Monthly Archives: December 2014
April 1942 (2)
USS Tenedos
1-6 April – off the coast of Ceylon ( now known as Sri Lanka), the Japanese sank the USS Tenedos in Columbo Harbour during an air attack. As the Japanese Blitz raged on, enemy troops made amphibious landings on Bougainville in the Solomons and in the Admiralty Islands. On the coast of India, the enemy attacked Vizagapatam and Cocanada.
5-9 April – as Bataan fell, the Royal Navy in the Indian Ocean, also was facing humiliation. Five WWI battleships led by HMS Warspite and 3 carriers had been sent to protect the shipping to Burma. As church bells rang out over the bay for Easter in Ceylon, Japanese aircraft bombed the installations at Columbo Harbour. Six Zeros were shot down at the cost of 20 RAF planes
Thirty-one hits on HMS Dorsetshire lifted her out of the water and she sank. HMS Cornwall received 8 hits, rolled over and sank as well. About 1,100 men were rescued by destroyers, but the first objective of the enemy’s Operation C was a success, stage 2 would follow 3 days later.
HMS Hermes & HMAS Vampire
The second phase began as a raid on Trincomalee, Ceylon. Adm. Nagumo’s aircraft destroyed cranes, workshops, ammunition dumps and fuel tanks. Eight Allied planes and 15 enemy aircraft were downed during aerial combat. HMS Hernes and HMAS Vampire were discovered trying to escape. The Hermes and the Vampire were both sunk, but remarkably, most of the crew-members were rescued by the hospital ship, Vita.
Across the Bay of Bengal, Admiral Ozawa’s cruisers sank 23 merchant ships. Shipping between Burma and India came to a screeching halt and the Allies had lost 100,000 tons of matérial.
10 April – the US Pacific Fleet started being organized according to type: battleships, cruisers, destroyers, carriers, Service Force, Amphibious Force, Submarine Force and Patrol Wings. / On Burma, the “BurCorps” were continually pushed north by the enemy, but they destroyed the oil facilities as they retreated.
Britain/India negotiations
11 April – Britain denied India’s independence demands from President Nehru, but the Indian leader pledged continual support for the Allies despite their political differences.
18 April – the Doolittle Raid off the USS Hornet was launched 150 miles further from Japan than originally planned to avoid detection from the Japanese.
Taking off from the USS Hornet
Once the shock of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor subsided, US military planners turned to retaliation. Lt.Colonel James H. Doolittle presented his daring and unorthodox plan: B-25 bombers, normally land-based, to be transported by carrier. The top-secret training program began immediately and B-25 aircraft were modified for the operation. The naval fleet used were nicknamed, Task Force Mike, for the operation and the bombers chalked messages on their cargo such as: “I don’t want to set the world on fire, just Tokyo.”
one of the bombers that crashed in China
Further information and Eye Witness Story to follow……….
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – [ what the Sarge didn’t tell you ]
What the manual doesn’t tell you is……..
CPR exhibited by one who knows…..
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Farewell Salutes –
Donald Barnes – Arlington, VA; US Army, WWII
Elmo Copeland – Greenville, FL; US Army, Vietnam
Dominick D’Anna – Tucson, AZ; US Air Force, Lt. Col. (Ret.), Vietnam, Cuban Missile Crisis, Bronze Star
Lewis Giers – Holly, MI; US Army, WWII
John Joplin – Ft. Smith, AR; US Army, Korea, 3rd Infantry Division
Walter Malec – LaPorte, IN; US Army, WWII, Sgt. PTO
Philip Pelkey – Hampden, ME; US Navy, SeaBee
Ian Seaman – Henderson, NZ; RNZ Air Force # F77538
Malcolm Youker Jr. – Eugene, OR; US Army, WWII, Capt., Counter Intelligence Corps, PTO, Bronze Star
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An Award-Winning Salute…with Gingerbread!
How some people showed their gratitude__________
Yes, it’s true — this Soldier and the care package before him are made out of gingerbread (and other edibles)!
Jennifer Elmore’s amazing “A Soldier’s Christmas” is among the Top-10 ribbon winners of the 22nd Annual National Gingerbread House competition.
As the daughter of a now-retired two-star U.S. Army general, Jennifer knows all about military 
families and her work is a tribute to them.
“I hope in some small way this honors the sacrifices service members and their families make for us every day, but especially at this time of year,” she says.
We are very grateful that Jennifer (pictured here with her husband, Mike) chose to use her talents to highlight Operation Gratitude’s work. Look carefully at the photo up top and you can see Operation Gratitude’s logo on the gingerbread care package!
Jennifer is a Wells Fargo team member, and you can read more about her special creation in the company’s recent blog post:
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Christmas ala 1942
PACIFIC PARATROOPER WISHES ALL FRIENDS AND VISITORS A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
On The Home Front
Those That Gave Us A Home Front
A VERY SPECIAL CALL TO THE MILITARY – BOTH PAST AND PRESENT – THANK YOU – HAPPY HOLIDAYS and PEACE IN YOUR LIFETIME!!!
TO THOSE WHO DO NOT CELEBRATE THIS HOLIDAY – I WISH YOU THE WARMTH AND CONTENTMENT THAT IS REPRESENTED BY THIS SEASON!!! 
AND – I CAN NOT PASS UP A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO THE VETERANS AND VOLUNTEERS of the LITTLE ROCK VA!!! 
Click on images to enlarge. ################################################################################# Military Christmas Humor – 
Need a lift?
################################################################################# Farewell Salutes – Allen Bainard – Qualicum Beah, CAN; Canadian Army, WWII, ETO, artillery signalman
Stanley Foster – Auckland, NZ; RNZ Air Force # 43612, WWII, 6th Flying Boat Sq.
John Goodwin – Shreveport, LA; USMC (Ret. 22yrs), Korea, Vietnam, cryptoanalyst
William Lemnitzer – Arlington, VA; US Army, BGeneral (Ret.), Korea, Vietnam, Bronze Star, West Point Class ’51
Norman Nary – Northwood, NH; US Navy, WWII
Loren Padgett – Boise, ID; US Army, WWII
Elwyn Sievers – Mayflower, AR; US Army, Korea, Vietnam, Warrant Officer
Alphonse Toczko – New Britain, CT; USMC, WWII
Michael Wardinski – Springfield, VA; US Army, Colonel (Ret. 33 yrs), Korea, Vietnam ##################################################################################
From those that were there… (5)
American helmet, grenade rifle & flag taken by a Japanese photographer, April 1942
William Burton Clark – US Army, Staff Sergeant/ New Mexico National Guard/200th Coast Artillery
William Burton Clark
Mr. Clark was at Clark Airfield when the Japanese attacked 8 December 1941 manning his 3-inch antiaircraft gun and spent 33 months as a POW. In his Veterans History Project audio, he gave a 92 minute interview. He spoke of the attack of Pearl, as seen from the Philippines, appeared to be a conspiracy. In his talk of the trek to San Fernando, “I went down on that march and 2 angels picked me up. At the camp, a grave detail of 250 men worked every morning.”
Ralph Levenburg – from Clinton, Iowa – US Army Air Corps/17th Pursuit Squadron –
Ralph Levenberg
“When the surrender came on April 9, everyone accepted that as a relief – until it soaked in what surrender really meant.” [As to the Japanese guards enduring the severe discipline of their superiors for a minor infraction.] “The officer removed a small sword sheath from his belt and began beating this guard in the face murmuring comments to him the whole time. The [enemy] guard never wavered until he dropped completely unconscious. His face was just absolutely like he’d been run over by a tractor.”
Alf Larson – from Minnesota – US Army
“Guys around me dropped, but if you tried to help them, you’d get beat up or killed. After a while you just went blank and you became a machine, a walking machine.”
Kermit Lay – from Altus, Oklahoma – H Company/31st Infantry, Lieutenant
Lt. Kermit Lay
He remembered the hopelessness of trying to get a group of POWs to drag a semi-conscious officer along the road. “It made them a target of the enemy soldiers assigned to shoot stragglers. When the guard got to us, he rammed his bayonet right through Captain Miller. Naturally we dropped him and ran up and got into the middle of the column.”
Albert Brown – from Nebraska – US Army
Albert Brown
During his 3 years as a POW, Albert Brown suffered a broken back and neck, a bayonet wound and a dozen tropical diseases. But Brown survived and documented it all, using a nub of a pencil to scrawl details into a tiny tablet he concealed in the lining of his canvas bag. When he was freed, a doctor told the 40-year-old artillery officer to enjoy life while he could, because he would not live to be 50. When Mr. Brown passed away in 2011 – he was 105 years old! “Doc’s story has as much relevance for today’s wounded warriors as it did for veterans of his own era,” said Kevin Moore, co-author of the book, “Forsaken Heroes of the Pacific War: One Man’s True Story.”
Albert Brown w/ a ROTC group in 2005
Click on images to enlarge.
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updated Military Humor – Budget cuts
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Farewell Salutes –
Henry Alcones – Santa Rosa, CA; Filipino Guerrillas & US Army, WWII, PTO, Bataan Death March Survivor
Geoffrey Campbell – Rotorua, NZ; RNZ Air Force # 44136
Ernest Garceau – Newport, NH; US Army, WWII
Gordon Harris – Peachland, BC, CAN; RAF & 8th Gurkha Rifles, WWII, CBI
Carl Monteleone – WPalm Bch, FL; US Navy, WWII
Robert Oakley – Dallas, TX; US Navy Intelligence, State Dept., Ambassador
Bert Rownd – Little Rock, AR; US Coast Guard & Navy, WWII
Ronnie Shaffer – Marshalltown, IA; USMC, Vietnam
John Wargo – Springfield, IL; US Navy, WWII, PTO
Donald Washburn – Trumbull, CT; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Cabot
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The 3rd Bomb Group’s Combat Debut: Prelude to the Royce Raid
The Pacific War raged on as the men endured the Bataan Death March.
By April 1942, the 3rd Bomb Group was about two weeks into training on the B-25. This training was suddenly put to the test when an order came through for any operational 3rd Bomb Group B-25s to fly to Port Moresby for a raid on the Japanese airfield at Gasmata on April 6th. These planes and crews came from the 13th Squadron, since they already had their new bombers. Six B-25s took off from Charters Towers, Australia on April 5th for a night’s stay in Port Moresby, prepared to hit Gasmata on the 6th. The 13th Squadron C.O., Capt. Herman Lowery, would lead the strike.
The next day, five of the B-25s took off (the sixth was unable to) without a fighter escort due to the distance to the target. This was the official combat debut of the B-25. The 350-mile flight from Port Moresby to Gasmata was pushing the…
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From those that were there… (4)
Just prior to starting the Bataan Death March
Lester Tenney was out of Chicago, Illinois and into the US Army 192nd Tank Battalion when the Bataan Death March made it’s infamous mark in history. It has been 69 years since since his released ______
Lester Tenney
“The march became known as the Bataan Death March, not just because of how many died, but because of they way they died. If you stopped, you were killed. If you had a malaria attack and had to stop for help, you were killed. If you had dysentery and had to stop to relieve yourself, you were killed. Without food or water and with constant beatings, the march became unbearable. Seeking a drink of water from a caribou wallow resulted in dysentery and drinking water from a free-flowing artesian well resulted in being killed.
“And how did they kill you? By shooting or bayoneting you or by decapitation. And in one instance, burying the soldier alive. The March was the beginning of 3½ years of hell. If you survived the Bataan Death March, you were then sent to Japan on old Japanese freighters [Hell Ships] whose military officers refused to place Red Cross or POW markings on the ships — thereby making them targets for American submarines and air force fighter planes.
Lester Tenney
If you survived the Bataan Death March, the POW camp in the Philippines and the ship to Japan, you were then placed into forced labor with some of Japan’s leading industrial giants and required to work their mines, on their docks or in their factories.
Hospital building at POW camp # 17
“The companies failed to feed us adequately, failed to take care of our medical needs and failed to stop the physical abuse that was orchestrated and carried out by the civilian workers of those same Japanese companies. The everyday beatings with shovels, hammers and pick-axes caused severe lifetime injuries to those of us who survived.”
A more recent photo of Mr. Tenney
Mr. Tenney’s WWII profile lists: Camp O’Donnell, Camp Cabanatuan, and the Fukuoka camp # 17, Matsui coal mine. He has written his autobiography in “My Hitch in Hell.” The story and information in this post is from: CNN.com and www. CVCRA. org.
Book cover of “My Hitch in Hell” released in Japan.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – Rivalries___
Silent Observer
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Farewell Salutes –
Albert Adler – Brooklyn, NY; US Navy, Quartermaster, USS Ault
James Brickel – DC & FL; US Air Force, LtGeneral, pilot, Silver Star, Air Force Cross
Amerigo “Mickey” Dezuzio – Paterson, NJ, US Army
John Farley – Saskatoon, CAN; RC Navy, WWII
Lewis Johns – Middlemore, NZ; RNZ Air Force # 442756
Glen Noel – Portland, OR; US Army, WWII
Judith Stinson – Sydney, AUS; Australian Army Nursing Corps
George Storch – Chicago, IL; US Army, WWII
Paul Tidwell Jr. – Delray, FL; US Air Force, Korea
Raimond Winslow – Falmouth, ME; USMC, WWII, PTO, 1st Marine Division
Bernard Zimmerman – Palos Park, IL; US Army, WWII, Signal Corps
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From those that were there… (3)
Richard Gordon, MP, 1942
Richard M. Gordon was born and raised in NYC’s neighborhood called “Hell’s Kitchen” and when asked where he preferred to serve, the Philippines or Panama, he chose the point on the map farthest away from the ‘old neighborhood.’ Gordon was originally with F Company/31st US Infantry Regiment, but was transferred to help form a new unit, the 12th MPs, the only Philippine Scout Unit with both American and Filipino enlisted men. He made a point to start his interview off with ___
“I was captured – I did not surrender. Most of my fellow soldiers felt as I did – that we could not lose. We believed it was just a question of when the promised reinforcements would arrive. We were lied to – but by Washington, not by General Douglas MacArthur.
12th MP Brass
“We never knew defeat was imminent until our commanding general told us he had surrendered. At the time, no one believed him, and when they found out it was true, many were in tears. We felt we indeed had been ‘expendable.’ During a later prison camp session held by our Bataan garrison CO, MGen. Edward P. King, Jr., before he was shipped out to Mukden, Manchuria, he told us we had been asked to lay down a bunt to gain time. The baseball metaphor was probably the best way to explain why we were there in the first place.
“Gen. Lough gave us the word of our unit’s surrender. After hearing this, we camped in combat positions on Mount Bataan, known at the time as Signal Hill. A small group of us went farther up the mountain, in an effort to avoid surrender. Several days passed with no sign of the enemy. Hungry and in need of provisions, Cpl. Elmer Parks [of Oklahoma] and I volunteered to drive down the hill to our last position in search of supplies. Elmer was driving and I was riding shotgun in a Dodge pickup truck. We gathered up a number of Garand M1 rifles and decided to go a little farther down the road.
The Mariveles, today
“…we came upon a huge banyan tree, so large it served as a road divider. As we approached, a lone Japanese soldier holding a rifle stepped out from behind it. Elmer stopped the truck and we stared at one another. The thought of attempting to run occurred to both of us, as did the thought of picking up one of the M1s. But neither of us did a thing other than stare at the Japanese soldier. Finally, he motioned to us to get out of the truck.
“At that moment, 10 -15 more Japanese came out of the brush. They surely had us in their sights all the time. These were front-line troops, scouring the area for enemy resistance. They took turns hitting us with the butts of their rifles. We were searched and any valuables we had – were taken. On our way down the mountain I saw our battalion commander, Major James Ivy, bare from the waist up and dead with countless bayonet holes in his back.
Richard Gordon
“Walking down that mountain…where the road leveled off into the West Road of Bataan…That night was so dark and confused that I immediately lost contact with Elmer. I assumed he had died. I never saw him again – until a reunion 47 years later at Fort Sill, OK.”
Richard Gordon remained a POW until the end of the war, but continued his military career and retired a Major in the U.S. Army. He is the founder of the Battling Bastards of Bataan Group. Major Gordon passed away 26 July 2003 and is buried at Arlington Cemetery. The information here was compiled from both the Philippine Scout Heritage Society and historynet.com
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updated Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Richard Bissette – Essey Junction, VT; (’42) US Coast Guard, WWII; (’46) USMC; US Army, Korea, Sgt. Major, (Ret. 34 combined years)
Walter Figg Jr. – Louisville, KY; US Army, WWII
Walter Geisinger – Springfield, VA; US Air Force, LtColonel, (Ret.)
Earl Knight – Yuma, AZ; US Army, WWII
James MacRae – Mount Prospect, IL; US Army, WWII, 14th Armored Div.
Irvine Mitchell – Hamilton, NZ; RNZ Air Force # 421748, WWII, pilot
James Schwantes – Mayville, WI, US Army, WWII
Kenneth Tobin – Kingia AUS; 5th Australian Army
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A rough background …
THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN MY FATHER’S 100TH BIRTHDAY – FOR THOSE OF YOU NEW TO THIS SITE – SMITTY AND HIS 11TH AIRBORNE DIVISION ARE THE REASON THIS WEBSITE EXISTS – PLEASE MEET OR RE-ACQUAINT YOURSELF WITH MY FATHER.
Pvt. Everett “Smitty” Smith, Camp MacKall, NC
RE-POSTED IN HONOR OF SMITTY’S 100TH BIRTHDAY
Everett Smith was born Dec. 12, 1914 and grew up across from the gentle waves of Jamaica Bay on an island one mile long and barely four blocks wide. This was the tight-knit community of Broad Channel, New York. He resided with his mother
young Everett and Mother, Anna
Anna on peaceful East 9th Road and spent his days between school, working and helping to care for his grandmother. Everett’s nickname had always been “Smitty” and so, the name of his fishing station came to be. In 1939, at 24 years of age, he married a woman named Catherine and she joined the Smith household.
boats on Jamaica Bay from Smitty’s Boat Station
News of Hitler and his rise to power filtered into the newspapers and radio, but the Smith’s still had the memories of WWI and…
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From those that were there… (2)
Photos in Mr. Coloma’s collection
Elias Coloma was a Filipino scout when the war started. The following is part of Mr. Coloma’s story.
“You’d hear boom-boom-boom,” the forward observer said in his interview. “And wherever those shells dropped, they killed someone because we were too many people all in one place.” Four months it lasted. When C-rations ran out, Coloma’s 86th Field Artillery Battalion ate horses. Then monkeys. Then Grass. Then weeds. “The shelling was continuous. Night and day.”
“At first it [the march] didn’t seem so bad. The Japanese told me I could walk home, so I followed the endless line of men in the road. We began to realize it was really different when the weak people were pulled off the side of the road and short or bayoneted.
Luzon, P.I., Bataan Death March
“Sometimes the guard would open their mouth with a weapon and shoot them. We marched without sleeping. In the hot sun we marched and at night we marched. No food and no water, okay? No rest. If there was mud on the side of the road, we’d try to drink from it. If there was wild rice, we’d pick the grain and put it in our pocket. Sometimes the guard would allow it. Sometimes they’d tie the prisoner to a tree and shoot him – Boom – as an example.
“I told myself, ‘I will survive.’ I wanted to go home. On the 5th day we were crammed into boxcars in San Fernando. No one could sit down. When the doors finally opened in Capas, the survivors marched 9 more miles to Camp O’Donnell. I was lucky,” said Coloma [whose weight dropped from 130 to 70 pounds], “I kept an old meat can, not washed, clipped to my pants. With that, I ate a bowl of rice and a cup of water a day.
Sgt. Coloma
“In July, the Japanese transferred prisoners to another camp. A crowd of Filipino civilians waited outside the gate to watch the prisoners pass. One civilian pulled me out of line and threw a shirt over me. They took me village to village until I was home [in Guimba, in central Luzon]. Then I said, I’m free.
“I can’t describe it. All I had was a determination to survive, that’s all. I can’t say anymore.”
***
Elias Coloma went on to fight as a guerrilla with Major Robert Lapham and his Raiders throughout the war. He then re-joined the US Army which promoted him and brought him to America. He retired from active duty in 1962 as a Master Sergeant and rose to Captain in the reserves.
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MILITARY HUMOR – [updated style] –
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Farewell Salutes –
Victor Begovic – Browns Bay, NZ; British Merchant Navy # R339598
Frederick Drew – Glen Head, NY; US Army, 123rd Signal Batt,/3rd Infantry Div.
Gertrude Grace – Toronto, CAN; WAF, WWII
Earl Laube – Waukegan, IL; US Army, WWII, ETO
Alfred Martz – Jensen Beach, FL; US Navy, WWII & Korea
Robert McDow – Shawnee, OK; US Army Air Corps (2 yrs.) & US Air Force, Korea
Jess Wilson – McKee, KY; US Army Air Corps, WWII, aircraft sheet-metal mechanic
Richard Synder – Tucson, AZ; US Army Air Corps, WWII, (Ret. 20 yrs)
Ross Trower – Springfield, VA; US Navy, RAdm. Chaplin (Ret 38 yrs), Korea & Vietnam
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From those that were there…(1)
Bataan Death March
Captain William Dyess was a fighter pilot stationed on Luzon when the Japanese invaded. He offered a shockingly graphic account of the ordeal in the “Chicago Tribune” newspaper in 1943. Initially his story was censored, but cleared for publication when the war effort turned to retaking the Philippines. The captain was one of a handful that escaped captivity. The following is only a portion of Capt. Dyess’ story, due to the length of the series and the truly atrocious episodes related, I have chosen what I feel is best. The entire length can be located in “Combat, WWII Pacific” edited by Don Congdon.
Willian Edwin Dyess
About a mile east of the hospital [at Little Baguio] we encountered a major traffic jam. On either side of the congested road hundreds of Jap soldiers were unloading ammunition and equipment. Our contingent of more than 600 American and Filipino prisoners filtered through, giving the Japs as wide a berth as the limited space permitted. This was to avoid being searched, slugged, or pressed into duty as cargadores [burden carriers]. Through the swirling dust we could see a long line of trucks, standing bumper to bumper. There were hundreds of them. And every last one was an American make. I saw Fords – which predominated – Chevrolets, GMCs and others. These were not captured trucks. They bore Jap army insignia and had been landed from the ships of the invasion fleet. It is hard to describe what we felt at seeing these familiar American machines, filled with jeering, snarling Japs. It was sort of super-sinking feeling. We had become accustomed to having American iron thrown at us, but this was a little too much.
LtColonel Willian Dyess
It was dark when we marched across Bataan field, which with Cabcaben field I had commanded two days before. It was difficult walking in the darkness. Now and again we passed the huddled forms of men who had collapsed from fatigue or had been bayoneted. I didn’t kid myself that I was safe simply because I was keeping up with the pace. The bloodthirsty devils now were killing us for diversion. Skulking along, a hundred yards behind our contingent, came a “clean-up squad.” Their helpless victims, sprawled darkly against the white of the road, were easy targets. As members of the murder squad stooped over each huddled form, there would be an orange flash in the darkness and a sharp report. The bodies were left where they lay, that other prisoners coming behind us might see them.
William Dyess’ ribbons
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Most popular guy in camp
Target Practice
Cartoon postcards are courtesy of Chris @ Muscleheaded, CLICK HERE to see his site. ################################################################################ For those people looking for a Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day post, I felt I did not know what to add to last year’s – which can be located HERE! ############################################################################### Current news –
USS Kailua (Dickenson)
USS Kailau historical site
The cable ship, Dickenson, was chartered by the US Navy after Pearl Harbor and renamed the USS Kailau. Her remains have recently been located lying intact 20 miles from Oahu in 2,000 feet of water by the Hawaii Research Laboratory & the NOAA. Her initial use was to keep global telecommunications open and later she became the target for submarine periscope practice, but her resting place was never marked. ################################################################################# Farewell Salutes – Justus Belfield – Utica, NY; US Army, MSgt., WWII, ETO Albert Bueler – Farmington, NH; US Coast Guard, Vietnam
Theophile Chusty, Jr – Baton Rouge, LA; US MC, Cpl., WWII Albert Debreceny – Taranaki, NZ; NZ Ammunition Corps, Sgt., WWII Robert Glod, Sr – Schaumburg, IL; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Kitkun Bay Florence Hutchison – Edmonton, CAN; RC Navy, WWII Joseph Lapka – Woodland, PA; US Army, WWII, PTO Philip Mack Jr – Seattle, WA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, *th Air Force, B-17 co-pilot Leon Reed – Jupiter, FL; US Air Force, Col. (Ret.), Vietnam, fighter pilot (189 missions) , 559 Tactical Fighter Sq/ 12th Wing Elias Saavedra – San Rafael, NM; New Mexico National Guard, Bataan survivor ##############################################################################
Pacific Paratrooper 