• Episode 4 - Aerial Dogfights and Headhunters - The Amazing Story of Jefferson DeBlanc and the Battle for the Solomon Islands

  • Feb 7 2025
  • Length: 23 mins
  • Podcast

Episode 4 - Aerial Dogfights and Headhunters - The Amazing Story of Jefferson DeBlanc and the Battle for the Solomon Islands

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  • Summary

  • In August 1942 the US launched its first major amphibious landing of WW 2 in the Solomon Islands. The battle became a bitter war of attrition as both sides fought feverishly for months on land, sea and air for the strategically important islands. Jefferson DeBlanc became a fighter ace in just one day as he shot down six Japanese fighters before DeBlanc himself was shot down. With his back, arms, and legs wounded from shrapnel, DeBlanc still managed to swim six hours before he came ashore at Kolombangara, only to be captured by a tribe of headhunters. From his vantage point atop the control tower at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, Carl "Bud" DeVere watched daily dogfights as Joe Foss and Foss's Flying Circus shot down 72 Japanese aircraft during three months of bloody combat.

    Jefferson DeBlanc

    Map of Jefferson DeBlanc's fateful dogfight with the Japanese Zeros

    Carl "Bud" DeVere
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