Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Ex-Navy Airman Gets Medal After 52 Years

From Staff And Wire Reports

It is better 52 years late than never for World War II veteran James Woodward and the rest of his squadron.

The retired auto body shop owner got a medal pinned on his chest Tuesday for flying patrol missions and bombing runs in the Pacific against Japanese forces. In 1944, he flew as a flight engineer on a light bomber, checking instruments and manning a machine gun.

A Navy chief petty officer, he was part of the 140-man Patrol Bombing Squadron 146, whose members, living and dead, have received the Air Medal.

The citation commends Woodward’s “superb airmanship, steadfast perseverance and unselfish devotion to duty in the face of hazardous flying conditions.”

Woodward said he was surprised at the award and honored. But he downplayed his role in the campaign.

“It wasn’t as tough as those guys had flying over Europe,” he said.

The reason for the half-century delay is not clear. Petty Officer 1st Class Phil Oliver, a Boise Navy recruiter, said it may have been a wartime mistake.

Although Woodward’s plane, a Lockheed Vega Ventura PV-1, was never hit by enemy fire, three of the 12 bombers in his squadron were downed by the Japanese.

They patrolled for enemy ships and planes on flights that lasted as long as eight hours. They dropped bombs on harbors in Japanese-held islands and raked them with guns.

“Strafing harbors was a little bit hairy,” he acknowledged.