India in WWII. 14. lis 2022.����. Lieutenant Sol Schnitzer, glider pilot with 1st Air Commando Group, next to a glider that was wrecked during landing ...
Colnel Sol Schnitzer
Lieutenant Sol Schnitzer, glider pilot with 1st Air Commando Group, next to a glider that was wrecked during landing operations at Broadway, Burma. (The National Archives)
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LIFE AND MILITARY HISTORY OF SOLOMON SCHNITZER (1922-2010) Solomon (“Sol”) Schnitzer was born on April 1, 1922, in Port Arthur, Texas to Anna and Morris Schnitzer, Jewish immigrants of Eastern European descent. He was the fifth of seven children. Following his graduation from Port Arthur Jefferson High School in 1940, Sol was inducted into the U.S. Army on November 25, 1940. Having qualified for Officer Candidate School, Sol was sent to flight training in the Army Air Corp, commencing July 1, 1941, at Ellington Field, Texas. The Army Unit he transferred out of was eventually sent to the Philippines, and many of its members were captured by the Japanese and endured, and perished on, the infamous “Bataan Death March.” Sol’s primary flight training was in Big Springs, Texas. He also trained at Randolph Field and Kelly Field, both in San Antonio, Texas, and he graduated from glider pilot training at the Army Flying School in Stuttgart, Arkansas on March 15, 1943. On August 30, 1943, he accepted a commission as a Second Lieutenant. Sol served throughout WWII in the China-Burma-India Theater as a pilot, having arrived in India in November 1943 with the first contingent of American troops, where he volunteered to join Colonel Phil Cochran’s 1st Air Commando group. On March 8, 1944, he participated in a particularly hazardous mission for which he would receive the Air Medal. This mission, dubbed “Operation Thursday,” has been described in detail by military historian R.D VanWagner in his military history book entitled Any Place, Any Time, Any Where (Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Alabama, Military History Series 86-1, 1986). Operation Thursday was also memorialized by Oliver North in an episode of War Stories on the Fox News Channel. The goal of the mission was to construct a forward landing strip suitable for use by transport aircraft (C-46s and C-47s) 250 miles behind enemy lines in the Burmese jungle. Once constructed, the forward strip was to be used to re-supply British General Ord Wingate, who, together with his native Burmese soldiers (known as “Chindits”), was successfully applying guerilla war tactics to harass and disrupt Japanese forces in Burma. Wingate’s operation was part of the larger Allied invasion of Burma, designed to force the Japanese to drain resources from the Pacific to deal with a “Western Front” in Burma. The following is an extract from Major General George E. Stratemeyer’s (Commanding General of U.S. Army Air Forces in India and Burma) citation awarding then Lieutenant Solomon Schnitzer, together with several other glider pilots, the Air Medal (from General Orders No. 58, HQ, AAF, India-Burma Sector, China-Burma-India Theater, A.P.O. 671, 24 April 1944): Performing extremely hazardous double-tow operations without benefit of guide lights due to proximity of the enemy, they crossed a 7,000 foot range of mountains during which they encountered haze conditions which continued for the remainder of the mission – approximately four to five hours – fully realizing the impossibility of return, regardless of conditions encountered at their destination, inasmuch as the tow planes were flying the maximum possible distance with such an overload. Landing in territory known to be patrolled by the enemy, they encountered innumerable obstructions making a successful landing, without crashing, very nearly impossible. In spite of the hazards involved, they displayed great skill in the accomplishment of these landings which resulted in a minimum of casualties. After landing, they aided in clearing the field for subsequent glider landings, removing crashed gliders and other material and equipment from the field and later assisted in the construction of a landing strip suitable for transport aircraft – a task requiring twelve hours for completion – although their physical endurance had been taxed to the utmost by the strenuous nature of the flight just completed. Their successful accomplishment of this flight with a display of devotion to duty and a degree of efficiency above and beyond that normally expected reflects great credit upon themselves and upon the Army Air Forces of the United States. As reported by War Stories, Operation Thursday remained the deepest commando operation behind enemy lines in the history of the U.S. Military until recent operations in Afghanistan. Sol’s regular duties as a pilot stationed in India included search and destroy missions, bomber raids and supply missions. He regularly flew “The Hump” (through the Himalayan Mountains) on supply missions in support of Chang Kai-shek’s Chinese forces. He possessed extraordinary flying skills. Just before Christmas 1944 he co-piloted a world-record non-stop glider flight in India, as reported by The Command Post for U.S. Armed Troops (Volume II. No. 21 – January 26, 1945). The article declared that: The longest non-stop glider flight on record was achieved by personnel of the Air Transport Command’s India-China Division recently when a Curtiss Commando (C-46) towed a CG-4a glider 1,320 miles in seven hours and forty-five minutes. The flight was made from Karachi to a field in the Calcutta area. The previous record was 1,177 miles. The record flight was made dramatic by the last-minute addition of 4,000 lbs. of Christmas packages as cargo. Since the flight was made the day before Christmas, military personnel at a base ten miles from the field of destination received packages they otherwise would not have gotten until after Christmas. … For the record trip the planes leveled off at 13,000 feet at the beginning of the flight, but severe cold brought the team down to 10,000 feet which altitude was maintained for most of the journey. The glider carried three pilots and the C-46 a crew of four. Lt. Solomon Schnitzer of Port Arthur, Texas was identified as one of the pilots, who “logged the flying time equally among themselves.” In the spring of 1945 (as if he had not already experienced enough!), he endured one of the most remarkable experiences of his life, when he was shot down in the Burmese jungle well behind enemy lines. He was piloting a transport from Burma to India with his flight engineer and twelve Senegalese troops who served as security for the British Army. With the aid and knowledge of the Senegalese troops, Sol and his comrades spent 45 days in the Burmese jungle, traveling mostly at night until they finally reached allied territory. This was an undoubtedly traumatic event of which he rarely spoke to his family until much later in his life. For his bravery and leadership in guiding his crew to safety, Sol was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross – the highest decoration awarded by the Air Force. Having lost a great deal of weight, Sol was sent home to Houston, Texas for R & R, where he met his future wife, Lynn Nagar (whose older sister just happened to be married to one of Sol’s older brothers!). Following the end of the War, Sol remained on active duty, serving in occupied Europe at Furstenfeldbruck base in Germany through much of 1947. Sol left active duty on November 11, 1947. His discharge papers (Certificate of Service) list his Decorations and Citations as: “Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, American Defense Service Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/1 Bronze Service Star, World War II Victory Medal and Army of Occupation Medal (ETO).” Sol married Lynn on June 27, 1948, returning to make his home in Houston, Texas. He served in the Air Force Reserves until 1962, retiring with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Some of his notable peacetime activities (at least the ones that are documented through old correspondence and newspaper clippings) include flying the first batch of the famed Salk polio vaccine to his birthplace of Port Arthur, Texas on April 16, 1955 (as reported in the Port Arthur News on Sunday, April 17, 1955, expressing appreciation to hometown Maj. Sol Schnitzer, who flew the vaccine in on a C-46 cargo plane), and participating in the USAF’s humanitarian assistance provided to the people of Tampico, Mexico following disastrous flooding that occurred in or about October 1955 (according to a “Letter of Appreciation” dated January 21, 1956, from N.E Twining, Chief of Staff, United States Air Force to all those who participated in the Tampico mission, conveying the extreme gratitude expressed by the Mexican government and people, and noting that the “mission in particular reflects credit upon the USAF and demonstrates our capability to cope with major disasters in times of peace as well as war.”). Once married and safely home from the war, Sol joined his brother-in-law, Sam Brateman, in the mattress manufacturing business. Sol moved as the business grew, from Houston to Dallas to San Antonio, raising four sons along the way. He was extremely successful as a businessman and retired in San Antonio in 1987 as President of Imperial Bedding Company. He spent the last 23 years of his life serving his community (he was recognized as an “Abba” of Hadassah), traveling the world with his beloved Lynn, and enjoying his four sons, four daughters-in law, ten grandchildren and four great grandchildren, all of whom loved him beyond measure. He died peacefully on August 6, 2010, in San Antonio at the age of 88. He was a bon vivant, with an abiding (and often devilish) sense of humor. No man was a stranger to him, and he could be counted on by everyone. He was honorable beyond reproach, and his word was truly his bond. Above all, he was proud of and cherished his service to his country. He will be sorely missed.