Ora William Seal

T/Sgt. Ora William Seal receiving medals.

Original caption:

"Tech. Sgt. Ora W. Seal, son of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Seal of Fruita, is shown receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal from Lt. Col. John. E. Carmack, post executive officer, at a ceremony held recently at Truax Field, Madison, Wisconsin.

The citations were made for exceptionally meritorious achievement while participating in sustained bomber operations against the enemy in the China-Burma-India theater. (Official Photo, U. S. AAF -- by AAF Training Command)."

Mr. Seal was with the 373rd Bombardment Squadron, 308th Bomb Group, as Radio Operator/Gunner on a B-24 bomber. He bailed of of stricken B-24 bombers on three occasions (at Yangtze, Liuzhou, Ledo road), crash landed at least once (Suichuan, in Jiangxi province), in one case being shot down and walking back through enemy lines for 8 miles.

Ora Seal was born May 23, 1924, the eldest of six siblings, in Syracuse, Kansas. Mr. Seal says that he grew up around native people in California and learned much from them--in particular, he claims that part of his survival in the CBI resulted from what he learned from native people in California.

As a youth he was fascinated with electronics and radios and constantly tinkered with electronic equipment.

He registered for the draft in 1942, while at Pueblo, Colorado. He enlisted at Denver, Colorado, on November 27, 1942, at 19 years of age, apparently before finishing high school (he was issued a diploma in 1943). He completed basic training at Fort Logan, Colorado, radio operator/mechanic school at Scott Field, Illinois, and gunner school at Fort Myers, Florida.

Ora Seal and Verda May Oxford--high school sweethearts--were issued a marriage license on August 26, 1943, in Grand Junction, Colorado. The two would eventually have two sons.

Ora Seal's time in the CBI was brief: He left Langley AAF VA on April 24 1944, went by a route that included stops at Belém, Brazil, Ascension Island, Accra, and in India, at Kalpetta, Bombay, and finally Tezpur on May 15, 1944, and then finally over the Hump to Kunming on May 17. His crew, lead by pilot 2nd Lt. James B. Swett, Jr., flew B-24J #42-100036, "Tennessee Belle," a LAB-equipped Liberator (apparently the radar on the LABs was a challenge, as four of the nine original crew are listed as related to radar, as radar operator, radar observer, and two radar mechanics).

Ora Seal made Technical Sergeant ranking on July 1, 1944.  Lost some hearing on 16 Oct 1944 due to flak on combat mission. Returned to Miami Beach, Florida, on 11 Feb 45. He officially flew 45 missions, for a total of 270:40 hours. He flew back to the US via ATC aircraft. He was in service Nov. 22, 1942 - Nov. 14, 1945.

After the war he had a few short-term civilian jobs (taxi driver, electronic appliance repair, and ranch hand), then by January 1948 he had re-entered the Air Force, the start of several reenlistments over the years, into 1966, during which period he continued in technical positions, and he continued his education in radio and communications throughout his career with the military.

By retirement in 1966, his military decorations included the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, Distinguished Unit Citation, Good Conduct for both the Army and Air Force, American Campaign Medals, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with four battle stars, World War II Victory Medal, Army Occupation Medal/ Germany, National Defense Service Medal, Air Force Longevity Service Award with four clusters, U.S. Air Force Non-Commissioned Officers Senior Academy Ribbon, Air Force Commendation Medal, and even a China Memorial Medal given by the Governor of China thanking the men who fought for them.

After Ora retired from military service in 1966, he moved to Hood River, on the mighty Columbia River, with his family. He leveraged his military communications training and was employed by Sprint United Telephone Company until his retirement in 1986.

He stayed busy on his home property, and with hobbies such as making ceramics, square dancing, gardening, leather crafting, amateur radio, camping, and making macramé chairs. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion.

See video of him recounting some of his experiences at www.youtube.com/user/rshonor.

(Additional information/text courtesy of Obituary from 2015  http://t.hoodrivernews.com/obituaries/2015/apr/08/ora-seal/. )