Donald Tauro was a staff sergeant who served in the
Korean War from August of 1951 to July of 1952. He served with the Blackbirds,
a night reconnaissance team. Their
arm patch read, ‘Alone, Unarmed, Unafraid’. Donald trained at Loring Air Force
Base in Maine in 1949. Flying with
many experimental reconnaissance missions, he served as a photographer and a
camera repairman. Today, he is a resident of Canton, Connecticut.
Staff Sergeant Donald Tauro relaxed
in the back of a RB-26 flying over the Yellow Sea, off the shore of Korea in
April 1952. He was part of a three-man crew on an experimental mission. He was
videotaping from the bomb bay, from which the photoflash bombs dropped. The
airplane seemed so much more crowded since they had put the extra bomb rack in
the center of the plane. As he looked down, Donald could see the photoflash
bombs exploding, lighting up the area below. He thought about home, about how
much he missed it, and all the people there. Donald was very thankful that he
would be back in just a few months. He looked past the bomb rack and saw the
navigator, who had just joined their team. He could also just make out the
pilot, Captain Spawn. He returned his attention to his movie camera.
As he was filming, he heard a noise
from the direction of the bomb rack. * Click! *
“What was that?” he
thought. He looked up and saw one of the bombs caught up, hanging nose down
from the bomb rack, which had pulled the pin. But the bomb had not released
from the plane. He knew if it exploded, with its five million candlepower,
it would destroy the plane and everyone inside it.
Thinking quickly, he yelled to the
captain, "Bomb stuck! Salvo!" which meant all the equipment should be
dropped out of the bomb bay.
Captain Spawn thought about this for
a second, understood the grave consequences, and pulled the Salvo switch. All
of the bombs ejected from the plane, and the hung-up bomb exploded just after
it started to fall, speckling the outside of the plane in shrapnel. Donald
Tauro held on tightly; he did not want to fall out with everything else.
Despite his best efforts, his camera and all the film footage he had shot flew
out the hatch with the bombs. He had been scared out of his wits, but he
survived and was proud of himself that he had noticed the problem before they
all died.
Captain Spawn radioed
"mayday" so the base would pick them up on radar. Donald heard the
radio answer back, "We’ve got you!"
Next Captain Spawn talked to him
through the throat microphone that the captain was wearing. Donald heard his
orders through his earpiece.
"Are you OK back there, Donald?" asked Captain Spawn.
"Check the damage on the plane."
Tauro answered the captain, telling
him that he was fine; but this time there was no response back. He said it
again, but still no response. He was very puzzled. Why didn’t the captain
answer him? He felt his throat to
make sure the mike was working correctly. The mike wasn’t there!
Surprised, he looked around on the floor, questing for the throat piece. He saw
it laying about five feet away; and, while holding the door closed, he reached
for it.
As soon as he picked it up and
fastened the microphone onto his neck, he answered the captain. "Everything’s fine, sir. But
we lost the cameras along with the bombs."
Spawn answered, "At least
we’re all alright. I’ll try some different maneuvers to make sure
the airplane can function properly."
All the maneuvers were pulled off without a hitch.
After a few hours, Donald and the
crew landed back at Kimpo. When they disembarked the airplane, Captain Spawn
quickly went to his knees and kissed the ground. Donald watched him with
amazement and great understanding. The navigator, who was African American,
also climbed out of the plane. He was a nervous wreck.
"I never thought I’d see a black man turn white," Spawn commented. Donald couldn’t help laughing. They were all very grateful to be back on land.