The following are some excerpts from the story of John Topolski's chapter in The Hero Next DoorTM
For 29 hours of eternity Sergeant John Topolski of Milwaukee, Wis., battled waves, loneliness and the terrors of the Indian Ocean he'd been adrift in since his plane was shot down about Feb. 26, 1945.
There was nothing but a Mae West life vest and a prayer to keep the B-29 radar operator afloat as he waited for what became one of the longest air-sea rescues in World War II history.
The 16th run Topolski made, in the China-Burma-India campaign in which he was serving, was supposed to be easy. It was just a reconnaissance flight to Singapore to photograph Japanese positions there.
They and another B-29 had made six runs and were heading home when a Japanese fighter came out of the clouds.
"He hit the nose of the plane and the hydraulic line underneath where the bombardier Bill Kintis sat, ignited. It burned him from head to toe."
Pilot, Capt. Jim Lyons, burned his hands getting Kintis out of the fire as he and Sergeant Joseph Dimock tried to extinguish the cockpit fire.
"We got orders to jettison everything we could. It was hard to see everything we thought was valuable a moment ago being thrown out to try to save the plane."
To help lighten the load, the crew tried to drop the extra gas tank out the bombay doors. Unfortunately, the pilot closed the doors when the tank was only halfway out. After some of the crew gave it a good whack, the tank fell free. However, it hit the doors and they would not close completely. With the bomb bay door partially opened, belly landing in the water was ruled out.
"I was one of those who went back to the bomb bay door to try to kick out the auxiliary tank that was hanging half in and half out. We had no chutes on while we were doing this and I don't know how we had that kind of daring. It's incredible, when you think back, that we were only 19-20 year old kids making judgments like we had to. I know I was in shock afterwards and I know it lasted a very long time."
Meanwhile, the left wing was on fire and the order soon came to bail out. Topolski recalls seeing all the crew's chutes open but he did not see all of them again.
"I saw all 11 chutes, plus mine. The instant my chute opened, I saw our plane's left wing blow off and the plane went straight into the ocean. It hit the water before we did. It was about 2 p.m., Feb. 26.
The first problem Topolski encountered in the sea was his landing. "I didn't release my chute just before you hit the water like we were trained to do. So, when I landed, I looked up from under the water to see this giant chute above me. Somehow, I managed to get free of it. Then, I got rid of my shoes, gun and anything that would weigh me down.
"I was very relieved to see the plane following us had seen us in the water. They dropped all their ditching equipment, including a small dinghy. Dimock and two other crew were able to get in the dinghy. Since we couldn't see each other in the water, it was agreed that we would call out and Dimock would paddle the dinghy to the sound. That's how everyone, but me, got together."
So, Topolski floated alone in the water for the next 29 hours, though 'float' really isn't the best way to describe it.
"A Mae West doesn't keep you afloat. You have to keep fighting every minute. If they say the water is calm during the day, the swells are horrendous at night. You can feel big swells building an hour before they hit you.
"You can't let your legs drag or dangle because you bob like a cork on a fishing line and go under. If you turned into the waves, they'd swamp you. You also have to keep the back of your head to the waves; if you don't the waves flip you over. So, you must try to lie in the water with your head to the waves but the waves are never coming from the same direction.
"At the same time you can't swallow salt water because then everything inside you swells up and you're done. It was a constant battle. I kept spitting the water out as I tried to keep my head to the waves and legs up, all while trying not to think about the sharks that bumped me several times, though they never attacked. That's all I did for 29 hours."
That and wave at planes that never saw him; call out to crewmen that never heard him and pray that somehow someone would find him.
"The desperateness of being alone in the water cannot be described. You search in vain for something, anything, to hold on toa pencil, a twig, something."
All Topolski could grab on to was his faith. In his wallet, he had a small card with a picture of St. Joseph on it, which his niece had given him for good luck when he went to war. "Don't let anybody tell you that we didn't pray; we prayed before every mission and on every mission and I prayed and prayed in the water. I've heard that if you carry St. Joseph with you, you'll never drown. I can't argue with that."
Though Topolski came about as close to drowning as a man can. It was a death he had even eventually reconciled himself to.
He had survived one night in the ocean alone and saw and desperately waved at a PBY search plane and a B-29 as they circled throughout the next day. He kept waving and trying to swim toward search planes as they scanned the waves for him and the crew. He was unaware that five of his crewmen were already rescued and three others were about to be picked up by a British sub as he watched the last rays of winter daylight shine on the last B-29 as it made its final circle (about 5 p.m.).
"That was the worst because I knew they couldn't stay any longer and I knew no one would be looking for me for another night. I said to myself, 'I'll never last another night.' I knew I couldn't give up or I'd be lost but I was to the point where drowning didn't seem so bad.
"I said out loud to God, 'Lord, I'll never make it another night. I'm ready ...' and then ... a British submarine surfaced right in front of me! I couldn't believe it!
This is but a small part of John Topolski's incredible story of survival. Read more about his bombing missions across China, his rescue at sea and his return to service flying B-29s in the Pacific as well the faith that carried him through it all in The Hero Next DoorTM. Click on the Shop button above to order.
