July & Sept 1944 - Guam & Palau
July 1944 flight log for Jack Lawton - LOTS of action seen.
Battle for Guam - With the airfields disabled and after 2 weeks of bombardment by carrier-based planes, Guam was ready for invasion on July 21st, 1944. My Grandfather flew missions for 6 days leading up to that (see flight log)
Battle for Peleliu
By September, the Allied forces were marching across the Pacific and headed to the island of Palau. In the Battle of Peleliu, my Grandfather flew at least 15 missions and went 8 days in a row flying missions against the Japanese. He saw action on every single day flying bombing raids ahead of the invasion.
The first wave of U.S. Marines in LVTs during the invasion of Peleliu on September 15, 1944.
Battle for Guam
While August and October 1944 involved some huge battles, July and September kept him ridiculously busy during the Battle for Guam and Battle for Peleliu.
July 1944 brought a total of 13 missions and 3 days with 2+ missions during the Battle of Guam. My Grandfather was dropping 1,000 lbs bombs and incidendiaries likely to soften up defenses ahead of a ground force landing.
September 1944 flight log for Jack Lawton - another busy month.
An example of the Grumman TBM-1C “Avenger” that my Grandfather flew from June to November 1944. While the design was by Grumman the “TBM” planes were manufactured by General Motors.