Duel at Kojak Rock by Jack Fellows

In the background, Seventh USAAF B-25G pilot Gene Olsen (48th Bomb Squadron/41st Bomb Group) fires his 75mm cannon at the Japanese coastal defense gun atop Kokaj Rock, as the Japanese return fire... a duel which was repeated on several occasions prior to this date, 26 March, 1944.

VMF-113 Corsairs which escorted the B-25s on this date can be seen sweeping around the 700 foot-high volcanic rock outcropping which dominates the entrance to the harbor at Ponapeh... on their way to the nearby Imperial Japanese Navy airfield to battle the Zero's which had been harassing the B-25s on previous unescorted missions to this target. VMF-113 USMC Corsair ace Frank Drury, of Guadalcanal fame can be seen in the foreground in #64, with Lt. J. Shellack, in #44 on Captain Drury's left wing. Beyond Kokaj Rock, a small portion of Ponapeh Town can be seen. Another view of this area is seen from the opposite direction in the picture of the Zero's, below. Both the 48th Bomb Squadron B-25s and the VMF-113 Corsairs flew from Eniwetok, in the Marshalls Group to Ponapeh, in the Carolines Group.