Monthly Archives: January 2023
Victory for the U.S.A. | Poem for the 11th Airborne
Yank magazine Sept. 1945 (notice the helmet stenciling)
On the cover of the 14 September 1945 issue of Yank magazine,(Vol. 4 No. 13) is S/Sgt. William Carlisle of Chalmers, Indiana
This poem was written by: Pvt. Bronnell York, Battery D, 457th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion, 11th A/B; even if you are not a poetry enthusiast, it is worth reading.
“Victory For the U.S.A.”
We’re the boys of the 457,
Earning our major pay,
Fighting Japs and jungle life,
For three sixty cents a day.
Back home we’re soon forgotten,
By girls and friends we knew,
Here in the South Seas Islands,
Ten thousand miles from you.
All night the rains keep falling,
It’s more than we can stand,
“NO” folks, we’re not convicts,
We’re defenders of our land.
We’re the boys of many,
Holding the upper hand,
Hitting the silk and hoping,
We’re living when we land.
We’re having it pretty tough now,
You can believe what I say,
Some day we hope to live again,
Back home in the USA.
Victory’s in the making,
Our future will be serene,
We’ve got the Navy backing us,
Along with the fighting Marines.
We’re in this all together,
Fellas like you and me,
We’ll be a united people,
And our Country will be free.
There’s no two ways about it,
We’ll either do or die,
For our Country with dictation,
Is not for you or I.
When the war is over,
And we have finished what they began,
We’ll raise Old Glory high above,
The Empire of Japan.
So, to all you 4F jokers,
Who thinks there’s something you missed,
Don’t let the draft board get you,
And for God’s sake don’t enlist.
It might be a long time yet,
Then it might be any day,
When smiling faces see the Golden Gate,
And sail in Frisco Bay.
When this conflict’s over,
The boys can proudly say,
We had to fight for what was ours,
Victory for the U.S.A.
“Down from Heaven come the 11”
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Koji of http://p47koji.wordpress.com notified me that he found a William and Norma Carlisle in Chalmers, IN.
I sent a note to inquire about the photo. I received this reply from his widow:
“Hello! So nice of you to write, Bob would have been pleased. The picture on the cover of the Yank magazine is William Robert Carlisle, my husband. I’m sure he could have told you stories of the 11th Airborne. I’m Mrs. Norma Carlisle, Bob’s wife. I’m sorry to tell you that Bob passed away on Dec. 12 – 1997. I miss him! Hope you and yours are enjoying the Golden Years! God Bless, Norma
I was so disappointed to discover that we had lost yet another trooper’s tales of the era and a little taken back to see that he passed on what would have been my own father’s 83rd birthday.
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Military Humor –
paratrooper humor
Air Mail
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Farewell Salutes –
Lola (Hamrick) Adams – Clay, WV; US Army WAC, Signal Corps
Respect
Courtesy of Dan Antion
Franklin H. Bennett – Glendive, MT; US Army, WWII, PTO, Cpl., 54th Signal Maintenance Co., POW, DWC (Cabanatuan Camp, Common Grave 312)
Albert Burdge – Adrena, NJ; US Army Air Corps, WWII, Panama
Alton Christie – Jasper, FL; US Army, Korea, Cpl., Co B/1/21/24th Infantry Division, KIA (Osan, SK)
James Eason – Bellingham, WA; US Army Air Corps, WWII
Norman E. Grizzle – Ducktown, TN; US Army, Korea & Vietnam, 82nd Airborne Division
Joyce McIntosh (105) – St. Anne de Bellevue, CAN; RC Army, cook
Joan Richards – Poss-Essex, ENG; British Women’s Corps, WWII
Ruhl J. Russell (104) – Shadyside, OH; US Army, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Colonel (Ret.)
Calvin L. Walker – New Haven, CT; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Kwajalein Is. air traffic comptroller
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Holdouts and Additional Surrenders
Australian Gen. Sir Thomas Blamey accepts surrender on Morotai Island, Dutch East Indies
The logical demands of the surrender were formidable. So many different ceremonies took place across Asia and the entire Pacific. Here we will some that preceded peacefully and others that refused the peace. In actuality, the state of war between the U.S. and Japan did not officially end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect 28 April, 1952.
USS Segundo SS-398 located this Japanese sub 1-401 and negotiated with the crew being that their captain had committed suicide
One mass surrender did occur at Noemfoor in September 1944 when 265 Japanese enlisted men, angry at their superiors for stealing their food for their own use. And, in August 1945, another starving Japanese military unit surrendered to a lieutenant in New Guinea. On 1 December 1945, Captain Oba and 46 members of his unit were the last Japanese on Guam to surrender.
In 1946, on Lubang Island, Philippines, intense fighting developed on 22 February when American and Filipino troops met 30 Japanese soldiers. Eight of the Allied troops were killed. Then in April, 41 members of a Japanese garrison came out of the jungle, unaware that the war was over.
Australian 6th Div. MGen. Robertson and interpreter explain terms of surrender to Adm. Sata aboard ML-805 (patrol boat) in Kairiru Strait
At the end of March 1947, a band of Japanese led by Ei Yamaguchi of 33 men renewed the fighting on Peleliu Island. There were only 150 Marines stationed on the island by that time and reinforcements were called in to assist. A Japanese Admiral also went to convince the troops that the war was indeed over. The holdouts came out of the jungle in two different groups in late April. Yamaguchi returned to his old tunnel in 1994 and Eric Mailander and Col. Joe Alexander interviewed him. To see the interview go to – http://www.pacificwrecks.com/people/visitors/mailander/
Ei Yamaguchi re-entering his old tunnel
In that same month, on Palawan Island, 7 Japanese troops armed with a mortar launcher emerged from the jungle and surrendered. On 27 October 1947, the last Japanese soldier surrendered carrying a water bottle, a broken Australian bayonet and a Japanese entrenching tool.
Not until late 1948, did 200 well organized troops give themselves up on Mindinoa, P.I. And, in China, 10-20,000 well equipped Japanese troops who were trapped in the mountains of Manchuria between the warring Nationalist and Communist forces, finally found a chance to surrender. In 1949, there was one report of two men living in the shadow of American troops finally turning themselves in.
Japanese weapons collected on Cebu, P.I.
One unusual story – On 3 January 1945, a B-29 Superfortress from the 498th Bomb Group, 875th Squadron, crashed while returning from a bombing mission. On 30 June 1951, men were sent to the area to try and recover the bodies of the plane’s crew. What they encountered were 30 Japanese who did not believe the war was over. They had had a Korean woman with them, but after she spotted an American vessel sailing by and was rescued, the information was received and interest in the “Robinson Crusoes of Anatahan Island” developed.
Kaida Tatsuichi, 4th Tank Regiment & Shoji Minoru on HMAS Moresby at Timor
Teruo Nakamura was the last known holdout of WWII when he emerged from the jungle retreat that housed him in Indonesia, December 1974. There were rumors of men claiming to be holdouts later on, but none that were officially confirmed.
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Military Humor –
“IT SAYS,’I AM AN AMERICAN WITH 94 POINTS AND IF I’M LOST IN ENEMY TERRITORY, PLEASE GET ME HOME'”
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Farewell Salutes –
Mary Amonette (102) – Roslyn, NY; Civilian, Grumman fighter plane construction / WAF WASPS, pilot
Juan M. Borjon – Tucson, AZ; 11th Airborne Division
Douglas Cummings – Euless, TX; US Army, Vietnam, 82nd Airborne Division
Daniel De Anda – USA; US Army, Korea, Cpl., Co G/2/23/2/8th Army, KWC (POW Camp # 5, NK)
James J. Deeds – USA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, 1st Lt., B-24 pilot, 345 BS/98 BG/9th Air Force, KIA (Ploiesti, ROM)
David M. Findlay – Kitchner, CAN; RC Army, WWII, ETO, Scots Fusiliers
Thomas F. Gaffney – Honolulu, HI; US Army, Korea, Vietnam & Lebanon, Capt. (Ret. 24 y.), 101st Airborne Commander, Bronze Star, 3-Silver Stars
Mabel Hlebakos (103) – Petaluma, CA; Civilian, WWII, Hamilton Air Force Base
Melvin B. Meyer – Pattonville, MO; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, 1st Lt., 569BS/390BG/13BW/8th Air Force, B-17G bombardier, KIA (Leipzig, GER)
George J. Reuter – USA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, 1st Lt., B-24 navigator, 328BS/93BG/8th Air Force, KIA (Ploiesti, ROM)
Mark P. Wilson – Elizabethton, TN; US Army, WWII, ETO, Pfc., Co A/1/112/28th Infantry Division, KIA (Kommerscheidt, GER)
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Handling additional Pacific Surrenders
Okinawa surrender
In the Ryukyus Islands, things were far more simple than on the Missouri. The senior officer in the Sakishima Gunto, Lt. General Gon Nomi, Toshiro, whose headquarters was on Miyako Shima, had been given authority to conclude a peace treaty for all Army and Navy forces in the Sakishima Gunto, Daito Islands and the islands in the Okinawa Gunto not already under American control. The official papers were signed on 7 September 1945, with General Stillwell presiding.
Gen. Hata at the Soviet surrender table.
General Shunroku Hata and his Army had taken only three weeks in April-May of 1944 to rout 300,000 Chinese soldiers in Honan to secure the Peking-Hankow railroad. He then moved south and then west to meet up with the Japanese forces in French Indochina. The 14th Air Force and the Chinese Air Force could not stop the offensive and by the end of May, General Marshall and the Joint Chiefs of Staff basically wrote off the Chinese Theater. Yet in the end, Gen. Hata signs the surrender.
Lord Louis Mountbatten with MacArthur
12 September, Lord Mountbatten accepted the surrender of all enemy forces in Southeast Asia in Singapore. Once again, the Union Jack was flying over Government House. But, due to Britain’s overstretched resources, Japanese soldiers were used to maintain law and order in the region. Europe’s colonialism was severely damaged and in 1947, Britain granted independence to India and Pakistan.
17 August, American parachutists landed near Nanking on the Wse-hsien interment camp. The Japanese were forced to protect the troopers from the unrest (actually chaos) erupting in the area between Communist and Nationalist armies. On 9 September, General Ho Chin accepted the Japanese surrender of China (except Manchuria, Formosa [now Taiwan] and Indochina north of the 16th parallel in the name of Chiang Kai. Mao’s forces stayed away even though Allied officials were present. By not being at Central Military Academy in Whampoa, he was in violation of the Potsdam accords and went on to accept his own regional surrenders.
Lt. Gen. Masao Baba at Borneo surrender
The British had been slow in retaking Hong Kong and revolts broke out. The POWs were not receiving food and the Chinese population caused riots in the streets. The British civil servants eventually took over while the Japanese kept the order. 16 September, the official surrender took place, but not until November were all Japanese troops in the New Territories relieved, disarmed and repatriated.
After a meeting in Rangoon, Mountbatten arranged for the Allied forces to enter Siam and Indochina. Thirteen days later, he flew his 7th Indian Division to Bangkok to move onward to Saigon. They were to assist the French in securing the southern half of Vietnam again as a French colony. The Americans felt that the French had already bled the country dry over the past century and so here – the start of the Vietnam War that would last until 1974.
Thailand had survived by playing both sides while attempting to appear neutral. Japanese General Hamada, responsible for heinous POW atrocities, committed seppuku.
Indonesia was grateful to the Japanese for throwing out the Dutch and declared their independence. Although British and Dutch troops made attempts to return them to colonization, they resisted. The Americans moved in with orders to disarm the Japanese and then leave. It would take four years of fighting before the Hague would recognize Indonesia as a sovereign country.
THE JAPANESE SURRENDER IN BURMA, 1945 (SE 4821) Brigadier E F E Armstrong of British 12th Army staff signs the surrender document at Rangoon on behalf of the Allies. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205208318
Burma disliked the Japanese, but they had given them a taste of independence from the British. They took no part in the surrender proceedings. After the Japanese were shipped home and fighting resumed with the British, the independent nation nation was established 4 January 1948.
India had acquired their own army under the Japanese Co-Prosperity Sphere, but not independence. After the war, the British tried in vain to hold the country, but hostility forced them to grant India their freedom in 1947. The transition was overseen by Governor General Mountbatten.
Korea – September 1945 – being relieved of all weapons
In Korea, the Japanese were ordered to sweep Inchon harbor of mines before the American fleet arrived. The Japanese, here again, were needed to maintain order until Koreans could be trained to contain the mobs. Korea had actually been ignored as far as surrender and removal of the Japanese. The U.S. had gone there to disarm the enemy. The end result of the incompetent handling of Korea during and after WWII attributed to the Korean War.
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Military Humor –
Best Before end of the world
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Farewell Salutes –
Robert M. Abbott – Arvada, CO; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, HQ Co/11th Airborne Division,
‘Japan Surrender’ by: Howard Brodie
Patrick Blanchard Jr. – Minot, ND; US Army, Operation Iraq & Afghanistan, B Co/2/506/101st Airborne Division
Armada “Joe” Cafazzo – Hartford, CT; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne Division
Louis J. Demotsis – Talladega, AL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, B-17 belly gunner
George “Bob” Gamble – Liberty Lake, WA; US Navy, end of WWII, PTO, bringing troops home
Richard E. Johanson Sr. – Orofino, ID; US Navy, WWII, LST USS Oceanus
Gladys Le Breton (102) – St. Louis Plantation, LA; Civilian, WWII, submarine watch, Gulf of Mexico
Bill Moffett – Shawnee, KS; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO
Edward Puzio – Binghamton, NY US Army Air Corps, WWII, B-17 pilot
Vernon Sommerer – Jefferson City, MO; US Army, Japanese War Trials, MP
May-Blossom Wilkinson (101) – Wahiawa, HI; Women’s Army Volunteer Corps, Army Transport
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SURRENDER
11th Airborne Honor Guard
The above photo shows the 11th Airborne Reconnaissance Battalion Honor Guard as they presented arms to the Allied and Japanese delegations upon their arrival to the USS Missouri, 2 September 1945.
General Douglas MacArthur, despite the irate fuming of the Soviets, was to be the Supreme Commander in Japan for the Occupation and rebuilding of the country. No occupational zone was given to the Russians regardless of their protests. The Soviets were insisting that they were to receive the Kuriles and Hokkaido in Northern Honshu as their ‘spoils of war.’ Stalin sent an emissary with these plans to MacArthur, who in reply threatened to sent the messenger back to Moscow rather than allow him to remain in his observer status. Stalin also sent a telegram to Truman with the same demands. At first, the president felt he would just ignore the irrational request, but then decided to just send a negative reply. The Soviet plan for the takeover was in effect until 23 August, when the Russian leader realized that Admiral Nimitz controlled the Japanese waters and he would be risking an armed conflict.
Instrument of Surrender
At 0700 hours on Sunday morning, 2 September, guests to the Japanese surrender ceremony began arriving as destroyers pulled up to the USS Missouri and unloaded their passengers, military officers and correspondents from around the globe. At 0805 hours, Admiral Nimitz climbed on board and MacArthur at 0843. Finally, the Japanese delegation went up the starboard gangway at 0855. Foreign Minister, Mamoru Shigemitsu, using a cane and in agony because of a poorly fitted artificial leg, and General Umezu were followed by nine representatives, three each from the Army, Navy and Foreign Office. They paused, awaiting directions, each wearing a Shiran Kao (nonchalant face). The proceedings began at precisely 0908 hours with men draped from the decks and 450 aircraft from Task Force 38 roaring above in the overcast skies.
An invocation was read by the ship’s chaplain with the entire company standing at attention and a recording of the “Star-Spangled Banner” played through the speakers. Kase, the Foreign Minister’s secretary, felt his throat constrict upon seeing the number of small painted Rising Suns on the bulkhead. Each miniature flag represented a Japanese plan or submarine destroyed. Admiral Tomioka wondered why the Americans were showing no signs of contempt for them, but also, anger seared through him at the sight of the Soviet presence. The eyes of General Percival and Colonel Ichizi Sugita (interpreter) locked as they both remembered an earlier surrender and their painful memory at the Ford factory in Singapore.
MacArthur making history.
Generals Wainwright and Percival stood with MacArthur as he began to speak, “We are gathered here to conclude a solemn agreement whereby Peace may be restored…” (There was a brief interruption by an inebriated delegate [thankfully NOT American] who began making faces at the Japanese.)
When the general had finished and the U.S. and Japan had signed the documents, as if on cue, the sun broke through the clouds. The next to sign was China, Britain, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands and New Zealand. MacArthur announced, “These proceedings are closed.” He then leaned over to Admiral Halsey and asked, “Bill, where the hell are those planes?” As if the pilots could hear the general’s irritation – 400 B-29s and 1,500 aircraft carrier planes appeared out of the north and roared toward the mists of Mount Fujiyama.
MacArthur then went over to another microphone to broadcast back to the United States, “Today the guns are silent. A great tragedy has ended…” Japan’s delegates, now no longer considered the enemy, were saluted as they left the quarterdeck.
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Historical note – Almost a century before these proceedings, Commodore Perry had opened the West’s door to Japan. In commemoration of this, Admiral Halsey arranged for the actual Stars & Stripes, flown by Perry’s flagship in 1853, to be flown out to Japan for the ceremonies.
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Note of Interest – Truman was very pleased that the “USS Missouri” was chosen for the momentous occasion. It was one of the four largest battleships in the world, it was named after his home state and christened by his daughter, Margaret. (I find it hard to believe that this was just a coincidence.)
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Humorous note – On 1 September, the “Missouri’s” gunnery officer, Commander Bird, held a dress rehearsal for the ceremonies with 300 of the ship’s sailors. Everything went well until the band began to play the “Admiral’s March.” The stocky chief boatswain’s mate nicknamed, Two-Gut,” froze in his steps and scratched his head saying, “I’ll be damned! Me, an admiral!”
When the real Admiral Nimitz came aboard, he nearly went unnoticed. In desperation, Commander Bird shouted, “Attention, all hands!” Everyone on the ship became so silent that you could hear the waves lapping at the ship’s hull.
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SHOUT OUT !!!
Please take a look at a current 11th Airborne story that Rosalinda Morgan was kind enough to post. It just
happened to have occurred very close to where I live…
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Denis Neil Boak (100) – Northcote, NZ; RNZ Air Force, # 436452, WWII
Anthony Di Petta – USA; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Ordnanceman 1st Class, USS Enterprise, Torpedo Squadron 20, KIA (Malakai, Palau Is.)
Thomas F. Green – Ramona, CA; US Army, Vietnam, Pfc., 68 Aviation Co/52 Aviation Batt./17th Aviation Group, door gunner on Chinook helicopter “Warrior 143”, KIA (Nha Trang, SV)
Loretta Hanson (100) – Detroit, MI; US Woman’s Marine Corps, WWII
Tessie Kindos – Asbury Park, NJ; Civilian, WWII, Brooklyn Army Terminal
Harold Kretzer – Odin, IL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, TSgt., 66BS/$$BG/8th Air Force, B-24 gunner-engineer, KIA (Ploiesti, ROM)
George Lewis – Cleveland County, OK; US Army, WWII, ETO
Hershey Miyamura – Gallup, NM; US Army, WWII, 100th Infantry Batt. / Korea, POW, Medal of Honor (Author dis a post on Mr. Miyamura a while back. If you care to read more of his story… https://pacificparatrooper.wordpress.com/2014/03/24/intermission-stories-5/
David J. Riley – Juda, WI; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Seaman 2nd Class, USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor, HI)
Harry Wickham – Floral City, FL; US Merchant Marines, WWII, Ensign, radio operator
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Smitty & the 11th Airborne in Japan
Smitty’s, Broad Channel, NY
Just as General Douglas MacArthur said to Gen. Robert Eichelberger that it was a long road to Tokyo, so it was for Smitty. Yes, the stretch from Broad Channel to Camp MacKall and finally Atsugi Airfield was a long and arduous road, but here, the 11th Airborne Division arrives in Japan to begin the Occupation and to help start the rebuilding of a country.
With the initial arrival of the division, rarely was a female between the ages of 8 and 70 seen on the streets. The Japanese had heard their government’s propaganda for years as to the American looting and raping, so they were understandably afraid of the conquering troops. But many were confused about the peaceful attitude of the soldiers and a member of the 511th regiment was stopped one day by a Japanese officer, he asked, “Why don’t you rape, loot and burn? We would.” The trooper answered that Americans just don’t do that.
11th A/B guarding the New Grand Hotel
With the New Grand Hotel surrounded by troopers, the manager and his staff bowed to Gen. MacArthur and his party and directed them to their suites. Tired and hungry from their long flight, the Americans went to the dining room and were served steak dinners. Gen. Whitney remembered wanting to take MacArthur’s plate to make certain it hadn’t been poisoned. When he told the general his concern and intentions, MacArthur laughed and said, “No one can live forever.”
The hotel would become his headquarters and later that evening, MacArthur told his staff, “Boys, this is the greatest adventure in military history. Here we sit in the enemy’s country with only a handful of troops, looking down the throats of 19 fully armed divisions and 70 million fanatics. One false move and the Alamo would look like a Sunday school picnic.” (The fact that nothing happened, I believe, said quite a bit about Japanese integrity.)
Atsugi Airfield, Japan 1945
The division Command Post was moved from the Atsugi Airfield to the Sun Oil Compound in Yokohama. This compound had about 15 American-style homes complete with furniture, dishes, silver and linens. The senior staff officers were not so fortunate. They were put up in warehouses on the docks, often without heat.
Smitty @ Sun Oil
On the reverse side of this photo, Smitty wrote: “A picture of the General’s gang taken in the living room at Yokohama. Reading left to right – baker, first cook, Mess Sergeant, me headwaiter and on the floor, second cook. Those glasses you can see were always full. You can’t beat this Japanese beer.”
Smitty (2nd from left) and rest of the crew
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In the Philippines, the Japanese emissary General Kawabe, finished their surrender talks. Kawabe’s aide, Second Lt. Sada Otake, introduced himself to a Nisei G.I. standing guard outside. The guard, in response, said his name was Takamura. Otake said he had married a Nisei by the same name and did he had a sister named Etsuyo? The guard nodded and Otake said, “I’m her husband. Look me up in Japan.” And the brothers-in-law shook hands. (Small world or fate?)
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Tokyo Rose – on the air
On 1 September, newsmen Harry Brundige and Clark Lee, with the help of a Japanese newsman, located Tokyo Rose with her husband in their hotel, the Imperial. Brundige offered her $2,000 for an exclusive interview for “Cosmopolitan” magazine. She agreed and together they typed out 17 pages of notes. The editor of the magazine was so astounded that Brundige had made a deal with a traitor that he rejected the story. The notes were handed over to Lee, who wrote his own version of the story for the International News Service.
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
John F. Aranyosi – Hammond, LA; US Army, WWII & Korea, Sgt. (Ret. 22 y.)
J.D. Bishop – Anniston, AL; US Army, WWII, PTO, Purple Heart
Final Mission
Try A. Charles (103) – DeLeon, LA; US Merchant Marines, WWII, ETO, radioman/medic
Lionel J. Desilets (100) – Paradise Hill, CAN; RC Army, WWII
William H. Flowers (100) – Cambridge, MD; US Army Air Corps, WWII, B-25 flight instructor
Guy J. George – Barre, VT; US Army, WWII, CBI
William F. Gusie – IL; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Fire Controlman 3rd Class, USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor, HI)
Vernon Hermann – Seward, NE; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Pharmacist’s Mate / Korea, Observer Corps
Marvin Krauss – Redding, CT; US Navy, WWII, Corpsman
Richard M. Marshall – Gilbert, AZ; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne Division
A.N. Perry – Surfside, FL; US Coast Guard, WWII, PTO, LST radioman
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Pacific Paratrooper 