoreline.
01:32Overlapping fields of fire covered every approach
01:34from the sea and air.
01:36The Japanese had been building and reinforcing these defenses
01:39for more than two years.
01:41Eight American aircraft fell to their guns that morning.
01:44Eight crews.
01:45Dozens of airmen.
01:47Rescue operations in the Pacific were brutal mathematics.
01:50A pilot who ditched his plane in the open ocean had a chance.
01:54Search planes could find him.
01:56Flying boats could land in calm seas and pull him out.
01:59The Pacific was vast,
02:00but it was survivable if rescue came quickly.
02:04A pilot who went down near an enemy-held shore
02:06faced a different equation entirely.
02:09The Japanese did not take prisoners.
02:11Not out here.
02:13Not anymore.
02:14American airmen who survived a crash near Japanese positions
02:17faced two options.
02:19Drown in the water waiting for rescue that would never come.
02:22Or wash ashore and face the enemy.
02:25PBY Catalinas were the only aircraft capable of water landings
02:29in combat zones.
02:30They could set down on the ocean,
02:32taxi to survivors,
02:33and take off again.
02:34In theory.
02:36In practice,
02:37the Catalina was a 65-foot flying boat
02:40with a wingspan of 104 feet
02:42and a maximum speed of 179 miles per hour.
02:46Against Japanese fighters,
02:48it was helpless.
02:49Against shore-based anti-aircraft guns,
02:52it was a slow-moving target
02:54the size of a small building.
02:56Dumbo missions,
02:57the Navy called them.
02:58Search and rescue flights into hostile waters.
03:01The crews who flew them understood the odds.
03:04If they landed too close to enemy positions,
03:06the Japanese would shoot them apart
03:08before they could rescue anyone.
03:10If they landed too far away,
03:12the survivors would drown
03:13before they could reach them.
03:15Gordon had flown dozens of Dumbo missions
03:17across the southwest Pacific.
03:19He knew the protocols.
03:21Stay outside enemy gun range.
03:23Let the fighters suppress defensive fire.
03:26Wait for the right moment.
03:28Calculate the risk.
03:29But the right moment rarely came
03:31when men were dying in the water.
03:33At 0815, Gordon's radioman
03:36received the first distress call.
03:38An A-20 Havoc from the 3rd Bombardment Group
03:41had been hit by anti-aircraft fire
03:43over Cavyang Harbor.
03:44The aircraft was going down.
03:47The crew had seconds to bail out before impact.
03:50Gordon turned Arkansas Traveler toward the smoke.
03:53Four P-47 Thunderbolts
03:55from the 348th Fighter Group
03:57had been assigned to escort Gordon's Catalina.
03:59They were his only protection.
04:01Four fighters against an entire
04:04Japanese defensive network
04:05built over two years.
04:07The math was not good.
04:09If you want to see how Gordon's rescue attempt turned out,
04:12please hit that like button.
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04:18Back to Gordon.
04:19The sea conditions that morning
04:20were among the worst Gordon had ever seen
04:23for a water landing.
04:24Waves breaking 16 to 18 feet high.
04:27Heavy swells rolling across the harbor approaches.
04:30Almost no wind,
04:32which meant almost no lift for takeoff.
04:34A normal pilot would have aborted.
04:36Regulations required minimum sea states
04:38for Catalina landings.
04:4018-foot swells exceeded
04:42every safety parameter in the manual.
04:44The risk of structural damage on landing was extreme.
04:47The risk of capsizing was real.
04:50But somewhere in that water,
04:52American airmen were drowning.
04:54Gordon pushed the throttles forward.
04:56Arkansas traveler began her descent
04:58toward Cavyang Harbor.
04:59Below, the Japanese gun crews tracked
05:02the 65-foot flying boat
05:04dropping out of the sky toward their killing zone.
05:07They had never seen anything like this before.
05:09No pilot had ever been stupid enough to try.
05:12Landing a PBY Catalina on calm water required skill.
05:16Landing one in 18-foot swells
05:18required something closer to controlled insanity.
05:21The Catalina was never designed
05:23for rough water operations.
05:25Its hull was built for gentle landings
05:27on protected harbors
05:28and calm Pacific lagoons.
05:30The aircraft's belly sat low in the water,
05:33and its twin engines mounted on a high wing
05:35kept the propellers clear of spray.
05:37But in heavy seas,
05:39the forces on that hull
05:40could tear the aircraft apart.
05:42Gordon knew the numbers.
05:43A PBY-5A weighed over 17,000 pounds empty.
05:48Add fuel, crew, ammunition, and rescue equipment,
05:52and the aircraft approached 27,000 pounds.
05:56Dropping that weight onto 18-foot waves
05:58at landing speed
05:59meant impacts that could buckle hull plates,
06:02sheer rivets, and open seams to the sea.
06:05The first landing was the worst.
06:07Gordon brought Arkansas Traveler
06:08down toward the coordinates
06:09where the A-20 Havoc had gone in.
06:11His crew scanned the water for survivors,
06:14life rafts, debris.
06:16The P-47 escorts circled overhead,
06:19watching for Japanese aircraft
06:20and marking the position
06:21of enemy gun emplacements along the shore.
06:24The Japanese gunners tracked
06:26the descending Catalina,
06:27but held their fire.
06:28The flying boat was still
06:30outside effective range.
06:31They waited.
06:33Gordon lined up his approach
06:34into the swells.
06:35A water landing required
06:37flying the aircraft
06:38just above stall speed,
06:39then settling onto the surface
06:41with minimal vertical velocity.
06:42In calm conditions,
06:44this was straightforward.
06:45In 18-foot seas,
06:47it meant timing the touchdown
06:48to hit between wave crests,
06:50not on top of them.
06:51He got it wrong.
06:53Arkansas Traveler struck a wave crest
06:55at nearly 80 miles per hour.
06:57The impact slammed through the airframe.
07:00Gordon heard metal screaming
07:02as the hull flexed
07:03beyond its design limits.
07:04Warning lights flickered
07:06across his instrument panel.
07:07The aircraft bounced,
07:09hit again,
07:09and finally settled
07:11into the churning water.
07:12They were down.
07:13They were not sinking.
07:15But the damage was severe.
07:17Water began pouring
07:18through burst seams
07:19along the hull.
07:20The bilge pumps
07:21kicked in automatically,
07:23fighting to keep pace
07:24with the flooding.
07:25Gordon's flight engineer
07:26reported multiple leaks
07:27throughout the lower fuselage.
07:29The aircraft was taking on water
07:31faster than they could pump it out,
07:33and they had not found
07:34the A-20 crew.
07:36Gordon taxied Arkansas Traveler
07:38through the heavy swells,
07:39his crew searching desperately
07:40for survivors.
07:42Minutes passed.
07:43The Japanese guns remained silent,
07:45but Gordon knew
07:46they were watching,
07:48waiting for him to drift closer.
07:50Every second on the water
07:51increased the risk.
07:52The A-20 crew was gone,
07:55either killed on impact,
07:56drowned before they could escape,
07:58or already sunk beneath the waves.
08:00There was no one to rescue.
08:02Gordon faced a decision.
08:04His aircraft was damaged
08:06and taking on water.
08:07His crew was exposed.
08:09The mission had failed
08:10before it began.
08:12Standard procedure dictated
08:13immediate takeoff
08:14and return to base for repairs.
08:16Then the second call came through.
08:18A B-25 Mitchell
08:20from the 38th Bombardment Group
08:21had been hit by anti-aircraft fire.
08:24The aircraft was down in the water.
08:26Five crewmen were alive
08:27in the wreckage.
08:28The new coordinates placed the B-25
08:30closer to the Japanese shore batteries,
08:33within range of their guns.
08:35Any rescue attempt
08:36would be under direct enemy fire.
08:38Gordon had a damaged aircraft,
08:40a crew of nine,
08:41and five airmen dying in the water
08:43less than a mile from Japanese guns.
08:46He turned Arkansas Traveler
08:48toward the new coordinates.
08:49The takeoff from that first landing
08:51nearly killed them.
08:52The Catalina needed wind
08:54to generate lift,
08:55and there was almost none that morning.
08:57Gordon pushed the throttles
08:58to full power
08:59and fought the aircraft
09:00up onto the step,
09:02the hydrodynamic position
09:03where the hull planed
09:04across the water surface.
09:05The swells battered them.
09:07Spray blinded the cockpit.
09:09The engines screamed
09:10at maximum power.
09:12For nearly a minute,
09:13Arkansas Traveler refused to fly.
09:15The overloaded,
09:17damaged flying boat
09:18clawed at the water,
09:19fighting for every knot of airspeed.
09:21Gordon held the control steady,
09:23waiting for the moment
09:24when physics would either release them
09:26or destroy them.
09:27The Catalina broke free.
09:29They climbed away
09:30from the first landing site,
09:31water still streaming
09:32from the damaged hull.
09:34Below,
09:35the Japanese gunners
09:36finally opened fire.
09:38Tracers arced up
09:39toward the climbing flying boat.
09:40Gordon ignored them.
09:42He had five men to save,
09:43and his aircraft
09:44was already falling apart.
09:46The second landing
09:47brought Gordon directly
09:48into the Japanese kill zone.
09:50The B-25 Mitchell
09:51had gone down approximately
09:53one mile from the enemy shoreline,
09:55close enough
09:56for the Japanese gunners
09:57to see the survivors
09:58in the water,
09:59close enough
09:59for accurate anti-aircraft fire,
10:02close enough
10:02that any rescue aircraft
10:04would be flying
10:05straight into overlapping
10:06fields of fire
10:07from multiple gun emplacements.
10:09Gordon descended
10:10toward the crash site anyway.
10:12His P-47 escorts
10:13dove ahead of him,
10:15strafing the visible gun positions
10:16along the shore.
10:18The Thunderbolts
10:19carried eight .50 caliber
10:20machine guns each,
10:21and their pilots
10:22worked methodically
10:23along the coastline,
10:24suppressing everything
10:25that looked like
10:26a defensive position.
10:27But there were too many guns
10:29and not enough fighters.
10:30The Japanese fire slackened,
10:32but never stopped.
10:34Arkansas Traveler
10:35came down
10:36through a curtain of tracers.
10:37Gordon could see
10:38the B-25 wreckage now.
10:40The bomber had broken apart
10:41on impact,
10:43scattering debris
10:43across several hundred yards
10:45of ocean.
10:46Five men clung
10:47to pieces of wreckage
10:48and a partially inflated
10:50life raft.
10:50They had been in the water
10:52for nearly 20 minutes.
10:53Some appeared injured.
10:55The second water landing
10:56was marginally better
10:57than the first.
10:59Gordon timed his approach
11:00more carefully,
11:01dropping the Catalina
11:02between swells
11:03rather than onto them.
11:05The impact was still brutal,
11:07but the hull held.
11:09More seams opened.
11:10More water poured in.
11:12But the aircraft
11:13remained flyable.
11:14Gordon taxied
11:16toward the survivors.
11:16This was the most dangerous
11:18moment of any water rescue.
11:20The Catalina had to stop
11:22moving to pull men
11:23from the water.
11:24That meant cutting
11:25the engines
11:25to prevent the propellers
11:26from killing the survivors
11:28they were trying to save.
11:29A stationary aircraft
11:31on the water,
11:32engines off,
11:33was completely defenseless.
11:35Gordon shut down
11:36both engines.
11:37Arkansas Traveler
11:38drifted in the swells,
11:39a 65-foot target
11:41sitting motionless
11:42within range
11:43of Japanese guns.
11:44The shore batteries
11:45opened fire immediately.
11:46Water spouts erupted
11:48around the aircraft
11:49as shells bracketed
11:50their position.
11:51The Japanese gunners
11:53were adjusting their aim,
11:54walking their fire closer
11:55with each salvo.
11:57Gordon's crew worked
11:58with desperate efficiency.
12:00The waste gunners
12:01abandoned their positions
12:02and moved
12:03to the observation blisters,
12:05reaching down
12:05to grab survivors
12:06from the water.
12:07The flight engineer
12:08coordinated the recovery
12:10while monitoring
12:11the flooding in the hull.
12:12Every man had a job.
12:14Every second counted.
12:15The first survivor
12:17came aboard bleeding
12:18from shrapnel wounds.
12:19The second was barely conscious,
12:22hauled up by his flight suit.
12:23Three more followed
12:25in rapid succession.
12:26Five men from the B-25,
12:28all alive,
12:29all now crammed
12:30into the already crowded fuselage
12:32of a damaged flying boat.
12:35Fourteen men aboard,
12:36one pilot,
12:38eight crew,
12:39five survivors.
12:40Gordon restarted the engines.
12:42The Japanese gunners
12:43had found their range.
12:45Shells were landing
12:46within 50 yards
12:47of the aircraft now.
12:48The next salvo
12:49would be closer.
12:51Gordon had seconds
12:52to get airborne
12:53or die on the water
12:54with everyone
12:55he had just rescued.
12:56The takeoff run
12:57began in chaos.
12:59Arkansas Traveler
13:00was heavier now,
13:01lower in the water,
13:02sluggish on the controls.
13:04The damaged hull
13:05created additional drag.
13:07The swells seemed higher
13:08than before,
13:09the wind even more absent.
13:11Gordon pushed the throttles
13:13to their stops
13:13and prayed.
13:14The Catalina fought the water
13:16for nearly 90 seconds,
13:17the longest takeoff
13:19of Gordon's career.
13:20Shells continued
13:21falling around them.
13:22His crew braced for impact.
13:24The survivors,
13:26wounded and exhausted,
13:27could only watch
13:28as their rescuers
13:29struggled to save them all.
13:31Arkansas Traveler
13:32finally lifted off,
13:33staggering into the air
13:35with water streaming
13:36from her hull
13:36and 14 souls aboard.
13:38They had done it.
13:40Against every regulation,
13:42against every reasonable
13:43calculation of risk,
13:45they had pulled
13:45five men from the water
13:47under direct enemy fire.
13:49Gordon turned the aircraft
13:50toward home base,
13:52200 miles to the southwest.
13:54Then the radio crackled again.
13:56Another B-25 was down.
13:58Another crew in the water.
14:00This time,
14:01the coordinates placed them
14:02even closer to the Japanese
14:03defenses than before,
14:04and two of Gordon's
14:06four P-47 escorts
14:07were now critically low on fuel.
14:09They had to return
14:10to base immediately.
14:12Gordon looked at his
14:13damaged aircraft,
14:14his exhausted crew,
14:16his wounded passengers.
14:17He had every reason
14:18to continue home.
14:19No one would blame him.
14:21He had already done
14:21more than anyone could ask.
14:23He turned Arkansas Traveler
14:25back toward Caviang Harbor.
14:26The third landing
14:27pushed Arkansas Traveler
14:28beyond any reasonable
14:29limit of survival.
14:31Gordon now had only
14:32two P-47 escorts.
14:34The other two Thunderbolts
14:35had turned back
14:36toward Finchhofen,
14:37their fuel tanks
14:38nearly empty.
14:39Half his fighter protection
14:40was gone.
14:41The Japanese gunners
14:42along the Caviang shoreline
14:43had watched
14:44two successful rescue attempts.
14:46They knew exactly
14:47what the slow-moving
14:47flying boat was doing.
14:49They were ready.
14:50The second-down B-25
14:51had crashed approximately
14:53one mile from the enemy shore.
14:55Four crewmen had made it
14:56into a rubber life raft.
14:58They were drifting slowly
14:59toward Japanese-held territory
15:00with every passing minute.
15:02Gordon brought his battered
15:04Catalina down
15:04for the third time
15:05that morning.
15:06The two remaining P-47s
15:08made strafing runs
15:08along the coastline,
15:10but their ammunition
15:10was running low.
15:11The suppressive fire
15:12was less intense now,
15:14less sustained.
15:15The Japanese gunners
15:16had learned to wait out
15:17the strafing passes
15:18and resume firing
15:19the moment the fighters
15:20pulled away.
15:21Arkansas Traveler
15:22descended into a wall
15:23of anti-aircraft fire.
15:25The hull was
15:25in desperate condition.
15:27Multiple seams had opened
15:28during the first two landings.
15:29The bilge pumps
15:30ran continuously,
15:31barely keeping pace
15:32with the flooding.
15:33Salt water sloshed
15:35in the lower fuselage,
15:36adding weight
15:37and reducing the aircraft's
15:38already marginal performance.
15:40Gordon's flight engineer
15:41estimated they were
15:42carrying several hundred
15:43pounds of water
15:44that had no business
15:45being inside an airplane.
15:47The third landing
15:48was violent.
15:49Gordon hit a swell wrong
15:50and the impact sent shutters
15:52through the entire airframe.
15:54Something in the hull gave way.
15:56The flooding increased.
15:57But the aircraft
15:58stayed intact
15:59and Gordon taxied
16:01toward the life raft
16:02as fast as the damaged
16:03Catalina could move.
16:05The Japanese guns
16:06had their range now.
16:08Shells began falling
16:09within yards
16:10of the aircraft.
16:11The gunners on shore
16:12could see the flying boat
16:13clearly.
16:14They could see the men
16:15in the water.
16:16They understood
16:17exactly what was happening
16:18and they were determined
16:20to stop it.
16:21Gordon shut down
16:22his engines
16:23for the third time.
16:24His crew pulled
16:25the four B-25 survivors
16:27aboard in less than
16:28two minutes.
16:29Faster than before.
16:31They had developed
16:32a system now.
16:33A brutal efficiency
16:34born of desperation.
16:36Grab the man
16:37haul him up
16:38move to the next one.
16:40No wasted motion.
16:41No hesitation.
16:43Eighteen men
16:44now occupied
16:44an aircraft designed
16:45to carry a crew of nine
16:47on combat missions.
16:49The third takeoff
16:50was the closest call yet.
16:51Arkansas Traveler
16:53was dangerously overloaded.
16:55The hull sat lower
16:56in the water
16:57than Gordon had ever seen.
16:58The damage seams
17:00leaked constantly.
17:01The engines strained
17:02against the additional weight.
17:04The swells seemed
17:05to grab at the aircraft,
17:07refusing to let go.
17:08Gordon held the throttles
17:10at maximum power
17:11for over two minutes.
17:13The aircraft
17:13would not lift.
17:14The hull pounded
17:16against wave after wave,
17:18each impact adding
17:19to the structural damage.
17:20water sprayed
17:22across the cockpit,
17:23blinding Gordon
17:24to everything
17:24except his instruments.
17:26The Japanese shells
17:27walked closer.
17:28100 yards,
17:3075 yards,
17:3150 yards.
17:33The gunners
17:33were bracketing
17:34the aircraft
17:35with methodical precision.
17:36The next salvo
17:38would be a direct hit.
17:39Arkansas Traveler
17:40broke free
17:41at the last possible moment.
17:43The aircraft
17:44staggered into the air,
17:45engines screaming,
17:47hulls streaming water.
17:4818 men crammed
17:49into every available space.
17:51Gordon climbed away
17:53from the shore
17:53as anti-aircraft fire
17:55exploded around them.
17:57They had done it again.
17:58Three landings,
17:59nine survivors rescued.
18:01An aircraft
18:02that should have been grounded
18:02after the first landing
18:03was somehow still flying.
18:06Gordon turned toward home,
18:08200 miles to Samurai.
18:10His aircraft
18:10was falling apart.
18:11His crew was exhausted.
18:13The men he had rescued
18:14needed medical attention.
18:16Every minute in the air
18:17increased the risk
18:18of structural failure.
18:19The radio operator
18:20received the final transmission.
18:22A third B-25 Mitchell
18:24had been shot down
18:25over Cavian Harbor.
18:26Six crewmen
18:27were alive in the water.
18:29Their life raft
18:29was visible from the air.
18:31The coordinates
18:32placed them 600 yards
18:33from the Japanese shore.
18:35600 yards.
18:36Close enough
18:37to see individual
18:38enemy soldiers on the beach.
18:39Close enough
18:40for rifle fire,
18:41not just artillery.
18:43Close enough
18:44that the Japanese
18:44could practically swim out
18:46and capture
18:46the survivors themselves.
18:48And Gordon's last
18:49two P-47 escorts
18:50had just announced
18:51they were returning to base.
18:53Fuel critical.
18:54No choice.
18:56Arkansas Traveler
18:57would be completely alone.
18:58600 yards
18:59from the Japanese shore.
19:01No fighter escort.
19:02A damaged aircraft
19:03overloaded with 18 men.
19:06Gordon had every justification
19:07to refuse this mission.
19:09His aircraft
19:10was compromised.
19:11His crew
19:11had already performed
19:12beyond any reasonable expectation.
19:15The nine survivors aboard
19:16needed immediate
19:17medical attention.
19:18Regulations,
19:20common sense,
19:20and basic self-preservation
19:22all demanded
19:23he turn toward home.
19:24Gordon calculated
19:26the odds in his head.
19:27The fourth rescue site
19:28was directly beneath
19:29the heaviest concentration
19:30of Japanese defenses
19:31at Kaviang.
19:33Gun emplacements
19:34lined that stretch
19:34of coastline.
19:36Artillery positions
19:37overlooked the water.
19:38At 600 yards,
19:40the Japanese
19:40would not need
19:41anti-aircraft guns.
19:42They could hit the Catalina
19:44with field artillery,
19:45heavy machine guns,
19:46even rifle fire
19:47if they chose.
19:48No American aircraft
19:50had ever attempted
19:51a water landing
19:51that close
19:52to an occupied enemy shore.
19:54There was a reason for that.
19:55The six men in the water
19:57had survived the crash
19:58of their B-25 Mitchell.
19:59They had made it
20:00into life rafts.
20:01They were alive,
20:02visible from the air,
20:04drifting slowly
20:05toward Japanese-held beaches.
20:07Within an hour,
20:08maybe less,
20:08they would wash ashore.
20:10The Japanese would be waiting.
20:12Gordon thought about
20:13what happened
20:14to American airmen
20:15captured in this part
20:16of the Pacific.
20:17Intelligence reports
20:18were clear.
20:19Interrogation,
20:20torture,
20:21execution.
20:22The Japanese did not
20:23maintain prisoner-of-war camps
20:25in the forward combat zones.
20:27Captured airmen
20:27simply disappeared.
20:29Six men,
20:30six lives,
20:31six families back in America
20:33who would never know
20:34what happened
20:34to their sons,
20:35husbands,
20:36brothers.
20:37Gordon made his decision.
20:39He turned Arkansas Traveler
20:40back toward Cavyang Harbor
20:41for the fourth time.
20:43The two P-47 escorts
20:45were gone now,
20:46their engines drinking
20:47the last of their fuel reserves
20:48on the long flight
20:49back to Finchhofen.
20:51Gordon watched them
20:52disappear to the south.
20:53His only protection
20:54was gone.
20:55Whatever happened next,
20:56he would face it alone.
20:57But he was not entirely
20:59without help.
21:00Several B-25 Mitchells
21:01from the morning raid
21:02had expended their bombs
21:04but still carried ammunition
21:05for their machine guns.
21:07When word spread
21:08that a Catalina
21:09was attempting
21:09a fourth rescue
21:10under the heaviest
21:11Japanese defenses,
21:13the bomber pilots
21:14made a decision
21:15of their own.
21:15They turned back
21:17toward Cavyang.
21:18The B-25s
21:19could not land on water.
21:20They could not pull
21:21survivors from the sea.
21:23But they could do
21:24something else.
21:24They could strafe.
21:26They could make
21:27the Japanese gunners
21:28keep their heads down
21:28for a few critical minutes.
21:30They could give Gordon
21:31a chance.
21:32Arkansas Traveler
21:34descended toward
21:34the coordinates
21:35as the B-25 swept
21:37in ahead of her.
21:38The Japanese defenses
21:39at this position
21:40were formidable.
21:41Multiple gun emplacements
21:42covered every approach
21:44from the sea.
21:45Artillery pieces
21:46capable of destroying
21:47the Catalina
21:47with a single hit.
21:49Machine gun nests
21:50that could shred
21:51the flying boat's
21:52thin aluminum skin.
21:54Hundreds of enemy soldiers
21:55watching from the shore,
21:57close enough to see
21:58the faces of the men
21:59they were trying to kill.
22:00The B-25s
22:01made their runs
22:02at low altitude,
22:04pouring machine gun fire
22:05into every visible position
22:06along the coastline.
22:08Tracers streaked
22:09toward the shore.
22:10The Japanese guns
22:11returned fire,
22:12filling the air
22:13with anti-aircraft bursts.
22:15The bombers
22:16weaved and jinked,
22:17drawing attention away
22:18from the slow-moving
22:19Catalina behind them.
22:20Gordon used
22:21every second
22:22they bought him.
22:23He brought
22:24Arkansas Traveler down
22:25in a steep descent,
22:26trading altitude
22:27for speed,
22:28trying to minimize
22:29the time he spent
22:30in the Japanese kill zone.
22:31The aircraft
22:32was heavier
22:33than it had ever been,
22:34more damaged
22:35than it should have been,
22:36lower on fuel
22:37than he wanted
22:38to think about.
22:39The controls
22:39felt sluggish,
22:40unresponsive,
22:42like flying a building
22:43rather than an airplane.
22:44The water rushed up
22:46to meet him.
22:46At 600 yards
22:47from the Japanese shore,
22:49Gordon could see
22:50individual soldiers
22:51moving in the tree line.
22:52He could see
22:53the muzzle flashes
22:54of guns firing
22:55directly at his aircraft.
22:56He could see
22:57the life rafts
22:58below him,
22:59six American airmen
23:00watching the impossible
23:01happen above their heads.
23:03A PBY Catalina,
23:05alone,
23:06descending into
23:07the heaviest defenses
23:08the Japanese could offer.
23:10Gordon committed
23:11to the landing.
23:12There was no turning
23:13back now.
23:14Either he would
23:15pull those men
23:15from the water
23:16or he would die trying.
23:19Eighteen men aboard,
23:20six men in the water,
23:2224 lives depending
23:23on what happened
23:24in the next few minutes.
23:26The hull touched
23:27the waves.
23:28The fourth landing
23:29was unlike anything
23:30Gordon had experienced
23:31before.
23:32At 600 yards
23:33from the Japanese shore,
23:35the enemy gunners
23:36did not need
23:36to estimate range
23:37or adjust their aim.
23:39They could see
23:40Arkansas Traveler
23:41as clearly
23:42as a ship
23:42in a harbor.
23:43They opened fire
23:44the moment
23:45the hull touched water.
23:46Bullets punched
23:47through the Catalina's
23:48aluminum skin.
23:50The thin fuselage
23:51offered no protection
23:52against heavy
23:53machine gun rounds.
23:54Gordon heard the impacts
23:56throughout the aircraft.
23:57A deadly drumbeat
23:58of metal
23:59striking metal.
24:00His crew
24:01ducked instinctively,
24:02pressing themselves
24:03against any available cover.
24:05There was no cover.
24:06They were inside
24:07an aluminum tube
24:08floating 600 yards
24:10from enemy guns.
24:11Gordon kept
24:12the aircraft moving.
24:13He could not afford
24:14to stop,
24:15could not afford
24:16to present
24:16a stationary target.
24:18He taxied
24:19toward the life rafts
24:20at maximum speed,
24:21waves crashing
24:22over the bow,
24:24spray mixing
24:24with the tracers
24:25cutting through
24:26the air around them.
24:27The B-25s
24:28made another strafing
24:29pass along the shoreline.
24:31The Japanese fire
24:32slackened momentarily
24:33as the gunners
24:35turned their attention
24:35to the more immediate threat.
24:37Gordon used
24:38every second
24:39of that distraction.
24:40The first life raft
24:41held four men.
24:43Two appeared injured,
24:44unable to help themselves
24:45into the aircraft.
24:47Gordon's crew
24:48worked with brutal efficiency,
24:50hauling bodies
24:50through the observation blisters
24:52while bullets continued
24:53to strike the fuselage.
24:55One of the waste gunners
24:56took a position
24:56at his weapon
24:57and returned fire
24:58toward the shore,
24:59more to force the Japanese
25:00to take cover
25:01than with any real hope
25:02of hitting anything.
25:04The second raft
25:05held two more survivors.
25:06One was unconscious.
25:08The other was bleeding badly
25:09from wounds sustained
25:10in the crash.
25:12Gordon's crew
25:12pulled them aboard anyway,
25:14adding their weight
25:15to an aircraft
25:16already far beyond
25:17its design limits.
25:1824 men now occupied
25:20a PBY Catalina
25:21raided for a combat crew
25:23of nine.
25:24Gordon did not wait
25:25for his crew
25:26to secure the survivors.
25:27He could not.
25:28Every second on the water
25:30increased the odds
25:31of a catastrophic hit.
25:32A single artillery round
25:34through the hull
25:35would kill everyone aboard.
25:36A lucky burst
25:38into the engines
25:38would strand them
25:39under enemy guns
25:40until the Japanese
25:41finished them off.
25:42He pushed the throttles forward
25:44while men were still
25:45being pulled through
25:46the hatches.
25:46Arkansas Traveler
25:48began her takeoff run
25:49600 yards from
25:50the Japanese shore.
25:51The aircraft was so overloaded
25:53that the hull
25:54barely rose onto the step.
25:56The damaged seams
25:57poured water
25:58into the fuselage.
25:59The engines,
26:00running at maximum power
26:01for hours now,
26:02screamed in protest.
26:04The propellers clawed
26:05at the humid Pacific air,
26:07fighting for every ounce
26:08of thrust.
26:09The aircraft
26:10would not fly.
26:11Gordon held the throttles
26:13at their stops.
26:14Full power.
26:15Maximum RPM.
26:17Everything the engines
26:18could give.
26:19The Catalina wallowed
26:20through the swells,
26:21accelerating with
26:22agonizing slowness.
26:24The airspeed indicator
26:25crept upward.
26:2660 knots.
26:2765.
26:2970.
26:30The minimum takeoff speed
26:31for a PBY-5A
26:33was approximately 75 knots.
26:35With 24 men aboard
26:37and hundreds of pounds
26:38of seawater in the hull,
26:39Gordon estimated
26:40he needed at least 85.
26:42He did not have the distance.
26:43The Japanese gunners
26:45understood what was happening.
26:47They saw the flying boat
26:48struggling to lift off,
26:49saw it trapped on the water,
26:51saw their opportunity.
26:53Artillery and machine gun fire
26:55concentrated on the fleeing aircraft.
26:57Water spouts erupted
26:58around the Catalina.
26:59Shell fragments
27:00peppered the wings
27:01and fuselage.
27:02Gordon held course.
27:04He could not turn,
27:05could not maneuver,
27:07could not do anything
27:08except hold the aircraft straight
27:09and pray for a miracle.
27:12At 82 knots,
27:13Arkansas Traveler
27:14broke free of the water.
27:16The aircraft did not so much
27:18take off
27:18as claw its way
27:20into the air
27:21through sheer force of will.
27:23The climb rate
27:24was nearly zero.
27:25The engines were overheating.
27:27The hull was taking on water
27:29from a dozen new holes.
27:31But they were airborne.
27:32They were flying.
27:34They were alive.
27:36Gordon turned south,
27:38away from Kaviang Harbor,
27:39away from the Japanese guns,
27:42away from the most dangerous
27:43morning of his life.
27:45Behind him,
27:46six men who should have died
27:48in enemy hands
27:49lay bleeding on the deck
27:50of his shattered aircraft.
27:52Fifteen survivors total,
27:54nine original crew,
27:5624 souls depending on a flying boat
27:59that had no business
28:00still being in the air.
28:02Two hundred miles to Samurai,
28:04two hundred miles to safety,
28:07if Arkansas Traveler
28:09held together that long.
28:11The flight back to Samurai
28:13tested Arkansas Traveler
28:14beyond any specification
28:15her designers had ever imagined.
28:18Two hundred miles of open ocean,
28:2024 men crammed into an aircraft
28:22designed for nine,
28:24a hull riddled with bullet holes
28:26and leaking from dozens
28:27of burst seams,
28:28engines that had been running
28:30at maximum power for hours,
28:32fuel reserves that Gordon
28:33could only estimate
28:34because the gauges
28:35had stopped working reliably
28:36somewhere over Kaviang Harbor.
28:39Gordon climbed to cruising altitude
28:41and reduced power
28:42to conserve fuel.
28:43The engines protested the transition,
28:45running rough
28:46for several terrifying seconds
28:47before settling
28:48into an uneven rhythm.
28:50The aircraft vibrated constantly,
28:53a reminder of the structural damage
28:54hidden throughout the airframe.
28:56The wounded survivors
28:57needed immediate medical attention.
29:00Gordon's crew did what they could
29:01with the limited first aid supplies aboard.
29:04Bandages, tourniquets,
29:05pressure on bleeding wounds.
29:07Several of the rescued airmen
29:09were in serious condition.
29:10Every minute of flight time
29:12reduced their chances of survival.
29:14Gordon pushed the damaged Catalina
29:16as fast as he dared.
29:17The bilge pumps ran continuously
29:19throughout the return flight.
29:21Water sloshed in the lower fuselage,
29:23shifting the aircraft's center of gravity
29:25with every movement.
29:27Gordon had to constantly adjust the trim
29:29to compensate.
29:30Flying Arkansas Traveler
29:31felt like balancing on a knife edge,
29:33one wrong input away
29:35from losing control entirely.
29:37Samurai Island appeared on the horizon
29:39after nearly two hours of flight.
29:41The seaplane base at Milne Bay
29:43had received radio reports
29:44of Gordon's rescue attempts.
29:46They knew he was coming.
29:47They knew his aircraft was damaged.
29:49They did not know if he would make it.
29:51Gordon brought Arkansas Traveler down
29:53for her fifth and final water landing
29:55of the day.
29:56The approach was textbook.
29:58The touchdown was gentle.
30:00But the moment the hull settled into the water,
30:02the accumulated damage made itself known.
30:05Seams that had held together
30:06through four combat landings
30:07finally gave way.
30:09Water poured into the aircraft
30:11faster than the pumps could handle.
30:13Arkansas Traveler began to sink.
30:16Ground crews in rescue boats
30:17raced toward the stricken Catalina.
30:19They reached the aircraft
30:21before it went under completely,
30:22pulling the 24 occupants to safety
30:24one by one.
30:26The wounded survivors were transferred
30:28to waiting medical personnel.
30:30Gordon's crew stumbled onto the dock,
30:32exhausted beyond words.
30:34Arkansas Traveler settled
30:35into the shallow water of Milne Bay,
30:37her final mission complete.
30:40The aircraft that had made
30:41four impossible landings
30:42under enemy fire
30:43would never fly again.
30:46Word of Gordon's actions
30:47spread through the Pacific Command structure
30:49within hours.
30:50The reports seemed impossible.
30:52Four landings under direct enemy fire?
30:55Fifteen survivors rescued?
30:57A final pickup 600 yards
30:59from Japanese guns
31:00with no fighter escort?
31:02Commanders who read the initial accounts
31:04assumed the details
31:05had been exaggerated.
31:07They had not been exaggerated.
31:09Witness statements
31:10from the P-47 pilots,
31:12the B-25 crews
31:13who provided covering fire,
31:14and the 15 rescued airmen
31:16all confirmed
31:17the same incredible story.
31:20Lieutenant Junior Grade
31:21Nathan Gordon
31:22had done exactly
31:23what the reports claimed.
31:24He had flown
31:25into the heaviest
31:26Japanese defenses
31:27in the Bismarck Sea
31:28four separate times
31:30and brought out
31:31every man he could reach.
31:33Admiral William Halsey
31:34received the full report
31:36at his headquarters.
31:37The commander
31:38of the South Pacific Force
31:39had seen countless acts
31:40of heroism during the war.
31:42He had decorated
31:43hundreds of men
31:44for bravery under fire.
31:45But Gordon's rescue mission
31:47stood apart.
31:48Halsey sent a personal telegram
31:50to Gordon's squadron.
31:51The message was brief
31:52and direct.
31:53The rescue at Caviang Harbor
31:55was one of the most
31:56remarkable feats of the war.
31:58The recommendation
31:59for the Medal of Honor
32:00began moving through
32:02official channels immediately.
32:04Gordon's commanding officers
32:05documented every detail
32:07of the mission.
32:08The 15 rescued airmen
32:10provided sworn statements.
32:11The evidence was overwhelming
32:13and undeniable.
32:14In September 1944,
32:17seven months after the rescue,
32:19Lieutenant Nathan Gordon
32:20stood at attention
32:21at Seven Fleet headquarters
32:23in Brisbane, Australia.
32:25Vice Admiral Thomas Kincaid
32:26pinned the Medal of Honor
32:27to his chest.
32:29Gordon became the only
32:30PBY Catalina pilot
32:32in history
32:32to receive the nation's
32:34highest military decoration.
32:36His crew of eight
32:37received the Silver Star,
32:38each one recognized
32:40for their role in the rescue.
32:41But the medals were not
32:42the end of Nathan Gordon's story.
32:44They were barely the beginning.
32:47Nathan Gordon survived the war.
32:48Many of the men he rescued
32:50did not expect to say the same.
32:52The 15 airmen pulled from
32:54Caviang Harbor
32:55on February 15, 1944,
32:58returned to their units,
32:59their families,
33:00their lives.
33:01Some continued flying combat missions
33:03over the Pacific.
33:04Others were rotated home
33:06after their ordeal.
33:07All of them owed their existence
33:09to a 27-year-old pilot
33:11from Arkansas
33:11who refused to abandon them.
33:14Gordon continued flying
33:15Dumbo missions
33:16until the end of the war.
33:17He added two more
33:18Distinguished Flying Crosses
33:20to his decorations
33:21along with six air medals.
33:23By the time he was
33:24honorably discharged
33:26in October 1945,
33:28he had become one of the most
33:29decorated rescue pilots
33:30in Navy history.
33:32He returned to Moralton, Arkansas,
33:34the small town
33:35where he had been born.
33:36He reopened his law practice
33:38with his brother Edward.
33:39He married Virginia in 1948.
33:42He tried to resume
33:43the quiet life
33:44he had left behind
33:45when he enlisted
33:46in May 1941.
33:47But Nathan Gordon
33:49was not destined
33:50for a quiet life.
33:51In 1946,
33:53the people of Arkansas
33:54elected him
33:55Lieutenant Governor.
33:56He won re-election
33:57nine more times,
33:58serving under four different governors
34:00for 20 consecutive years.
34:02His tenure from 1947
34:04to 1967
34:05remains the longest
34:07in Arkansas history.
34:08The Medal of Honor recipient
34:10who had risked everything
34:11to save 15 strangers
34:12became a public servant
34:14who dedicated his life
34:15to his community.
34:17Gordon rarely spoke
34:18about Cavieing Harbor.
34:20When asked about the rescue,
34:22he deflected attention
34:23to his crew.
34:24Eight men had worked
34:25alongside him that day,
34:27pulling survivors
34:28from the water
34:28while bullets tore
34:30through their aircraft.
34:30Eight men had trusted him
34:33to get them home alive.
34:34The silver stars they received
34:36were earned in the same water,
34:38under the same guns,
34:40facing the same impossible odds.
34:42The men Gordon rescued
34:44carried their own memories
34:45of that day.
34:46The terror of floating
34:48in enemy waters.
34:49The certainty
34:50that no rescue would come.
34:52The impossible sight
34:53of a PBY Catalina
34:55descending toward them
34:57through anti-aircraft fire.
34:59The hands reaching down
35:01to pull them from the sea.
35:03Some of them found Gordon
35:04after the war.
35:05They wrote letters.
35:07They made phone calls.
35:08They traveled to Arkansas
35:10to shake the hand
35:11of the man
35:11who had saved their lives.
35:13These reunions meant more
35:15to Gordon
35:15than any medal
35:17or political office.
35:18Arkansas Traveler
35:20never flew again
35:21after that final landing
35:22at Samurai.
35:23The aircraft
35:24was too badly damaged
35:25to repair.
35:26But the name lived on.
35:29Gordon ensured
35:29that every PBY
35:30he commanded afterward
35:32carried the same designation,
35:34a tribute to the flying boat
35:35that had held together
35:37through four impossible landings.
35:40In 1980,
35:41the Arkansas Aviation
35:42Historical Society
35:43inducted Gordon
35:45into the Arkansas Aviation
35:46Hall of Fame.
35:48He was among
35:49the first five honorees,
35:50recognized not just
35:52for his Medal of Honor mission,
35:53but for his entire career
35:55as a naval aviator.
35:57Nathan Gordon died
35:58on September 8, 2008,
36:01four days after
36:02his 92nd birthday.
36:03He is buried
36:04at Elmwood Cemetery
36:06in Moralton, Arkansas,
36:07the town he never truly left.
36:10His grave marker
36:11bears the Medal of Honor insignia
36:12and the simple facts
36:14of a remarkable life.
36:16The PBY Catalina
36:18that made the Caviang Rescue
36:19no longer exists,
36:21but examples of the aircraft
36:22survive in museums
36:23across the country.
36:25The National Air and Space Museum
36:26in Washington
36:27preserves the memory
36:29of Gordon's mission
36:29as one of the defining moments
36:31of Catalina operations
36:32in World War II,
36:34the only Medal of Honor
36:35ever earned
36:36in a flying boat.
36:38Fifteen men lived
36:39because one pilot
36:40refused to calculate the odds.
36:42Four landings under fire.
36:45Six hundred yards
36:46from enemy guns.
36:47A damaged aircraft
36:49that should have been grounded.
36:50A crew that never hesitated.
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37:11to save men
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