C.B.I. General Stilwell & the 11th Airborne Division on Luzon

Aug 1

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Lt. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell wasn’t around, so caricaturist Don Barclay, who wanted to meet the CBI Theater commander to sketch his familiar features, did the next best thing – captured them from a photograph. 

 

General Joseph W Stilwell along General Joseph W. Swing and Lieutenant General O. W. Griswold salute during the playing of the national anthem in Luzon, Philippines. General Stilwell shakes hands with several of the officers of the United States 11th Airborne Division. He pins a Silver Star on a sergeant and other officers. Recipients of awards march past. Location: Luzon Island Philippines. Date: June 9, 1945.

 

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Military Humor – 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Farewell Salutes – 

Rene Antil – Fitchburg, MA; US Navy, WWII

James T. Bailey – Randolph, OH; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, 101st Airborne Division

Ronald Barkel – Coopersville, MI; US Army, 11th Airborne Division

Patricia Ann Carroll – Los Angeles, CA; US Army, WWII  /  beloved comedian/actress

Charles Civil – Ocala, FL & Jarreau, LA; US Army, WWII & Korea

Malcolm Counsil – Nampa, ID; US Navy, WWII, USS Thompson

Anthony ‘Tony’ Dow – Los Angeles, CA; National Guard  /  beloved actor

Melvin “Bob” Kroeger – Flandreau, SD; US Army, WWII, PTO

George McLean – New Orleans, LA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, Sgt., 93 BG/8th Air Force

Ralph T. Potter – Galveston, TX; US Merchant Marines / US Army, WWII, ETO, Lt. Colonel (Ret.)

Eugene “Tex” Ritter – Unity, PA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, CBI, C-46 pilot, 1st Combat Cargo Sq./14th Air Force (over ‘The Hump’)

Michael Tarkane – Valparaiso, IN; US Army, WWII

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About GP

Everett Smith served with the Headquarters Company, 187th Regiment, 11th A/B Division during WWII. This site is in tribute to my father, "Smitty." GP is a member of the 11th Airborne Association. Member # 4511 and extremely proud of that fact!

Posted on August 1, 2022, in Uncategorized, WWII and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 114 Comments.

  1. Lavinia Ross | September 25, 2022 at 5:38 PM

    Don Barclay did a good rendition of Stilwell from a photo!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. Marti Moser | August 17, 2022 at 11:01 AM

    ORIGINAL POEM
    By H. P. (HAP) HAYMAN
    Listen to Memory Lane
    OVER STATION K.P.R.C., EACH SUNDAY MORNING AT 10:15

    THE AMERICAN KID

    It dropped from the clouds like a Falcon, A streak of gray in the blue; Just one mortal thrust, red flame and then dust, And another Nazi was through.

    It roared to a stop at the hangar, This Bird, & monster of might; With feathers of steel from its beak to its keel; An Eagle, alone born to fight.

    Surely, none but Colossus could pilot This fearful phantom-like thing, Whose vitals belched death through its blistering breath with destruction in each shiny wing.

    No Superman guided this Vulture Nor fondled the grim deadly toy; For, instead of a Glant superbly defiant, There emerged just a curly-haired Boy.

    He’s the lad who lived down the alley; Who delivered your paper each day; He’s the clerk in the bank, who now drives a tank, The freckle-faced boy cross the way.

    He’s the 4H boy from the country – The bellboy down at the Club; He’s the Stock Exchange runner and now machine-gunner; The Torpedo-man in the Sub,

    He’s just one of ten million youngsters who lives in the towns of your state; He helped mow your lawn, ran an ice truck at dawn, Now a lad on a strange “Blind Date”.

    Take a look at a huge Battle Wagon Just watch it maneuver-deploy:

    The gaze at its guns weighing thousands of tons – Everyone is manned by The Boy.

    He’s the kid who shied rocks at your house cat, threw spitballs at Mary in school; Who on each Halloween painted everything green, And was always acting the fool.

    Though our Elders may guide future destiny and clamp on Pandora’s loose lid – When it comes to a fight to protect our own right Just depend on the American Kid,

    REST HAVEN CEMETERY
    Truly A Haven
    @ 405 STERLING BUILDING
    HOUSTON, TEXAS
    TELEPHONE NUMBER PRESTON 3528
    COMPLIMENTS OF
    RESTHAVEN CEMETERY
    AND KPRC RADIO

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. Marti Moser | August 13, 2022 at 8:17 PM

    I hope this not in the wrong area to post. You are the most active blog referencing CBI. My dad was an airplane mechanic in Agra, India 26th Repair Squadron a group that didn’t necessarily have a lot to do with the bombardment groups, but in my eyes equally important to other jobs at The Hump, mainly coordinating with the supply command. Can you maybe start me a conversation? Lol. I’ve located a long lost piece of nose art I’ve had just wanting to get some stats on her. I’ve got all my Dad’s letters home & a good collection of photographs that many need service members individual families found. My main goal is trying to identify the airmen & then once that is
    done I should be able to find descendents through ancestry. I want the families to have their loved one’s photo.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • GP | August 14, 2022 at 6:57 AM

      Marti, the 26th Repair Squadron (Depot Group), had quite a bit to do with the Hump’s success and you must be very proud. I wish you would start your own blog to have your father’s letters on-line. You would be surprised just how many people are still interested in the WWII history and the individual’s perspective that would be supplied by those letters. If that is not to your liking, this site might be helpful to you…
      http://www.ww2research.com/search-army-units-request-form/?unitnames=26th%20Station%20Complement%20Squadron
      Let me know what you decide. I’d appreciate that.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • Marti Moser | August 14, 2022 at 8:54 PM

        Would you be interested in the letters or any photographs here? I do write some and I enjoy however I’m afraid I’d get behind. I’m into a huge project right now and hopefully I’ll be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel soon. I volunteered to research the 1196 crew members of the USS Indianapolis. The official group for the Indy are children and other closely related kin. They are planning to complete a memorial page for each of the 1196 with their photo & a short biography on each. They started needing 888 photos & are down to less than 300. Tough work, very rewarding yet very emotional. Their documents are fading away and feared to be lost with the current generation. I would like to share a poem my grandmother received at one of the numerous memorial services she attended for neighborhood boys. It was on funeral home stationary very tattered but I transcribed. It’s a beautiful tribute to The American Kid. Let me know.

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        • Marti Moser | August 14, 2022 at 8:54 PM

          Forgot to mention I found your blogspot on Texoso’s site.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
          • GP | August 15, 2022 at 7:11 AM

            I’ll have to thank Texoso! We have followed each other for quite a while!!
            I’ll get back to you on your other comments soon, today is a post day and very busy, my apologies.

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        • GP | August 16, 2022 at 1:54 PM

          It sounds like you are really doing some intense researching and I wish you all the very best with it. I would think the Naval public relations dept. would be interested in helping you…
          https://www.usna.edu/PAO/index.php
          We’ll get to your letters and photos later on when you and I both have more time, if that is acceptable.

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          • Marti Moser | August 16, 2022 at 3:14 PM

            Anything and anytime will be great. Remembered a picture I have of Kramer.

            https://photos.app.goo.gl/zpdMgMNE6pLTChXn9

            Like

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          • Marti Moser | August 16, 2022 at 5:11 PM

            I’m in no rush. The letters, I had decided to read into a recorder. Initially I’d reached out to our Scout Troop thinking one of the young men might be interested in reading them as part of their Eagle Scout projects. I was kind of shocked that they didn’t reply. My dad admired anyone who had become an Eagle. His baby brother, who was 21 years younger became an Eagle and my dad saw to all his needs. Mike was able to attend the 1960 gathering in Colorado Springs where President Eisenhower was the honored guest. Dad wasn’t able to have that experience but he saw to it that his brother got to. Cubs to Eagle dad helped him get whatever necessary things. My grandparents lived very tight for money and I don’t think they would have been able to get a lot of his uniform & equipment requirements. He also always said if a young man was able to put that on a resume or application they would be looked at favorably.

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply
            • GP | August 17, 2022 at 6:05 AM

              You father was quite right. A man who becomes an Eagle is highly thought of in both character, deed – very trustworthy. My own father was a boy scout, but had to quite that and school to help support the household during the Great Depression. My dad was born in 1914, older than most paratroopers and officers.
              Sadly, today’s values are different.

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              • Marti Moser | August 17, 2022 at 11:07 AM

                And actually, I included in my late husband’s eulogy his thoughts on his scouting days. He, like your dad had to go to work and leave his scouting behind. He was a little more than a month shy of his 84th birthday. He told me time and again that not one day ever passed that he didn’t use some skill he’d learned in boy scouts. He too had a tremendous admiration for an Eagle and it certainly made an impression when hiring someone to work for his company (stone masonry). We owned a mule and pulling horse farm. I watched many a knot tying, etc.

                Liked by 1 person

                Reply
      • Marti Moser | August 14, 2022 at 9:19 PM

        In his letters and few belongings of his from Agra, the sense I have is they weren’t only mechanics but they stood ready to assist the supply folks in a regular manner. They worked as one big team there. My favorite story (or do I have a favorite) is the “procurement” sgt. His name was Kramer. Dad said he could get nurses, bandages, rations, cigars & whiskey. Just don’t ask where or how. Turns out Kramer was a hotshot who worked in a nightclub in the Bronx, sort of brought his skills with him.

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  4. historypresent | August 7, 2022 at 12:21 PM

    So happy to see you are still here. Hope all is well?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  6. Mich | August 4, 2022 at 8:13 PM

    Thanks for honoring Pat Carroll and Tony Dow in Final Salutes.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  7. OIKOS™- Art, Books & more | August 4, 2022 at 9:58 AM

    Wearing this hat Stilwell looks like a Canadian origin, right? 😉 Thanks for sharing this impressive vidclip, GP! Honestly, if things will go worst, the US military will be back in the Asia-Pacific area sooner as thought. ;-/ xx Michael

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • GP | August 4, 2022 at 1:46 PM

      Yes, I agree with you.
      I’ve noticed the Biden administration and all his cohorts enjoy antagonizing very dangerous situations around the world. I guess they figure, being as old as they are, they won’t be alive to have to deal with the outcomes. This is not the country I grew up in, that’s for sure!!

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  9. Prior... | August 4, 2022 at 9:49 AM

    Nice to learn about the General and the video was good – (but Wow – the watermark smack in the middle? I know folks need to protect their conte but that watermark was distracting – I guess the sigh if our times – branding and name everywhere)
    And fun Comics G

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  10. S Greene | August 3, 2022 at 3:26 PM

    Such an amazing clip to watch. Thank you for sharing this piece of history 😊

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  11. Curt Mekemson | August 2, 2022 at 3:29 PM

    Great caricature of Stilwell, G. –Curt

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  13. SLIMJIM | August 2, 2022 at 4:37 AM

    I have read about this general; neat there’s a video of him

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  14. salsaworldtraveler | August 1, 2022 at 10:03 PM

    I very much enjoyed seeing this film footage. The troops look good. They didn’t forget how to march and have a formation.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  15. Gypsy Bev | August 1, 2022 at 8:57 PM

    Great that they had a film of it in 1945. Was amazed at the size of the troops present at that presentation.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  16. marylou | August 1, 2022 at 6:15 PM

    I love the militairy humor a lot.But for the soldiers that moment before jumping they forgot never I think

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  17. shoreacres | August 1, 2022 at 5:46 PM

    It’s wonderful to see such formality and traditions maintained in the midst of a place and time like that. Such videos breathe life into phrases like ‘chain of command,’ and what they record make clear that military structures have a purpose beyond “you’ll do what I say and like it!”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  18. John W. Howell | August 1, 2022 at 4:37 PM

    Loved the video, GP. It was heartwarming when Joe smiled at that soldier while shaking his hand after attaching the Combat Infantry Badge.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  19. SCLMRose | August 1, 2022 at 4:13 PM

    Those soldiers must be so honored to have their medals pinned by a general. Great video to accompany the post. Love the cartoons too.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  20. Liz Gauffreau | August 1, 2022 at 3:18 PM

    That must have been quite a day for those Silver Star recipients!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  21. koolkosherkitchen | August 1, 2022 at 2:01 PM

    Wow – there is a film! Love the funnies.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  22. beetleypete | August 1, 2022 at 1:40 PM

    ‘Vinegar Joe’ earned his nickname well. But he got results!
    Best wishes, Pete.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • GP | August 1, 2022 at 2:02 PM

      Did your father ever mention him, Pete?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • beetleypete | August 2, 2022 at 4:38 AM

        He knew of him, and always called him Vinegar Joe. My dad was in India for most of the war, and returned home after partition, in 1947. He left the army then, to get married to my mum.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        • GP | August 2, 2022 at 6:54 AM

          I knew your father was in the CBI, was there a reason he had to stay till 1947?

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
          • beetleypete | August 2, 2022 at 7:04 AM

            His brother was the one fighting in Burma and captured by the Japanese, my uncle Harry. Dad was a regular soldier who joined in 1936. His regiment stayed on to protect British citizens and officials, because of the partition riots, and the handover of power from Britain to the new Indian government. being a regular, he didn’t have the option of going home. Then all the British troops had to leave. He returned by ship, via Durban in South Africa. When he got back to Woolwich Barracks in London, he was Regimental Sergeant Major, Royal Artillery. That rank carries the title of Warrant Officer in our army, and the troops had to refer to him as ‘Sir’. My mum wanted him to leave the army, and nagged him until he did. I don’t think he ever forgave her for that.

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply
  24. Michael | August 1, 2022 at 12:08 PM

    It just reminded me about the Nigeria-Biafran civil war😭 Though I wasn’t born then.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  25. Helen Devries | August 1, 2022 at 11:51 AM

    Thanks for putting up that film…brings the history to life when you see the people involved.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  26. equipsblog | August 1, 2022 at 10:42 AM

    Lovely post. I love the ‘toons. Before they closed Ft Ord (about 10 years after they poured millions of dollars to improve it), the Community Center was called Stillwell Hall and was perched on the edge of a cliff over looking Monterey Bay and the Pacific Ocean. I head that the original Stillwell Hall crashed onto the beach below when the cliffs eroded further. I think there there is still a building called Stillwell Hall on what is left of a military presence on the former Ft Ord. Vinegar Joe would be proud. Also love the mention of the late Tony Down in your Farewell Salutes.

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  27. Jacqui Murray | August 1, 2022 at 10:28 AM

    I really love the military’s pomp and circumstance. I’ve been to many because of my kids. They always make it special (but not expensive).

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  28. joynealkidney | August 1, 2022 at 10:26 AM

    A film of it! Tony Dow was a favorite.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  29. Don Ostertag | August 1, 2022 at 10:04 AM

    Nice film, GP. And again the humor is cracking me up.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  30. valenciartist | August 1, 2022 at 10:02 AM

    But George, as a retiree I love ❤️ Mondays!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  32. jfwknifton | August 1, 2022 at 9:41 AM

    The cartoon is very good. Obviously I was conscious of the idea of a soldier’s first jump, but I’d never even thought that there must be a first time for every single parachute packer!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  33. T. W. Dittmer | August 1, 2022 at 8:50 AM

    Wow, a five-star general pinning on medals! Great video!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • GP | August 1, 2022 at 1:48 PM

      Stilwell made it as far as General ( 4-star ), but I see your point. Gen. Swing must have been impressed that stopped in to visit the 11th A/B.
      Thank you for watching the video.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • T. W. Dittmer | August 1, 2022 at 3:01 PM

        I miscounted the stars. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll have to pay more attention. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        • GP | August 2, 2022 at 6:31 AM

          No problem. Born out of necessity during the Second World War, the five-star rank was temporarily established to eliminate the incompatibility of US commanders charged with commanding Allied officers who were technically higher ranking. When Public Law 482 permitted the creation of the rank, the US Army promoted four servicemen to Generals of the Army: Dwight D. Eisenhower, George Marshall, Douglas MacArthur and Henry “Hap” Arnold.

          The law also allowed the US Navy to promote its sailors, with Ernest J. King, Chester Nimitz and William Leahy immediately becoming fleet admirals. A fourth, William Halsey, was promoted in 1945. Five years later, Omar Bradley became the ninth and final five-star general.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
  34. Dan Antion | August 1, 2022 at 8:43 AM

    Except for those four stars, he looks like he could be just one of the guys,

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  35. beth | August 1, 2022 at 7:28 AM

    I love seeing the real people

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  36. swabby429 | August 1, 2022 at 7:07 AM

    The film is so crisp and clear that it almost looks contemporary. It’s moving to see close-ups of some of the personnel.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  37. GP | August 1, 2022 at 1:44 PM

    Thank you, Ned.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  39. GP | August 20, 2022 at 1:36 PM

    You site is not allowing me to comment. I thank you again for sharing this history.

    Like

    Reply

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