Henry C. Blackwell |
Camp Malakole |
Information provided by John J. Iantorno - Survivor. |
He had a love of flying and when he could get a pass he would rent a couple of piper cubs with his friends, Warren Rasmussen and Clyde Brown at the John Rodgers airport (now Honolulu "X"). They were licensed pilots and would practice flying out over the water. On Sunday, December 7, 1941, they went on pass, rented their airplanes, went out over the water just when the Japanese were coming in to attack the Hawaiian Islands. The Japanese shot the piper cubs down. It was later learned that a civilian observed this from the shore. No one was ever notified of the wreckage or if any of their bodies were recovered. These three men are consdered to be the first American casualties of World War II. |
