OSU
History Minute - July 28, 2000
Number
6 of a 12 part series: Honoring Oregon Staters who
died in WWII
|
Hampshire,
as pictured in
The Beaver, 1937.
|
Attending
Oregon State for one year (1937-38) as a civil
engineering major, John Hampshire Jr.
enlisted in the Army Air Corps right after
the bombing of Pearl Harbor, eventually receiving
orders to join Claire Chennault and the 14th
Air Force in the China/Burma Theater, where
he became one of World War II's most celebrated
combat pilots.
On
assignment with the legendary 23rd Group of
the 75th Fighter Squadron, Hampshire finished
in the runner-up spot on the 14th Air Force's
list of top WWII combat aces. During his brief
two-year career, Hampshire won two Distinguished
Flying Crosses, three Air Medals, and (posthumously)
the Wu Kong Certificate signed by Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-Shek and given "for exceptionally
meritorius conduct and undaunted spirit of
sacrifice during aerial combat."
|
|
This
picture shows a detail of the unofficial emblem
of the 23rd Group of the 75th Fighter Squadron.
|
 |
This
picture shows a detail of the unofficial emblem
of the 23rd Group of the 75th Fighter Squadron.
Hampshire
was killed May 2, 1943, in combat against enemy
planes strafing and bombing the Chinese city of
Changsha. Hit by machine gun fire from a Japanese
Zero, Hampshire's plane nosedived into the shallow
waters of a small lake. The Chinese Command Post
near where his P-40 fighter had crashed sent the
following telegram back to his base: "American
pilot landed in river. Hit in stomach. Guts running
out. Send doctor quick."
The
reaction of Hampshire's buddies to the telegram
is the stuff of Hollywood movies. One of John's
most devoted friends was flight surgeon Ray Spritzler,
who immediately announced he was going to John's
assistance. But how to get there. The baggage compartment
of a P-40 fighter was made comfortable for the doctor
and, stuffed in like a sardine, Ray and pilot Lt.
Joe Griffin took off in search of the downed Oregon
Stater.
Back
at the American base, a second telegram arrived
saying John Hampshire had passed on. Unaware of
the sad news, the doctor and his pilot flew on,
eventually becoming lost and having to force the
plane down in the pitch-black in a small field a
group of Chinese farmers had illuminated using oil
barrels set on fire.
By
the time of John's death, his mother had already
passed away. He had no brothers or sisters and two
years after his death, his father, John Sr., passed
away in Grants Pass, Oregon, thus ending this branch
of the Hampshire family tree.
--
By George
Edmonston Jr.
|
