CBI – August 1945
AMERICA’S GREATEST ATHLETE
INDIAN JIM THORPE VISITS CALCUTTA G.I.’S
Roundup Staff Article
CALCUTTA – A legendary sports figure, remembered by the current generation through record books and faded newspaper clippings of several decades ago, Indian Jim Thorpe, often described as the all-time greatest of all athletes, made a surprise visit to Calcutta this week.
Thorpe, 57 years old, didn’t come in with a lot of fanfare, he was on no USO tour. Instead, the man who was the superman of the 1912 Olympic Games at Stockholm, quietly arrived here as a member of the Merchant Marine and when discovered in the City by the Sea he was at work on the docks.
When friends urged him to appear for the G.I.’s here, Thorpe obliged. He attended the opening night of the volleyball tourney, made a radio appearance and toured local American hospitals. The veteran athlete got a big thrill from talking with youngsters who had come to regard the early-century hero as a myth, and little expected to see him taking an active part in the war as a Merchant Mariner.
Thorpe’s visit brought to mind many exploits and tales of the famous American Indian, who entered Carlisle Institute in 1904 and under Glenn (Pop) Warner’s direction became the star all-around athlete. Thorpe’s career reached a climax in 1912 when he carved a permanent niche in sports history by becoming the first man ever to win the Pentathlon and Decathlon events.
Recently, Arthur Daley in his New York Times sports column, stated that the “almost legendary Thorpe was the greatest athlete that America, a land of great athletes, ever produced.”
Thorpe’s athletic skill was exercised in many sports. John McGraw signed him to a Giant baseball contract, he played pro football, helping to organize the National Pro League 25 years ago. He played a low handicap game of golf, bowled with the champions and knew no sport that denied him the right to be classed an expert.
But that was long ago. Life hasn’t been too kind to Jim Thorpe down through the years and his fortune never matched his skill. Some months ago Jim decided to “get in the war.” All the regular military services scoffed at this veteran hero, and only in the Merchant Marine did he find himself acceptable. So, today Thorpe is a happier man – he’s back in the game.
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The Soviet Union declared war on Japan 8 August 1945
Russian Armies Push Deep Into Korea And Manchuria As Nipponese Quit
Roundup Staff Article
Acting with their usual speed and power, Soviet Armies wasted little time in pushing into Manchuria and Korea this week after Russia declared war against the tottering Japanese August 8.
Breaking through at several points along a 300-mile line from Hutou to Hunchun the Russian steamroller reported only “moderate” to “meager” opposition, despite previous stories that the Japs had their best armies in the area. The Reds attacked both the East and West borders of Manchuria and into Korea, indicating a giant pincers operation.
Within three days after the declaration of war, Soviet troops had fought their way more than 200 miles inside Jap-held territory, with the main attack down the Chinese Far Eastern Railway. The railway town of Hailon was reported captured and heavy fighting is in progress beyond the Khingan foothills, natural barrier protecting the important Nip arsenal and rail center of Harbin. Soviet columns are within 350 miles of Harbin.
1,000,000 SOVIET TROOPS
On Sakhahn Island the Red Army has penetrated Jap territory and “fierce fighting is in progress” according to the Nips. The Russians, however, have said nothing about their activity in this area.
Russian marines, protected by the Soviet Fleet, poured ashore on Korea, capturing the Nip naval base at Rashin.
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Military Humor – CBI Style –
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Farewell Salutes –
Rene Allard – Central Falls, RI; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Jenks
Rudolph Carboni – Wilmington, DE; US Army, WWII
Arthur DeMattei – San Jose, CA; US Army, WWII, PTO, 148th Infantry
Norman Ewert Sr. – Cheektowaga, NY; US Army, WWII, ETO, Co. A/1/345/87th Infantry
William Hess – Ocala, FL; US Army, WWII, SSgt., 928th Engineers
Jack Lyon (101) – East Sussex, ENG; RAF, WWII, ETO, navigator, POW (Great Escape)
Troy Mallory – Quincy, IL; US Army, WWII,334/84th Div. “Rail Splitters”. Purple Heart, Bronze Star
Stephen Nemec – Cleveland, OH; US Army, Korea, Cpl., KIA
Leopold Ramirez Jr. Mission, TX; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne Division
Sam Saburo Terasaki – Denver, CO; US Army, WWII, ETO, Sgt., Co. A/100/442 RCT
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Posted on February 1, 2019, in Uncategorized, WWII and tagged 1940's, CBI, History, Jim Thorpe, Military, Military History, Pacific War, veterans, WW2, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 60 Comments.
Good story on Thorpe gp, the man was an all round sports legend.
By any chance was he ever remembered in any Merchant Navy Hall of Fame, or something similar.
Cheers.
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IMO, Thorpe was truly the best athlete of the 20th Century! This is not enough….
After Thorpe died in 1953, his third wife, Patricia, became enraged when Oklahoma officials would not erect a memorial in his honor. She had heard that two small communities in Pennsylvania — Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk — were collecting nickels to help start a revitalization movement.
Mrs. Thorpe and local officials of the soon-to-be-merged communities agreed to have Thorpe’s remains interred at a mausoleum at the eastern end of town on Route 903.
The monument consists of his tomb, two statues of Thorpe in athletic poses and historical markers describing his remarkable life story. His resting place has been placed on soil from his native Oklahoma and from the Stockholm Olympic Stadium where he achieved everlasting fame.
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Wonder how much shorter the war would have been if the Soviets had joined sooner – and had a better navy.
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It would have been quite a strain on them to keep a full army supplied. Moscow to the Pacific is over 9,000 miles with little transportation facilities, so I really could not even take an educated guess.
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Good point.
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Love the Jim Thorpe story. Did not realize how many sports he was great in.
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An incredible man. Thank you for reading this.
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So sad about Jim Thorpe. Thanks for sharing part of his story.
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It is a bit generalized since everyone back then knew about Thorpe!!
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Nice to hear that Jim Thorpe is back in the game. He is quite a sports legend so happy he is receiving a bit of recognition. He deserves it.
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Most definitely, Bev. I thank you for that. He was always a hero of mine.
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Reblogged this on John Cowgill's Literature Site.
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Much appreciated, John. Most people are concentrating on Thorpe (which is fine with me!), but the Soviet info is important to the war story.
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You are very welcome.
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Well you knew that’d get me searching GP, The Great Escape!
This bloke was lucky, he didn’t get a chance to go through the tunnel,like so many others.
There were 50 not so lucky, they got caught and shot by the Gerries.
Must have been pretty nerve racking non the less for a 26 year old to be sitting waiting for the instruction to ‘GO’, he sat in that queue, for over an hour, before the escape got busted and all hell broke loose
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Jeez, how did I know you’d go looking and then come here with additional info? 🙂 Thanks for your curiosity, my friend!
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and I thank you GP 😛
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🙂 🙂
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Yes he’s great and we have him. He’s buried in Jim Thorpe, Pa, formerly Mauch Chunk. I’m in the Jim Thorpe school district. Some of my favorite photographs are from Jim Thorpe PA.
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How wonderful to learn that. I saw the movie about him when I was young and never forgot it. It is great to know that some people remember!!
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Excellent article on Jim Thorpe, GP. Gotta love the Russian gusto.
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In Stalin’s greed, he lost way too many men. But of course that is a look from an armchair quarterback! 🙂
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Good observation though.
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Memory plays tricks … I just looked it up, seems this is the movie I was thinking of—
“Jim Thorpe-All American”
—apologies for the goof. I was sure that was the name used …
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Yes – that was the American title. The movie’s a classic IMO.
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I remember seeing a movie called (I think~?) “Man Of Bronze”. I think it was Burt Lancaster played JT.
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That’s correct, but that’s the title from when it ran in England. I saw that when I was young and never forgot what a raw deal he was dealt.
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I’m still here. Enjoying everything that you send and take my time to read it thank you very much. ♥️
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I sincerely enjoy your visits, Sheila. You are always so down to earth and considerate.
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I’m reading Margaret Coel’s series featuring Arapahoe Indians (akin to Tony Hillerman) so this is well-placed. Good article.
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Hey, I fit right in, great to hear! Thorpe was a man to beat all men, yet humble.
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He gave so much and received so little in return.
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So much taken away! His story has seemed so very sad to me.
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Great piece on Thorpe. thanks.
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IMO, he was and is the best there ever was. I was very happy to locate this article in the CBI Roundup newspaper.
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Reblogged this on Dave Loves History.
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Much appreciated, Dave.
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Jim Thorpe was the greatest American athlete. This was a pleasure to read. Learned a little more about him.
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IMO, as talented Thorpe was, in so many areas, I would say he still hasn’t been beat. (remember, back then there wasn’t a ton of padding, helmets and precautions as there are now.)
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I know. I have seen those old clips and photos. The “helmets” were made of leather.
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Right. All they did was make certain your brains didn’t fall out onto the field!!
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Lol
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Very good articles. I never knew much about Jim Thorpe, other than the high-points and the Olympic history. As someone said earlier, I didn’t know Pop Warner was a real person.
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haha, the legends of Thorpe and Warner do seem incredible, don’t they?!
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Very informative reading. I remember learning of him and his accomplishments when he was a young man. Great to get a follow-up.
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His story is worth learning. The man was incredible!!
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I’m not into sports but I have heard Jim Thorpe’s name from men in my house. He got quite an achievement. I might just surprise my husband and my son about what I learned today.
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You do that!! The man was a legend. How he was treated was horrendous.
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What I knew about Jim Thorpe came from my athletic brother as a child. He talked about him as if he were a legend, apparently he really was! Thank you. Also enjoyed the Soviet Union post, especially now as they are rather sneaky about making Middle East allies.
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I’ve never lived to see Russia not being sneaky. Your brother was quite right, Thorpe was unequaled. The fact that he had received a $30 payment for room and board to play in another town was deemed enough to make his status a professional athlete and he had to give up all his Olympic medals, including the personal ones he received, such as that from the King of Sweden. His was a very sad story.
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Great men to not become bitter. Jim Thorpe was a great man in so many respects.
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Yes he was! I have felt that way since I was a child. I was thrilled to find this article.
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Two names that I’ve been familiar with throughout my life were Jim Thorpe and Pop Warner (because of the kids’ football league). I never would have guessed that they had a relationship. In fact, I never thought much about Pop Warner being a real person! There were a lot of details here I didn’t know about Thorpe’s career. I’d always associated him only with football. How I missed some of those other achievements, I don’t know. Thanks for sharing them, GP.
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The world treated him very unfairly. I can not imagine athletes today going through what he did.
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That’s an interesting roundup, GP. And good cartoons too. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thank you, Pete.
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I’ve loved Jim Thorpe since I first read about him as a child. Nice to see him again 😊
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I felt the same after seeing a story about him on tv as a child!!
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I don’t remember learning about him in school. But I remember being in school and other students knew who he was. He didn’t have it easy. What an inspiration.
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The man was a legend in his own time!
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