<p>The Japanese had little chance to get into the air. On 7 January 1945, Clark Field near Manila was blasted by nearly 8,000 parafrags, dropped by 40 B-25s and 97 A-20s. All the B-25s and 20 A-20s screamed across the field in a broad line abreast. That strike was followed by the rest of the A-20s, running in from the opposite direction to catch the defending gunners, if any, from behind. The Japanese counted 60 burned and battered aircraft; the Fifth lost one B-25 and four A-20s.
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<p>On the same day, the Fifth also lost Major Thomas B. McGuire, 431st Fighter Squadron, after his 38th victory. McGuire and Major Richard I. Bong were rivals for the top score in the theater. Bong had been first to pass Captain Eddie Rickenbacker's 26-victory tally from World War I; he did that 8 April 1944, while a captain attached to Headquarters, V Fighter Command. He was promoted to major and sent home on temporary duty, but he came back and raised his score to 40, ending the war as the USAAF's top-ranking ace. Both Bong and McGuire won Medals of Honor for their exploits, as did eight other airmen of the Fifth.
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<p>Colonel Neel E. Kearby, commanding the 384th Fighter Group, was one of them. He led four P-47s on a routine reconnaissance flight on 11 October 1943, in New Guinea, saw a Japanese 'Oscar' (Nakajima Ki-43 fighter) and shot it down. Minutes later, he spotted a formation of a dozen bombers escorted by 36 fighters. Outnumbered 12 to one, Kearby led his flight into action. He shot down three more 'Oscar' fighters and a single 'Tony' (Kawasaki Ki-61 fighter). For six in one flight, Kearby was awarded the Medal of Honor.
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<p>He was one-upped on 11 January 1945 by Captain William A. Shomo, 82nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, famed as 'The Flying Undertaker'. Shomo, in his black-trimmed Mustang, was on a reconnaissance flight to Aparri with wingman Second Lieutenant Paul Lipscomb, when they saw a single 'Betty' (Mitsubishi G4M bomber) escorted by a dozen 'Tony' fighters. Shomo and Lipscomb ripped into the formation; Shomo shot down the bomber and six fighters within the 15-minute time span of the battle, and Lipscomb got three more fighters. Shomo received the Medal of Honor.
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<p>After Manila was captured in March 1945, the Fifth moved to Okinawa for its final buildup preceding the planned invasion of Japan. From that island base, Fifth AF launched strikes against targets on Kyushu, Japan's southernmost island, and against shipping and the Chinese coastal ports held by the enemy.
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<p>The Fifth was on Okinawa when the war ended; they had been a vital part of MacArthur's brilliant campaign.
