Monthly Archives: February 2017
October 1944 (4)
USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413)
Halsey was battling Ozawa’s Decoy Force at Cape Engaño where the last surviving Japanese ship from the Pearl Harbor attacks, IJN Zuikaku was ablaze and abandoned. The Chitose was dead in the water. Commander Hathaway’s USS Heerman was badly damaged, along with the Hoel, Johnston and Samuel B. Roberts.
IJN Chikuma
When Halsey retreated south, the remaining ships had planes out that proceeded to hit the IJN Chikuma and Chokai before they too retreated. The Zuikaku sank and hour later the Zuiha succumbed, followed by the Chiyoda.
In less than 7 hours ____
At 0750, escort carrier GAMBIER BAY, dead in water, is continually hit by 8-inch shells, set afire and floods.
IJN Chokai
At 0805, CruDiv 4’s CHOKAI, hit and set afire by numerous bombs from KITKUN BAY’s aircraft, goes dead in the water. At 0807, GAMBIER BAY, capsizes and sinks.
At 0814, Vice Admiral Kurita orders all ships to assemble and head north. At 0850, CruDiv 7’s CHIKUMA and TONE, followed by CruDiv 5’s HAGURO and CHOKAI, pursue “Taffy Three’s” escort carriers. At 0853, CHIKUMA is attacked by four TBM Avenger torpedo-bombers from “Taffy Two”. She is hit in stern port quarter by a MK-13 aircraft torpedo that severs her stern and disables her port screw and rudder.
At 0907, CHIKUMA reports to YAMATO that she has been torpedoed and is unnnavigable. Then at 0920, CHIKUMA reports that she has lost a propeller, is making 18 knots, but is unsteerable. At 0930, CHIKUMA reports she is at 11-25N, 126-48E and making nine knots.
At 1020, Force A reverses course towards Leyte Gulf. At 1105, CHIKUMA is attacked by five TBMs from KITKUN BAY. She is hit portside amidships by two torpedoes and her engine rooms flood. Power is lost. She comes to a stop and takes on a list to portside. At 1110, destroyer NOWAKI is dispatched to assist her.
After 1415, CHIKUMA is attacked by three TBMs from ORMANNEY BAY led by VC-75’s CO, Lt Allen W. Smith. Three torpedoes hit her portside near amidships. NOWAKI takes off her survivors then scuttles her with torpedoes. At 1430, CHIKUMA capsizes and sinks by the stern at 11-25N, 126-36E.
USS Heermann at Battle of Samar, by: Dwight Shepler
26 October 1944: 65 miles SSE of Legaspi, Philippines. At 0054, NOWAKI is crippled and set afire by gunfire from Task Force 34.5’s VINCENNES (CL-64), BILOXI (CL-80) and MIAMI (CL-89) and DesDiv 103’s MILLER (DD-535), OWEN (DD-536) and LEWIS HANCOCK (DD-675). At 0149, NOWAKI, dead in the water, is sunk by gunfire and torpedoes from the destroyers at 13N, 124-54E. NOWAKI goes down with all hands, including CHIKUMA’s survivors.
Ship list from Wikipedia:
Allied losses:
The United States lost six warships during the Battle of Leyte Gulf:
- One light carrier: USS Princeton
- Two escort carriers: USS Gambier Bay and USS St. Lo (the first major warship sunk by a kamikaze attack)
- Two destroyers: USS Hoel and USS Johnston
- One destroyer escort: USS Samuel B. Roberts
- Four other American ships and HMAS Australia were damaged.
Japanese losses:
The Japanese lost 26 warships during the Battle of Leyte Gulf:
- One fleet aircraft carrier: Zuikaku (flagship of the decoy Northern Forces).
- Three light aircraft carriers: Zuihō, Chiyoda, and Chitose.
- Three battleships: Musashi (former flagship of the Japanese Combined Fleet), Yamashiro (flagship of the Southern Force) and Fusō.
- Six heavy cruisers: Atago (flagship of the Center Force), Maya, Suzuya, Chokai, Chikuma, and Mogami.
- Four light cruisers: Noshiro, Abukuma, Tama, and Kinu.
- Nine destroyers: Nowaki, Hayashimo, Yamagumo, Asagumo, Michishio, Akizuki, Hatsuzuki, Wakaba, and Uranami.
Listed Japanese losses include only those ships sunk in the battle. After the nominal end of the battle, several damaged ships were faced with the option of either making their way to Singapore, which was close to Japan’s oil supplies but could not undertake comprehensive repairs, or making their way back to Japan where there were better repair facilities but scant oil. The cruiser Kumano and battleship Kongo were sunk retreating to Japan. Cruisers Takao and Myoko were stranded, unrepairable, in Singapore. Many of the other survivors of the battle were bombed and sunk at anchor in Japan, unable to move without fuel.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – in Naval Training –
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Farewell Salutes –
Chester Bochus – Licoln, NE; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO
Ralph Gardener – Battle Creek, MI; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO & CBI, 9th Air Force, Transport Command
Margaret Jaffe – Santa Cruz, CA; US Army Nursing Corps, WWII
Harold Knowles – Bathhurst, NB, CAN; RC Signal Corps, Korea
Richard Lonien – Everett, WA; US Army, WWII, ETO
Brian P. Odiorne – Ware, MA; US Army, Iraq, 2/82/3/1st Cavalry Division, cannon crew
George Russell – Clifton Heights, PA; US Army, WWII, PTO, Company C/152nd Artillery/11th Airborne Division
Elwin Swigart – Molalla, OR; US Army, WWII, ETO
John Keith Wells – Lakewiew, TX; USMC, WWII, PTO, 5th Marine Div., Lt., Navy Cross, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
Leonard Woods – Christchurch, NZ; RAF # 1330880, WWII, Warrant officer
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A Soul Lost in a Faraway Jungle – Part 2
Our good friend Koji Kanemoto gives us a view from both sides of the war.
It is believed I occupy a potentially unique position when it comes to looking at history as it pertains to the Pacific Theater in World War II. I am American first and foremost and have studied WWII history out of curiosity. As expressed in the description of my blog, my viewpoint is from “one war, two countries, one family”. However, one potential uniqueness is that I am able to read a bit of Japanese; you may be amazed to read what is written about WWII from the Japanese viewpoint of history. As such, I believe each battle will have in the background two broad, driving and dissimilar viewpoints: one from America and one from Japan. The attack on Pearl Harbor is one example. But that is but the surface on war’s history – a high altitude view. One that can be easily manipulated politically. But being on the ground dealing…
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October 1944 (3)
Japanese Center Force: Nagato, Musachi & Yamato
Avengers from the Cabot and Intrepid attacked the enemy superbattleship Musashi [the Palace] and she withstood 3 more torpedo hits. The IJN Myoko was damaged, but the carrier aircraft continued to concentrate on the “Palace.” Kurita, on the Yamato radioed out: “URGENT REQUEST LAND-BASED AIR FORCE AND MOBILE FORCE TO MAKE PROMPT ATTACK ON ENEMY CARRIER FORCE IN SIBUYAN SEA.” This call went unanswered.
The Musachi took 7 more torpedoes, that hit her port quarter and bridge tower, and still she moved at 6 knots. Kurita ordered the experimental “San shiki” shells to be loaded into the guns. (These were designed to loft fragmentation bombs at low-flying planes.) But finally, after 17 bombs and 19 torpedoes, the Palace succumbed and sank vertically like a skyscraper.
VAdmiral Toshihira Inoguchi chose to go down with his ship; 1,376 of her 2,399-man crew were rescued. About half of her survivors were evacuated to Japan, and the rest took part in the defense of the Philippines.*
Task Force – 58
24→25 October – Adm. Kinkaid ordered Adm. Oldendorf to prepare for a night engagement and to re-position his Task Force-77. At the entrance to the Suriago Strait he situated double lines consisting of 6 battlewagons, 8 cruisers, 28 destroyers and 39 “expendable” PT boats.
The dual lines caused echoes in the Japanese radar of the Southern Force and between the torpedoes and gun barrages, Nishimura’s force was devastated: 2 battleships, 1 heavy cruiser and 4 destroyers after 2 hours of battle. Shima’s group had 2 cruisers sunk, 1 battleship damaged and the admiral began a retreat.
25 October – as Halsey and the TF-38 headed north to intercept Ozawa’s Decoy Force, Kurita aimed his Centre Force at the US escort carrier group TG-77.43 “Taffy 3, under Adm. Sprague. With only 6 small carriers and 6 destroyers, Sprague was all that sailed between the ground invading force and the enemy ships. In an apparently suicide tactic, the admiral charged Kurita by air and sea. The enemy thought they were facing the entire Third Fleet. In maneuvering to avoid the attack, Kurita lost any tactical control.
Sprague suffered heavy losses, but the enemy had the cruisers Kumano, Chokai and Chikuma at the bottom of the sea. Kurita retreated with the Suzaya, Haguro and sister-ship to the Musachi, the IJN Yamato; all having been hit by aircraft fire. Sprague was now low on fuel and ammunition. Kinkaid radioed Halsey: “WHERE IS – REPEAT – WHERE IS TASK FORCE 34? THE WORLD WONDERS.”
Superbattleship IJN Musachi
* In March 2015, the American philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen, and his team of researchers located the wreck of Musashi in the Sibuyan Sea using a remotely operated underwater vehicle deployed from the yacht Octopus. The ship lies at a depth of around 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). The wreck was revealed to be in several pieces with most of the hull amidships appearing to have been blown apart after leaving the surface. The bow section from the number one barbette forward is upright on the sea floor while the stern is upside down. The forward superstructure and funnel is detached from the rest of the ship and lies on its port side.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Wilfred Adams – No.Battleford, CAN; RC Army, WWII, RTO
Chester Bingaman – Huntsville, AL; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Mississippi and LSM-183
Michael Francuck – Holly, MI; US Navy, WWII
Walter Haas – Brn: GER, FL; US Army
John Hogg – Sacramento, CA; US Coast Guard, WWII
Howard Kelly, Miami, FL; US Army, WWII
Arnold Keuneke – IN; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, TSgt., Signal Corps
David Plotkin – Massapequa, NY; US Army Air Corps, WWI, PTO, pilot
Richard Roether – Cincinnatti, OH; US Army Air Corps, WWII, Sgt.
Robert Trpinc – Millsboro, PA; US Army, WWII, PTO
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October 1944 (2)
October 20, 1944: U.S. troops head toward the beaches of Leyte island during the amphibious assault to reconquest the Philippines. (AP Photo)
15→16 October – Carrier aircraft again set off to bomb shipping and installations at the Manila Bay, Luzon area on both days. The Japanese lost: 20 aircraft shot down and 30-40 destroyed on the ground.
17→18 October – Northern Luzon and again the Manila Bay area were attacked by the carrier aircraft and the enemy this time lost 56 aircraft; four ships were sunk, with 23 others damaged. The US lost 7 aircraft.
19 October – Carrier aircraft bombed, rocketed and strafed select targets in the Visayas Group of the Philippines. The US 6th Army , under Gen. MacArthur began landings on Leyte which pushed the Japanese Navy to act.
22→23 October – Three enemy task forces converged for battle. The Japanese Combined Fleet were underway for Operation Sho, (Sho = Victory) and they would meet with their first casualties from the US submarines Darter and Dace in the Palawan Passage.
Just after 0500 hours, LtComdr. Benitez said to his men, “It looks like the 4th of July out there!” Adm. Kurita’s cruisers IJN Atago & Maya of the 1st Strike Force were ht and sinking. The enemy’s position was passed on to command and the US Task Force 38/3rd Fleet sailed to the Sibuyan Sea to intercept. The Second Battle of the Philippine Sea was underway and it would continue through 27 October.
[It will take the next few posts to try and encapsulate all that transpired in this short period of time – Please bear with me.]
Japanese losses would include: 2 battleships, 4 carriers, 6 heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers, 3 small cruisers or destroyers, and 6 destroyers. Severely damaged were: 1 battleship, 5 cruisers, 7 destroyers. Others with damage: 6 battleships,4 heavy destroyers, 1 light cruiser and 10 destroyers.
US losses: the light carrier Princeton and 2 escort carriers, the Saint ‘Lo and Gambier Bay were sunk. Two destroyers, Johnston and Hoel went under, along with 1 destroyer escort, the Samuel B. Roberts and a few smaller craft.
[The story of the USS Samuel B. Roberts can be read in the book “For Crew and Country,” by John Wukovits. It is an inspiring book to read.]
24 October – Adm. Mitscher’s aircraft assaulted Adm. Kurita’s Center Force and the Nishimura/Shima Sounthern Force while their planes were out hitting US concerns around the Philippines. The Princeton was hit by a kamikaze carrying a 100-pound bomb that went through her deck. The Birmingham was damaged by later explosions as she assisted the damaged carrier; this killed 200 seamen.
The following 10 minute video shows both Allied and Japanese photography.
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Military Humor – Navy style
“I have a funny feeling about those blind dates of ours.”
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Farewell Salutes –
Millard Ball – Clarksville, TN; US Merchant Marine, WWII / US Army, Korea, 187th RCT / Vietnam, 101st Airborne, CSgtM (Ret. 45 years)
Victor Carty – San Jose, CA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, aircraft mechanic
Edward Cooke – Fonda, IA; US Navy (USNA graduate), WWII, CBI, minesweeper, VAdmiral
Warren Ferguson – Seattle, WA; US Army, WWII, ETO, 3167th Signal Corps
Teresa Gies – Wellington, NZ; RNZ Air Force, WWII
Harry Hamilton Sr. – St. Petersburg, FL; US Navy, WWII
Matuszewski Klemens – Taragowa, POL; Polish Army, WWII, ETO, POW
Paul Martin – Croghan, NY; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 318 Fighter Sq./7th Air Force, Cpl.
Richard Ramsey – Bloomington, IN; US Navy, WWII, LST-947
Frank Yates – Brooklyn, NY; US Army Air Corps, WWII, 502/101st Airborne, Sgt.
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Lt. William J. Lang (1919-1944)
A more personal look at the Arisan Maru‘Hell ship’.
Bill Lang was an aviator in WWII. Bill was the son of prominent Dallas architect William J. Lang, Sr. and the grandson of Otto H. Lang, both of whom were well known in the area. The Lang name had long been associated with the architectural firm Lang and Witchell, a company that designed many of the buildings that still stand in Dallas.
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First Hand Account – after Peleliu
Bruce Watkins (Commander), Monty Montgomery (platoon Sgt.) & Steve Stasiak (guide)
INTRODUCTION: The following is a chapter taken from “Brothers in Battle” by R. Bruce Watkins. This book was written for the benefit of his children, grandchildren, and friends who have an interest in the events of World War II as he saw them. It reflects his personal experience as a platoon leader in E CO/ 2ND Battalion/1st Marines at Peleliu. He also served as company commander of E Co on Okinawa. Bruce dedicated his book to “My Brothers, those undaunted Marines, who followed me without hesitation into the very jaws of death.” [Pictures below are some of these men.]
We don’t often hear what happens after the men fight, the following is what Bruce Watkins remembered after the battle:
Bruce Watkins
Chapter V
PAVUVU
Marc Jaffe
As we filed off the Tryon to our old bivouac at Pavuvu, we saw few familiar faces. There were a handful of lightly wounded casualties, but all the other living were still hospitalized. Settling into the tents that had been our home a short month ago, we were immediately struck by the empty cots with personal gear stowed below. We had returned with about 15% of our original number. That made for a lot of empty cots. Most of these cots would never see their original occupants again.
Shortly after, I received a summons from Division headquarters. “We think we may have one of your men down here.” It was PFC Brennan and he told me he did not have a name, that the Japs had taken it from him on the second day. He was sent home to the States and I received a letter from him some time later. He had been suffering from cerebral malaria but back in a cool climate he had recovered.
John Kincaid
In the heat of the Peleliu battle I had not accounted for two of our 17-year-old privates, but these returned to us now, unscathed. Monty told me they had bugged out in the middle of the battle. I had assumed they were wounded or killed. Although this was technically desertion under fire, the NCO’s had a great deal of understanding, taking into account their youthfulness. I saw no reason to take issue with their judgement, and these two more than proved themselves in the next battle.
There were many signs of strain after Peleliu. Our colonel told us how coming out of the shower he met a major, a member of Battalion Staff, with a towel draped over his arm. The major asked the colonel if he really liked him. The colonel replied, “Of course.” He then removed the towel displaying a loaded 45 pistol in his hands. “I’m glad you do,” he said, “because if you didn’t, I would have to shoot you.” Our colonel made quiet arrangements and the major was shipped back to the states under guard.
Sgt. Hap Farrell
We took a boat over to Bonika, the main island of the Russells, where our hospital was. There we saw many of our comrades. John Kincaid was having trouble with both eyes and Joe Gayle was just getting the use of his arms back. Sam Alick was recovering well from the leg wound, but his thumb would never work the same. Another platoon sergeant, a handsome man, had half his face and jaw gone. A gunny sergeant with a shattered pelvis lay there with rods like an erector set holding his hips in place, and so it went. The good news was that Lee Height could return with us.
Lt. Lee Height
Back on Pavuvu in the days that followed, we were allowed to rest and routine was at a minimum. We drifted from tent to tent checking on who had returned and always there were the empty cots. This was a most necessary rehabilitation period during wich we dealt with our shock and the loss of many friends. We were to need that rest both physically and mentally for there was much ahead of us.
In 1992 Bruce wrote “Brothers in Battle” about his experiences. The period covered stretches from December 1941 until November 1945.
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Edward Borschel Jr. – Panama City, FL; US Army, 187th RCT
Jack Griffiths – San Diego, CA; US Army, Korea, HQ/38/2nd Infantry Div., Major, POW, KIA
Dixie Heron – UK; RAF, WWII, ETO, 249th Squadron
Hugo Koski – Mt. Vernon, NY; US Coast Guard, WWII, Quartermaster
Ira Miss Jr. – Frederick, MD; Korea, HQ/38/2nd Infantry Div., MSgt., POW, KIA
Clifford Nelson – Spanish Fort, AL; US Navy, WWII, PTO & Korea, Captain (Ret. 29 years)
Charles Owen – Greendale, WI; US Navy, WWII
Lee Ragatz Jr. – Dania, FL; US Navy, USS Midway
Jack Slaughter (103) – Muskogee, OK; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Welles, Silver Star
Martin Waddington – So.Hurtsville, AUS; RA Air Force # NX098714, 10th Squadron
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October 1944 (1)
Causeway with 2 damaged Sherman tanks, Peleliu
3 October – the Marines on Peleliu attacked the “Five Sister,” a coral hill with 5 sheer peaks and the Japanese defensive fire was deadly accurate. Four days later, in an Army tank/Marine infantry operation, they made their assault in a horseshoe shaped valley after 2 ½ hours of big gun artillery fire.
The odor on the island of decaying bodies and feces, (latrines could not be dug in the coral), became extreme. The flies were uncontrollable. The [now-banned] pesticide of DDT was first used on Peleliu, but with very little success.
Napalm strike on the Five Sisters, Peleliu
On 12 October, Captain Andy “Ack-Ack” Haldane, well-respected leader and veteran of Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester and Peleliu, was killed on Hill 140 in the Umurbrogol Pocket. This was also the date that organized resistance on the island was declared over.
10 October – The 3rd Fleet of aircraft carriers made a major attack on the enemy naval and shore installations on the Ryukyu Islands. Their arrival took the Japanese by surprise and destroyed 75 planes on the ground and 14 in the air; 38 ships were either sunk or damaged. Other US Navy surface vessels conducted a 15-hour bombardment of Marcus Island. This would give the US a forward base less than 1000 miles from the Japanese mainland.
Formosa and the Ryukyu Islands
12→15 October – after refueling, the 3rd Fleet’s 1000 carrier fighters and bombers conducted a campaign over Formosa along with 100 Superfortresses of the US Army’s 20th Air Force coming out of the Chingtu bases. The 500 enemy aircraft of Adm. Fukudome’s Imperial Navy 6th Air Force were manned by inexperienced pilots. On the 13th along, 124 enemy fighters were shot down during a massive dogfight and 95 more were destroyed on the ground. As Fukudome himself described it, “Like so many eggs thrown against the stone wall of indomitable enemy formations.”
More than 70 enemy cargo, oil and escort ships were sunk in the area. The US lost 22 aircraft. The carrier, Franklin, and the cruiser, Canberra, were hit, but the latter was towed to safety. Due to the inexperienced Japanese pilots misinformation, Tokyo Rose announced, “All of Admiral Mitscher’s carriers have been sunk tonight – INSTANTLY!” Japan claimed a second Pearl Harbor and a public victory holiday was proclaimed.
Arisan Maru
In October, the Japanese ‘hell ship’, Arisan Maru, departed Manila, P.I. with 1800 American prisoners on board held in her unventilated hold. It was sunk by the USS Snook, killing 1795 POW’s.
The Japanese attempted to break the build-up of Allied forces in Manila Bay, Luzon, P.I., but the result was losing approximately 30 more aircraft to US fighters and antiaircraft fire.
October 1944 was an extremely active month and it will take at least 5 posts to just put the basics down.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – 
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Farewell Salutes –
Paul Alamar – Scranton, PA; US Navy, WWII, PTO, minesweeper
Robert Brooks – Ontario, CAN; RC Air Force, WWII, 143rd Air Wing, radio operations
Peleliu cemetery
Harold Girald – Mah-wah, NJ; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne Division
Ken Hartle (103) – San Francisco, CA; US Navy, WWII, SeaBee
Melvin Hill – Pomona, CA; Korea, 31st RCT, KIA
Harold “Hal” Moore, Jr. – Auburn, AL; US Army, Korea & Vietnam, 1/7th Cavalry Reg., Lt.General, West Point Grad, DSC
Allen “Bud” Moler – Dayton, OH; USMC, PTO, KIA (Roi-Namur)
Brent Morel – Martin, TN; USMC, Iraq, 1st Marine Recon Battalion, Navy Cross, KIA
Richard Lyon – Oceanside, CA; USMC, WWII, PTO / Korea, Admiral (Ret. 41 years)
Elizabeth Zarelli Turner – Austin, TX; US Army WAC, WWII, pilot
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Living in the Past?
Back in December 2016, researcher, historian and hobbyist, Pierre Lagacé offered to construct a model of the P-61 Black Widow from WWII for me. The Northrop aircraft had operated around the SW Pacific during Smitty’s tour on the ground, which only increased my interest. To read a first-hand account of a P-61 in action:
https://forgottenhobby.wordpress.com/2016/12/29/on-december-29th-1944/
I am not living in the past. I am just remembering the past.
Remembering is something I just can’t over with just like writing about the past.
This is an update about my P-61 Black Widow I built which someone will always remember.
It all started when I asked my readers to choose the next project. The Black Widow won hands down.
It was GP’s favorite plane…
Then I had this plan about GP’s favorite plane.
Packing the Black Widow and shipping it to GP in a box within a box.
I did not have time to take pictures on how I packed it so I asked GP to take pictures.
This is the end result.
The box
The box within the box
The Black Widow arrived safety except for a broken strut which GP repaired gingerly.
Next time on this blog…
September 1944 (3) – CBI Roundup
Major James England w/ Crew Chief Eugene Crawford
These articles appeared in the September 28, 1944 issue of the CBI Roundup.
TENTH A.F. HQ., INDIA – Searching out a means of contributing “just a little more” to the war effort (having already purchased war bonds, donated blood to the Red Cross, held down absenteeism and given their time as air raid wardens), the 500 members of the little Universal Engineering Co. of Frankenmuth, Mich., conceived the idea of purchasing an airplane and turning it over to the United States Army Air Force.
In a very short time, they had enough cash to buy a P-51 Mustang fighter plane.
That plane is making history today in the CBI Theater.
When it was turned over to the US Army Air Corps, it was named Spirit of Universal. When it got overseas it was renamed Jackie, in honor of Mrs. Jacqueline England, wife of its pilot, Maj. (then Capt.) James J. England, of Jackson, Tenn.
To date, that plane – member of the “Yellow Scorpion Squadron” – has destroyed eight Japanese planes and damaged three over Burma. On several occasions, other pilots than England flew it, notably Lt. William W. Griffith. Between the two, they have two DFC’s two Air Medals, numerous clusters to each and the Silver Star. England has credit for all the sky victories, while Griffith won the Silver Star fro “gallantry in action.”
For the information of the good people of Universal Engineering Co., their plane has done considerable damage while flying air support over Burma, killing many enemy foot soldiers and destroying fuel, ammunition and storage dumps, barracks areas, bridges and sundry other installations.
They are also appraised that they never would be able to recognize the ship today, because in its more than 100 combat missions and 600 hours against the enemy, it has been shot up quite frequently. Besides having had 58 different holes, 38 from one mission, it has had tow new wing tips, two gas tanks, stress plate, engine change, prop, aileron assembly, tail section, stabilizer, electric conduit in the left wheel and several canopies.
Yet it still sees action regularly in combat.
When Griffith won the Silver Star for his feat of bringing back the plane when it was theoretically unflyable, the Universal employees rewarded him and his crew chief, S/Sgt. Francis L. Goering with $100 war bonds.
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MOROTAL ISLAND – (ANS) – Pvt. Joe Aiello, of the Bronx, N.Y., was ordered to bail out of a Liberator with engine trouble on a mission to the Philippines, plunged 3,000 feet without benefit of parachute but escaped without a broken bone.
Aiello’s parachute failed to open, but treetops broke his fall. His first words on regaining consciousness:
“The goddam Air Corps! I should have stayed in the Medics.”
He added, “I was scared to open my eyes for fear I might see angels.”
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Ledo Road and the Monsoon
One of the questions that the Roundup’s feature on the Burma Road provokes is – How are the U.S. Army Engineers making out on the Ledo Road?
That question is partially answered by an article received today from correspondent Walter Rundle of the United Press.
Writes Rundle: “Brig. Gen. Lewis A. Pick and his Ledo Road construction forces are proving that the new land supply route, which eventually will lead from India to China, can be kept open through the monsoon season. Maintenance he said recently, has proved a less serious problem than had been anticipated.
Ledo Road
“As a result, only a few bulldozers and other heavy equipment are being retained on the upper sections of the road. Most of the construction machinery has been released to push down closer to the front where the actual construction now is underway.
“Engineers on the completed sections of the road employ huge scrapers to push aside excess mud and water and to fill in the spots softened by the monsoon. A constant patrol is maintained to keep drainage open. Damaged sections of the road are promptly repaired so that while traffic has at times been slowed, it never has been entirely stopped.
“Typical was the work done on a damaged 140-foot bridge, A report of the damage was received at 3 a.m. By 8 a.m. plans for repair were completed and men and materials needed had been sent to the scene. By 5 p.m. of the same day a temporary span had been repaired and put into operation. Nine days later, an entirely new bridge had replaced the old one and was opened to traffic.”
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HEADQUARTERS, EASTERN AIR COMMAND – Three master sergeants in a U.S. Bomb Group, part of the Third Tactical Air Force, have 85 years service in the Army among them.
The wearers of the yards of hash marks are M/Sgts. William Hopkins, 54, Mike Jamrak, 53, and Hubert F. Sage, 49. Hopkins has been in the Army 26 years, Jamrak 30 years and Sage 29 years.
Hopkins saw service in France during the last war, later served in Panama, Hawaii, the Philippines and China. This time around, he has fought in Egypt, North Africa, Sicily, Italy and now Burma. In China, in 1923, he was in the 18th Infantry Regiment under then Lt. Col. George C. Marshall and later had as his regimental executive officer Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Jamrak saw 22 months of fighting in France in 1917-18 with the Third Infantry Division, followed by nearly continuous service at overseas stations. he was transferred to the Air Corps in 1932. Because of his age, he had to receive special permission from the Adjutant General to come overseas in the present war.
Sage also served under Eisenhower when the latter was a captain and under Gen. H. H. Arnold, then a colonel. During the last war he was stationed in the Philippines. He has two sons in the Air Corps and a son-in-law in the Ordnance Department.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Current News –
6 February is Waitangi Day in New Zealand. Let’s commemorate this day with them.
https://pacificparatrooper.wordpress.com/2016/02/05/waitangi-day-2016/
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Military Humor – [” Strictly G.I.” comics by: Ehret, CBI Roundup Sept. ’44 ] –
“And besides that, it only runs on 2 flashlight batteries!”
“Would you sign this requisition for 20 feet of rope, sir?”
Eating that Japanese sniper is one thing, but making a fool of yourself in front of the children is another.
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Farewell Salutes –
Theodore AArons – Oakland, CA; US Army Air Corps, WWII
Barry Bollington – Manurewa, NZ; RNZ Navy # 14185, seaman
Thomas Davis – Huntsville, AL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne Division
81st Infantry Div. monument on Peleiu
Gale Furlong – Johnsonburg, PA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, CBI & PTO, 678th Bomb Sq., tail gunner
William Jaynes – Elmira, NY; US Army Air Corps, WWII, 351st Bomb Group/100th Bomb Sq., B-17 waist gunner
Raymond Logwood – Covington, LA; US Army, WWII
Norman Luterbach – Calgary, CAN; RC Air Force, WWII, 39th Squadron
Reid Michael Sr. – Mount Holly, NC; US Army, WWII & Korea
A.L. Lonnie Pullen – Bradenton, FL; US Army, WWII, ETO
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Pacific Paratrooper 