Monthly Archives: June 2015
When Making A Car Was Illegal
The last Packard, 1942
This was originally published as a Guest Post for Judy Hardy at Greatest Generation Lessons.
After Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt ordered all car manufacturers to cease the production of private automobiles and convert the factories to produce military vehicles, weaponry, airplane engines, parts, etc. But, this would not put an end to man’s love affair with the automobile. A car manual became priceless to a private owner and a truck manual was an absolute necessity for a farmer or businessman. With the rationing of gasoline in the U.S., the “National Victory Speed” was 35 mph and driving clubs were encouraged. (Our modern day car-pools).
The news spread around the world.
Automobiles were produced in massive quantities before the Great Depression and this brought the price down considerably. Then, the stock market crashed and many people were unable to afford the fuel for the cars they already owned. There were some that removed the engines from their vehicles and had a horse pull them. These were nicknamed “Bennett Buggies” in some areas.
“Bennett Buggie”
FDR gave a long-winded speech on 28 April 1942 called the “Call for Sacrifice,” where he stated, “…Not all of us have the privilege of fighting our enemies in distant parts of the world. Not all of us can have the privilege of working in a munitions factory or a shipyard, or on the farms or in oil fields or mines… There is one front where everyone is in action and that is right here at home and that is the privilege of denial.” (Can any of us even imagine what would eventuate from a statement like that today?) It was not until June that civilian truck production ceased, except some tightly government controlled heavy trucks produced during 1944 by GMC.
Packard was known as a “company of premier luxury cars.” In 1937, they introduced their first 6-cylinder engine since 1928 – right in time for the ’29 Depression, so they designed the “110” model in 1940-41 to serve as taxi cabs. With the onset of war, air plane engines, such as the Merlin that powered the P-51 Mustang fighter were produced. Many American and British PT boats were equipped with the Packard 1350-, 1400-, and 1500 horsepower V-12 marine engines. During this era, the company also produced ambulances and other military vehicles. All in all, 60,000 combined engines were built by Packard.
GMC had produced nearly 584,000 multi-drive vehicles for use in WWII, the first of which was the amphibious 6×6 “Ducks.” These were sent to the Army for island landings and river crossings. Over 21,000 of these unique vehicles were produced. GMC also built the first 2 ½ ton 6×6 trucks powered by a 270 cid engine which became the famous “workhorse” of the Army.
“Duck”
The Ford Corporation during 1942-45 built approximately 8,600 of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers. They also produced aircraft engines, M-4 tanks, spare parts and the ever-famous Jeep. In England, the Dagenham plant built the Ford military trucks, Bren-gun carriers and more than 30,000 super-charged V-12 engines for the Mosquito and Lancaster bombers.
The transportation department of the U.S. Army performed monumental feats during WWII. They moved tons of food, weapons, equipment and men despite gasoline, oil and lubricants being in short supply. If one delves deeper into this research, they find that Congress was not always willing to loosen the government’s purse strings. As I have mentioned previously on my site, Europe received the majority of the supplies, hence their slogan, “Europe First.” (But, even the ETO had shortages.) I have two specific reports stating that my father’s unit, the 11th Airborne Division while fighting in the Pacific, could not reach the city of Manila before the Sixth Army due to the lack of trucks.
Since the first automobile sputtered down the street and caught up to a horse, men have defined themselves by their vehicles, showing their cars off with pride and affection. They wash them, wax them and individualize them. It becomes an extension of himself – whereas a woman does the same routine for her home.
The ever-reliable car manual during the WWII era was a lifeline keeping farmers connected to markets, businessmen to their offices and factory workers to their jobs. What you had, you were forced to maintain or learn to do without. Just try to picture it – a world without rent-a-cars or gas stations at every intersection, no leasing contracts for new cars, no power windows or GPS or Blue Tooth… What do you see?
Jeep ambulance from the David Dunham Collection
Research & Photo Resources:
Military History Online; Internet History Sourcebooks; Ford Corp./history; History of Packard; From the Great Depression to WWII; Wikipedia; Classic Car History; Fine Art America; Lopez Transport 1941; Surrey Vintage Vehicle Society; GMC Trucks
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Deacon Cresswell – Boynton Bch, FL; US Air Force, Korea, 50th Troop Carrier Wing
Gordon Keats – Victoria, CAN; RC Navy, WWII
Kirk Kerkorian – Fresno, CA; RAF Ferry Command, WWII, 33 Mosquitoes from Canada to U.K.
Donnell Nasseth – Valley City, ND; US Navy, WWII, Pharmacist Mate 1st Class
Mary Petrozzi – Wolfeboro, NH; US WAVE, WWII, nurse
Raymond Reitze – Scarborough, ME; US Army, WWII, POW
Bryan Smith – Beverton, OR; US Army Air Corps, WWII, 457th Artillery Reg/11th Airborne
Earl Turner – Lancaster, CA; US Army, Korea, 187th RCT
William VanMatre – Green River, WY; US Navy (Ret. 25 years), Master Chief
Alvin Wagner – Broad Channel, NY; US Army, WWII
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British Armed Forces Day/ US PTSD Month & Day
WE SALUTE YOU!
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British Humour –
WWII
WWI humour
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Click on to read, thank you.
PTSD Awareness Month is June, today the 27th is the U.S. National PTSD Day
If for any reason you feel you have been affected or wish to check for assistance in knowing more, please contact HERE!! 
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Let’s get our children interested in history!!! Don’t let them think this way!!!
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Observations of Guadalcanal
Nov. 4, 1942: Two alert U.S. Marines stand beside their small tank on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands during World War II. The military tank was used against the Japanese in the battle of the Tenaru River during the early stages of fighting. (AP Photo)
Captain J.L. Zimmerman, USMC, a staff officer interviewed by an Army Intelligence officer shortly after the height of fighting ___
He ( the Japanese soldier) fought as an individual, as well and as bravely as any warrior the world has ever see; he bore privation and hardship that would have put out of action most of the troops of the Allied forces, and in spite of those hardships and privation, he attacked with determined ferocity whenever he came in contact with the American troops. In attack, he was single minded and reckless of his life; in defense he was bitterly tenacious.
This was first published in Historical Division, USMC
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3rd Defense Batt. fire a 90mm antiaircraft gun, Guadalcanal
Major Frank Hough, USMC
The Japanese High Command was full of surprises and paradoxes. The officer class was thoroughly professional and had been for generations, yet they proved grossly negligent or ignorant in several matters which the armies of other nations considered military fundamentals.
One – combat intelligence. Although the prewar espionage system was a model of far-reaching thoroughness, their officers in the field were nearly always without accurate knowledge and seemed incapable of gaining such knowledge.
Security, both internal and external… Troops went into combat carrying diaries, maps of their destinations and even orders outlining in detail the action. Prisoners of war talked freely… They had never been taught differently; their officers having ordered them to die rather than be captured.
Japanese soldier throws a type 91 grenade, Guad.
Troop security… Columns marched through unknown country shouting and jabbering at the top of their lungs… Operations were either impromptu affairs without adequate preparation or planned in such elaborate detail as to be unworkable under combat conditions. Their only tactical innovation was the development of infiltration.
Their idea of winning battles was to achieve surprise or overwhelm by numbers… These means failing, they abandoned tactics for trickery. ie. feign surrender to get close enough to blow their captors…booby trapped our dead as well as their own…English speaking Japanese tapped field lines in order to issue false orders…snipers yelling “Corpsman!” in order to lure men to their death.
Officers and men alike were essentially attack-minded. Despite its general nature, the Guadalcanal campaign, save for its opening and closing phases, had been basically a Japanese offensive… It might be said that Japan’s greatest military achievement of the war was the conversion of a fighting force imbued for generations with the philosophy of attack into what were quite likely the most stubborn defensive fighters in military history…unfortunately for us, is exactly what the Japanese became as the war moved westward.
by: Capt. Donald Dickson – how he saw the Marines as they left Guadalcanal
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Today is the anniversary of the start of the Korean War – TO ALL THE VETERANS – Your countries salute you!!
My post for the start of the war – CLICK HERE!
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Military Humor – ala Sad Sack
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Farewell Salutes –
Samuel Brass – Kennebunk, ME; US Navy, WWII, Korea, Cuba, Commander
Vincent Crocker – Rutland, VT; US Army, WWII, ETO, 265 Combat Engineers
Amund “Frank” Fulmer – Overgaad, AZ; US Navy, WWII, PTO
Martin Herman – IA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 188 reg/11th A/B DIv., Pfc
William Keel – Marietta, WA; USMC, WWII
Jack Lance – Hicksville, NY; US Army Air Corps, WWII, B-17 gunner
Verna Loverock – Comox, CAN; CW Army Corps, WWII
Louis Porreco – Erie, PA; US Army, 82nd A/B
Jamal Rhett – Palmyra, NJ; US Army, Iraq, Sgt., 25th Infantry Div.
Todd Thomson – Hamilton, VA; US Army, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lt. Colonel, Bronze Star
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The Lost, Last Letter
A VMSB-231 SBD over Guadalcanal, late 1942.
Frank Christen grew up on a Depression-Era farm just outside of tiny Jerseyville, Illinois, graduating from the high school there in 1938 at age 19. He scraped enough together to continue his education at Washington College in St. Louis, then transferred to the University of Texas at Austin. In June 1941, he enlisted in the USNR and was accepting into the flight training program. He learned to fly at Grand Prairie, Texas and graduated the following year from NAS Corpus Christi on May 20, 1942. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Marine Corps and assigned to VMSB-142, a Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombing squadron.
While at the University of Texas, Frank had met Ruth Clark of Corning, New York. He and Ruth were married on July 30, 1942 just before he was assigned to NAS Coronado in San Diego. The couple lived…
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Japanese Views
‘Shrine Entrance in Snowstorm’ by Tosuke S.
Despite some common belief and wartime propaganda, not all the Japanese people wanted war with either America or England. Here are some quotes located to help clarify that misconception.
The following quotes have been taken from Saburo Ienaga’s “Pacific War” (Taiheiyo senso) translated by Frank Baldwin.
In the midst of the excitement and successful sinking of the US fleet at Pearl Harbor, Onozuka Kiheiji, former president of the Tokyo Imperial University, whispered to a colleague, “This means that Japan is sunk too.” ___ Ienaga Miyako
Onozuka Kiheiji
This was true for even those members of the political elite who belonged to the cautious school of thought, made their point of view at the Senior Statesmen’s Conference by, Wakatsuki Reijiro: “Do we have adequate resources for a long war or not? I am concerned about this problem.” Yonai Mitsumasa added, “In attempting to prevent Japan from being gradually weakened and reduced to a minor power, the government should be very careful that the result is not our rapid defeat and destruction.” Premier Tojo tired of such talk and refused to listen any further. He gave his standard reply, “Please, trust in the government.”
Yonai Mitsumasa
Concerning Midway – “…defeat was unthinkable in the early months … Disaster was equally swift and overwhelming. The attack on Midway Island, planned by Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet, Yamamoto Isoroku, an instant military genius after his Pearl Harbor feat, was carried out despite strong staff objections. An American carrier squadron surprised the Japanese fleet and sank 4 irreplaceable carriers on one day… a catastrophic loss. ___ Fuchida Mitsuo and Okumiya Masatake in “Middoue”
Fuchida Mitsuo
“US Forces landed on Guadalcanal 7 August 1942. The Japanese garrison, its air supremacy gone and its food supplies cut off, was reduced to starvation. After suffering enormous casualties, Japanese forces abandoned the island on 31 December 1942. The retreat was disguised as a ‘strategic withdrawal.’ but this still gave the public the first sign of defeat.” ___ Saburo Ienaga
Saburo Ienaga
The following poem was taken from “Gadarukanaru – sen shishu,” (Poems from the Battle of Guadalcanal), by Yoshida Kashichi, a non-commissioned officer who survived. It was published in “Showa senso bungaku zenshu“, Vol. 6
No matter how far we walk
We don’t know where we’re going
Trudging along under dark jungle growth
When will this march end?
Japanese POWs on Guadalcanal
Hide during the day
Move at night
Deep in the lush Guadalcanal jungle
Our rice is gone
Eating roots and grass
Along the ridges and cliffs
Leaves hide the trail, we lose our way
Stumble and get up, fall and get up
Covered with mud from our falls
Blood oozes from our wounds
No cloth to bind our cuts
Flies swarm to the scabs
No strength to brush them away
Fall down and cannot move
How many times I’ve thought of suicide.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
George Brodie – Palm Bch Gardens, FL; US Army, WWII, ETO, 533rd Heavy Tank Maint., Bronze Star
Farewell
Frank Bogard – AK; US Army, Korea, Vietnam, Bronze Star, Med-Corps
Charles Farrell – Indianapolis, IN; US Air Force, Korea
Frank Jarvis – Hamilton, NZ; FAA # 8739, WWII
Gordon Keats – Victoria, CAN; RC Navy, WWII
Lloyd Martin Sr. – Fayetteville, NY; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, P-47 pilot, POW
Frank Quinn – Denver, CO; US Army, WWII, PTO
Joseph Riley – Grove City, OH; US Army, 1 Batt/508 Parachute Inf.Reg/3rd Brig. Combat Team/82nd A/B
Leroy Tilley – Greencastle, IN; US Army, WWII & Korea
Edward Wojtowicz – Joliet, IL; US Navy, WWII, PTO Alaska & Korea
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United States Navy – Naval Construction Battalion 26 – Guadalcanal 1942-3
Jed has an excellent video of the creation of the SeaBees – to – Guadalcanal – and ending with the photo album put together by the men themselves.
Here is my rendition of the US Navy’s “SeaBee’s” working uniform while working on the Henderson Field airstrip on Guadalcanal in December 1942 and on into 1943. It was based off of original home footage shot by the men themselves.
Background:
The US Navy did not have construction men in its’ ranks at the start of the war. Later on after enlisting a number of veteran construction men, the Navy formed CB’s or Construction Battalions. These men were to military trained to build, and fight. Prior to this, the government was forced to use contractors, or civilians, for their construction needs. After the creation the NCB units, the nickname “SeaBee’s” came from the initials, and thus a legend was born. Made famous by John Wayne in the movie “The Fighting Seabees”, the unit became well known.
Equipment
Here I am wearing the US Army “1st Pattern” coveralls, USN issued white underwear…
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Fiji Guerrillas
The first Fiji Commandos.
The first Fijian force to undertake service in the Solomons was a special party of 23 guerrillas, commanded by Capt. D.E. Williams, which was drawn from commando units formed as part of the New Zealand 3rd Division and retained in Fiji after the division’s departure. Williams had Lt. D. Chambers as his second-in-command and sergeants S.I. Heckler, L.V. Jackson, F.E. Williams, R.H. Morrison and M.V. Kells as section leaders.
They reached Guadalcanal via the New Hebrides and disembarked at Lunga Beach on 23 December 1942. The Japanese garrison was then still fighting desperately along the Matanikau River/Koli Point line and the American command employed the Fijians to probe the wooded country behind the enemy garrison.
Fiji Commandos with their New Zealand commander.
The first patrol, led by Heckler on Christmas Day, was uneventful, but on the 28th, a small patrol led by Sgt. Williams, acting as scouts for the 182nd US Infantry Regiment, wiped out a Japanese patrol at short range – without loss or injury – on the left bank of the Lunga River. This action was fought with grenades, rifles and revolvers on sloping ground round the massive, tangled roots of a banyan tree. This was a characteristic of swift individual action which spelled victory in a type of warfare these men were fighting for the first time.
The Ol’ Officer’s Mess
The guerrillas wore camouflaged American jungle suits, the green and blotched material to make it difficult to spot the soldier among the tangled growth of the jungle. New Zealand Army boots were preferred to the soft rubber-soled jungle boot and had a longer life span. Arms were varied and consisted of Owen guns, rifles, revolvers and hand grenades. The men carried sufficient rations to last them for at least 5 days.
To remain mobile, these men carried as little personal gear as possible, consequently suffering from the unmerciful attention of the mosquitoes. Patrols sometimes worked only 100 yards apart but were unaware of the existence of each other. Malaria played havoc with these parties, especially during a period of heavy activity.
As the Japanese force fall back in January and February of 1943, we will once again pick up the information on brave men, who continue to produce vital intelligence while they create havoc among the enemy. Their contributions become so valuable, MGen. Alexander Patch, commander of Guadalcanal, would request additional Fiji troops.
I thank Gallivanta (Ann) at Silkannthreades for sending the link of NZETC.victoria.ac.nz so that we could acquire the information.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – when all else fails –
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Farewell Salutes –
Paul Bobitz – Lake Worth, FL; US Army, 82nd A/B, Army Band
Donald Connett – Mulalla, OR; US Navy, WWII, Admiral, USS Columbia; Shangri La
Benjamin Fisher – Vancouver, CAN; RC Army, WWII, ETO
Mae Glassbrenner – Pittsburgh, PA; US Army WAC/USMC Medical Corps, WWII, ETO
Wyatt Martin – Mesa, AZ; US Army, Afghanistan
Henry Myles – Auckland, NZ; RNZ Army # 48702, WWII, Sgt.
George Poulos – Chicago, IL; US Army, WWII
Robert Shiffner – Warton, NJ; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Med.Co./221st Reg.
Edward Slaga – Flint, MI; US Army, Korea, 187th RCT
Robert Wilkinson – Andover, MA; US Air Force
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Fear not dear mother – Blue Maiden
Eric brought us these stories over 3 years ago, but I never forgot them. While the events of the Pacific transpired, other parts of the world suffered…….
Whenever soldiers trudged through the rubber plantations, Siva would run after the men, calling – “Johnny” or “Tommy”.
Then the Japanese brought the war to Malaya and many Australian stragglers took refuge in the jungles. They crept out to scavenge food from the locals.
Siva persuaded his mother, Neela Kanni, to spare whatever they could from their meagre store. Late at night, he would pick his way to the jungle fringe and leave baked tapioca wrapped in banana leaves. One morning, a scrap of paper held down by a stone, greeted him:
“Thanks mate!”
With a broad smile, Siva ran home with the treasured gift held close to his heart.
About two weeks later, sharp raps on the door startled the household. It was five in the morning. Siva’s father opened the door to four Sikh policemen, who emerged from the ghostly fog. They were apologetic but had come for Siva and his father – on Japanese demands.
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December 1942 (3)
“Extraordinary Incident” by Roy Hodgkins, 1943
NEW GUINEA
The Wirraway, an Aboriginal word meaning ‘challenge’, was a trainer designed aircraft classified as ‘general purpose’ and was equipped with machine guns and bomb racks. The Commonwealth Aircraft Corp.’s plant at Fisherman’s Bend in Victoria produced 755 of these planes. They were most successful as army cooperation aircraft during the Papua New Guinea campaign.
Archer and Coulston
On 26 December 1942, Pilot Officer John Archer, 4 Squadron RAAF, shot down a Japanese fighter, believed at the time to be a Mitsubishi ‘Zero’ from his Wirraway. As soon as he landed at Popondetta airstrip in Papua on 12 December, Archer jumped from his Wirraway A20-103 to tell the Control Officer that he had shot down an enemy plane.
Archer and Coulston
Despite the Control Officer’s disbelief, Archer described the incident and soon phone calls from observers all around the Gona area confirmed that story. He and his observer, Sgt. J.F. Coulston, had been flying a tactical reconnaissance mission over a Japanese ship which had been wrecked in the sea off Gona. When they sighted the ‘Zero’ 1,000 feet below, Archer dove on the Japanese aircraft and fired a long burst from the Wirraway’s 2 Vickers .303 machine-guns. The Zero crashed into the sea.
PO John Archer receives US Silver Star from Gen. Whitehead, 1943
For his actions, John Archer received the US Silver Star from BGen. Ennis C. Whitehead, the Commanding General of Allied Air Forces in New Guinea in a ceremony performed at Buna in 1943. Archer’s Wirraway is now in the Bradbury Aircraft Hall at the Australian War Memorial.
Information taken from WW2 Australia.gov.au
Click on images to enlarge.
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MTB RON 3, 1942
GUADALCANAL
PT Boat activity report for the evening of 11/12 December 1942 –
Radio intelligence issued a warning that detailed the composition, timing and destination of tonight’s Express, along with a possible submarine off Kamimbo Bay. As Tanaka’s Reinforcement Unit completed dropping 1,200 drums of supplies into the sea, PTs 40,45 & 59 attacked the Japanese ships. One torpedo from Lt. Gamble’s PT-45 ripped into flagship Teruzuki, killing 9 men, crippling the ship, wounding Tanaka and forcing the enemy to abandon and scuttle the destroyer 3 hours later.
IJN Teruzuki
PT-44 & 109 both attempted torpedo runs on a group of Japanese ships, but shells from the Kawakaze and Suzukaze destroyed the 44 boat and forced PT-109 to run behind a smoke screen. Two officers and seven enlisted men were KIA in 44’s destruction; one officer and 1 other crewman survived. Of the 1,200 drums of supplies, only 220 reached Japanese hands. When this fact was reported to VAdm. Matome Ugaki, Chief of Staff of the Combined Fleet, the admiral privately questioned whether or not the 17th Army was hoarding supplies.
Resouce: PT King. gdine.com
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Richard Bligh – Oneonta, NY & FL; US Navy, USS Forestal
Abraham Bookman – Ottawa, CAN; RC Army, WWII
Glenn Crockett – Ft. Worth, TX; US Army, Korea, 187th RCT
Martin Hambright – Denver, CO; US Navy, WWII
Joseph Kalivoda – Freeport, IL; US Army, WWII, Signal Corps
Patricia Lukin – W.AUS; AWAS, WWII, gunner
Alan Murray – Christchurch, NZ; RNZ Air Force # 439935, WWII
Pierre Simon – Gibson, LA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, HQS/675th Artillery
Ronald Spicer – Havertown, PA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, 1th A/B Band
Gordon Torgerson – Maddock, ND; US Army, WWII, Military Police
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Personal Note – For the following few weeks we will be having posts that I call Intermission Stories. It is to give the reader a break from the month-by-month war report and spotlight on other issues, such as the home front. When we return to enter 1943, there will be more about Everett “Smitty” Smith and the 11th Airborne Division that is honored here at this website.
11th A/B Div. 1943 Yearbook
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Happy Flag Day! The Evolution of the American Flag [Video]
To coincide with previous discussions on a country’s changing flag… THIS EXPLAINS THE USA !!! And Happy Birthday to the ARMY !!!
Today is Flag Day, an annual observance of the Second Continental Congress’ official adoption of the stars and stripes in 1777. At the time, they “resolved that the flag of the 13 United States” be represented by 13 alternating red and white stripes and the union by 13 white stars in a blue field, “representing a new constellation.” Now, more than 200 years later and with an updated design, the flag is an American icon.
Pacific Paratrooper 