Raymond Correia

I have set this page up so that people may have a better understanding (from a personal view) of what it was like to be a pilot in the C.B.I. (China, India, Burma) theatre of the Second World War.  My goal is to tell my uncles story, some of the things that he witnessed, and ultimately to try and help people understand that war is by no means glorious.

In my life I have had two opportunities to talk with my Uncle Raymond about his experience in the war.  I must say that not growing up in that time era, I truly had no idea of what the war was about, what the people that fought it were about, and how much of a physical and emotional toll that a war can bring to a person.  All I had ever known were the glorified movies that were shown making the war look like something that it was not.   All of my views on the war changed in the summer of 1989.  During that summer I went to Bermuda to visit my family.  During one of the days, Raymond came over to talk with my brother and myself about his experience during World War II.  What he told me that day, changed my views on the war.  No longer was it a glorified movie script, but a true to life battle and struggle where many people died, lost loved ones, lost friends and some lost everything that they had. I hope that when you read this page, it will have the same effect on you as my uncle's story had on me.

Brian E. Simons

BACK

Brief Overview

When America entered World War II, Raymond Correia was over in the United States attending his first year of college.  Two months after the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, he decided to join the United States Army Air Corps, In the interview he stated that being young and a bit foolish, he didn't realize what he was about to get involved in.  After months of flight and military training he along with many other young men were sent to the C.B.I. theatre of the war.

The Trip Over

     In the summer of 1943 they boarded a troop carrier and sailed out of San Francisco to Bombay, India.  Even before raymond saw any action in the war, he was already experiencing the effects of it.  The trip was very long, sometime during the journey over, the troop carrier ran out of food.  The only thing remaining on the ship were barrels of olives. For the remainder of the trip the crew and passengers ate olives to survive.

C.B.I. (China, Burma, India)

     Of all the different theatres of the war, the C.B.I. theatre was known to be one of the toughest for the soldiers.  It was plagued with harsh weather, thick jungles, and a merciless opponent.  It was definitely not a place where a pilot wanted to be shot down and have to bail out of his airplane.   When he arrived, he was put into the 10th Air Force (eventually changed to the 14th), 311th Fighter Group, 529th Fighter Squadron.  During the start of the War in the C.B.I. theater there were 300 pilots sent over (Raymond Correia was among them) the pilots were then broken off into 3 different Fighter Squadrons containing 90 pilots each. Out of the 90 original pilots in Raymonds squadron 22 survived. He was originally stationed in northern India to the West side of the Naga Hills which separates India from Burma. After 13 months of being stationed in Northern India, the squadron eventually moved into China Proper where Raymond spent the last couple of months of his tour. 

Living Conditions

     The living conditions were hardly comfortable.   The pilots lived in canvas tents with concrete floors.  Hardly the comfortable barracks shown in most movies.  The food was poor, usually rotten by the time it was received.

The War in C.B.I.

     It has been stated by many pilots of the war that flying the Hump (a name given to the range of mountains that separated China and Burma) was one of the most difficult tasks that a pilot could get.  To understand, the war in the C.B.I. theatre was much different than the war in Europe or the war in the Pacific.   In Europe, many of the missions flown were escort missions for bombers, fighter sweeps, bombing ground targets, and intercepts.  In C.B.I. however, the missions consisted of support for ground troops, bombing raids, and flying Top Cover for C-47's delivering food and supplies to the ground troops. The plane that Fighter Pilots flew in the beginning was the P-51 A version known as the P-51 period.  Later they would receive the P-51 B and D versions which were far superior to the original.  The later versions implemented the Merlin Rolls Royce engine which made the Mustang the fastest plane in the air and gave it a much improved top altitude enabling pilots to stay clear of ground fire.  Another item to note was the terrain and weather.  Thick jungles combined with a fierce monsoon season caused many pilots to loose their lives in non combat situations.  Even during these harsh monsoon seasons, General Stillwell (Vinegar Joe) still ordered the planes to fly in support of the ground troops.  In my opinion and some others many pilots lost their lives due to the ignorance of Vinegar Joe.  

The Experience of War

     When speaking with my uncle he talked about many of the experiences that he had during the war.  In this section I will try to put into writing the ones that stand out in my mind the most.  Some of these are very graphic in nature.

Glenn Cothorn

     During the time in C.BI. my uncles closest friend was Glenn Cothorn.  I have heard the expression many times over that you shouldn't make friends during a war, but in my opinion it is human nature, and something that is very hard to escape.  I think that it would be more difficult to be in that type of situation alone.  I believe my uncle felt the same.  This was an area that Raymond had a difficult time speaking of and I hope that I can do the story justice.  

     I don't remember exactly what the circumstances were leading up to the confrontation, but I believe that a Japanese aircraft had been spotted near the air base.  Glenn jumped into his mustang to intercept the plane.   It was policy that no plane was allowed to be flown without ammunition. Unfortunately, for some reason, Glenn's plane was never loaded with ammunition.  He flew in to intercept the Japanese airplane but with no ammunition.  After trying to fire on the plane and realizing that his guns weren't working, the Japanese airplane eventually shot at him with success.  Glenn tried to bail out, but his parachute got entangled on the tail of his mustang.  The mustang hit the ground at over 500 M.P.H. dragging Glenn with it.  I remember my uncle's emotions very well while he was telling us this tragic event.  He stated that he ran up to the wreckage and was amazed to find Glenn's body still intact.  It was a very difficult time, not many people witness there best friend die before there eyes.  I guess not many people would know how to react in that situation.  It was probably anger, sadness, and just a jumble of emotions running through his body that made Raymond jump in his Mustang and push its limits to the maximum trying to fly it apart.  One thing I do know is that I have never experienced anything remotely like that and hope that I never will.  After the war my uncle named his house Glenn Folly in a tribute and remembrance to his best friend.

Japanese Airplane!

     There weren't many dog fights that took place in the C.B.I. theatre of the war, every once in a while allied aircraft would run across a squadron of Japanese aircraft.  My uncle stated that one day while he was up, he got separated from his squadron.  He noticed a single Japanese plane off in the distance which he believes got separated from its squadron as well.  He followed it while it was heading back to its home base.  About half way, Raymond engaged the enemy aircraft and shot it down.  It was the only enemy plane that he shot down during the war.  Once again, this was due to the fact that most of the missions flown were in support of ground troops or performing bombing raids on bridges and railroad tracks to cut the supply lines of the Japanese Forces.

Japanese Bomb the Air Field

     Some attempts were made by the Japanese Air Forces to bomb allied air fields.  Raymond remembers on one of these particular bombing raids a allied pilot that tried to jump in his plane to intercept the Japanese bombers.  When he started his plane and began to move in position to take off a bomb dropped in front of the him.  One of the wheels of the plane got caught in the rut left by the bomb.  The plane started to slowly spin in circles and caught on fire.   The fire spread to the cockpit of the airplane where the pilot was sitting.   My uncle recalls seeing the pilots eyes light up as if they were on fire.   Dazed and on fire, the allied pilot jumped out of his plane while he was stumbling around the plane still moving in circles. The propeller of his airplane eventually swung around and hit the pilot cutting him from the shoulder all the way down to his stomach.   Raymond recalls that this man lived for several minutes after this occurred. Again, this is something that I don't think that any person on earth would want to witness or imagine.

Fear of Bailing Out

     Raymond didn't like to bail out of airplanes.   So whenever possible he would try to land the plane.  On one day in particular, after a bombing raid, one of the bombs under his wing did not release.   After several unsuccessful tries to shake it off over the jungle, Raymond instead of following the standard procedure of ditching the plane and bailing out, he decided to try and land it.  This was dangerous in the event that the landing may jar the bomb loose causing it to explode under the airplane.  Being very careful, he came in and landed on the wheel on the opposite side of where the bomb was positioned, then he lightly set down the other wheel.  After the plane came to a stop, Raymond stated and I quote "I jumped out and ran like hell".

     On the other hand it is funny how things work out.  In a similar situation. Raymond again went over the jungle to try and shake the bomb off.  This time the bomb fell off and landed in a Japanese ammunition dump blowing it sky high.

Honors

     Raymond flew 90 combat missions during the time ranging from 1943-1944. During this time he was awarded with many of the Air Forces highest honors.

• Distinguished Flying Cross (50 combat missions flown)

• Air medal (25 combat missions flown)

• Air medal (50 combat missions flown)

• Air medal (75 combat missions flown)

Conclusion

     Today Raymond lives with his wife in the Bermuda Islands.  I believe that I have been blessed in having members of my family that can share their experiences with me so that I can have a better understanding of the past and also giving me the opportunity to pass it on to future generations.  At this time I would like to personally thank and give my best wishes to my Uncle Raymond and all the veterans of W.W. II and every war.  For it was the sacrifices that these men made which made this world the place that it is today.