World War II — Pacific Theater — 1944
The Rum Hound
Shot Down Over Borneo
0
Crew Members
B-24
Liberator Bomber
0
Mission Over Borneo
TRUE
Story of Survival
A B-24 Liberator. Eleven men. One devastating mission over the jungles of Borneo. A powerful story of courage, sacrifice, endurance, and the brotherhood forged under fire in the Pacific.
"They named her The Rum Hound. They flew her into hell. Not all of them came back the same way."
— From the prologue
Inside the book
Chapter Log
01
The Nose Art & the Name
How a cartoon hound and a crate of rum gave a B-24 its identity — and its crew their legend.
Origins
02
Into the Pacific
Deploying to the Southwest Pacific theater. Training, tension, and the first missions over enemy territory.
Deployment
03
The Borneo Run
A long-range strike mission turns catastrophic. Flak. Fire. The order to bail out over the jungle.
Combat
04
Jungle & Silence
Scattered across the canopy. Survivors struggle through dense terrain with no radio, no map, no certainty.
Survival
05
Captivity & Courage
Some are captured. The brutal reality of Japanese POW camps and the will to endure.
POW
06
The Long Road Home
Liberation, reunion, and the lifelong weight of what was witnessed. The crew that went up together — and what remained.
Aftermath
The men behind the mission
Crew Manifest
PL
1st Lt. R. Paulson
Pilot
Survived
CP
2nd Lt. W. Carr
Co-Pilot
Survived
NV
Lt. H. Morse
Navigator
POW
BM
Lt. D. Reeves
Bombardier
POW
EG
S/Sgt. F. Kowalski
Flight Engineer
Survived
RO
T/Sgt. L. Haines
Radio Operator
MIA
WG
S/Sgt. P. Diaz
Waist Gunner
Survived
WG
S/Sgt. T. Burns
Waist Gunner
Survived
TG
S/Sgt. M. Walsh
Tail Gunner
POW
BG
Sgt. J. Ruiz
Ball Turret
MIA
NG
S/Sgt. C. Allen
Nose Gunner
Survived
Survived
Prisoner of War
Missing in Action
* Crew details are illustrative. Refer to the book for verified historical records.
The Mission
Route Over Borneo
Allied Base (Morotai)
Target (Balikpapan)
Outbound Flight Path
Final Trajectory
Crash Site
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A story of eleven men, one aircraft, and the jungle that swallowed them whole. Meticulously researched from firsthand accounts, letters, and military records.