After departing the plane and looking back at the burning plane, Mac saw the real life version of his vision. 

Waiting to the last possible moment to avoid enemy fire and sighting he pulled the cord and it deployed perfectly in low clouds. He hit in limber 25 foot tall bamboo trees which broke his fall.

He heard the plane impact about a 100 yards away and heard ammo cooking off. Then there were voices. Quickly he hid the shoot. Looking at his watch it was about 10 o'clock. He sat tight as the rain finally stopped and the voices also stopped. Casting good judgment aside he made his way down the hill. He found the B-24 with the nose gunner, pilot and co-pilot still in it but dead. An ugly sight. Limbs missing. 

Mac felt the desperation of his plight. It was a situation that he struggled to deal with. He imagined Japs everywhere. 

Then he heard voices coming across a stream from a trail. They spotted him and said, “American...MacArthur’s Boys”. However they spoke no other English. They were a rag-tag bunch and apparently guerilla fighters. 

They led Mac to some grass huts where there was a lot of bowing and handshaking. Then they offered him a bowl of rice. Mac was allergic to rice. It made his ears itch uncontrollably and vomit fiercely. So hungry he couldn’t refuse and then immediately began to vomit until the rice was gone and then dry-heaved.

They were able to explain that they had rescued a bunch of the guys. The engineer that had went ahead of Mac was caught by the fighter planes and had his chute cut in half by a wing. The Bombardier was also followed by a fighter trying to shoot him. He got a speech impediment that lasted for a couple months because of this. We found out that they were actually German pilots who were there to train the Japanese pilots. One of the planes was shot down and the pilot was blonde and blue eyed.

The Philippinos couldn’t comprehend “allergy”. They had very little food and insisted on serving me rice. Every time they slipped a little rice to Mac he was sick all over again. 

Throughout the whole ordeal, Mac kept remembering his survival skills and how his parents had helped build the instincts that kept him alive. The Filipinos contacted Hollandia and told them that we had survived. The airmen were then taken for a grueling 60 mile hike to the southern tip of the island where a sub was to pick them up. On the way down they picked up a rectangular piece of mirror and when they spotted two P-38’s overhead they signaled. They passed close overhead. 

Back to Noemfoor USN photo

Right- Mac stands along side of a North American B-45 at the Air Force Museum.. One of the types that he later flew with SAC. Mac is a strong supporter of the U.S. today, both politically and on an everyday basis. He well understands the value of our freedoms.  W. Magee photo

Mac knew that when they went on missions there were usually a PBY nearby for pick-up of downed airmen. They would orbit with a couple of P-38’s. Hopefully this was the case. The P-38’s looked them over and soon a PBY approached and settled on the water about a mile out. Suddenly from nowhere a big Hawaiian type dugouts approached. 

One of the guerillas claimed he was a representative of the island governor, had two 38 pistols. One had a bone handle and one a mother-of-pearl handle. He wanted to trade us for our 45’s. They could get ammo for the 45’s but not the 38’s. Mac said, “ I still had mine but didn’t want to trade until I was sure I was out of there. As I departed the dugout, I traded it for the bone handled 38. The bombardier traded his watch for the mother-of-pearl. At last we were out of there.” 

On the way back they stopped at Mindanao and picked up a fellow who had been on the Death March. From 1942 to 1945 he had escaped, captured, escaped, captured then escaped and was picked up by Mac’s plane. They ate bananas on the way to Noemfoor. 

Mac weighed only 98 lbs. when he got there. After that they went on to Australia and then to Washington for Interrogation. 

Later Mac trained pilots, became part of the Strategic Air Command. Finally he was assigned to Lockbourne Air Force Base (now Rickenbacker). He eventually became a Lt. Colonel after 23 years of service. 

By the end of his career he had received many awards to include: Air Medal with 2 Brass Oak Leaf Clusters, Asiatec Campaign Medal, Philippine Liberation Riggon, American Campaign Medal, Distinguished Unit Citation, WWII Victory Medal, Army Occupation Medal, Air Force Reserve Medal, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, Philippine Independence Ribbon, Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Force Longevity Service Award with 4 Bronze Pal Leaf Clusters. He flew many planes including the B-45 and the B-47.

However with all this he still attributes his survival to the Boy Scouts and his parents.