General Order #135
Dated: 5 July, 1945
First Lieutenant Allie A. Thacker, 0524516, 6th Bombardment Squadron, 29th Bombardment Group, Air Corps, United States Army. For gallantry in action while participating in a daring daylight raid over Tachiarai on 5 April, 1945 as an Airplane Commander of a B-29 Superfortress. About five minutes after "bombs away," the formation in which Lieutentant Thacker was flying was attacked by forty (40) enemy fighters, which savagely pressed home one hundred and forty (140) attacks.
As a result of those attacks, the left wing of Lieutenant Thacker's aircraft sustained 73 holes caused by thirty calibre and twenty millimeter shells. Shortly thereafter, fire broke out on two other B-29 aircraft planes and they straggled quickly from the formation. Lieutenant Thacker, seeing them defenseless and knowing that both pilots were comparatively new to combat, left the safety of his formation and reduced his altitude quickly from eighteen thousand to seven thousand feet where the stragglers were.
This feint drew the fighters away from the other two aircraft and gave the crews a chance to bail out of their burning aircraft or reach the comparative safety of the sea toward which they were now leading unmolested. In the battle that ensued, Lieutenant Thacker's gunners destroyed one enemy aircraft. The two burning B-29s finally exploded, but not before the crews had bailed out to safety. Lieutenant Thacker then dove his aircraft to the deck, eluded the enemy fighters and flew successfully to his home base
Upon landing, examination revealed 300 bullet and cannonholes in Lieutenant Thacker's aircraft. By this valorous deed, Lieutenant Thacker saved the lives of two crews. His heroic gallantry in action, his brilliant leadership and outstanding airmanship represent an inspiring example of the finest traditions of the Army Air Forces.
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Note by Harold Lang, Pilot -- The author of the above did not fully understand the happenings and the facts got a little distorted. In general the description is "on target"; however, the facts were that one plane did go down over the Japanese homeland and three parachutes were seen from that plane. The other plane did make it to the coastline and was smoking and burning quite badly. That plane (commanded by Ralph Miller) was trying to make it out to sea, as there was an American submarine about 20-25 miles offshore that would have been able to pick up the crew if a successful ditching could take place. Prior to reaching the sub, the enging fire reached the wing fuel cell tanks and blew off the left wing. All eleven crew members were lost in the out of control aircraft spiraling toward the sea. The actual documented hole count in Thacker's fuselage was 356 that needed to be repaired, per the aircraft log.
