The perils of ‘flying the Hump’

The Poplar Bluff Museum tells many unknown tales of our community. I want to tell you some of those hidden tales found within the museum walls.

James Dement was from Broseley. He volunteered for the Army Air Corps in 1942 and was trained as an aircraft mechanic. In spite of this he still ended up in the infantry at Ft. Leonard Wood.

In 1942 the Japanese invaded Burma and cut off the Allied supply route to China. The 1st Combat Cargo Squadron was quickly activated in Kentucky. Dement was returned to service as an aircraft mechanic and sent to the new unit. In 1944 the squadron deployed to India. Its mission was to fly supplies to China over the Himalayan Mountains. This air route was called “flying the Hump.”

The hazards of this mission were numerous. Many aircraft were lost. The unpressurized C-47 Dakota transport aircraft were flying in the highest altitudes on earth, in both freezing temperatures, snowstorms and monsoon rains, sometimes on the same trip. The weather was unpredictable, changing every minute. Fellow Southeast Missouri native Harold Jackson also served in this squadron as a pilot.

When they reached China, the aircraft were in constant threat of being captured. The Japanese kept overrunning Chinese airfields and the squadron had to evacuate many “Flying Tiger” units. Dement had to repair squadron aircraft in frozen rice paddies over a mile above sea level at Tsyung, and at the Chinese airfields at Chengtu, Kumming and Nanning.

When the war ended, the squadron flew to French-Indochina and Manchuria to transport recently freed POWs. Even though the government had surrendered, the reception from Japanese soldiers in these regions were still uncertain. It was so hazardous the squadron received a unit citation for their mission.

Dement returned to Missouri in 1946. He attended Southeast Missouri State University and Vanderbilt University. He settled in Poplar Bluff and had a rewarding career in education, first as a teacher, then a principal and finally as the superintendent of schools.

Dement’s uniform and portrait are in a special exhibit in the “Hall of Heroes” of the Poplar Bluff Museum. His medals, including the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with four battle stars, Chinese Aviation Wings and Chinese Victory Medal, are also on display. A painting of Jackson’s aircraft is also on display in the World War II exhibit.

The museum is handicap accessible and open free of charge 1-4 p.m. Sunday at 1010 Main St. Tell them Mike sent you.

Mike Shane is a veteran, Poplar Bluff resident and board member for the Poplar Bluff Museum.