PB4Y‑1 BuNo 38889 was a J‑model Liberator (USAAF serial number 44‑41246) serving with VPB‑104 at Tacloban, on the island of Leyte in the Philippines, along with VPB‑117 and detachments from VPB‑101 in December 1944. At the time, VPB‑104’s CO ordered his crews to remove any nose art from their aircraft such as victory markings so that if they were shot down they could tell their Japanese captors they were simply new replacements. Lt Paul Stevens and his crew used BuNo 38889 to shoot down three of the six Japanese aircraft they claimed between December 1944 and March 1945. Their first victory was a D3A “Val” on December 31, 1944, followed by a second “Val” in February 1945 and an E16A “Paul” floatplane on March 4, 1945. Stevens and his crew claimed three more aerial victories that month, with a third “Val” on March 10 and an E13A1 “Jake” floatplane and an H8K “Emily” one week later.