Lischer shows courage in pivotal World War II battle

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By John Willard | Tuesday, October 24, 2006 7:01 AM CDT | () comments

Jeff Cook/QUAD-CITY TIMES James Lischer is shown with a painting of the carrier USS Gambier Bay under fire. He flew off the carrier moments before it was sunk and continued his fight during the Battle of Leyte Gulf that occured 62 years ago this week.

Ensign James Lischer ducked under the wing of his Wildcat fighter to shield himself from the intense shell fire as the Japanese fleet closed in on his aircraft carrier.

“Good Luck!” the 21-year-old pilot from Davenport heard his crew chief shout as he climbed into the cockpit to fight off their attackers.

“Good luck to you! I think you’re going to need it more than me,” Lischer replied.

It was the last time they saw each other.

Moments later, their carrier, the USS Gambier Bay, hit repeatedly by 8-inch heavy cruiser gunfire, capsized and sank with a loss of more than 20 percent of the ship’s company and squadron. It was the only U.S. carrier sunk by gunfire during World War II.

The action took place exactly 62 years ago this week during Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history and the last major naval engagement of World War II. Fought from Oct. 23-26, 1944 during the liberation of the Japanese-held Philippine Islands, the battle gave the United States a decisive victory by taking away Japan’s offensive power in the Pacific War.

Lischer, now 83, received the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism at Leyte. After the war, he returned to Davenport and joined his older brother, Henry “Ben” Lischer, in running the family’s Schlegel Drug Stores chain. A civic leader, he held the presidency of the Davenport Chamber of Commerce and other positions of community influence.

He seldom talked about his exploits as a Naval aviator.

“The war was over. We went home and went to work,” he says.

Lischer has been mentioned in several books about World War II. They include “The Last Epic Naval Battle: Voices from Leyte Gulf,” by David Sears (Praeger Publishers 2005). The book covers in detail Lischer’s enlistment, training and combat actions, including his gallantry off Samar Island on Oct. 25, 1944.

Hooked on flying when Charles Lindbergh made his historic solo flight across the Atlantic, Lischer enrolled in the Civilian Pilot Training Program at St. Ambrose College in the fall of 1941. During the program, an effort by the U.S. government to create a pool of qualified pilots with war on the horizon, he attended flight training and ground school at Davenport’s Cram Field, today Northwest Park. He earned his private pilot’s license and enlisted in the Naval Aviation Cadet program., receiving his wings and ensign’s commission in July 1943.

Accepted for fighter pilot training, he qualified as a carrier pilot by landing on an excursion steamboat converted to a practice aircraft carrier in Lake Michigan. After his training, he was assigned to the USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73), an escort carrier.

Escort carriers were smaller, slower and less glamorous than the fast carriers that roamed the ocean to engage the Japanese fleet. Yet, they performed a vital role in supplying aircraft to support amphibious landings, fly combat air patrols and provide antisubmarine protection.

During the invasions of Tinian and Saipan, Lischer and his fellow pilots of the USS Gambier Bay flew low-altitude rocket, bombing and strafing strikes in support of the invading Marines, sweeping the beaches close to the front lines and within range of enemy ground fire.

The Gambier Bay pilots’ big test came on Oct. 25, 1944 off the Philippine island of Samar when the carrier and its task force suddenly came under attack by the Central Japanese Force as it steamed through the San Bernardino Strait toward Leyte Gulf.

Heavy shells from the big guns of the Japanese battleships and cruisers straddled the carrier as Lischer took off in his Wildcat fighter. He was the second to the last pilot able to get airborne and engage the attackers.

“I made three strafing runs on one cruiser and four on another while bombers went after the battleships,” he told an Associated Press reporter after the battle. “The Japanese ack-ack fire was the best I have ever seen. It was right on the level and range.”

With his carrier sunk, Lischer landed on an unfinished U.S. Army air strip on Leyte to refuel. He continued his aerial combat for the next two days.

More than 60 years after the battle, Lischer appears trim and fit enough to step back into the cockpit of a Wildcat. He and wife, Gene, enjoy spending time with their family that includes four children and five grandchildren. (Two great-grandchildren are on the way.) He stays in condition fit by riding his bicycle 25 miles a day.

Displayed in the den of his Bettendorf condominium is a painting of the USS Gambier Bay under fire. While he considers himself lucky to have left the ship alive, he says his Naval combat experience provided a valuable lesson.

“I learned that I could face adverse conditions and still get things done,” he says.

James Lischer heroism citation

James Lischer received the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism during the Battle of Leyte Gulf fought 62 years ago this week.

Here is the citation:

“The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS to Lieutenant James Frederick Lischer, United States Naval Reserve, for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

For heroism and extraordinary achievement in aerial flight as Pilot of a Fighter Plane in Composite Squadron TEN attached to the U.S.S. GAMBIER BAY, in action against enemy Japanese forces during the invasion of Leyte, Philippine Islands, from Oct. 25 to Oct. 27, 1944. Launched from his carrier while it was under enemy gunfire, Lieutenant (then Ensign) Lischer, despite intense hostile antiaircraft fire from battleships and cruisers, participated in repeated strafing attacks on the Japanese task force which resulted in the confusion and delay of the enemy in pressing home an attack against our carriers and, continuing his aggressive strikes from Tacloban Airfield, Leyte, for the next two days, shot down of one of the enemy’s bombers and assisted in the destruction of a fighter. His bold tactics and courage in combat contributed materially to the success of our operations in a vital war zone and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”

For the President,

(signed)

James Forrestal

Secretary of the Navy

John Willard can be contacted at (563) 383-2314 or jwillard@qctimes.com.