A Look Back:Despite danger, he stepped up

It is said that war is hell, and from what we have been seeing on television of the fighting going on in Iraq, it certainly is for our troops.

But we sometimes forget that it can be more so for the loved ones back home.

During World War II many of our residents were terrified that at any time our oil-rich city could come under enemy attack.

But I think that the most frightening thing for a parent or spouse was not an enemy attack, but a knock on the door and to be handed a small yellow envelope.

During this war a Western Union telegram often contained bad news. When handed one, recipients often sat down before reading the message.

Most of the time the telegrams were from a relative saying they will be coming out on vacation and would stop by for a visit. But there were other telegrams that began, “We regret to inform you …”

Such was the anguish felt by the family of Loren Wiedman upon receiving one of these missives.

Loren Bernard Wiedman was born in 1922 and attended Central Elementary School here in Huntington Beach.

As a young man he joined our Boy Scouts and learned how to survive in the wild, something that would come in handy later on.

Wiedman graduated in 1935 to become a student at Huntington High until his graduation day came in 1939. From there he attended Fullerton College before enlisting in the Army Air Corps to become a pilot.

Wiedman became a transport pilot and, beginning in July of 1943, the 21-year-old piloted a C-46 transport plane on the dangerous India-to-China route that carried the plane over the peaked “hump” of the Himalayas, bringing needed supplies to a war-ravaged Chungking, China.

This was a dangerous flight over terrain that was extremely rugged and wild, but Wiedman felt it was his duty to help win the war.

In April of 1944 Wiedman was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant and continued to fly the India-Burma-China route. Back at his parent’s home at 406 10th Street in Huntington Beach, there came a knock at the door on June 14, 1944.

When the door was opened there stood a Western Union messenger with a telegram from the war department in Washington.

A stunned feeling came as the yellow envelope was opened, and with tears in the eyes and hands that trembled.

“First Lieutenant Loren B. Wiedman has been reported missing in flight since June 5th between India and China,” signed Adjutant General Ulio, Washington, D.C.

A feeling of shock and disbelief came over the reader as it was read. He couldn’t be gone, for they had just recently received a letter from their son dated June 4 and mailed the next day.

Grief followed until early Monday morning, June 26 when came a knock at the door. Standing there was another Western Union messenger with a telegram.

Taking the envelope in hand, it said their son had reported back for duty on June 19, 1944.

A feeling of elation now filled the hearts of Wiedman’s parents as they read that he was alive and in good health.

Shortly thereafter they received a letter from Loren detailing what had happened.

It seems he and his crew had taken off on June 5 on a routine transport mission and two hours into the flight the plane’s right engine failed.

Wiedman ordered his crew to put on their parachutes and to jettison the cargo to lighten the plane since it wasn’t designed to run on one engine.

He ordered the crew to bail out, and would later say that jumping by chute wasn’t so bad — in fact, the ride down was really fun.

They all landed safely and after two hours of searching for each other they were ready to find help. It would take them eight days of walking before they reached one of our weather stations.

He ended his letter with “Please don’t worry about me, I am going along as strong as ever.”

But worry they did, and for good reason. In late October, 1944, there was again a knock at the door and a messenger with a yellow envelope.

Inside the envelope was the message that Loren was killed on October 16, 1944, while flying in the service of his country.

In November of 1944 his parents received a letter signed by General H.H. “Hap” Arnold and members of his staff expressing the high esteem they held for their son.

Wiedman had been flying the “hump” across the Himalaya mountains, and while landing his C-46 transport, it skidded on the ground and crashed into a tree.

In December of 1944 Wiedman was posthumously awarded the distinguished Flying Cross by Brig. Gen. William H. Tunner, commanding general of the India-China Division, Air Transport Command.

Wiedman knew the dangers involved in flying this route, but he was willing to do so for his country and the people he loved back home in Huntington Beach. He paid the ultimate price.