Robert Sutcliffe passed away on January 30th, 2009, leaving a loving family and 89 years of incredible memories behind. In many ways, he was just a normal Joe. He loved his wife and kids and grand kids. He loved his country. He worked hard and built a great life. He was a gentle soul who spent many hours, crafting stained glass figurines and hand-carved birds... creating one unique bird each year. Robert also loved to fly his Piper Cherokee and took many trips with his wife of 65 years, Jane, to their summer place on Lake Winnipesaukee.
But from 1942 to 1945, Robert Sutcliffe was a warrior. Robert, you see, was a member of this nation's "Greatest Generation." The ones who grew up in the Great Depression and then sacrificed so unselfishly throughout the chaos and calamity of World War Two. Without their bravery, only God knows what may have become of this planet, caught in the vice grip of The Japanese Rising Sun in the Pacific and Nazi Germany in Europe. After the war, these same guys and gals came home and worked - hard - and led this nation into amazing prosperity. As they have drifted off into retirement, so too has this nation drifted off...
"The campaign in New Guinea is all but forgotten, except by those who fought there. Battles with names like Tarawa, Saipan, and Iwo Jima overshadow it. Yet Allied Operations in New Guinea were essential to the U.S. Forces liberation of the Philippine Islands from Japanese occupation. Without the battles fought and won in New Guinea, the Central Pacific Front may well have crumbled." (Gordon R. Sullivan, General, U.S. Army)
Look at the photos above. That's 1Lt. Sutcliffe and "Brown Eyes," his incredible P-47 Thunderbolt, in which he became a Fighter ACE in New Guinea in 1944. The following is a portion of an actual war correspondent's dispatch, from New Guinea, on March 19th, 1944:
"U.S. P-47 Thunderbolts caught a Japanese "Ki.43" fighter over Wewak. 1Lt. Robert Sutcliffe, of the 342nd Fighter Squadron, shot it down. Sutcliffe sighted about 16 Japanese fighters at 7,000 feet and led his flight of 4 P-47's in chase. He flamed an enemy fighter on his first pass at only 20 yards range. Then, at speeds over 400 mph., Sutcliffe and his wingman zoomed up for another pass, but the Japanese fighters had fled. At the end of the day, Sutcliffe returned to base with his fourth confirmed kill."
His wife, Jane, and his three boys, Robert, Peter, and David and their wives... as well as his sister, Mina... Along with six grandchildren... and six great grandchildren, will miss him dearly. And so should all of us. His son Peter and his wife Priscilla are friends of mine. Peter tells me his Dad will be buried in a Veteran's cemetery in New Jersey... where WW ll vets are being laid to rest... every 30 minutes... 5 days a week! May God rest the soul of Captain Robert Sutcliffe and his comrades-in-arms. We owe them a debt of immense gratitude... and we had better learn the lessons they teach, before they are all gone.
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