11th Airborne Division – June 1944 – Lt. Gen. G.C. Kenney
Smitty always made mention of how hard the soldiers before him had to struggle. He noticed that no matter how hard people or nature tried to disguise their surroundings, the scars of war were everywhere. In New Guinea, my father had a clear view of the battle remnants of General Robert Eichelberger’s Australian and American troops from when they fought on a similar terrain and in battles as fiercely intense as Guadalcanal – on each island the territories had to be taken inch by inch. (Many veterans know of what I speak.)
Lt. Gen. George C. Kenney, Chief of Allied Air Forces, in the southwest Pacific sent his complaints to the War Dept. and Gen. “Hap” Arnold, head of the U.S. Army Air Forces to explain just that in 1942:
“… The Japanese is still being underrated. There is no question of our being able to defeat him, but the time, effort, blood and money required to do the job may run to proportions beyond all conception, particularly if the devil is allowed to develop the resources he is now holding.
“Look at us in Buna. There are hundreds of Buna ahead for us. The Japanese there has been in a hopeless position for months. He has been outnumbered heavily throughout the show. His garrison has been whittled down to a handful by bombing and strafing. He has no air support and his own Navy has not been able to get passed our air blockade to help him. He has seen lots of Japs sunk off shore a few miles away. He has been short on rations and has had to conserve his ammunition, as his replenishment from submarines and small boats working down from Lae at night and once by parachute from airplanes has been precarious, to say the least. The Emperor told them to hold, and believe me, they have held! As to their morale — they still yell out to our troops, “What’s the matter, Yanks? Are you yellow? Why don’t you come in and fight?” A few snipers, asked to surrender after being surrounded, called back, “If you bastards think you are good enough, come and get us!”
“…I’m afraid that a lot of people, who think this Jap is a “pushover” as soon as Germany falls, are due for a rude awakening. We will have to call on all our patriotism, stamina, guts and maybe some crusading spirit or religious fervor thrown in to beat him. No amateur team will take this boy out. We have got to turn professional. Another thing: there are no quiet sectors in which troops get started off gradually, as in the last war. There are no breathers on this schedule. You take on Notre Dame every time you play!”
It was after this one month later after this report that the specialized training for the 11th A/B began and the War Dept. also saw the need for improved weapons for this “new type of war.” Under the direction of Colonel William Borden this effort resulted in: 105-mm and 155-mm mortars, flamethrowers, ground rockets, colored smoke grenades and the skidpans for towing heavy artillery in muddy terrains.
But – still at this point – only about 15% of the Allied resources were going to the Pacific.
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Abraham Bashara – Lawrence, MA; US Army, WWII, ETO
Ralph C. Battles – Boaz, AL; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Fireman 2nd Class, USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor
Gary Cohen – Tuscaloosa, AL; Civilian, Veteran’s Dept. Psychologist, (Florida condo collapse)
Louis N. Crosby – Orangeburg, SC; US Army, Korea, Pfc., Co A/1/32/7th Infantry Division, KIA (Chosin Reservoir)
Warren G.H. DeVault – Rhea, TN; US Army, WWII, ETO, Pvt. # 34493012, Co F/2/12/4th Infantry Div, Bronze Star, KIA (Hürtgen, GER)
Dielon Harwood – Guion, TX; US Navy, WWII, Korea & Vietnam, (Ret.)
William MacDonald – Quincy, MA; US Army, WWII, Signal Corps
Frank Nicholls, NZ; RNZ Army # 436280, WWII
Ward Russo – San Francisco, CA; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Essex, mechanic
Edwin Sedran – Far Rockaway, NY; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO
Elaine Smith – Syracuse, NY; US Coast Guard SPARS, WWII
Glen F. White – MO; USMC, WWII, PTO, Pfc. # 371100, Co A/1/6/2nd Marine Division, Silver Star, KIA (Betio, Tarawa Atoll)
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What should the caption be?
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Posted on July 19, 2021, in First-hand Accounts, SMITTY, WWII and tagged 11th airborne, Air Force, Airborne, Army, family history, History, Military, Military History, New Guinea, WW2, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 123 Comments.
Even my Dad was in Airforce as Warrant Officer. So I like reading your blog post. I still respect Army members for the devotion to their work. May All people stay united and happy always 🙂
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That sure would be nice!!
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🙂
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Reblogged this on depolreablesunite.
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Thank you, Rick.
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I love the way your father wrotes lettes to his mam.
He told her what they did there.Talking and thrinking coffie .He takes enough time to writes his letters.He was a wonderful son and soldier
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Thank you very much, MaryLou. That means a lot to me.
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These are wonderful history lessons, GP, every one of them. Underestimating a situation unfortunately seems to be part of the human condition. We seem to be a “too little, too late” species.
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To make a light-hearted answer, Lavinia – All too often we have hindsight, which we say is 2020, but since the pandemic – that remark takes on a whole different meaning! LOL
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Reblogged this on Nelsapy.
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Thank you.
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Well documented as usual – My compliments!
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Gen. Kenny kept a running report, so his opinions and remarks are easy to find, plus his leadership was well received.
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https://unknownknowlege.wordpress.com/2021/07/23/do-ghost-soul-really-exists/
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Thanks for all that you do with you site; it is needed. Also, thanks for following my site, and for your likes of my posts, which are encouraging for me. Please have a wonderful day.
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It has been pretty good so far. Thank you for keeping the faith.
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You are very welcome.
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Incredible foresight and understanding of Japanese national character.
Caption: “As long as I am the one holding the steering wheel!”
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Wow, all the captions are so good. I wish I had a prize for to give away!!
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Your word is good enough, at least for me.
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Thank you, that means a lot!!
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My pleasure, dear friend.
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Imagine if the technology that exists today had been available then. Perhaps there would have been less underestimating?
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Perhaps, but then there was always the possibility that this was all done to keep them active. I’ll have to find out what the men complain about these days, um….
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Reblogged this on Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News.
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Thank you, Ned.
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Captio: “If it’s good enough for the Army then the Marines will want twice as many.”
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hahaha, GOOD one, Tom. I knew that picture needed a good caption, but I just couldn’t do one I liked.
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“It’s running a little rough today… maybe the transmission.”
I imagine the debates between the upper ranks got pretty intense. It was cool to see the correspondence, GP. Hugs on the wing!
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Wow, a really good caption, Teagan! Wish I had thought of that!
The upper ranks sometimes sound like children! haha
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Caption: “As long as I’m on the ground…I’ll fly anything” or “I hope I qualify for a section 8 . Is anybody watching?” or “This is a lot safer down here than up there!
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haha, thanks! They are all good, but I think I like the section 8. It brings back fond memories of Klinger from M*A*S*H*. 😂🤣👍🤪🛩
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Yes, i like that one the best too! I sandwiched it in the middle. How is your book coming?
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No WIP on the schedule.
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My son just returned from 2 weeks of “gunnery”. He showed me a huge bullet from an even huger gun he used. The bullet was like 2’ in length. He drives tanks and fixes them, too. He is a Sergeant. He received new stripes of honor.
My other son is a captain and saves people from fire breathing dragons and those who are trapped inside burning castles. He was in People Magazine for his bravery.
Heroes Rock! And your site Rocks!
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I am honored to know the mother of these brave men. Please shake their hands for me, with a huge Thank You for their service!
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Awe, thank you. I will do so. ♥️
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🇺🇸
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🇺🇸
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De japanners werden onderschat maat na wat gevechten zullen ze het wel geweten hebben Japanners zijn niet te onderschatten en vechten tot het einde
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Precies goed. De mensen in de Stille Oceaan wisten het maar al te goed.
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I don’t think the Japanese are underestimated any more. Caption: “We’re going nowhere fast” to fit with the theme.
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hahaha, that does fit the theme, doesn’t it!?! Good one, Derrick!
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I find the general’s use of pronouns disturbing. Why “he” instead of “they” when discussing the Japanese forces? Was he trying to diminish the size of the enemy they were facing? Turn thousands of individual men into one monolithic being? I doubt anyone used similar pronoun usage when referring to the German forces. I have to assume there was some racism in that choice.
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Of course there was. He was often used in those days instead of they, but most did feel superior to the Orientals. Dr. Seuss had many a political cartoon depicting the Japanese as small, bucktoothed, nearsighted and uneducated.
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I recall those caricatures. Just awful. I think the world is a better place now, but we still have a long ways to go.
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Somehow we have to get the violence to stop or no one will bother listening. IMO
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I’d say that false assumptions about racial inferiority (ignorance) played a big part in thinking the Japanese would be pushovers. Kenney was pretty clear headed about what it would take to win the war and the importance of controlling resources. My suggestion for the caption is “Sunday driver!”
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Racial ignorance did play a big part, also that a majority of our citizens were originally from Europe and had relatives still there to be saved from Hitler.
That caption is hysterical!! 🤣👍😎😂
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Reblogged this on John Cowgill's Literature Site.
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Thank you, John.
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You are welcome.
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Excellent account. Please note – someone slipped in punctuation. Had to read this twice to make sense: (corrected)
It was after this, one month later after this report, that the specialized training for the 11th A/B began, and the War Dept also saw the need for improved weapons for this “new type of war.”
The next sentence needs a comma after “Borden”.
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Thanks. My schooling was mainly science orientated and English grammar for our reports was not a priority.
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A nice read. Thank you for sharing and lifting up our understanding about our military which always inspires our patriotism.♥️🍂🍮🍮
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Now THAT I am very happy to read!!
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♥️👍 Have an awesome day GP!
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Thank you, and you as well!
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Enjoyed the post, GP. A caption should be. “Gotta love those motor pool parts guys.”
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Thanks, John! Love that caption! 🤣🚗
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😊
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Good to hear a senior officer stating the truth .
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haha, isn’t THAT weird?!!
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Very interesting! My father served in the Navy in the southwest Pacific. I never got tired of hearing his war stories.
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Feel free to bring us some. My readers love them!
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Outstanding read as always.
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Thank you, Rich!
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Interesting about underestimating Japan. I suppose we did at one point.
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Even if they knew how formidable Japan was, FDR had still promised Churchill.
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If the Japanese delegates weren’t humiliated and snubbed by their peers at Versailles at the post WW1 Peace Conference, the 20s and 30s might have progressed very differently.
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True. They might have tried more diplomatic means to get the world powers out of ruling their countries. As it was, Japan felt they were the only ones strong enough to push the conquerors out. (Then they got greedy.)
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Nobody who has read these home truths from George C. Kenney could possibly be against the use of the atom bomb on the Japanese. What would our casualties have been?
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I believe the estimate was over one million. (and I know exactly where my father was supposed to go in.)
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Dear GP
well, the Japanese were always underestimated, probably even today.
By the way, our idea for the caption: The safest way of driving.
Thank you very much for sharing all this information. It’s always a great history lesson visiting your blog.
With lots of love from us all. Keep well, enjoy life and take care
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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Klausbernd,
Thank you for your comment. It is much appreciated.
And your caption is good – it looks like the safest Jeep on the market! haha
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High commnds usually manage to underestimate the enemy’s strength – and a lot of people die before they are woken up to it.
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What makes each one of think we’re invincible, eh? Amazing, isn’t it?!
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Excellent observation from Lt. Gen. Kenney. The Japanese were fierce warriors and loyal to their emperor and would fight to the end.
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So true, but Washington had trouble believing it. Your family could have set them straight!
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The war in the Pacific was grueling from start to finish. I hear people talk about island-hoping, like it was an easy run across the ocean. They couldn’t be more wrong.
I think the caption should be. “They told me the rest will be here any day.”
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You’re right about that!! Hopping hundreds (or thousands) of miles apart!!
Yup – good caption, Dan!
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The only word i say after reading your blog is WOW!!
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Well, thank you very much. That’s kind of you to say.
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Wonderful post, GP. I was fascinated to read Kenney’s report–I learned a lot from it. I wonder how the Pacific campaign soldiers, sailors, and Marines felt about the Europe First policy. I’m glad we still have senior officers who have the moral courage, to tell the truth to the Powers that Be, except for those who think they are in Dr. Strangelove.
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haha, thanks for the comment. As far as I’ve heard, the soldiers were too busy to think much about Europe.
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That makes sense.
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We have a couple of our posts on what the ground crews thought about the shortage of new aircraft, men, etc:
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Thanks for helping.
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We’re here to help!
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We in the US seem to have a history of underestimating our enemies.
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We tend to think we’re invincible.
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Yes, you shouldn’t underestimate the Japanese. She had a long time to prepare. Thank you for sharing this, GP! Have a nice week! xx Michael
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Any plans?
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Reblogged this on NEW OPENED BLOG > https:/BOOKS.ESLARN-NET.DE.
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Thank you very much, Michael.
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You are welcome, GP! Thank you for sharing another piece of information. Unbelievable how peaceful this sounds, and in reality it was one of the sadiest wartime. Enjoy your week! xx Michael
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Thanks for stopping by, Michael!
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Always with a great pleasure, and grateful for the very interesting information, GP xx Michael
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😊
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It’s interesting that Kenney used the third person singular grammatical form to describe the Japanese adversaries.
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He looked at them as a true observer would, not personal feelings.
Thanks, Swabby.
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That was exactly my thought as I was reading!
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Thank goodness he was on OUR side!
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Great piece GP. A lot of people forget that in WW2 all military planners had to go off of was aerial photos when planning an assault. On most of the major islands the Japs had fortified underground tunnel networks that hid a majority of their defenses and big guns.
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Yes, exactly. The latest maps available came from the National Geographic.
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Currently re-watching the Hanks/Spielberg mini series on The Pacific, really shows the dreadfulness of it all.
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It makes it appear that only the Marines were in the Pacific, but it is a very good series.
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I suppose that’s inevitable as it was based on the books by Lecke and Sledge.
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Both excellent men, I just feel the author’s emotions should stay out of things. We can’t comment with 21th Century eyes on events 80 years ago – it was a whole different world.
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Very interesting observations made by Lt. Gen. George C. Kenney.
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He was a very good leader with keen observation skills.
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We both are virtual history teachers preserving the past GP. Lest we forget.
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You are the whole package with your research skills though.
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Thank you very much!
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Thank you!
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Thank you, Matt.
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Thank you, Michael.
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Thank you for sharing the Gen. Kenney report.
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