AN UNASSUMING HERO
the story of captain jonita r. bonham
CAPTAIN JONITA R. BONHAM
On September 26, 1950, Jonita Bonham and her friend, Vera Brown boarded a plane from Japan to Korea. Jonita and Vera were both small-town girls. Jonita was raised in Bennington, thirty-minutes east of Durant in Southern Oklahoma and Vera hailed from Wedowee located one-hundred miles southeast of Birmingham, Alabama.
But these young women weren’t naïve tourists going on vacation, in fact, this was just one of many flights they often took as Air Force flight nurses, assigned to the 801st Medical Air Evacuation Squadron out of Tachikawa Air Base, Japan, during the Korean War. First Lieutenant Jonita Bonham, 28, and Captain Vera Brown, 29, were well-seasoned officers, both having served during WWII and then choosing to serve again in Korea. Together they flew 265 combat hours and evacuated approximately 600 American soldiers out of the front lines.
September 26, 1950
First Lt. Bonham (Left) & Captain Brown (Right)
The alarm clock went off at 0300. Jonita was used to two transport flights a day, nurses were scarce and well, frankly, isn’t this what she signed up for? Throwing on her uniform, she made her way to the nurses’ kitchen to put on a pot of strong black coffee. After two cups, she was ready to start another day … another flight to the front lines in Korea. It was rainy and extremely windy on the airfield, but she was used to this too.
In the operations room, her fellow nurse and friend, Captain Brown, and medical technician, Sergeant Foster Steele were already there waiting on the assignments and ready to go. Out of the clear blue, Jonita heard, “Hi, Bonnie!” it was First Lieutenant Walter Ward, a pilot. His plane was loaded and ready to go, now! The four made their way to the loaded C-54 Medical transport plane. First Lieutenant Ward said, “Why don’t you girls grab some sleep” escorting them to the two bunks located just behind the flight deck. Vera settled in for a nap while Jonita and Foster sat on the edge and prepared for take-off.
What started as a typical flight departing from Ashiya Air Base to transport cargo and troops to the front lines in Ximpo, Korea, soon turned into a terrifying event over the Sea of Japan.
At 0400, take-off was normal, albeit the weather was stormy. Minutes later, however, the plane dropped thousands of feet and within seconds hurtled into the water less than one mile from the edge of the runway. Immediately, the plane broke apart and sank.
One minute Jonita was taking one of her infamous catnaps, the next she was injured, but conscious. As she fought to free herself from the wreckage, in an instant, she was completely submerged in the cold icy water.
Amazingly, she was somehow able to free herself from a certain watery tomb and swim to the surface. “All I remember is that the plane nosed over and we hit the water hard! There wasn’t time to think. Just an awful noise and the whole ship submerged at once. I was underwater, fighting to get up to the surface. I don’t know how I got out.
They tell me the ship broke in two. I felt someone rush past me, going up, felt the kick of a boot in my face. Then I was swimming. We didn’t have our ‘Mae Wests’ on. Things were floating all around me. I found a soldier’s barracks bag and a B-4 bag and hung onto them. I could see heads in the water. Some men were swimming, some just floating, terribly still. It was very dark and for the first half-minute, very quiet.”
The silence was broken by the cries of men in fear and pain. “Here’s a life raft” a soldier yelled. “How do you inflate one of these things? It’s all tied up!”
Jonita was very familiar with the neatly stored life rafts on the C-54. “Pull it apart! Yank it out of its case. It will inflate itself.” She bellowed.
Swimming towards the raft, and at that moment, she felt an arm propel her forward towards the raft and heard a soldier shout, “Here’s one of the nurses!”
Jonita managed to get a firm grasp on the rope attached to the dingy. She cleared the stinging saltwater from her eyes. In the darkness, she could see men swimming towards the raft and pulled the first man into it, guiding his hand to the lifeline she herself was holding onto. Then she pulled another man in, and another.
“I don’t remember anything clearly, I just remember someone helping me toward the raft. I don’t believe I helped anyone else.”
However, according to the official record of report by seasoned combat soldier, Private First Class Percy Johnson, his account tells a very different story. “Lieutenant Bonham took command. None of us guessed that she was badly hurt. She wasn’t excited and she used her head. She was in full charge and all the men took orders without question. She sure saved lots of guys.”
Hanging on with one hand, she directed the men to the raft and noticed a second raft.
Exhausted herself and suffering from a fractured skull, broken wrist, cheekbone, shoulder, and six broken ribs, Jonita refused to get into the dinghy until the wounded men around her were secured and safe first. “I didn’t have time to think about it.”
As each survivor made their way to one of the two life rafts and pulled into the protection of their fellow soldiers, only then, did Jonita allow herself to be drawn out of the water to safety.
“I knew that sharks were one of our great dangers. I found the repellent and threw it into the water, all of it. It may have saved some lives.” she recalls.
Lieutenant Bonham could now see the bloodied faces and bodies of those who survived. Of her crew, the pilot, First Lieutenant Walter Ward, medical technician, Sergeant Foster Steele, and Captain Vera Brown, were not among them.
Jonita’s job wasn’t finished. Unbeknownst to her, she was the highest-ranking officer who survived. She mentally triaged the other wounded, but with the rough seas and her own injuries, there really wasn’t much she could do. Her primary concern was keeping everyone calm. At that moment, a soldier announced, “I’m going to try to swim to shore and get help.” Jonita recalled.
“You stay on this raft! You’d never get to land, the water is full of sharks. Besides, you’d be blown out to sea. Take it easy, soldier. Rescue boats will be here in a minute now.” she ordered.
Jonita knew she had to keep the men busy. She ordered some to communicate back and forth between the life rafts, others were ordered to bale the water the high waves were splashing into their only means of safety. Lieutenant Bonham talked for what seemed like hours, assuring the soldiers that they were safe and help would arrive soon, sometimes having to bark orders to keep panic from setting in.
Help Arrives!
As the sun began to slowly frame the horizon, a soldier yelled out “I see a light!”
Jonita saw it too. “Yell!” she commanded. “ Everybody yell, all together! Everyone on both rafts! Keep on yelling!”
It didn’t seem to be working. Finally, Jonita decided to use the last thing she had in her arsenal, she took a deep breath, letting out the longest and loudest piercing whistle she could muster. That did it! They heard her.
In those early morning hours, help arrived in the form of a small Japanese fishing boat. After a stint of charades, since the fishermen did not speak English, and keeping several men from leaping from the raft, that would have certainly capsized all of them, the fishing trawler pulled the wounded to the shore and it was only then, that First Lieutenant Bonham, allowed herself to give in to her pain and exhaustion, although she was still semi-conscious.
September, 27th 1950 - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
It was a typical Wednesday evening for Joe and Kate Bonham. Joe was sitting in his chair reading the paper and Kate had just finished up the dinner dishes when the doorbell rang.
Western Union was at the door. They both knew that could only mean one thing, something happened to Jonita. The telegram read:
30304 THE SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE HAS ASKED ME TO EXPRESS HIS DEEP REGRET THAT YOUR DAUGHTER, FIRST LIEUTENANT JONITA R. BONHAM HAS BEEN SERIOUSLY ILL IN JAPAN SINCE 26 SEPTEMBER 1950 AS THE RESULT OF INJURIES RECEIVED IN AN AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT ACCIDENT PROGRESS REPORTS WILL BE FORWARDED TO YOU IMMEDIATELY UPON RECEIPT ADDRESS MAIL FOR HER QUOTE RANK
NAME SERIAL NUMBER 118TH STATION HOSPITAL APO 24 CARE POSTMASTER SAN FRANCISCO CALIFORNIA = HOYT S VANDENBERG. CHIEF OF STAFF USAF
As Kate tried to wrap her head around the words in the message. Joe re-read the telegram for the umpteenth time, he had fought in the 140th Infantry Regiment in France during the Meuse-Argonne offensive during World War I and Joe knew this was more than just an illness.
Kate’s instinct kicked in and she knew she had a lot of phone calls to make. The first one was to her oldest daughter, Florabelle who lived in Kansas City with her husband and four children. The next call was to her sister Bertha, who still lived in Bonham, TX where they had been born and raised.
After an exhausting evening, Joe and Kate settled in for the night. Around midnight, the doorbell rang for a second time. Joe got up, answered the door and it was Western Union again!
He fought the knot growing inside the pit of his stomach, took the telegram, and then a deep breath… Lo and behold! It was a telegram from Jonita!
HOSPITALIZED FOLLOWING AIRPLANE CRASH TUESDAY BROKEN ARM SHOULDER AND BRUISES DOING FINE LETTER FOLLOWS = JONITA =
Relief washed over Joe and Kate.
Over the next few days, more telegrams and phone calls ensued with a few letters from Bertha with more news.
9-28-50 – Evening
Dear Kate & Joe,
I talked with Charlie Jordan last night after talking with you. He is very efficient in radio work and always seems to know or finds out for folks what if anything can be done, to get more information. He talked with the associated press today and found out it was a C-54 …
Bertha’s letter went on to recount the events of the plane crash.
Shortly thereafter, a letter arrived from Major Clifton Bovée.
28 September ‘50
Dear Mr. & Mrs. Bonham,
Your daughter is making a splendid recovery from the injuries she sustained in the airplane crash last Tuesday morning. She suffered a broken left forearm, a fracture of the right shoulder blade, and some painful lacerations of the scalp, with, of course, a general shaking up and numerous bruises and scratches. However, there is nothing critical nor of a permanent nature about her condition…
I am taking the liberty of writing you as a personal message because I am sure you both wish to know these details…you may be very proud of your splendid daughter. She won the respect and admiration of everyone for her courage, bravery, resourcefulness and clear thinking during this disastrous tragedy… I trust there is nothing contained in this letter which may give you any cause for alarm, for rest assured that you need have none. Your daughter is progressing very, very well and after a few days rest for the effects of the shock to wear off, will be up and about, though of necessity, she will be hospitalized for probably two or three weeks to allow the fractures to knit.
Respectfully,
C.W. Bovée
Major, M.S.C
Award of The Distinguished Flying Cross
Jonita was transferred from the 155th Station Hospital in Fukuoka, Japan to the 49th Army Hospital in Tokyo, Japan, where she would spend the next nine months recovering from surgeries to repair the damage caused by her injuries.
In typical ‘Bonnie’ fashion, she didn’t reveal the extent of her skull fracture injuries to her family right away, so as not to cause more worry than she thought necessary. And they would have had every right to worry, as multiple times the pressure on her brain became life-threatening and they had to relieve it with surgery.
On October 18, 1950, after her last skull surgery, First Lieutenant Bonham received a very distinguished visitor. General George Stratemeyer, Commander of the Far East Air Forces arrived to award Jonita with the Distinguished Flying Cross, the highest honor given in the Air Force, making Jonita the first and only living female soldier to receive this honor during the Korean War.
When Jonita heard that General Stratemeyer was coming to meet her, she panicked. Now she panics? Well, not only was Jonita nervous to meet him, but they had shaved her head to repair the damage to her skull and her shoulder was still in the monstrosity of a cast. In typical fashion of the day, the nurses scurried around, found a small towel to create a headdress, and helped her apply a little make-up. After all, she had to be presentable! “I must have looked funny, with my shoulder in a cast, my arm in a splint, and my head wrapped up in a towel to hide the fact that they’d cut off all my hair to get at my skull.” she recalled.
Home is Where the Heart is…
In 1951, First Luetinent Jonita R. Bonham returned to the States, was promoted to the rank of Captain, and took an assignment in Alabama training other nurses.
‘Bonnie’ would never fly another mission again.
She married Major Clifton Bovée that same year and medically retired from the Air Force in 1952.
She would end up telling her story over and over again to newspapers and magazines throughout the country. The Cavalcade of America, a radio program at the time even dramatized her experience and broadcast it across the country.
Jonita settled into life as a wife and mother of three. She never saw herself as a hero, in fact, even being showered with so much media attention at the time, her response was “I’ve done nothing to write about.”
Jonita passed away in 1994 but has left a legacy of heroism, grace, and humility.
Editors Note - Christine Walker is the Grand-Neice of Jonita R. Bonham. Even among the family stories, the heroic tale of Jonita was never mentioned. It was not until 2019 that Christine came across her story after doing a google search. Thankfully, Christine was able to connect with her cousin, Renée Bovée, Jonita’s daughter, and will be forever grateful to her for providing so much data, including articles, telegrams, and personal family letters used in this article. All quotes by Jonita in this article were taken from “A Night Off Kyushu” written by Karl Detzer in EveryWoman’s Magazine, dated February 1952.