August 1944 (1)
1 August – it was announced that the Japanese resistance on Tinian had ceased. This came after costing the enemy 9,000 troops in its defense. This island would provide the Allies with an air base for long-range bombings in Japan.
On Guam, the US troops, in the midst of heavy combat, occupied Utano, Pado, Pulan and Matte. The aircraft bombings preceded them in the north to ease the men’s advance. This fighting had resulted in 1,022 KIA and 4,926 WIA. By the following day, half of the island was in US hands.
1-3 August – while the Nationalist Chinese territory was being reduced by the enemy in China, the Burma results were quite the opposite. After an 11-week blockade, the Japanese withdrew from Myitkyina and the US/Chinese troops moved in to occupy it. The Japanese commanding general of the 14th Army committed suicide as the surviving enemy soldiers retreated toward Mandalay.
This development shortened the Hump route into China and the supplies being air-lifted doubled. Generals Wingate and Stilwell viewed this as vindication for their-range penetration operations. [Between 26 May and 1 August 1944, the US 14th Air Force had carried out 4,454 missions in support of the Chinese forces in central China.]
From the INCPAC communiqué No. 106 –
“Air and surface units of a fast carrier task force on 3 August (West longitude dates), virtually wiped out a Japanese convoy and raided airfield, towns and ground installations in the Bonin and Volcano Island groups. Our planes sank 4 cargo ships of approximately 4,000 tons each, 3 escorting destroyers or escort destroyers and 4 barges. Our surface vessels sank one large destroyer, one cargo ship, one small oiler and several barges. One damaged vessel escaped.
“4 August our forces continued the sweep. In the attack on ground installations, our surface craft shelled shipping and shore facilities at Chichi lima. Omura Town on Chichi Jima was destroyed. At Iwo Jima, 6 airborne enemy planes were shot down and 6 others were destroyed and 5 others damaged on the ground. We lost 16 planes and 19 flight personnel to enemy antiaircraft fire.”
5 August – Japanese POWs attempted a massive break-out from Cowra POW Camp in Sydney, Australia. About 334 escaped and 3 Australian guards were killed. Machine-gun fire killed 234 inmates and injured 108 others.
8 August – a US submarine sank the enemy escort carrier IJN Oraka off the coast of Luzon. The USS Seawolf landed men on Palawan, P.I.
9-10 August – Japanese General Obata radioed Tokyo from Guam: “THE HOLDING OF GUAM HAS BECOME HOPELESS. I WILL ENGAGE THE ENEMY IN THE LAST BATTLE TOMORROW.” The following day, he committed suicide.
The RNZAF, despite political misunderstandings and red tape between governments, continued to be involved in the Pacific theater that was quite disproportionate to the nation’s size. At this point in the war, they had 7 squadrons on garrison duty in the Pacific while also supporting the European theater.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Thomas H. Armstrong – Pittsburgh, PA; UA Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne Div., Purple Heart, Bronze Star
Betty DeAngelo – Garza, TX; US Army Air Corps, WWII, teletype operator
William Foreman – Ashland, OH; US Navy, WWII. UDT (Underwater Demolition Team)
Robert Hecht Sr. Chicago, IL; US Navy, WWII & Korea, Lt.Commander
Kenneth Holmes – Invercargill, NZ; Green Howards # 14217181, WWII, POW # 142987
Lucas M. Lowe – Hardin, TX; US National Guard, aircraft maintenance
Wayne Minard – Furley, KS; US Army, Korea, Co. C/1st/9th/2nd Infantry Div., Cpl
Dustin L. Morteson – League City, TX; US National Guard, Chief Warrant Officer
Lee Thompson – Des Moines, IA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO
Paul Walter – Redstone, CO; US Army, WWII, Korea & Vietnam, Colonel (Ret.)
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Posted on January 2, 2017, in Uncategorized, WWII and tagged 1940's, Cowra POW Camp, family history, History, Military, Military History, veterans, war, WW2, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 63 Comments.
Thanks for this post gp, the Cowra break is still well remembered in Australia, a sad Australian legacy.
Cheers.
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Far too few people remembered it I’m afraid – so I was glad I brought the subject up.
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Gosh. Am only just catching up with your posts of the last month, and I didn’t realise you touched on the Cowra outbreak. I was tempted to reply to various comments already mentioned here, but that would take ages. I just spent a good hour trolling through all the photos stored on my laptop looking for photos of how it looks now, but I couldn’t find them. It’s been a while, and I can’t find a post either, so perhaps my last visit was before I started blogging. Yes, there certainly was a mass breakout, and you can imagine the confusion of the local people as it is a farming district several hundred kilometres from Sydney. It’s kind of a major rural district now, but small, around 10,000 people. You can imagine how sleepy and isolated it was in 1944. I have a tenuous personal link as the father-in-law of one of my neighbours served there, and she asked me to help find his military history. He was born in England, served in the English army, migrated to Australia, then re-enlisted in WWII. On account of his age, he was not sent overseas,and that is how he wound up in Cowra, and was present for the outbreak. One theory as to why they chose that moment to break out was that they were advised they were to be moved to another camp, at Hay. Whether they feared being shot, or thought it was too far from Sydney to escape, or whether it was something to do with honour, not surrendering to their fate, etc, etc – for whatever reason, they armed themselves and stormed the fences. Ultimately all who survived were re-captured.
For the true enthusiasts, here is a link to the official documentation:
http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs198.aspx
Today the site contains a memorial, elsewhere, Cowra maintains a Japanese cemetery, and there is a beautiful commemorative Japanese garden.
The event has been recorded in books and film. Here I copy and paste from Wikipedia for convenience:
1. Dead Men Rising, (1975), Angus & Robertson, ISBN 0-207-12654-2): a novel by Seaforth Mackenzie, who was stationed at Cowra during the breakout.
2. Die like the Carp: The Story of the Greatest Prison Escape Ever, (1978), Corgi Books, ISBN 0-7269-3243-4) by Harry Gordon.
3. The Cowra Breakout (1984): a critically acclaimed 4½-hour television miniseries, written by Margaret Kelly and Chris Noonan, and directed by Noonan and Phillip Noyce.
4. On That Day, Our Lives Are Lighter Than The Toilet Paper: The Great Cowra Breakout (English translation) あの日、僕らの命はトイレットペーパーよりも軽かった -カウラ捕虜収容所からの大脱走 (2008): a 2-hour TV-movie produced by Nippon Television as a 55th-anniversary special.
5. Barbed Wire and Cherry Blossoms, (2016), Simon & Schuster Australia, ISBN 9781925184846): an historical fiction by Dr Anita Heiss based on an escapee that hid in the nearby Aboriginal mission until the end of the war.
In response to growing up in the atomic age. Two grandchildren were here for a visit this week. The twelve year old has night terrors, and often slips into bed with his two years older sister. He fears a world catastrophe and is scared Trump will push the button. I tried to reason with him, explaining that, while this once was a fear that Lavinia Ross refers to, there is no valid reason for an Australian child today to be consumed with the same terror. I tried to console him that Trump cannot get the “code” all by himself, etc, etc. I even tried explaining the difference between a child growing up in Australia versus Syria, contrasting how we went about our daily lives. He wouldn’t be persuaded. Finally, all I could say was, stop using your Playstation!
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Thank you very much for all your additional information on Cowra – It is great to have an informed person and data handy for those interested in learning more. I appreciate you taking the time to bring this knowledge here for us!
Please assure your grandchildren that there are many checks and balances in play for the a-codes. They thought of those scenarios long ago. Remind them that Hillary supporters are acting like children in a temper tantrum and the media is enjoying reporting it all. And yes – Get out of the Playstation and take a hike in that magnificent country of yours!
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Thank you again for all these posts, GP. Learning more here than I did in school.
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I’m actually sorry to hear that. If this was a just world, it would merely be a rehashing of what you were already taught. Hopefully tis site will outlive me and people will continue to learn? At least Michael’s tree will be standing!
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Back then I think schools were more concerned with the Cold War and hiding under our desks, sorry to say.
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I remember doing that once. After seeing a picture of an A-bomb explosion, it didn’t seem logical that my wooden desk would do much of anything except collapsing on top of me. lol But people really did believe that there would be a nuclear war.
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Thanks for keeping history alive, GP. We all need to know our history and we should never forget all of the sacrifices made. Love those snowmen! Happy 2017 to you and yours!
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Thank you, Linda – it wouldn’t have been the same around here without you!! All the very best in 2017 for you and yours!!
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Thank you, GP, for your kindess and friendship!
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Aw, shucks!
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may I chime in, I agree with Linda exactly – thanks GP
🙂
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I am about to review WWII with a section of Recent World History students of mine before we jump into the Cold War. I feel like I’m negligent with the Pacific theater. This article is fascinating. Any ideas or suggestions for me to get a condensed history but more than an overview of Australia and the Pacific fleet in general? I could pull and create something if not now, then in the spring when our US History students will be exposed to WWII. You know so much more than I and I’d love to share your wealth of knowledge.
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First off – thanks for the compliment!! To use this blog, Cindy, I would recommend starting at the About page and go forward instead of going back to the beginning in Sept. 2012. But I fear, this might take too long for your class to muddle through. For a handy, easy to follow guide or even textbook, I suggest “The Pacific War Day By Day” by John Davison. It gives the basics and you can embellish whatever additional data from there. I located a used copy for you here…
http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-pacific-war-day-by-day_john-davison/749299/#isbn=0785827528
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Awesome, thank you, GP. I’ll get myself a copy.
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I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. It kicks you off with a good outline.
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There are many Australians who know nothing about the Cowra breakout. Thanks again for the great year of fascinating stories and remembrances.
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You are more than welcome. I just hope the WWII generation continue to be in the hearts and minds of the young ones coming up for a long time coming. Being as schools teach even less about it these days, I doubt that.
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I think people never learn a lesson out the war. That’s the reason we must tell all the horror again and again in respect of all the death soldiers all over the world.
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So true! Thank you for stopping by, Mary Lou.
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Very sad to think about all of the men away from their families at Christmas time. Also, happy new year to you!
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Thank you, I wish you the very best in 2017! Sad to say, many of our military are still away during this holiday season too.
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I was caught by your mention of the Seawolf. It made me curious, and I went looking for some history about our nearby Seawolf Park. It was named after a U.S. sub mistakenly sunk during WWII — could it have been the Seawolf you mentioned here?
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Yes, I’m afraid that is the same submarine. It’s good to know someone is still thinking of her crew. Thank you, Linda.
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Reblogged this on Ancien Hippie.
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Thank you, Penny, we’re starting off a New Year together, eh?!!
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Yes, New Year. Your posts are still great!
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So very nice of you to say!
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I didn’t realise that Japanese prisoners ever escaped in Australia. I just read a book about German POWs in Britain and there were one or two escapes, although the most striking thing about the camps in Britain is how the Nazis persisted with their looney tunes beliefs to the point of having kangaroo courts and executing their fellow prisoners. Hopefully, the Japanese escapers in Australia were caught eventually. They are not still out there!
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If they are, John, they’re pretty old and harmless.
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It’s amazing to read of the heavy toll the war was taking and then to realize we were a year away from its end. Thanks for continuing to bring us the stories from this tragic time and place.
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You are very welcome, Dan. I’m hoping the readers realize i am trying to explain how awful war is and all steps should be taken to avoid it. I want them to learn what it took to keep so many of us free and remember the generation that helped to change the world.
I have recently seen a post by someone who feels I’m re-hashing ancient history, but all history (IMO) needs to be learned and remembered.
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Considering that we only “learned” about the major battles and the stuff that the could make movies about, I’d say you’re doing a great service.
People forget that by the time most baby-boomers were in school, we were more focused on the cold war than WWII. For the most part, we didn’t even learn about Korea. I doubt we would have learned anything about Viet Nam if so many friends and family members weren’t getting drafted. We came very close to losing the freedom we cherish, and people should be reminded of that and how high very high a price that freedom cost. Most people only view history through Hollywood, and that’s a badly distorted view.
The TV shows of the 60s made WWII look like fun and games. One of the reasons I like the Twilight Zone is that Serling tried to tell/show the truth about war and about that war in particular.
Sorry for a blog-length comment, but…
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No problem with the length, Dan. You’ve made good points – expressed far better than I can. I appreciate you taking the time!!
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Heavy casualty especially with the massive breakout. Interesting post!
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Thanks, glad to see you survived the New Year!
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Yes, was a nice quiet day. Glad to see you survived, also!
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You present us some great looking snow men, GP Cox! 🙂
A big hug coming your way with the best wishes for 2017! x
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I do hope you enjoyed ringing in the New Year, Dina!! I got the hug – thank you very much!! 🙂
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Thanks for keeping this history alive and recorded for generations to come. I’m a peaceful soul so all these ceaseless wars sadden me. But it is still important to hear true stories of what happened.
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We are in so many endless wars now and I come up with posts on other war – I’ve got to hand it to you, Bev – you have stamina!! Thanks.
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Another very interesting roundup, GP. I had never heard of that Australian POW camp break.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I originally found it in Trove, the Australian newspaper archive. I don’t think I’ve read about it anywhere else. I appreciate you dropping by!
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Happy New Year! Looking forward to another year of Pacific Paratrooper!
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Thank you very much, John! That was a very nice thing to say!
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Apparently, officers didn’t get demoted in the Japanese military. They just committed suicide.
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I know what you mean, but they felt it worse to bring shame to their families. They were sometimes sent to China!
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Very interesting. My uncle, even though he is Vietnamese, fought as a tank commander for the Nationalist Chinese in Burma. He survived, but we don’t know what happened to him after the Chinese Communists took over the country.
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Very sad. I wonder if anyone would ever find out. War takes its toll on so many.
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Reading this, it’s hard to believe it took another year for the war to end.
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Isn’t that the truth?!! They sure were a formidable enemy!!
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Yes, if only we could have ended the war before Hiroshima.
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I wonder if people would so afraid of atomic power if it had not been dropped. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not condoning the fact that Truman felt he had to justify the billions spent on it’s development that even Congress knew nothing about, (way too many people died and there wasn’t much left of the cities from previous bombing), – just wondering….
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It could be that without seeing the devastation it caused both immediately and in its aftermath, we would not be as concerned with nuclear weapons. But that just means it would have happened eventually if not in August 1945. Nevertheless, the US will always bear the burden of knowing that it was the first and let’s hope only country ever to use an atomic bomb—twice.
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Amen to that, Amy!!
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Happy New Year to you and yours.
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Thank you, the same to you and yours!!
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Thanks
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Thank you for sharing this post with your readers.
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It is great that you made a home front connection with this site and I greatly appreciate the shout out!
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