Today’s post honors WWII Air Corps pilot Cecil T. Schubert. Like many Army and Air Corps veterans of WWII, Mr. Schubert’s military service records were lost in the 1973 fire. Other than the fact that Schubert flew P-38’s in the South Pacific, his family knew very little about his service in the Air Corps during World War II. Schubert was indeed a P-38 pilot, but as it is often the case for veterans whose service records were burned in the 1973 fire, there was much more to his story. Using a wide array of archived records housed at multiple research facilities across the United States the team at Golden Arrow Research was able to rebuild the service history of Cecil Schubert. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights of Schubert’s extraordinary and distinguished service to his country during WWII.
Schubert trained at Phoenix, Marana, and Williams Field in Arizona before earning his pilot rating on August 30, 1943. In September 1943, he transferred to the 10th Photo Recon Squadron where he flew P-38’s. He was trained to be a combat reconnaissance pilot who could fly any photographic mission both day and night, in all weather conditions without navigation or instrument aids, and at high altitudes.
P-38 Aircraft
In December 1943, Schubert was transferred to the 115th Liaison Squadron at Brownwood Air Force Base, Texas. Here is an image of Schubert which was located among the historical records of the 115th Liaison Squadron during the research process:
While in training with the 115th Liaison Sq. Schubert primarily flew L-5’s. In March 1944, Schubert was hospitalized with pneumonia and was grounded for much of May-July 1944. He returned to flying in August of 1944, and in September, the 115th was shipped overseas. Initially stationed overseas in Ledo, India, in November 1944, Schubert at first flew C-47’s and then later L-5’s and L-4’s.
World War II liaison pilots were the first to go forward with infantry units. Missions were flown using smaller aircraft which were designed for take-off from short runways. They brought commanding officers and replacement troops to the front lines, evacuated personnel, performed aerial reconnaissance (many times at tree-top level), coordinated artillery fire and ground movements, and transported vital supplies such as medicine. And nearly all of these often-dangerous missions were flown in unarmed planes.
L-5 aircraft from National Museum of the A.F. collection
In January 1945, the 115th moved to the jungles of Burma, where Schubert flew a mix of L-5’s and L-4’s. By then, Schubert had become the commanding officer of the 115th’s “A” Flight. By March, Schubert was also the commanding officer of the 115th’s detachment stationed at Lashio. In that capacity, he assigned all aircraft and gave priority ratings to all missions for that area. In May 1945, the 115th returned to India and then in July 1945, the 115th redeployed to China, where he flew L-5’s through the end of the war.
Many of the missions flown by his squadron were so dangerous that the commanding officers often accepted volunteers for specific missions rather than assigning a pilot to them. Adverse weather, mountain terrain, and poorly constructed airfields only added to the difficulty. Schubert repeatedly risked his life in order to aid his fellow soldiers.
Schubert was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in August 1945 for having flown more than 200 hours of combat missions.
We are thrilled to be able to share and preserve this brave veteran’s story with you. Due to the 1973 archives fire, it is often necessary to reconstruct the service history of the individual veteran as a way to preserve the story of their service. Golden Arrow Research has recently devised a unique process for rebuilding the service history of A.A.F. veterans. If you are interested in learning more about your veteran’s time in the military you can browse Golden Arrow’s research services on their site here: Golden Arrow Research.
