Doug McLaughlin helped make history in winning World War II, now he’s done his part to save that history.

More than 60 years after he battled the Japanese in aircraft flying above the Pacific, he’s recorded those memories for posterity in his book, “Rambling Memories of a World War II Fighter Pilot.”

The book recounts his experiences as a Navy fighter pilot tangling with the Japanese in numerous aerial encounters.

“Not too many guys joined up on four Jap Zeroes and lived to tell about it,” said the 85-year-old Camano Island resident while visiting Whidbey last week. He makes the long trip in his SUV on occasion, either to pitch his book or to attend meetings of the Retired Officers’ Club on the base.

The battle against the four Japanese Zeroes occurred over Iwo Jima. Initially, McLaughlin wasn’t sure what kind of planes he was dealing with. “At 400 miles per hour it’s hard to tell who’s friend or foe,” he said.

The easiest way to identify Zeroes was their “belly tanks,” extra gas tanks they usually carried on long flights. But on this particular day there were no belly tanks. “They thought I was a Jap and I thought they were us,” McLaughlin said with a chuckle. “I sprayed the last guy and he went down.”

McLaughlin said he was credited with that kill because it was witnessed by another American. But he downed another Japanese plane that day that only he witnessed. “Then I went into a high speed dive and got away,” he said.

Although outnumbered four-to-one, McLauglin doesn’t remember being afraid. “There’s not a whole lot of time to get afraid,” he said. “I don’t think I was.”

But he did feel fear one time when he was sitting on the carrier deck in his F6F Hellcat, waiting to take off. He saw the deck crew all dive for cover while he was stuck in the plane. Then 20 mm shells from a Japanese airplane strafing the carrier started hitting, tearing up the wooden flight deck. “Everybody left, and then I heard ‘plunk, plunk, plunk,’ all around me,” he said. “The shells hit all over the deck but didn’t hit me.”

McLauglin soon took off after the Japanese plane but this one got away. Back at the controls of his airplane, all fear left him. “You do what you’re supposed to do and kind of ignore it,” he said.

It was not unusual for McLaughlin to find bullet holes or flak damage on his airplane when he returned to his carrier, but he just kept on flying. One time an aerial burst blew out his plane’s hydraulic lines and he was blinded by hydraulic fluid. Another pilot guided him to the carrier and he landed with one wheel and no flaps, as the hydraulics were out.

McLaughlin said his squadron, VF31, was the most decorated Navy squadron during the war.

A warrior with a sense of humor, McLaughlin doesn’t limit his book to battle scenes. It tells about his early days growing up in California with his buddies, and about the time the Navy sent him home to give him a break from battle. He liked what he found back in the U.S.A. “There were a zillion women and no guys anywhere in the states,” he laughs.

The book also gives technical details about flight that any Navy airman would find interesting, and compares the World War II aircraft to modern jets. Learn about the attributes and drawbacks of such planes as the F6F Hellcat, F-4U Corsair, Grumman F4F Wildcat and the P-40, and how they stacked up against the legendary Zero.

He made a 20-year career of the Navy, training fighter pilots, flying over China in the early days of the communist takeover, and later testing missiles at White Sands.

After leaving the service as a commander he started a successful insurance company in Southern California. He sold it upon retirement and moved to the Northwest for its mild climate. He and his wife Avonne have four children.

Anyone who lived through or enjoys studying World War II will find “Rambling Memories” a worthwhile read.

“It’s essentially about living in World War II, it isn’t just about war,” McLaughlin said of his book. “There’s humor in it too.”