The Air Apaches group commander at the time was Col. Chester Coltharp, an officer with a  reputation for getting what seemed impossible to others accomplished, but sometimes these  successes were costly. Coltharp was to lead elements of the 501st and 499th Bomb Squadrons on April 28th to bomb and strafe Japanese shipping targets located just east of Saigon, about 30 miles up the Dong Nai River from where it enters the South China Sea. To do this, the necessary logistical elements for such a long range mission were loaded aboard the fifteen B-25s of the 499th and 501st squadrons at San Marcelino (near Manila) and taken south  to Puerto Princesa on Palawan Island, which is considerably closer to the target area, Saigon. After departure from Puerto Princesa early in the morning, two 499th  (Bats Outta Hell) B-25s  left the formation with mechanical problems, leaving 13 aircraft to finish the strike. Col.  Coltharp led in the 501st B-25 “My Duchess” to landfall at Phan Thiet, about 100 miles WNW of Saigon.

There they proceeded inland so as to reach the target just north of Saigon and then flew downriver to egress toward the South China Sea and hopefully safety, as this area was one of the most heavily defended Japanese strongholds in SE Asia. The primary objective of this anti-shipping strike was a 5,800 ton freighter known to be anchored alongside a riverbank defended by numerous antiaircraft defenses.

Assigned the task of attacking the ship was one of the youngest pilots in the 345th Group, 20  year-old 1/Lt. Ralph E. “Peppy” Blount, Jr. who was leading the 501st’s third flight. Blount’s aircraft, B-25J-11 #43-36199 is seen in the picture after having released his 500 Lb. bombs, one hitting the vessel amidships, another hitting the well deck and detonating, and the third  landing long, exploding against the riverbank. Following Blount, his wingman, 2/Lt. Vernon M. Townley, Jr., whose aircraft was already afire from having been hit by flak while approaching the target, still managed to line up on the ship and release his ordinance, then was hit by another  flak burst, snap-rolled over and dived inverted into the ground, killing all aboard. Blount’s #199,  also hit by flak was able to continue to attack target vessels downriver, next shooting up a large sailing vessel which left a seven-foot long piece of its mast imbedded in the horizontal stabilizer. With substantial structural damage to his aircraft, Blount had to struggle for the next  five hours to reach Palawan, 750 miles distant, which he did with only a few gallons of fuel  left in the tanks. The 501st Bomb Squadron successfully attacked and destroyed the targets assigned to it but at a high price, three B-25s and their crews were lost on this mission, one  which was to earn this squadron a Distinguished Unit Citation.