San Diego Honors WWII Marine Corps Flying Ace
An honorary visit to San Diego and an exclusive interview with Living Legend Colonel Dean Caswell

Meet WWII Flying Ace and former Blue Angel, Colonel Dean Caswell, USMC, Retired. During WWII, Colonel Caswell flew over 100 missions, destroyed 10 or more enemy aircraft in the air and 25-30 aircraft on the ground. Remarkably, he never received a bullet hole in any Corsair he ever flew. He was awarded the Silver Star, 3 Distinguished Flying Crosses and 5 Air Medals.

Love Amazingly Productions, Southwest Airlines and Homeland Magazine sponsored Colonel Caswell’s recent honorary visit to San Diego. While visiting our “Nation’s Finest City,” the Colonel was given a private tour by Major General Bob Butcher, USMC, Retired at the USMC Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum, the only Museum dedicated solely to preserving Marine Aviation history. Colonel Caswell especially admired the ‘Hall of Heroes,’ where his former Commanding Officer, Triple Ace and Medal of Honor recipient, Colonel Jim Swett’s portrait was displayed in his memory. Photos were captured next to the legendary Corsair and fellow WWII pilot, Major Glenn Ferguson, USMC, Retired.

Having flown off the USS Midway, Colonel Caswell wanted to reunite with his old floating duty station. Once aboard the Museum, it didn’t take long for the historic ship’s docents and visitors to recognize there was a hero on deck. To the Colonel’s delight, a shy young girl extended her hand in appreciation and whispered “Thank you for your service, Sir,” as her mother proudly stood watch. The handshakes, thank-yous and photo-ops came pouring in as the Colonel visited each display.

Hearing of his visit, KUSI News featured the Colonel on their “Good Morning San Diego” show. Newscaster Lisa Remillard visibly enjoyed their playful interaction. When she mentioned Capt. Katy Higgins, the first female Marine Blue Angel flies the C-130, the former Blue Angel leaned over and responded, “Don’t you tell anyone, but these ladies sometimes fly better than we do…and she’s probably damn good at it, or she wouldn’t be there.”

The Colonel was celebrated in Commanding Major General Rocco’s tent at the MCAS Miramar, “A Salute to our Veteran’s” Air Show. MCAS Miramar hosts the largest military Air Show in the United States. The Colonel greeted fellow pilots and autographed his “Legacy of Flight” cover of ‘Homeland Magazine.’ Pilots from all over the world lined up to shake his hand and thank him for his years of service. The Colonel thanked the young fellow Marines for their service and gave special recognition to their Marine Corps wives for their service to country and family.

The American Legion San Dieguito Post 416 hosted a once in a lifetime opportunity for the public to listen to Colonel Caswell’s true life stories and WWII experiences at the San Diego-Del Mar Hilton. The evening started with an exclusive pre-party at the American Legion Post 416 in downtown, Encinitas, where members and guests dined with the Colonel.

The American Legion Riders from regional posts formed an Honor Guard and escorted the Colonel to the Hilton. Post Commander, Steve Lewandowski introduced the Colonel and his extraordinary accomplishments. The Color Guard from Marine Corps Air Station, Miramar bestowed military honors by presenting the National Colors and the ‘Pledge of Allegiance.’ Performers came from across San Diego to honor the Colonel. Guy Latham sang the National Anthem, Retired Navy Petty Officer First Class, Clayton Becker played Taps and Marine veteran, Larry Veach amazed the patrons as he played the Marine Corps hymn on the bagpipes. A standing ovation requested another bagpipe performance by Veach and he pleased the crowd once more as his bagpipes vibrated the halls of the Del Mar Hilton playing the Marine Corps hymn.

The audience was captivated by the Colonel’s death-defying WWII stories and they were amused by his clever delivery. Everyone sincerely appreciated the experience and the opportunity to meet one of the last WWII Marine Aces. A few tears of gratitude were expressed amongst the audience as others stood in awe to be in his presence, acknowledging that because of this great man and many like him, we are free today. The crowd bid on a poster sized cover of Homeland Magazine featuring the Colonel, which he personally autographed to the highest bidder. All of the proceeds went to the American Legion San Dieguito Post 416, “Save Our Legion” campaign.

Surviving spouses and other family members of WWII veterans came to revere this Living Legend as did a few remaining veterans from the “Greatest Generation.” Among his many admirers, aspiring historian and aviation enthusiast, 10 year-old Faith, brought her model of a P-47, but was disappointed that she left her famed F4U Corsair model at home. “She was especially thrilled to meet Colonel Caswell, as he flew Corsairs, which is one of her favorite planes,” her mom explained.

F-18 pilot, Colonel Greg Taylor’s family attended in his place to pay tribute to Colonel Caswell. His 11 year-old son, John Taylor brought the Colonel a commemorative gift to celebrate the Marine Corps 240th birthday on November 10th, 2015.

Colonel’s Caswell’s fiancée, Mary Donahue was by his side as he entertained the audience. Mary is the widow of WWII Double Ace, Archie Donahue, who served with Caswell on the USS Bunker Hill in the Pacific. It wasn’t until after the war that the Colonel and Archie became good friends. Colonel Caswell spoke highly of Archie and stated, “Archie was a fine Marine, who was very heroic and carries the Navy Cross and three Distinguished Flying crosses among the many honors he received.” In support of the “Save our Legion” campaign, Mary Donahue donated a limited edition print of “Semper Fi Skies,” signed by both the artist John D. Shaw and Archie Donahue, which was auctioned that evening. Mary moved the audience with her late husband’s inspiring words, “The more you learn about mankind, the more you marvel at the patience of God. The fighter pilot’s last resort is hope. What we have learned in our time is history and it must be passed on, so that it will not be re-lived.”

To end the evening, the American Legion’s event organizer, Marine veteran, Brian Hall, presented the Colonel with his favorite bottle of “Patron” Tequila. Past Commandant, Marine Corps League Detachment 835, Brillo Licari from the world famous “Bull Dogs,” supplied Marine Corps shot glasses to toast the comradery amongst fellow Marines. It was a memorable event for all who attended.

Colonel Caswell is the third in a series of WWII speakers that has been brought to you by the American Legion San Dieguito Post 416. This series honors great American veterans and provides the community with access to speeches given by our “Living Heroes.” www.calegionpost416.org
This year commemorates the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Colonel Dean Caswell is being featured in the upcoming ‘Marine Wings over the Pacific’ documentary, which highlights Marine Aviation in the Pacific during WWII. The Colonel is one of the last living WWII Marine Aces. The documentary will help support the USMC Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum & Historical Foundation in their effort to preserve Marine Aviation history. www.flyingleathernecks.org

I had the pleasure and honor of meeting and interviewing this living legend in his home in Austin, Texas. The Colonel’s home is decorated in aviation memorabilia and is inundated with Marine Corps emblems as any true Marine would have it.

Included in his collection of memorabilia is a display cabinet filled with framed pictures and aircraft models of his fellow Aces from the “Fighting Falcons” VMF-221. Every night before bed, the Colonel turns a light on for his “Case of Aces,” so his fallen brothers are never in darkness.

Colonel Dean Caswell, USMC, Retired, served our country for over 30 years and has flown in three wars, including WWII, Korea and Vietnam. His flying experience spans for over 60 years and for the purpose of this article, we focused our questions primarily on his WWII experiences.

In your book “My Taking Flight,” you mention that the Boy Scouts played a significant role in you becoming a fighter pilot. How was your Boy Scout experience instrumental?

Caswell: At around eleven years old, I built a fragile wood balsa airplane model and earned the Aviation Merit Badge in the Boy Scouts. I also lead eight boys in my troop. I believe Scouting builds self-reliance, character and leadership. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was learning some of the basic skills of becoming a fighter pilot. Later on, I spent 28 years volunteering with my six sons in Boy Scouts. I’m proud to say that they all became Eagle Scouts.

How did you join the service?

Caswell: Well, that’s an interesting story… My cousin Carl Moore and I were living in Los Angeles at the time and we were both going to school and working full time. Carl called and said he had seven dollars in his pocket and if I had a little money, it was time we saw the bright lights of the Burlesque Houses on Broadway Street. Keep in mind, I was 18 years old at the time with a draft notice in my dresser drawer. We met at the Trolley Terminal in downtown, Los Angeles and decided to enhance our evening with a pint of ‘Four Roses’ bourbon. We were the same age, but neither of us had ever had a drink in our lives. My memory tells me that we saw our first burlesque show sitting in the darker part of the balcony as we killed off the pint of bourbon. At around two o’ clock in the morning, we were awakened and evicted by the theatre manager. We weren’t feeling too good and we had nowhere to go, when a tall man in a dark suit stepped out of the lite doorway. He had a white-billed cap and gold stripes lined his coat sleeve. He said “You fellas look in bad shape. You could use a good cup of coffee.” Then another uniformed man in a green coat with red stripes on his sleeve joined us and we entered into a small office off the street. We had just met the Navy and Marine recruiting officers. When we sobered up, still feeling like a train had run over us, Carl was in the Navy and I was in the Marine Corps.

Tell us about your first flight…

Caswell: “You got it, fly for a while,” that’s what my instructor said. My log book shows my first flight at 1.5 hours of dual flight instruction. I read later the notation “Tries very hard, but uncoordinated.”

What can today’s youth learn from that experience?

Caswell: I tried, I tried very hard and even though it seemed to accomplish nothing on my first try, eventually I soloed in three hours of flight time, which was a bit sooner than most of the group. My advice for today’s youth is to try and try again, until you succeed. If you’re detoured by your mistakes, you’ll never get anything done. Remember once you succeed, success breeds success…Just Keep trying!

Your initial assignment was dive bombing. How did you end up becoming a fighter pilot?

Caswell: We were all counting on being fighters and when I received my assignment, it read “DIVE BOMBING.” I was absolutely sick. Just sick, to hear that my friend Brumley and I had assignments for dive bombing. We knew something had to be done and we found the Assignment Department at Pensacola. We were stunned to find out that the assignment person was a beautiful 21 year-old lady Marine, who randomly was passing out assignments. She said she was just filling quotas. I had to think fast, so I asked her out to dinner and tried to be a perfect gentleman. With a couple of kisses and a few promises, she changed my assignment to fighters. Poor Brumley.

How did your previous experience with shotguns and bird shooting help you become a good “Dog-Fighter?”

Caswell: At 16 years old, I could shoot 20 birds on the wing with 20 shells. Like a shotgun, I would lead the target, in this case the enemy aircraft. It was like shooting fast flying ducks, which was very natural for me.

You are famed for the flying the Corsair. Why is the Corsair extremely difficult to land on Air Craft Carriers?

Caswell: You couldn’t see where you were landing or the Landing Signal Officer, because the end of the nose is too long and the cock pit was so far back. We would have to fly in a half circle/turn with your head sticking out of the cockpit and your goggles down if you wanted to make the landing. We all had to land that way with the Corsair. The long nose was built that way to accommodate the size of the engine and the propeller.

Why was the Corsair a superior fighting aircraft to the Japanese enemy aircraft?

Caswell: Many reasons really…It was the first aircraft to maintain a speed of over 400 mph in sustained level of flight. It was faster, more heavily armed and maneuverable than most of the Japanese aircraft. Our primary mission as a Marine Fighter Squadron was to support our ground troops, so being capable of carrying heavy ammunition was essential. Our secondary mission was to protect our Navy. The Corsair was the finest fighter plane of its time in the world. I should know, I put over 2,000 hours of flight time in one.

Why was the Corsair known as the “Whistling death?”

Caswell: It was named that by the Japanese ground troops. We flew low and fast, and the air going through the wing’s oil cooler ducting would make a whistling sound, which meant imminent death for the enemy.

During your Operational Flight Training, you mentioned snap rolls in a Corsair were prohibited. Why is that?

Caswell: A Snap Roll in any plane is considered a violent maneuver. The Corsair was never made for Snap Rolls because of the folded wings. Aeronautical engineers feared the wings would not stay intact.

You were destined to prove them wrong, weren’t you?

Caswell: (Chuckles) I had been assigned to be a bogey in a little play flight. I drew bead on the lead plane. Captain Jim Swett picked me up with his phenomenal vision. The two sections executed a perfect weave and Goeggel and Scott picked me up. We were headed directly towards each other, closing rapidly as my Corsair was diving at over 400 mph. I turned right and saw him turning left into me. I immediately snapped the stick right and kicked right rudder. There was a tremendous jerk and the plane started spinning like a cork screw. I thought we actually hit each other and I reached for the pin holding my escape hatch. Seconds later, I realized that both the plane and I were still intact, so I regained control of the Corsair and stopped the violent spinning. When we arrived back on the ground, Captain Delancey ran up to me gasping for breath…”Unbelievable! You did seven snap rolls in a row. Seven! I counted them. How did you do that? I’ve never seen anyone do a snap roll in an F4U. Not one, you did seven! Will you teach me how to do that?”…I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I didn’t even have my hands on the stick.

Your famed Marine Air Squadron VMF-221, the Fighting Falcons had a legacy of their own. Can you highlight their accomplishments?

Caswell: My Squadron VMF-221, the Fighting Falcons was formed in San Diego and eventually assigned to the USS Bunker Hill. I joined the Squadron towards the end of the war, late 1944 and I wasn’t able to be a part of their most famous Battle of the Midway. 23 of the members were awarded the Navy Cross at the Battle of Midway, most posthumously. Our Commanding Officer, Jim Swett was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on April 7, 1943. We had 6 Silver Stars and many distinguished Flying Crosses awarded to us throughout the war. In all, we had over 185 air-to-air victories. That was the 2nd most victories of any Marine Fighting Air Squadron during the war. We were one hell of a Squadron! (Smiles)

What constitutes a Marine Ace?

Caswell: Five confirmed aerial victories.

How did the Marines confirm an aerial victory during WWII?

Caswell: Mostly by our gun camera, but it was not always dependable to catch the confirmation of a victory. Unfortunately, the camera would run out of film during a long dog fight, leaving the pilot without recognition. I for one know I had 10 enemy kills if not more, however only 7 are confirmed. I’m sure there were many Aces out there that were never given the honors. I know of at least two personally that should have been deemed Aces and were not.

What was your most terrifying combat experience?

Caswell: We were scared as hell, but never terrified. We were well trained, we knew what we were doing and we did our best to get the job done.

You are a hero. Why is that difficult for you to accept?

Caswell: We were not heroes. We were just doing our jobs, because we wanted to get home alive.

The Kamikaze was a feared weapon of desperation used by the Japanese. A tactic that proved to be effective against the USS Bunker Hill (CV-17), Flagship of Task Force 58 on May 11, 1945. Tell us more about your experience on that dreadful day…

Caswell: I was enjoying my morning coffee with my wingman John McManus when two Kamikazes slipped under the radar and dove into the Bunker Hill. It just happened to be that our Operations Officer had John McManus and I serve as Squadron Duty Officers, while the others flew. We we’re in the Officers Mess, which was one deck below the hangar deck. We heard a loud explosion when the two Kamikaze planes exploded on the flight deck. There were explosions all over the ship and the dangerous, thick…, black…, oily smoke filled the spaces where we were below. The lights went out and left us in total darkness. We were just secured from General Quarters and luckily we still had our gas masks. We dropped down and tried crawling out of the rooms on our hands and knees, while trying to breathe through those inefficient masks. We crawled over many bodies to the ladder that led up to the Hangar Deck. The hatch was closed, and we started banging the hell out of it with a metal flashlight we found hanging on the bulkhead. Some wonderful soul finally opened the hatch and we managed to get out. We were in a daze, with smoke filled lungs from the inefficient masks, but better off than the other poor souls that were left behind.

How long did it take for you to recover?

Caswell: There wasn’t any time to recover. Once we regained our bearings, we had to fight the fire with the remaining fire fighters for three days to prevent further explosions and a complete loss.

What happened to your Air Squadron?

Caswell: Our Commanding Officer, Jim Swett was just circling in landing pattern with a flight of 16 Corsairs and they witnessed the entire episode. Some of his flight tried to intercept the bandits, but it was too late. The ship’s AA (Antiaircraft guns) started firing, but they were too late to prevent the crash. Eventually, the Squadron had to land on nearby carriers and some landed on the captured airfields on Yontan and Okinawa. Some of the pilots were on ship in the Ready Room (location where pilots prepare for flight) were able to make it to the outside catwalk and jumped overboard.

Did they survive?

Caswell: Many did not, because they had an 80 foot drop into burning oil and debris. The survivors were rescued by nearby ships.

What was the outcome of the kamikaze attack on the USS Bunker Hill?

Caswell: There were hundreds killed, missing or wounded, including our ship’s Captain Seitz.

What about the ships damages?

Caswell: Our damaged ship limped to Ulithi anchorage for repairs and reorganizing. The USS Bunker Hill was one of the most heavily damaged carriers to survive the War.

The loss of lives to secure our freedom is an immeasurable debt. How should we as a nation honor our veterans?

Caswell: We need to ensure that our wounded veterans get the best care through their lifetime. We need to support the civic organizations in place that are the “Watch Dogs” for our veteran’s. The recognition of our troops has to be larger than their own hometown. In my hometown, all but two of the young men sent to war didn’t return. There was no mention of it in the paper. We need to vote for leaders in Washington that have an extensive knowledge and understanding of the military. You have to know how to defend the country you are leading!

What message would you like to give to our young service members?

Caswell: Be loyal to your country.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE COLONEL DEAN CASWELL
May God bless you, our troops and America

By, CJ Machado-photo journalist Homeland Magazine