Monthly Archives: August 2014
Two Old Men and a Father’s Day Anguish
KOJI, A MAN WHO HAD FAMILY AFFECTED ON BOTH SIDES OF THE PACIFIC – TAKE THE TIME TO BROWSE THROUGH HIS SITE – CHECK OUT THE CATEGORY, ‘WORLD WAR II AND MY FAMILY’ FOR SOME VERY INTERESTING INFORMATION AND PHOTOS – ENJOY!!
It was Monday, Valentines’ Day 2001. My wife was five months pregnant at the time we moved into this wonderful neighborhood smothered in US Naval glory. After I came back from work the next day, she told me a kind old man stopped her as she was wheeling out the trash bin. She said he hobbled from across our quiet, peppercorn lined street then kindly wheeled them out for her.
I found out the “old man” was a World War II combat vet. Worse yet, he was a sailor in the Pacific – he fought the Japanese in World War II.
“Holy crap,” flashed through my mind, “What if he finds out we’re Japanese?”
Twelve years later, I was honored to have been a pallbearer at his funeral.
I was so far off base about my first thoughts on Old Man Jack that even George Burns could have picked me…
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First-Hand Account – corpsman
USS Solace
James F. Anderson
Hospital corpsman, USS Solace
James Anderson of Fort Worth, Texas was aboard the USS Solace looking out across the bay on 7 December as he awaited a liberty boat to take him to shore as 5 planes flew overhead. He spotted the red balls on the wings, “My God, those are Japanese. Let’s get this damn hatch shut!, he said. “Normally it took an electric winch to pull it shut. How 3 of us did it I’ll never know.”
“I remember very clearly what looked like a dive-bomber coming in over the Arizona and dropping a bomb. It rose out of the water and settled. I could see flames, fire and smoke…and I saw 2 men flying in the air…and screaming as they went. Then we went into the ward and checked everything and made ready for patients to arrive. Four of us set to with plaster-of-Paris.
Japanese view
“At this point, the Japanese planes were coming in alongside us… We could look straight into the cockpits and see the pilots as they went by us. Almost immediately we started getting casualties…only one of the men could tell us his name. He did not have a stitch of clothing on. The only thing left was a web belt with his chief’s buckle, his Chief-master-at-arms badge and the letters ‘USS Nevada.’ He survived…
Surgery aboard ship
“We were using tannic acid for the burns… All we could do for these poor fellows was to give them morphine and pour the tannic acid over them. We were making it from tea, boiling it up as strong as we could get it and bringing it straight to the ward from the galley.
“I think we must have gone through 48 hours without any sleep – all spent tending to our patients. There was so much adrenalin pumped into the body, a person couldn’t sleep… I got to the point I was staggering around… Nobody ever thought of asking for relief.”
Patient ward aboard ship
James Anderson made his career as an enlisted man and continued his service until his retirement in 1960 when he returned to Texas.
This story was taken and condensed from, “The Pacific War Remembered” edited by John T. Mason Jr. and published by the Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD. Photos are courtesy of the USS Solace website.
TO SEE WHAT THESE MEN ACTUALLY WITNESSED – Fellow blogger, Koji was kind enough to send a link for us to do just that – watch the short video from – the Naval History $ Heritage
Click on images to enlarge.
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Humor –
Bill Mauldin cartoons
Just give me the aspirin, I already got the Purple Heart.
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Farewell Salutes –
Walter Bailey – Jupiter, FL; US Army, WWII & Korea, Major (Ret. 25 years)
Irene Brainerd – Prairie Village, MO; US Army WACS, WWII, Quartermaster Corps
Harvey A. Chesley, Sr. – Clinton, ME; USMC, Vietnam
Gordon Conquergood – Toronto, CAN; RC Army, WWII
Richard Haas – Freeport, IL; US Army, Korea
Kenneth Irving Sr. – Clinton, ME; USMC, Korea
Michael Martin – Palm Bch Gardens, FL; US Army, WWII
Theodore Perry – Petaluma, CA; US Army, Rangers, Sgt.
Mark Priestly – Masterton, NZ; RNZ Navy # E746216
Fred Schrager – Brooklyn & Miami; US Army, WWII, POW, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
Charles (Bud) Willis – Bastrop, LA; US Army, Vietnam
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Eroni Kumana – Obituary
One of the Solomon Islands scouts who assisted in the rescue of the PT-109 crew passed away exactly 71 years after JFK’s boat was rammed while in the Pacific. Mr. Kumana was 96 years old. Kumana and fellow scout Biuku Gasa had discovered the Naval crew on Naru and Olasana islands.
Eroni Kumana
A more complete story of this event will be posted when this series reaches August 1943.
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First-hand Account
Major Doody, (Ret.)
Major Kathryn Mary Doody
Kathryn Doody was enrolled in nursing school by her mother, but following her graduation, the United States Army would not accept her until they lowered their height requirements. Kathryn was at the Tripler Army Hospital, Hawaii on 7 December 1941 as one of eighty-two nurses.
Kathryn Doody, RN
Her baptism of fire came that fateful morning when the sound of bombs woke her. She ran into the yard and saw aircraft smoke. Thinking that an accident occurred, she went to see the night nurse on duty, only to be informed otherwise – Oahu was under attack. Finding the news a bit unbelievable, Kathryn turned on a radio and listened to the broadcast herself – now she believed. “I hadn’t been there long [Hawaii] before the bombs descended.”
Hawaii
She was summoned to the operating room to begin treating those coming in injured from Hickam Field. As she worked with her patients and preparing for new arrivals, she heard the sound of bullets hitting the pavement outside, but neither she nor the hospital were hit. She began to wonder what life would be like in wartime as she assisted in her first major limb amputation. She continued to work until midnight with troops standing guard outside the doors.
The horror of the attack continued the following morning when Kathryn checked on her patients. Some of the wounded had accidentally ripped out their tourniquets during the night and some had bled to death.
Later, Kathryn was given a leave and then assigned to Germany where she was awarded a Bronze Star. During the Korean War, she was part of the original 8063rd Mobile Army Surgical Hospital – the first MASH unit in Korea. Kathryn Doody retired as a Major in the US Army and passed away 3 October 2010 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
HQ tent of the 8063rd MASH, Korea
This story was composed from information found at the Veteran’s History Project – Library of Congress.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Humor –
DIARY OF A NURSE
I dreamed I’d see the country, If I ever had the luck; But in my wildest fancies, It was never made by truck. Nurse Nightingale before us, Carried candles through the mist; The modern maid of Mercy, Totes a helmet in her fist. Nostalgic waves encompass me Though I’m still patriotic; Tonight, my dear, I long to see A land that ain’t exotic! _____Lt. Rose C. Craig; Puptent Poets, Stars and Stripes##############################################################################################
Farewell Salutes –
Richard Attenborough (Lord) – London, England; RAF Film Unit, WWII, ( famed actor, producer, director)
Boyce Bates – Springfield, OR; US Air Force, Airman First Class, Korea
courtesy: Cora @ A Fresh Start
Reginald Broadfoot – Waihi, NZ; RNZ Army, WWII # 622619, tank battery
Henry Doering – Regina, CAN; RC Army, WWII
Lloyd Dumond – Fort Kent, ME; US Army, WWII
Kenneth Jones – Liverpool, AU; 2 AIF, Major, Korea & Vietnam
Jeremiah LeFlore – Durant, OK; US Army, Vietnam
Lyman Oliver – Burlington, KY; US Coast Guard, Chief Warrant Officer (Ret. 20 years)
Teddy Patton – Lady Lake, FL; US Army, WWII & Korea, LtColonel (Ret.)
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John Finn, Oldest Medal of Honor Winner, Dies
ANOTHER STORY WE CERTAINLY WOULD NOT WANT TO FORGET!!
We will remember…
Retired Navy Lt. John Finn, the oldest Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, has died at his Southern California home. He was 100.
Navy Lt. Aaron Kakiel says Finn died early Thursday on his ranch near Live Oak Springs, where he lived for more than 50 years.
Finn earned the nation’s highest military valor award for his heroism during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He received the Medal of Honor on Sept. 15, 1942, from then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Born July 23, 1909, in Los Angeles, Finn was the oldest of the 97 Medal of Honor recipients still living.
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Eye-witness Account
US Seaman, Victor E. Stefl
Victor E. Stefl
Seaman, US Navy
In the fall of 1941, I was a 19 year-old seaman not long out of the “Great Lakes” school (the US Navy boot camp). My first assignment was aboard the USS Case, a Mahan-class destroyer commissioned in Boston in 1936. We had sailed south from Pearl Harbor in November, toward New Zealand, then north again, crossing back and forth over the international dateline.
A few weeks later, as we returned to port, we were informed we would not be dry-docking. The USS Shaw, we were told, had collided with another ship and would be occupying our ships space. So we moored in a destroyer nest next the USS Whitney, (a destroyer tender), breaking down our main guns and performing general maintenance – – this was the condition of our ship when the Japanese showed up.
USS Case, Destroyer-370
On the morning of 7 December, most of the officers were ashore. I was lying in my bunk reading and looking forward to a quiet Sunday breakfast. I heard an explosion, then several others. I remember wondering who the heck was taking target practice on a Sunday. Then one of my crewmates ran in and yelled, “Stef, get out of bed, the Japs are here?”
I was getting ready to tell him he was crazy when general quarters sounded. I ran to my station and realized the gun I was assigned had been broken down for maintenance. We scrambled to ready the 50 cals and gather ammunition. Our officer of the deck, an ensign named Beard, had to break into the ammo locker because no one could locate a key.
We returned fire as soon as we could, but were limited as to when we could shoot. If we fired on the Japanese aircraft as they leveled out for their torpedo runs we would be shooting across the harbor at our own men; so we had to wait for them to dive down before their runs or until they climbed out afterward. Usually the Japanese turned toward the destroyers and strafed the hell out of us. As the Japanese pilots flew between the masts they smiled and waved at us. Obviously, that angered us.
During the attack a number of the crew were busy putting our main guns back together and making preparations for getting underway. Many of my crewmates were trying to catch rides back to the ship on small transports; others simply swam. We managed to down a few of the Japanese planes but not before they had inflicted heavy damage on the battleships. After the attack was over, we threw all non-essential items overboard and took on fuel, food, water and ammunition. When we got underway we cleared the harbor and depth charged an enemy sub.
USS Case – offical Navy log entries
Later on, we heard that the Shaw, sitting in our docking space had taken a direct hit. I couldn’t help but think that it could have been us. When night fell we darkened the ship and patrolled around Ford Island waiting for the Japanese to return. That night was one of the scariest in my life. At times we heard screams of wounded men trapped in the wreckage. The only lights in the harbor were fires, which sometimes revealed bodies floating in the water.
Remember…
Then, there were moments of almost complete silence, when the only sound we heard was the low hum of our ships in the harbor. At such times we looked at each other and wondered just what the hell had we gotten into. After 9 p.m., once we had been ordered to stand down, we spotted planes coming in over the harbor. We opened up on them until the skipper ordered us to cease. The Marines didn’t get the message and shot them down. It turns out that those planes were American bombers scheduled to be delivered to the Army Air Force. The rest of the night we circled the island and kept our eyes on the sky.
Victor Stefl was from Farmington Hills, Michigan. He passed away October 2012 at the age of 90.
This story was taken directly from the ‘History Channel Magazine’ Jan/Feb 2013. Images from the Stefl Family collection and US Naval History
Click on images to enlarge .
For a realistic view of Pearl Harbor, Mustang Koji supplied this video of footage, Click Here.
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Beetle Bailey – he knows how to keep things Top Secret!!
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Farewell Salutes –
Keith Bosley – Sydney, Aus.; RA Air Force, Vietnam
courtesy, Cora @ A Fresh Start
Rudolph Dansby Jr.; WPalm Beach, FL, US Navy (Ret. 21 years)
Frank Fee – Harlan, KY; US Army, Sgt., Korea
Cyril Goetten – Jerseyville, IL; US Army, WWII
Christine Hartigan – Mission, KS; US Air Force, nurse, Captain, Vietnam
Alistair McLaggan – Forest Hill, NZ; Argyle & South Highlanders, WWII
John Sadeir – Edmonton, Can; RC Air Force, pilot, WWII (Ret)
Richard Ward – Oro Valley, AZ; USMC, F-4 Black Knights
Larry Zoski – Bartiesville, OK; US Army, Sgt. Vietnam, 2nd Batt/9th Inf.Div/4th Field Artillery
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Orel Pierson and the SS President Harrison
SS “President Harrison”
TWO EYE-WITNESS ACCOUNTS
The SS President Harrison was a part of the American President Lines which was chartered by the US Navy on a day-to-day basis; when they could serve their country. In the words that follow of Master Orel A. Pierson, they were under the orders of Admiral Hart and “on the drum” of the Cavite Naval Radio. This meant, they were in constant contact, on a specified frequency and had a secret call letter.
Master Orel Pierson
“At the Torres Straits, here we were informed that we would proceed to Hong Kong as a transport and proceed to Shanghai together with the SS President Madison to evacuate the US 4th Marines. On 3 December, we made a rendezvous off Formosa with 4 US submarines and with their guns mounted ready for instant action. We proceeded to Olongapoo, Philippines. At this time, it was apparent to all that war was imminent. We noted and reported that Japanese Naval units and transports were steaming south in large numbers.
“We left Manila on the morning of 4 December 1941 with a crew of 154… On arrival at Chingwangtao, we were to pick up around 300 Marines of the Peking & Trintsin Legation Guard and some 1400 tons of equipment and return to Manila.
“Tension was mounting… The destination of the Harrison, [supposed to be secret], was the talk of every hotel and bar room in Manila… I was later informed by the captain of a Japanese destroyer that ‘they knew all about our movements.'”
Port of Shanghai bids the 4th Marines a fond farewell.
The SS President Harrison was ultimately captured along with the largest group of merchant seamen. The cargo supposedly included the fossils known as “Peking Man” whose whereabouts remains a mystery today is open to various speculations. The ship was turned into the Kakka Maru and then the name was changed to Kachidoki Maru, which was torpedoed by the submarine, USS Pampanito. It is now restored and a museum ship in San Francisco, California.
Orel Pierson was taken prisoner and spent most of his three years and 9 month confinement at Zentsuji War Prison Camp on Shikoko Island. He was transferred 23 June 1945 to Nokoroshu Camp in western Honshu, Japan until liberated 2 September.
China coast
“The story of my years in prison camps closely parallels that of any American held by the Japanese, with all the heartaches, abuses, uncertainties and slow starvation accorded to them in the military prisons. I lost 85 pounds, need I say more.”
This story was taken and condensed from the SS President Harrison Master’s Report, US Naval History.
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The “Harrison” as the “Kachidoki Maru.”
Also aboard the SS President Harrison was Hank Behren, a college student who took a year off school for a little adventure and to earn money for his next term – he became a Merchant seaman. Once back home, he finished school, bought a home and married. (Once freed, merchant seamen were not entitled to G.I. benefits). In 1981, Hank returned to China and found the old prison camp. His guide was an elderly Japanese man and Behren asked the man where he was during WWII. It turned out, he was the captain of a gunboat that patrolled the Whanpoo River. Hank couldn’t believe it! From his POW camp he had watched the boat patrol up and down the river while he enjoyed the old Japanese folk songs the guards played on their gramophone.
When Hank returned home, the old captain sent a cassette of the folk songs to him and the two men corresponded until Hank passed away. Two years before he died, the U.S. presented Hank with a military discharge and a POW medal.
Hank Behren’s story was found in “The Greatest Generation Speaks” by Tom Brokaw and condensed.
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Dr. Seuss continued to dig with his political cartoons______
Click images to enlarge.
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Farewell Salutes –
Peter Bennish – Norvet, PA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, HQ Co/187th Regiment
Robert Carlson – Elgin, IL; US Navy, Korea
courtesy: Cora from ‘A Fresh Start’
Ralph Federson – Mesa, AZ; US Navy, WWII
Hector Hotte – Ottawa, Can; RC Army, WWII
Richard Lowe – Des Moines, IA; US Navy, WWII, gunner’s mate
Mary McGovern – Portland, ME; WWII, civilian employee , stenographer/Military Intelligence Service
Richard Siedel – Alamogordo, NM; USMC, WWII, 91st Chemical Mortar Co/6th Marine Division
Vernon Staum – Winder, GA; US Army, Lt. to Lt.Col., Korea and Vietnam
William Throp – Napier, NZ; Service # 288446, WWII
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Loss of a fellow blogger – I discovered yesterday from Tina Blackledge, that Ajay Mody, better know to us as, Ajaytoa, passed away 10 August. May he rest in peace.
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National Airborne Day
Click on image to read.
16 August 1940 was the first official U.S. Army parachute jump.
Everett “Smitty” Smith, 11th A/B, New Guinea – my dad.
On 14 August 2002, President George W. Bush issued a proclamation to honor the troopers with their own commemorative day – which can be found HERE>
3 August 2009, the U.S. Senate recognized National Airborne Day with Senate Resolution 235.
HERE’S TO EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU!!
THANK YOU !!
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From Smitty’s scrapbook_______
From Everett Smith’s real scrapbook/ glider and jump training
Click on photos to enlarge.
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Farewell Salutes –
Bert Vincent Brickle – Christchurch, NZ; RNZ Army # 447652, WWII, ETO, ( Fellow blogger, Galivanta [Ann]’s cousin)
Peter Gritis – Reston, VA; US Army, LtColonel, WWII, ETO, 7th Armored Division
Pedro Hernandez – Crystal, MN; US Army, WWII & Korea, 82nd Airborne
Nicholas Kremer – Cascade, IA; US Army Air Force, WWII paratrooper, ETO, Purple Heart
Maurice O’Toole – Toronto, CAN, RAF, pilot
Charles Skapik – Charlerol, PA; US Army Air Force, 457th Artillery/11th Airborne, WWII, PTO
Vince Tancredi – Windham, NY; US Army Air Corps, 503rd Reg., paratrooper
John Wheeler – Canton, CT; US Army Air Corps, WWII, 82nd Airborne
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V- J Day
Remembering V – J Day
THE STRIFE IS OVER, THE BATTLES DONE,
THE VICTORY OF WAR IS WON!!
When the news that Japan had surrendered spread, the rest of world gave thanks and celebrations erupted______
Most believe that it was the ultimate might of the Atomic bomb that ended the war in the Pacific. But this is not entirely the case; the Japanese military were still firm in their belief that an Allied invasion was the “golden opportunity” and “divine chance” they had been waiting for. Create must be given to” the Jushin, a group of former premiers, the senior statesmen of Japan, who worked behind the scenes and through the Emperor for surrender – They ended the war.”
_______quoted from Pacific War, by Saburo Ienaga
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Farewell Salutes –
Robert Adcock – Palmerston North, NZ; Service # 459672, WWII
Daniel Erdman Jr. – Mechanicburg, PA; US Army, 43rd Signal Corps, PTO
Sidney Gold – Philadelphia, PA; USMC, Lt., WWII, PTO, present at the signing
Gilbert Hillier – Colliers, CAN; RC Army, Korea
Irving Johnson – Sanibel, FL; US Navy, WWII, PTO
Edward Loftus – Phoenix, AZ; USMC, WWII, 2nd Marine Division, PTO
Gabriel Perle – Greenwich, CT; US Navy, Lt., WWII, PTO
Robert Scharf – Detroit, MI & Wellington, FL; US Army, WWII, PTO
Thomas Vecchio – Palo Alto, CA; US Army, Medical Corps
Bobby Walters – Alpharetta, GA, US Navy, WWII
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Late Addition –
An Australian dances for joy!! From a Movitone film at U-tube.
Australia celebrates!!! The sweater remains at a museum.
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7 December 1941 (2)
Pearl Harbor view from a Japanese fighter
Shanghai Harbor under attack
USS Cassin & Downs
On Formosa, the Japanese planes of the 11th Air Fleet were grounded by fog and were unable make their scheduled attack on Luzon. 1257 hours – Guam was bombed by the Japanese navy bombers from Saipan. The Marine barracks were destroyed and the USS “Penguin” was sunk.
USS Penquin
1300 hours – 36 Japanese bombers left Roi in the Marshall Islands and strafed Wake Island. Lacking radar, the fighter planes recently delivered by the “Enterprise” had only 15 seconds warning; 7 of them were destroyed on the ground. Twelve Marines and 6 civilians of the Pan Am Hotel were killed. A Marine survivor said, “The pilots in every one of those planes was grinning wildly. Every one wiggled his wings to signify Banzai.” The Pan Am flying boat, “Philippine Clipper”, escaped with 23 bullet holes in her as she carried 70 airline personnel and the wounded from the island. Pilot Capt. Hamilton radioed back that an enemy cruiser with destroyers was headed toward Wake.
Ford Island Air Station & USS Shaw
Clark Field, Nov. 1941
Cynthia Olson SS
On that first night, as the world turned into another day, a darkness, never before known, fell over the Pacific culminating 24 hours of unmitigated disaster. Only the British Prime Minister went to bed content, “So, we have won after all. Being saturated and satiated with emotion and sensation, I went to bed and slept the sleep of the sound and thankful”_____Winston Churchill
Click on any image to enlarge.
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Political Cartoons of the times_________
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Personal Note……
It has been a while since I’ve given the veterans and volunteers of Little Rock, Arkansas a renewed Shout Out!! I sincerely hope you are all enjoying this web site – this includes you too, Tom DeGrom! I have spies out there and I want to hear that you are all doing well! ###############################################################################################Farewell Salutes –
Harry Alsman Sr. – LeClaire, IA; US Navy, Korea
Richard Bolt – Wellington, NZ; RNZ Air Force, Air Marshal, Chief of Defense Staff (Ret.)
James Chase – Chatman, MA; US Army, HQ Company, 11th A/B (Ret. 20 years)
Robert DePledge – Invermere, BC, Can; RC Army
Everett (Pat) Emmick – Loxahatchee, FL; US Army, Vietnam, Bronze Star
Eugene Knobbe – Boynton Beach, FL; US Army, Korea
Andrew Manchester Sr. – No. Branford, CT; US Army Air Corps. WWII, B-17 top turret gunner, 15th & 8th Army, ETO, No. Africa
Leonard Pilarski – Nesconset, NY; US Army Air Corps, WWII, F Co/511th Reg.
Charles Roberts, Jr. – Kansas City, MO; USMC, BrigGeneral, Korea & Vietnam, Purple Heart
Harry Stamos – Hendersonville, NC; US Army, WWII, Signal Corps, ETO
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THANK YOU FOR THE CORRECTION, ALLEN.
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Purple Heart Day
Purple Heart patch for those wounded in WWII
On this date in 1782, in Newburgh, New York, General George Washington created the “Badge for Military Merit,” a decoration consisting of a purple, heart-shaped piece of silk, edged in silver, with the word Merit etched. It was to be presented for any one meritorious action and it permitted the wearer to pass guards and sentinels without challenge. The honoree’s name and regiment were to be inscribed in “The Book of Merit.”
Purple Heart certificate given during the Korean War
Only three soldiers are known to have been awarded this medal during the Revolutionary War: Elijah Churchill, William Brown and Daniel Bissell Jr. The Book of Merit was lost and the medal was virtually forgotten. In 1927, General Charles Summerall sent an unsuccessful draft bill to Congress to revive the Badge.
Patch for Afghanistan
General Douglas MacArthur took up the cause, hoping to get the medal reinstated for the bicentennial of George Washington’s birthday. He succeeded – 22 February 1932 the US War Department announced the creation of the “Order of the Purple Heart.”
National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, New Windsor, NY
This medal is awarded to members of the US Armed Forces who have been killed or wounded in action against an enemy. It is also given to soldiers who have suffered maltreatment as prisoners of war.
The ‘impersonal chaos of war’ display in the Hall of Honor
The most Purple Hearts awarded to any individual soldier is nine (9) to USMC Sergeant Albert Luke Ireland; five (5) for World War II and four (4) for his action in the Korean War.
“Wounded Warrior” painting by U.S. Marine Michael Fay
The estimates for each war read as:
WWI – 320,518 WWII – 1,076,245 Korea – 118, 650 Vietnam – 351, 794 Persian Gulf – 607 Iraq – 34,000 Afghanistan – 2,700 Click on images to enlarge.#############################################################################################
Farewell Salutes –
DeWayne Anderson – Arvada, CO; US Army, WWII & Korea, @ Bronze Stars, Purple Heart
Purple Heart
Mo Breeding – Oklahoma City, OK; US Army, WWII & Korea, Silver Star, 2 Bronze Stars & Purple Heart
William Bush – Utica, NY & New Smyrna Bch, FL; US Naby, Vietnam, Purple Heart
Melvin Chubb – Joplin, MO; US Air Force, Lt. General, Vietnam, 500 combat missions, Purple Heart
Carl Donica Jr. – Springfield, MO; US Navy, corpsman, Vietnam, Purple Heart
Peter Duchscherer – Fairbanks, AK; US Army, Vietnam, Purple Heart
Harold Greene – New York, US Army, MGeneral, Afghanistan, Purple Heart
Herbert Harkey Jr. – Riverside County, CA; USMC, LtCol. (Ret. 27 yrs.), 2 tours Vietnam, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
William Kunz – Rockford, IL; US Army, 3rd InfantryDiv., WWII, ETO, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
Charles Roth – Des moines, IA; US Army, WWII, ETO, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
James Tucker – Las Vegas, NV; US Army, medic, Purple Heart
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Pacific Paratrooper 