Twentieth Air Force Veteran Reflects on Maintaining B-29s on Guam, 75 Years Since End of World War II
Dellinger maintained a log of the bombing operations that the aircrews assigned to his unit’s B-29 performed while stationed in Guam, to include the date, the pilot’s surname, the targeted objective, and the duration of the mission. On the second page, he documented that the last bombing mission occurred in the early hours of August 15, 1945—though the aircrew departed on the afternoon of August 14—over Isezaki, Japan. Later that day, the Japanese government requested an end to wartime hostilities. Afterward, Dellinger’s unit performed prisoner of war relief and observational flights before Dellinger returned stateside in late 1945. (Photo courtesy of Dellinger family)