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.”

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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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