U.S. Navy airman saw action in Philippines

Ralph Bogan enlisted in the U.S. Navy when he was 17, attended aviation mechanic school in Norman, Okla., and eventually was assigned to search for submarines in the South Pacific aboard a Lockheed Ventura twin-engine patrol bomber during World War II.

As a member of the five-man crew, Bogan was assigned multiple duties.

“I was responsible for the plane as a mechanic and was a tail gunner and turret gunner,” Bogan said.

In October 1944, Bogan and his crewmates were deployed to Morotai, a small Indonesian island, to conduct sector searches (flying in pie-shaped sectors to search for enemy submarines) and to make strikes on Japanese ships.

Bogan said his bomber squadron — stationed at an air base on Morotai — shared the island with the Japanese.

“We got bombed every night,” Bogan said.

Morotai was an important strategic location as it served as the launching point for the invasion of the island of Leyte in the Philippines.

In the air, the group suffered heavy casualties.

“We had a 15-plane squadron,” he said. “We lost 5 crews and a total of 15 aircraft.”

Bogan flipped through his flight log book to an entry that said “Hit Mindanao (Iligan Bay).”

It was late October 1944, and the squadron was on the lookout for the Japanese fleet.

Mindanao, the second-largest island in the Philippines, was heavily concentrated with Japanese combat troops.

The squadron located a Japanese sea plane docked near a warehouse in Mindanao's Iligan Bay.

The pilot of one of the bombers went in, made a pass and strafed the enemy plane with gunfire.

“He was lining up for a second pass and he got shot,” Bogan said.

The crash landing was horrific, the plane bursting into a fireball as it skidded across the rice paddies.

Bogan tried to take pictures of the downed bomber.

“There was nothing left of the plane,” he said. “It was just spattered. There were hundreds of small fires.”

Bogan's crew evened the score.

“We strafed and bombed the plane and the warehouse,” he said. “We blew 'em all up.”

Bogan and the squadron received a presidential citation years later, signed by John H. Dalton, secretary of the Navy, that read:

“The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting an Air Medal to Aviation Machinist's Mate First Class Ralph J. Bogan, for service set forth in the following:

“For meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight while serving with Patrol Squadron 146 from 18 October to 30 November 1944. In the successful completion of these missions, Petty Officer Bogan contributed materially to the success of the United States efforts. By his superb airmanship, steadfast perseverance and unselfish devotion to duty in the face of hazardous flying conditions, Petty Officer Bogan reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”