 The DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware, makers of better things for better living through chemistry presents the Cavalcade of America starring Van Johnson. Van Johnson is currently starred with Spencer Tracy, Gene Tierney and Leo Genn in the MGM Technicolor production Plymouth Adventure. Tonight on Cavalcade of America, the true story of Sergeant Billy Beach, United States Air Force. Sergeant Beach in 1950, high over Korea, along that infamous strip known as Mig Alley won the nickname Billy the Kid. When I look back, it all took maybe seven minutes and the sweating out about an hour and a half. Yet the whole thing started in training camp. A bunch of us aerial gunners had a discussion. We carried it on during maneuvers off the coast of Florida. It became an argument over some beer in Hawaii. And by the time we were based warm, everybody had an opinion and the barracks were in the battlefield. Don't you ever listen when a guy talks, Harry? You're not saying anything, is he, Billy? Billy. I'm busy. Well, stop being busy and tell his lunkhead I'm right. Look, Frisco, I'm in the middle of a letter to my mother. Hey, tell her to send another batch of cookies, the kind with the chocolate on top. Uh-uh, don't like the chocolate ones. Stop being selfish, I like them. Um, where was I, Harry? On the same old line, you can't shoot down a meagre from a B-29. You can't. I tell you, it can't be done. At least let him talk, Frisco. He could be right. Ah, that's impossible, but... Okay, Harry, talk. And listen, in the last war, I saw action against everything that the Germans and Japs called a fighter. Yeah. I'm not done. Let him finish, Frisco. Now, you take a formation of four bombers. That's 24 machine guns. Climb like this, and no fighter in the world is going to bust you up. Uh-uh, so how come bombers went down? I didn't say that you couldn't be knocked down. I just said that you're more than even up with a fighter. He's right, Frisco. Formation flying is deadly. Perfect protection. Boy, I've seen guys with flying spots, but you would take the cake. Harry, Jets said different, lots different. He's got a point, Harry. Jets come out of no place and get back even faster. I got the best point in the world. The war started three months ago. Must have been hundreds of bomber missions, and not one. Not one aerial gunner has ever knocked down a mate. Go ahead, answer that smart guy. Well... Well, the way I see the problem, it's sorta like sitting in a duck blind. The duck is coming at you at 600 miles an hour, and he's dodging, and then he levels off, and what happens? Who gets it? Every time you start with the Tennessee outdoor life, I get lost. What I'm saying, Frisco, is this. Which is easier? Hitting a moving target from a blind or being the moving target, shooting at the sitting duck? The guy whose moving has all the edge. Everybody knows that. I don't think it's true, Frisco. I think that you can knock down a mate just as easy as any other plane, no matter how fast he's coming at you. So how come it's never been done? I don't know. I just feel it can be done. Hey, shut the door. Shut the door. All right, all right. So which one of you, Joe, is General Ridgway? Well, if it isn't the laughing boy of the ninth group. Where have you been, Canarsie? While you military geniuses were winning the war, I was nosing around trying to find out how long we were going to be sitting on this rock. More rumors for a smart guy, Canarsie. You sure get taken in. All right. All right, if you ain't interested. Who said we ain't? Come on, give. No, no. We can always beat it out of you. Yeah, come on, will you? Very well. Fellow heroes to be. I don't like the sound of that. Tamara Brighton early, which is the Air Force way. We are going to Okinawa. Okinawa? Wow, what do you know? Another rock. How come we don't get a decent assignment like Tokyo or Paris or San Francisco? What do you mind? I don't think you understand. I said Okinawa. And Okinawa, Frisco, is a forward bombing base for Korea. By 0500, we boarded the plane. By 0515, we were at the end of the airstrip. And by 0530, Guam was behind us and well out of sight. We were heading north and west for another hunk of rock that the Marines had put on the map during the middle 40s, Okinawa. I think all of us had a tight feeling inside. For the first time, our uniforms seemed to get in the way of our arms. We were sitting in the radar section, shooting the breeze until we got to the forward bomber base. But even the jokes didn't seem to come on. And so the guy says, now get this, fellas. The guy says, yeah, but you should have seen his sister. Well, I thought it was funny. Can't I see? You already told him three times. It doesn't matter with you guys. You think you're going to a funeral? Could be. Our own. Cut it out, Harry. Skipper to crew. Hold it. According to Lieutenant Richards, we're on course in two hours and 40 minutes from landfall. Not a cloud in the sky. This baby rides like a rocking chair. They must have some rough rocking chairs where you come from. Back there in the tail where I sit, it's more like a horse. A mean horse. I once rode a horse. I got thrown. It figures. Bosses are too dangerous. Harry. Hey, Harry, wake up. What do you want, Billy? How many missions do you think we'll have to put in before we get a leave? I don't know. Probably 250. What an optimist. You know, with all this talk about MiGs versus B-29s, you know what I've been wondering? What? I've been wondering if the flak sounds the same over Korea as it did over Berlin. We sat down on Okinawa and then it started. We get off on our first mission, no MiGs, then our second, our third, fourth. That was when we began to see them. From then on MiGs began to stream in and out of the clouds, but they never got near enough to get shot at. They were watching, watching and waiting. It was like they were playing a game with us, letting us know they were there, making us feel as though they could kill us off whenever they got ready. But in the meantime, they just let us know they were around. And all the time we kept wondering, wondering what they were waiting for. We watched them in the sky and carried them back to the barracks. Eight. Eight we see today. Frankly, I don't get it. They must be up to something. They're afraid. It's as simple as that. They're afraid to mix with us. You sure changed your tune since Guam. So much firepower for them. A B-29 has got it and they know it. I don't think it's as easy as all that. I think they're waiting for the right time. But why? Why not jump us right now, today or tomorrow? They probably got a reason, Harry. I've got a feeling that we'll find out the hard way. Now who's the pessimist? I admit it makes me a little edgy. I've been watching them real close. They jump through the sky. I saw one guy do an acrobat today. I was watching him too. He sure knows how to fly, that boy. So who cares? Look, they don't want to fight and it's okay with me. Personally, I'm willing to let the brass do the worrying. Hey, uh, how about some poker? I got the card. No, no. Tonight will use mine. Which I have right here. Deal. Same stakes? Same stakes. And so there's no misunderstanding, Billy. You owe me nine million dollars in the island of Cuba. You'll get it, Conasi. You'll get it. Harry, you are under books for 18 millions in the state of Texas. Will you stop hounding me? Deal, Frisco. And you, Frisco, you are real stiff. Yeah? You owe me 155 million. That much? Plus, Alaska and your date with Betty Gravel. I still don't see how you came up with four sevens. Well, uh, I opened for a million. Call. I'm out. Cards? Two. He's holding a kicker. I'm honest. Give me three. I bet, uh, five million. I thought the paper matches were five million. Oh, sorry. I call. What do you got? Harry, Jax. Good. Your deal, Harry. Right. Hey, if this war keeps up, uh, say, two more weeks, I could retire. All he ever talks about is the money we owe. Well, last night he wanted to play showdown for his mother. Ah, I was kidding. What do you think, Harry? I think we're lucky. Uh, I bet the state of Maine. Where did you get the state of Maine? He wanted for me playing casino in the flight back yesterday. By me. I, uh, raised a million. I hear the fighter pilots are getting plenty of action from the Migs. I'm happy. I wouldn't even cry if they won the war a single-handed. Hey, you guys playing a talking shop. We're playing. Hey, especially for you. Hey, hey, smash the cards. So, um, like I was saying, Einstein has got this whole thing wrong. There are more blondes than redheads. Hi, man. Hi, Skipper. Hi, Billy. Can I see who's winning? Winning? Oh, we were just, uh, discussing Einstein. You sure you don't mean Hoyle? You sure got 20-20, haven't you, Captain? For kicks, Skipper. Okay, this is as long as nobody gets hurt. How does it look for a pass to Tokyo, Skipper? Not for a while. Ninth mission coming up. Think those Migs will get any closer? Well, if they do, I'm trusting you guys to see him. I got a wife and two kids at home. Don't worry, Skipper, we'll take him. Attention all combat crews. All members of Nineteenth Bomb Group, report to briefing room immediately. Hey, that's us. Nineteenth Bomb Group, report to briefing room immediately. This is the primary target area, and this is the secondary area. According to weather, you're clear all the way. The old man's burned up. It has come to my attention that members of this group, officers and airmen alike, have been calling this a milk run. Anybody got a cigarette? Well, you'd better get that out of your heads and quick. This morning, you're going out in flights of four. 16 B-29s. There's going to be plenty of flak enough to walk on. And you're going to have to go to the hospital. There's going to be plenty of flak enough to walk on. And migs. The sky is going to be full of migs. Not a bunch of guys doing tricks and acrobatics to amuse you on the bomb run. Migs with cannon. Cannon that work. Yesterday afternoon, a flight of eight migs took on some B-29s. They jumped a flight of four. A lot of you have been batting the breeze, arguing over a theory. Cannon aerial gunner and a B-29 knocked down a jet-propelled fighter. Well, yesterday, we got an answer from the survivors of the only 29 to come in. The answer is, all the enemy jets returned to their base. Not one was down. Take off at 0530. Let's do it. All right. Any more questions, fellas? In the movies, somebody always says something funny. In the movies, Colosse, nobody shoots back. And now, we return to our cavalcade story of the air war over Korea, the story of Billy the Kid, starring Van Johnson. We hit the flight line on the double and wheeled into position. We were the lead plane in the last group of four. The engines roared and we raced down the runway and were airborne. We knew that the colonel wasn't just talking to hear the sound of his voice. Us? Well, the score was still ringing in our ears three for their side, none for ours. Skipper to crew. Landfall. Test fire your guns. This time was different. This time we checked our guns and prayed that the sights were in line because this time we might not be sighting on seagulls. I had the right-waste blister. I tested first. Harry was the CFC gunner in the top blister. Frisco had the lonesome spot, all alone in the back. He had the tail turret and called it Mabel. Funny how a guy I'll call a gun Mabel. Canarsie and I were left and right-waste gunners. I looked over my shoulder and watched them checking his gun sight and firing the lower rear turret. Armed to the teeth, right around the clock. You could almost taste the tension. Skipper to crew. 45 minutes to target. Keep your eyes open. From here on in, we can expect plenty of trouble. We kept our eyes open. We were in the lead spot of our four bombers and it felt good to see those guys so close. All in all, there were 16 bombers and that counts up to something like 192 machine guns all with their noses out looking for trouble. We kept talking to each other through the intercom, but our eyes never left the sky. Keep your eyes open, fellas. Don't worry, Billy. Get a load of the fighter protection. Looks like the Colonel wasn't kidding. I wonder how a fighter pilot feels being all alone and all that. They feel like heroes. Last time I was in New York, I bumped into a couple of hot rocks. They were singing the Wild Blue Young. Ah! Could you help me if you could hardly hear the singing for the jingling and the medals? Oh, canarsie, you are a jealous man. Think we ought to tell them fighter jockeys that take the afternoon off? That ain't funny. Mix at 11 o'clock. Mix at 5. Mix at 3 o'clock. Suddenly the sky was full of them. Not a million miles away doing tricks but breathing right down our throats. They came out of nowhere and their cannons began to spin. The bullets from R-50 seem to bounce off of them. You'd get one right in your sights and then he'd slip out of the way. He'd slip it better than 600 an hour. It was cold, but I could feel a sweat rolling into the corner of my eyes. They wanted us and they wanted us bad. And it didn't look as though we could do anything about it. Billy, coming at a 12 o'clock high. You missed them, kid. What happened? I don't know, Skipper. I had him squirreling. He was lined up and then he just seemed to jump out of the sky. Man, they really take off. It comes once for me. No cigar. Skipper, there goes one of our planes. They just broke in half. That was more. Two more coming in at 8 o'clock. All yours, Frisco. Thanks. Can you get him, Frisco? I'm gonna try. We got our number two engine. Another 29 is turning back. Half the ship is afire. There's your answer, Billy, and it stinks. It stinks. Three o'clock coming right at me. A little closer. A little closer and now, baby, let's hear you talk. There goes our number four engine. Son of a leaves us all alone, doesn't it? Go ahead. It's 12 o'clock high. Three o'clock. One o'clock. Six o'clock. Just pick a time, fellas. Just pick a time. Here comes one from left field. He's coming right in my back yard. That's right, pal. Right this way. A little closer. Just keep walking. One way. Three. Two. Now. That one I know I got. I saw him, Billy. He blew up. He blew to me. Suddenly there was nothing but the sound of our own engines. The Migs just turned tail and headed back for their own lines. I don't believe it. I don't believe it. We were alone in the sky, and I mean alone. Of the flight of four, we were the only one aloft. And the rest of the formation, the other 12 bombers had left us far behind. Pretty large, huh? The sky seemed empty. It seemed empty and quiet. Nothing but the sound of our own motors, and that sound just didn't ring true. Skipper number two and number four engines are shot out. I know. I wonder what's keeping us up. We're still 30 minutes from target area. I think we can make it on two engines. Good for us. It doesn't look good. But we're going to make our bomb run. Think we can catch up to the rest of the formation, Skipper? Not a chance. Any orders, sir? Yeah. Keep calm. Keep cool. And keep your parachutes on. A B-29 can fly on two engines. We found that out. We also found out that 30 minutes all alone in that sky with half your firepower gone is the longest 30 minutes in the world. We limped into position for the bomb run and got them away. Why not to crew? We haven't got a chance to make Okinawa. I'm going to head south and go as far as we can. Skipper, I didn't think they had landing strips long enough for a 29 in Korea. Oh, we're sitting pigeoned if any make spots. Keep your eyes open. I'll ring bail out. We're losing altitude every minute and had to depressurize the cabin. That's sort of like turning up the refrigerator and then crawling inside. We went deep in enemy territory. Our speed down to 170. Our blood pressure up to a thousand. Frisco's guns were out, so we crawled in from the tail and stood next to me in Kenasi. We were a long way from home and we knew it. Why not to crew? There's a fighter strip about 25 minutes from here. I'm going to try to make it out. We'll try to make it with you, Skipper. There are parts of Tennessee that look just like that, Harry. Ain't nothing Kenasi looks like that. I wonder what you're keeping us up. There are flak hulls in those wings big enough to stick your head through. Old plane is like a sieve. Anybody got any key ration? Oh, I got some. Here. Thanks. Hey. I read where a guy gets hungry when he's nervous. I'm nervous. Billy? Are you saying something, Billy? No. That's a bad sign. Talking to yourself. I wasn't exactly talking to myself. I was praying. Suddenly the intercom was quiet. Nobody felt like talking. We had a long half hour and I guess everybody had some private thinking to take care of. Somehow the Skipper kept her in the air. If only we could get to the Han River. The Han River was like home because on the other side were guys in uniform with the right color. Guys on our side. Then for no reason at all, everybody wanted to hear the sound of his own voice. Nothing we said seemed to mean anything, but we talked. You got much of a family, Billy? Everybody in Tennessee has a big family. I once knew a guy liked his steak burn. Even saw him eat it. I'm against the three girls. It's against the law. Skipper? Yes. Do I see what I think I see is the Han River? We aren't in yet. That don't look much like a river. Skipper to Crow, clear the intercom. I'm going to contact the tower. Streetcar 9, the Necktie 2-3. Mayday. Mayday. Mayday. Over. Streetcar. Request type of aircraft. Over. A little trouble. How little he says. Request emergency pancake instructions. Over. Streetcar. Only 5,000 feet. Engine shot out. Almost out of gas. The plane is whistling wind. I've got to try it. Over. I think serious. Have a crash wagon standing by. I think she might split in half when we hit. Over. Good luck, Al. I have to crew. You heard what I said. Racious house for a landing. Hey, Billy. Is he going to land on that? Looks like it. Well, it's kind of small, ain't it? Yeah. Anybody want to bet we crack up? He'll be landing odds in his own funeral. Sometimes you say the dumbest things. Hey, Billy. How about they hang a medal on you for those two kills? My old man would like that. Might have to crew. Hang on. We're coming in. Hey, can I see? What are they saying? The movies? This is it. This is it. We hit that runway real hot. Our back teeth were jarred as she slammed under the strip. Rubbers screeched and we could hear the seams begin to split. We bounced and swung and slid and all of the time we waited for her to blow up. The end of the runway came rushing towards us with less than 50 feet left. We slammed or stopped. For a split second we just sat and then we began to scramble. We jumped to the ground. We started to run. We had to put a couple of hundred yards between her and us just in case of that B-29 blow. She'd scatter a medal for half a mile. We made it, Harry. We made it. She looks like a pilot junk. Did everybody get out, Billy? Yes, sir. Anybody hurt? No, sir. Looks like we're not going to be able to paint the two symbols on the plane for you, Billy. She's cracked right down the middle. On a postage stamp, Skipper. You put it down on a postage stamp. I shall remember her with fond memories. You too, Skipper. Anybody hurt, Captain? Nobody hurt. A little shaky, but not hurt. Oh, good. Jeeps will pick up your crew in an hour, sir. Thank you, Sergeant. Chris, go. Help me unload a couple of things. If she hasn't gone up yet, she won't go. Yes, sir. She sure is a mess. Isn't she, sir? Cigarette. Thanks. Looks like you just made it. Oh, yeah. What happened? Oh, it's quite a story. You see, we were flying around, minding our own business when some Russian megs jumped us, and then, well, like they say in the movies, there's a war on it. The B-29 was scrapped. We hitched a ride back to Okinawa, got a new plane, a new load of bombs, and then took off again for Korea. We'd made a good start, but the job wasn't over. Cavalcade of America salutes Sergeant Billy Beach, Ariel Gunner, holder of the Distinguished Flying Cross, for being the first B-29 gunner to knock a mig out of the sky. And a special salute to all the other brave young Ariel Marksman and their brother jet pilots who have contributed to our air supremacy. All thanks to Van Johnson and the Cavalcade players for tonight's true story, and our Bill Hamilton speaking for the DuPont Company. It was in 1802 that Eilothair Irine DuPont arrived on the banks of the Brandy Wine Creek near Wilmington, Delaware, and set up a mill to make black powder. Last July, the DuPont Company celebrated this event in a ceremony on the site of the original mill. Today, in a news release, DuPont announced the setting up of a foundation to develop this area into an historical park, which will be open to the public. Many of the original buildings and the walls and foundations of others still stand, and steps will be taken to preserve them. As the project develops, a museum will be established to house and display many items of historical interest in connection with the early days of the DuPont Company. It is planned that portions of the park area will be open next spring, and as the years go by, it is expected that increasing numbers of people will visit this birthplace of an American enterprise. There they will find a marker which was dedicated at the ceremony's last summer. Inscribed on it are these words which embody the precepts of Eilothair Irine DuPont, founder of the company. On this site in 1802, the DuPont Company was conceived. It has grown with the growing nation under a system dedicated to freedom. The greatest asset has been all its people and its guiding philosophy, that there is no privilege that is not inseparably bound to a duty. In this anniversary year, which is now drawing to a close, the 90,000 men and women of the DuPont Company renew their pledge to provide our nation with better things for better living through chemistry. The Night's DuPont Cavalcade was written by David Harmon and was based on an article entitled, Corian Sharpshooter by Staff Sergeant Billy Beach, published in Air Force Magazine, September 1951. Original music was composed by Arden Cornwell, conducted by Donald Boris. The program was directed by John Zoller. With our star, Van Johnson, you heard Michael O'Day, George Petrie, Dan Ackow, Stylist, George Petrie, Dan Ackow, Stott Copsworth, Ed Begley, and Gary Wahlberg. We also wish to thank Captain Ray Hausman of the United States Air Force for his assistance. Ladies and gentlemen, the newest officer in the United States Air Force is the aircraft observer. He's a crew member of a bombardment, transport, reconnaissance, or interceptor type aircraft. He's one of the best qualified men in the skies, serving his country and doing a job to be proud of. His job is one that you might qualify for. If you are between 19 and 26 and a half years of age, single and have at least two years of college training, see your Army and Air Force recruiter. This is Cy Harris, reminding you to be with us next week when the DuPont Cavalcade will present a Medal for Miss Walker, starring Dorothy McGuire. The DuPont Cavalcade of America came to you from the Belasco Theater in New York City and is sponsored by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware, makers of better things for better living through chemistry. Tonight, just for the laughs, listen to the Red Skelton Show on NBC.