[Garry Shipton (RIP)]

Vets,exerpt from "Courage at Sea" by Arthur Bishop-son of Billy Bishop V.C.
"It happened the same morning the US dropped the 2nd Atomic bomb.The little plane was in fact a Corsair F4U,one of the most powerful piston engined fighters of WW2."Gray took aim on AMAKUSA,anchored in the middle of the harbor.As he swept in,a cone of fire-from everywhere it seemed-zeroed in on him.Ack-ack struck his aircraft,knocking one of his bombs away and setting the Corsair on fire.But Gray persisted in his attack,holding a steady course.Flames streaming behind,he closed within 50 yards before releasing his remaining bomb.It was a perfect strike amidships.Gray's plane turned slowly to starboard,then rolled on it's back & dived into the water.Neither pilot or Corsair were ever found""He was also honored by by his enemies."."In 1989,the Japanese erected a cairn & memorial plaque in Saklyama Peace Park,overlooking the site of Gray's action"."It is the only memorial to an Allied officer or serviceman on Japanese soil".HE was born in Trail B.C. in 1917.He served in the Royal Navy Fleet Arm aboard FORMIDABLE.KIA August 09,1945.
Garry