May 1943 (3) + Japanese Diary

Australian Hospital ship, Centaur

12-25 May – Churchill and FDR attended the Trident Conference of Allied war leaders in Washington D.C.  They then retreated to “Shangri-La” (now known as Camp David), while the military heads continued their heated debates.  Despite American assurance of retaining the “Germany First” policy, the British insisted that the Pacific was diverting too much away from Europe.  FDR, this time, did not bow to Churchill’s demands and the US would dictate the Pacific policy.

FDR and Churchill at ‘Shangri-La’ during Trident Conference

15 May – the Australian hospital ship HMAS Centaur, clearly marked as a medical vessel, was torpedoed and sank off the Brisbane coast.  More than 260 people were lost; there were only 63 survivors.

31 May – American and Chinese aviators shot down 20 Japanese fighters in a short aerial battle over Ichang, Hunan Province.

The restoration of the American flag over Attu brought a renewed furor in the United States for MacArthur to run for president in the 1944 election.  The general backed out of the political scene, but used the homeland views to renew his call for heavier action in the Pacific.  Adm. King was in agreement.  Churchill became anxious began calling FDR once again on a regular basis.

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I have left this post shorter than most to give you time to read – Diary of a Japanese Army Doctor, who died on Attu, May 1943

Introduction by Rodney A. Smith

The following is an accurate transcription, including spelling errors, of the US Army’s
translation of a Japanese diary found on a dead Japanese doctor after the Battle of Attu, Alaska.
I found this document in my mother-in-law’s papers after she died, so I do not know how she got it,
but she lived in Alaska during WWII, and her husband was in the Army.

Additional notes are found in the right margin and at the end of this webpage along with a map of the battlefield.

Rod Smith

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Brrr – Cold Humor – 

WAKE UP !!!!

Click on images to enlarge.

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Farewell Salutes – 

Donald Crossett – Washington Iowa; US Army (Ret. 26 years), WWII, ETO

Silverio D’Arco – brn: Ponza, Italy, Neshanic, NJ; US Navy, Korea, USS Essex, Fighter Sq. 73

John Estelle – Port Jefferson, NY; US Army

Eugene Hilfiger – Troy, PA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 675th Artillery

John Jones – Yucaipa, CA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 457th Artillery

Francis Lander – Macquarie Park, AUS; RA Army, Vietnam, 8 Field Ambulance

Christy Romero – Denver, CO; US Army, WWII, ETO,157th Inf. Div.

Vard Roper – Orem, UT; US Army, Korea, 187th Reg.

Charles Sharp – Whangaret, NZ; RAF # 157688, WWII, F/Lt.

Gale Tye – Griswold, IA; US Navy, WWII

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