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| New U.S. Army Air Corps heroes 2nd Lts. Ken Taylor and George Welch. |
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| These supposedly are P-40s flying over Hawaii around the time of the Pearl Harbor attack. |
Note the difference between the P-40s above and one below used in
the movie, "Tora! Tora! Tora!" which has the red ball in the center of the white star. Apparently the red ball was
removed to avoid similarity to the Japanese aircraft marking which was a big red ball dubbed "meatball." Later the
"wings" were added to Air Forces aircraft markings to make them even more identifiable. Film makers have their
own ideas about what looks good and went with a khaki uniform for Ken Taylor in "Tora! Tora! Tora!" instead of the
formal shirt and tux pants he wore on Dec. 7, 1941.
| Click on photo to enlarge. |
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| "Tora! Tora! Tora!" depiction of George Welch running for his P40 at Haleiwa Field. |
| GEN. MARTIN PINS DSC ON 2ND LT. KEN TAYLOR |
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| Lt. Taylor becomes second decorated hero of World War II. |
The Ken Taylor Photo Gallery
While there is much valuable and historical information about Ken's early
career, mostly from a large scrapbook kept by his mother, no photos have been made available during the time he was flying
out of Guadalcanal and few from his numerous other assignments.
Even if dozens of other photos were taken during his career, military
families have many moves and valuable personal items sometimes just get lost along the way.
This gallery while small does contain, along with those on other pages of the Web
site, photographs from the major defining moment of his long career in the U.S. Army Air Corps and later with the U.S. Air
Force.
That was the day he and fellow pilot George Welch took on some 300 attacking Japanese
aircrraft and became designated by the U.S. War Dept. as the first two heroes of World War II.
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| Lt. Taylor in black tie dress required at military clubs in 1941. |
Hickam Greeting -- This smaller mockup of a P-40 with
the markings of the Flying Tigers greets those driving into Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii as a small memorial to the Japanese
bombing and strafing of the base on Dec. 7, 1941. Wheeler Field, then a major Hawaii Army Air Corps field,has a fullsize mockup
of a P-40 given to the facility by the Warner Brothers film company after the filming of scenes in "Tora! Tora! Tora!"
at the facility in the middle of the island of Oahu. While the painting of the two planes in the Flying Tigers style makes
them more interesting, the P-40s in Hawaii did not have these markings when World War II began on Dec. 7, 1941, with the surprise
attack by Japan.
| Click on drawing to enlarge. |
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| Pearl Harbor Museum depiction of ship locations on Dec. 7, 1941. |
| Click on map of Oahu to enlarge. |
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| Wheeler Field is in center of map, Haleiwa Field at top center. |
| Click on photo to enlarge. |
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| P40 replica from "Tora! Tora! Tora!" film at Wheeler Field. |
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| Ken Taylor tells his story on camera on Nov. 19, 2001. |
Senior officers turned out all available base personnel at Wheeler
Field on Jan. 8, 1942, for the first heroic medal presentation of World War II when 2nd Lt. George Welch, left, and 2nd Lt.
Ken Taylor were decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross for taking on 300 Japanese aircraft during the Dec. 7, 1941
attack on Pearl Harbor. Photo courtesy of the US Army Museum of Hawaii.
Hickam Field Reminder -- This building at
Hickam Field, now Hickam Air Force Base, near Pearl Harbor shows the damage from the strafing by Japanese planes during the
Dec. 7, 1941 surprise attack. According to the Air Force history, the Japanese dropped some 100 bombs on Hickam with massive
destruction to the base, its personnel and aircraft. At Hickam the decision ws made to leave the damage shown here as a reminder
of "the date which will live in infamy." Whereas as Wheeler Field, the decision was to restory the damaged or destroyed
buildings as they were when attacked.
| Click on photo to enlarge. |
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| Restored Wheeler hangar as it was on Dec. 7, 1941. Photo taken 11-29-06. |
| Click on photo to enlarge. |
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| Wheeler Operations Building today as it was on Dec. 7, 1941. Photo taken 11-29-06. |
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