Lt. James McGovern "Earthquake McGoon"-War Record

[Tex Longhorn]

Wayne Johnson, a pilot with the 118th and friend of McGovern, kept a detailed diary from his time in China. He incorporated his diary in a book he wrote called "Whitey, From Farm Kid to Flying Tiger To Attorney". His diary entry for the 17 Jan 1945 notes that McGovern was to fly that mission, but became sick at the last minute and Johnson took his place. Johnson recalls that McGovern's sickness was due to drinking too much "Jing Bao Juice" the night before and he started puking out of his plane.

So Johnson went on the mission. As was common in China, Johnson suffered a case of diarrhea on the way back. As a result, he missed the debriefing. So the record showed that McGovern had gone on the mission and was credited with 2 confirmed on the ground and one probable.

The diary goes on to note that Johnson was scheduled to fly on the 20 Jan 1945 mission. Since McGovern missed the 17th, he was put in Johnson's place. McGovern was credited with two in the air on this mission.