George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography - Get a Free Blog

As the rear-looking turret gunner on Commander Melvin's plane, Mierzejewski had the
most advantageous position for observing the events in question here. Since Melvin's
plane flew directly ahead of Bush's, he had a direct and unobstructed view of what was
happening aft of his own plane. When the New York Post reporters asked former Lt.
Legare Hole, the executive officer of Bush's squadron, about who might have best
observed the last minutes of the Barbara II, Hole replied: "The turret gunner in Melvin's
plane would have had a good view. If the plane was on fire, there is a very good chance
he would be able to see that. The pilot can't see everything that the gunner can, and he'd
miss an awful lot, " Hole told the New York Post.
Gunner Lawrence Mueller of Milwaukee, another former member of Bush's squadron
who flew on the Chichi Jima mission, when asked who would have had the best view,
replied: "The turret gunner of Melvin's plane." Mierzejewksi for his part said that his
plane was flying about 100 feet ahead of Bush's plane during the incident - so close that
he could see into Bush's cockpit.
Mierzejewki, who is also a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, told the New
York Post that he saw "a puff of smoke" come out of Bush's plane and quickly dissipate.
He asserted that after that there was no more smoke visible, that Bush's "plane was never
on fire" and that "no smoke came out of his cockpit when he opened his canopy to bail
out." Mierzejewski stated that only one man ever got out of the Barbara II, and that was
Bush himself. "I was hoping I would see some other parachutes. I never did. I saw the
plane go down. I knew the guys were still in it. It was a helpless feeling."
Mierzejewski has long been troubled by the notion that Bush's decision to parachute from
his damaged aircraft might have cost the lives of Radioman second class John Delaney, a
close friend of Mierzejewksy, as well as gunner Lt. Junior Grade William White. 'I think
[Bush] could have saved those lives, if they were alive. I don't know that they were, but
at least they had a chance if he had attempted a water landing,'" Mierzejewski told the
New York Post.
Former executive officer Legare Hole summed up the question for the New York Post
reporters as follows: "If the plane is on fire, it hastens your decision to bail out. If it is not
on fire, you make a water landing." The point is that a water landing held out more hope
for all members of the crew. The Avenger had been designed to float for approximately
two minutes, giving the tailgunner enough time to inflate a raft and giving everyone an
extra margin of time to get free of the plane before it sank. Bush had carried out a water
landing back in June when his plane had lost oil pressure.
The official- but undated- report on the incident among the squadron records was signed
by Commander Melvin and an intelligence officer named Lt. Martin E. Kilpatrick.
Kilpatrick is deceased, and Melvin in 1988 was hospitalized with Parkinson's disease and
could not be interviewed. Mierzejewski in early August 1988 had never seen the undated
intelligence report in question. "Kilpatrick was the first person I spoke to when we got
back to the ship," he said. "I told him what I saw. I don't understand why it's not in the
report."