Smitty | Still in Japan
No matter where he is or what he’s doing, Smitty will be seen touring the sights. In Japan, he also did his best to absorb the culture that surrounded him.
Inside the above brochure, Smitty wrote, “Right after we left this place, it burnt down. This was really a million dollar joint! Wow! The girls here, by the way, are very nice. I like these people much better than the Filipinos.” (Just to remind the reader, and in all fairness, Smitty had lost his best friend to a Filipino Japanese sympathizer (makipilli) with a grenade booby-trap in his cot)
In October 1945, General Pierson was transferred back home. He was replaced by General Shorty Soule who had commanded the 188th regiment in both training and combat. He was later promoted to assistant division commander of the 38th Division and at this point he began to head the Miyagi Task Force.
Hereafter, the troopers began to return to the States as they collected their “points” and the replacements that were arriving were not jump qualified. Gen. Swing established yet another jump school, the fourth one in the history of the 11th Airborne. This one was established at the former Japanese Air Corps base near Yanome; about 15 miles from Sendai.
Following through with his own requirements that all men in the division be both paratroopers and glidermen, Swing started a glider school in the summer of 1946 at Yamoto Air Base. [renamed Carolus Field, in honor of Cpl. Charles Carolus, killed in a glider crash near Manila, 22 July 1945]
Smitty, in Japan
On the reverse side of the picture above, Smitty wrote, “a beauty of a flock of ducks were going by just as the jerk snapped the camera.”
The 187th Regiment, was by this time, now being called “Rakkasans” (umbrella men) by the Japanese, a name which stayed with them through four wars: WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, Desert Storm and the Operations of today.
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
John W. Archer III (102) – Mount Holly, NJ; US Army, WWII, 5th & 7th Armies
Jackson W. Baumbach (100) – New Cumberland, PA; USMC, WWII, PTO
Patricia Carbine – Aberdeen, SD; US Army WAC, WWII, ETO, nurse
Ethel (Marder)Donley – New Bedford, MA; US Navy WAVE, WWII, Pharmacist’s mate
Charles W. Eeds – Durant, OK; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Cpl., 48th Materiel Squadron, POW, DWC (Cabanatuan Camp)
Michael T. Ernst – MA; US Navy, SEAL, Chief Special Warfare Operator
James E. Farley Sr. – -Columbus, OH; US Merchant Marines & US Coast Guard, WWII
Obed D. Howard – Corsicana, TX; US Navy, WWII, PTO, coxswain for Adm. Nimitz
Martin L. Nass – NY & La Jolla, Ca; US Navy, WWII, USS Topeka
Leroy M. Slenker – Portland, OR; US Army, WWII, PTO, Pvt. # 19004368, 75th Ordnance Depot Co., POW KIA (Luzon, P.I.
Mark Williams – Delray Beach, FL; US Air Force, pilot,
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Posted on February 27, 2023, in Letters home, Post WWII, WWII and tagged 11th airborne, Army, Everett Smith, family history, History, Japan, Military, Military History, Pacific War, Smitty, WW2, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 103 Comments.
Pacific Paratrooper 
Terrific post! So little is known about what it was like for the soldiers and sailors who were in the Pacific theater after the war ended. I learned a lot from this post. Keep up the great work!!
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Thank you very much, Stephen. Do you have any posts about the PT boats during the occupation or later?
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Umbrella Men seemed a perfect description of the paratroopers in a place not familiar with their appearance. I really like the fact that your dad explored the places he was stationed when he had a chance. He was a curious soul.
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Being forced to leave school during the Depression, he always felt that learning something everyday was vital for everyone.
Thanks, Bev.
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Hubs is currently getting second chemo round in a VA hospital and he loved the Cartoons. Says to let you know this particular hospital(TrumanVA) does a regular Honor Walk for departed vets. So far, there has been an Honor Walk every day he’s been admitted. We hear they don’t do these at all VA’s so figured I’d spread the awareness here. Appreciate all your posts!
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Please thank him for telling me about the Honor Walk! I think that is truly outstanding. I did a post about Angel Flights, but I doubt any of those are still done.
I sincerely pray the chemo does its job for him as well! Heck, I need all the support I can get, Katy!!
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We appreciate that very much!
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When I was doing a food event with Japanese food, an older lady asked me what I was making. When she found out it was a Japanese dish, she had told me she and her husband were stationed there during the rebuilding. Super interesting to run into people decades later with connections to Japan. BTW, she was picking up miso for miso soup.
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I often tell people, you never know who you’re talking to. I had a long wait at the bank one day and sat next to an older man. Turns out he fought in the CBI and then was sent to Japan. Events like that happen a lot, and doesn’t it feel great?!!
Once I was introduced to Asian cooking as a child, I was hooked!!
Thanks for bringing me your story, Greg. Always a pleasure.
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Great cartoons. The point about the French, though made with humour, highlights the complicated nature of French history in 1939-45. As usual, you are teaching me more every time I visit.
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Thank you for saying so.
May I ask your opinion of this…
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Interesting stories. I’m always up for a good anti-French story, as we have been fighting each other for a thousand years. I believe if you look at the stats they are actually ahead of us on battles won. One of the wars lasted over 100 years. My grandfather, who served on the Western Front said he actually preferred the Germans to the French, as they were more trustworthy. It’s strange how the Americans now dislike them after they helped you in the Revolutionary War and gave you the Statue of Liberty. As late as 1918 the French were using Lafayette and the Statue of Liberty as paper flags for fund-raising. They often crop up on eBay.
As for the Archbishop of Canterbury and Colin Powell – too political for me. A discussion that starts with the Church and politics has the potential to run for months, and I’m too old to start it. 🙂
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The revolution seems like eons ago. Despite us being a young country, every generation has us changing drastically. The Statue was a gift that to many has more importance to immigrants than the American-born.
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Yes, an irony that an American icon is best seen by non-Americans. I think 350 years is quite old for a country when you look at some. Every time I look at a map of Europe we seem to have grown another one that wasn’t here last year.
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haha, You’re right, I do have to update my globe more often.
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When I do those on-line geography tests you can do, I honestly know more about the states of America than I do about the countries of Eastern Europe.
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Thank you for that. Perhaps you hear about them more than other areas?
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You dad had many experiences, and seeing the sights was one of them. Wonderful that he saved his memorabilia.
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Dad was sending all this stuff home and Grandma put together a scrapbook.
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Thank goodness on both counts!
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👍
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We loose so many friends and family in military. So much tragedy. Anita
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No one wins in war.
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Reblogged this on .
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Thank you, Dave.
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GP, sorry to read of Mark’s passing – my condolences. The cartoon about the Xbox/Playstation is great, and it is always nice to hear of Smitty’s experiences.
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I appreciate you saying so, Bruce. Thank you for stopping by.
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The slide show was beautiful. The wondrous things Smitty saw! Your father was wise to see what he could of the world, as much as he was given to opportunity to do so.
Gliders – I can’t help remembering one of Rick’s friends was killed a long time ago piloting a recreational glider. It was a freak accident with a cactus in the southwest. The glider wing clipped a saguaro as it came in for a landing. The cactus fell across the cockpit, breaking the pilot’s neck.
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OMG, what a horrible accident for Rick’s friend. Who would have guessed that a cactus could kill anyone like that and what a shock for family and friends!!
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It was a real shock, a reminder of how fragile life is and it can be extinguished at any moment by something totally unforseen.
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Well said, Lavinia.
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Great toons as always. Because this forthcoming book is about glider pilots, I’ll bring it to your attention. Read or not as preferred.
https://scottmcgaugh.com/books.html
WWII glider pilot George Buckley honored a courageous brethren of heroes when he said “Those of us who have gone to war and watched our friends die before our eyes, will have these haunting memories forever with us. We will treasure life as never before and grieve silently for our young friends and buddies who did not return home.
The experience of Bucky and his squadron are included in my upcoming (March 7) book. Brotherhood of the Flying Coffing, the untold story of these amazing American heroes. Pre-orders available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. by Scott McGaugh
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That book does sound very interesting. Smitty couldn’t listen to Taps without tearing up. When they were developing the gliders, he said going to funerals in the afternoon were commonplace. As you can see here thoough, when the 11th used the gliders for Aparri, the operation went well.
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Re-read the post. Loved the account and the ‘tudes. Hope the book proves satisfying if you purchase it. Scott was written many books on the USS Midway both before and after she became a museum. Now he’s moved on to other adventures.
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👍
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Swing, jump, jerk, snap – don’t often get these all in one post 🙂
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Thanks, Derrick.
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I just reread the story about the veteran who was asked why he did not have his passport ready. And then laughed until my heart ached. Ha! Good point. Where were the French, BTW?
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haha, I think a lot of soldiers were wondering the same thing, Cindy.
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I’m sorry for the loss of your Dad’s best friend due to Makapili. They were traitors to the Filipino people. I love the 83-yr old army veteran with the French Customs agent. I’m sorry to hear you lost a longtime friend. Hugs.
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I appreciate your caring about these issues included in this post, Rose. You’ve always been a considerate person.
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I’m wondering if I somehow missed a post, since I couldn’t find a mention here of the loss others have referred to. That said, I’ll echo their sentiments. Losing a friend always is hard, no matter how it happens. I’m sure you have some of the same wonderful memories of your friend that you have of Smitty. Every time you include another little detail about his life — like his interest in the cultures he found himself in — I grow even more fond of him.
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I removed the mention that the last entry in the Salutes was my next-door neighbor because it was becoming the main topic of converstion, and sad for me.
Dad was quite a remarkable person, I must admit. I wish I could have been the same.
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Ah, that explains it. From what you’ve said about him, your friend would have understood you removing that bit of information, and supported you completely.
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As a Mormon, he is now on the next chapter of his life.
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Reading about your father makes me seem to know him better. Someone who never gave up, very dutiful and open to always learning more. That picture of your father, so good that you still have it. Losing a good friend is always hard in order to process
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Heel erg bedankt voor je interesse, Mary Lou. Hij had ook graag met jou over de natuur gesproken.
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I realise that as soon as partroopers land they are surrounded, but even more dangerous may be glider troops where in 1944 and 1945, the British had such enormous losses, with whole gliders being shot down or just crashing with all 30 men killed. I have a feeling that eventually they just gave them up as a bad job, too dangerous to bother with.
Was General Swing’s glider school a success? Or did he realise that the big problem with gliders was the presence of the enemy? As soon as they are part of things, the death toll just soars.
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The gliders being used in training at Camp MacKall, NC, resulted in daily deaths; but the operation at Aparri, Luzon, was a success. It took a while to correct and adjust the first gliders, but became useful as a result.
Thank you for your interest, John.
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love Smitty’s history and great pic
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Thank you, Beth.
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Safe to assume there was no causal relationship between Smitty’s visit and the hotel fire?
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I can’t believe he would ever be involved in destroying something he thought was beautiful. Besides, he was on Gen. Swing’s staff, if caught, the general would have been blamed.
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Oh, no! I apologize. I wasn’t suggesting arson.
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👍
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Always good to hear about Smitty, GP. I loved that France story. Reminded me of my uncle’s attitude. He was a P38 pilot in Europe
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Men like your uncle should know how it truly was, don’t you think?
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Yes he did.
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👍
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Yes, it is painful to lose a longtime friend.
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Thank you very much.
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It must have been quite an experience for your dad and his comrades, GP. I never got a chance to work with the 187th in Vietnam. They’d already moved from Phuoc Vinh to Bien Hoa, and worked in different areas from our operations. When I came back from RVN and went to Fort Knox, none of them were stationed there that I knew of.
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But, you know of their reputation. All to be thanked for such service – depite the disgraceful homecoming you received.
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This D-day story reminds me of what was said about my old now deceased father – who as a young lieutenant waited in a large forest with his people in the easternmost south Germany in 1956. Where NATO troops waited to see how far the Soviets would go. A local asked him if he could speak german, replied “Doesn’t matter I understand the difference between german language and russian language”.
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haha, fantastic! I love that answer (and how true it is!!)
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I enjoyed this very much, GP. Have a great new week. Hugs.
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Thank you, Teagan. I appreciate your visit.
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I think I would have like Smitty. And the 83-yo man entering France. Hilarious!
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Dad never met a woman he couldn’t charm, I know especially with your curiosity, you two would have hit it off in grand style.
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I am definitely charmed!
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😉
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Very nice to hear a personal story about Smitty.
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Thank you, Cindy. I appreciate that.
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It doesn’t surprise me Smitty learned as much as he could about the Japanese culture when he had a chance.
I never realized the was a continuance of training glidermen even after the war ended.
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Nowadays it’s commonplace, but back then with the old parachutes especially, the service was voluntary due to the danger.
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I am puzzled by you saying it is commonplace. The US discontinued the gliders in 1953.
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I must have misunderstood, I thought you were talking about training paratroopers. My apologies.
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You must be grateful to have a photo of your dad from the time he was stationed in Japan.
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Yes, indeed. When I blew up this picture for just Dad’s face, I was surprised to learn he had glasses on. I never saw Dad with glasses until he eventually needed them for reading.
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Interesting personal history from Smitty as always, GP. Today’s quote from the veteran is excellent!
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thank you, Pete. I appreciate it when Dad is remembered.
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Sorry for the loss of your friend….when you get to a certain age it is inevitable, but always hurts.
Loved the military humour! Reminds me of father whose views on the French army were generally derogatory, referring to it as the Comedie Francaise, though, to be fair, this was aimed at their commanders rather than the men themselves whose bravery he acknowledged. It used to run like this…’buggers let us down in 1914, buggers let us down in 1940’…you can guess the tone of the rest…
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Thank you, Helen.
I was surprised to learn that much of the French Underground was British, women included.
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Living in France I was privileged to meet genuine members of the Resistance, including one who, with his father, had been deported to the DORA camp. They were scathing about the people who claimed to be Resistants once D Day had taken place…
As I think I told you, mother was one of a group making radios for the French and Dutch resistance and was moved to meet some of the men who had used them, and saddened to hear of the fate of others not so lucky.
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Yes, you did tell me, but I’m happy you related your parent’s story here for others to see.
Much appreciated, Helen!
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Apologies…must be losing the brain cells faster than I thought!
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No apologies, Helen, I was happy to have you tell it again – honestly!
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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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Sorry for the loss of your friend, GP. And for your father’s loss of his. It never gets easier.
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No, it does not. We all have to go through it though, sad.
Thank you, Amy.
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Feeling the sorrow of a lost loved one can throw a person into grief. Its only natural. Naturally, life must go on most honorably by displaying deep emotion that connected the souls and proudly advertising contributions they made to this world. You do a most excellent service to those around you both living and passed on, GP. God bless!
P. S. Love the cartoons!
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Thank you very much for your concern, I’ve lost so many, you’d think I was a pro by now.
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The veteran with the passport. I like Smitty’s photo. My heart goes out to you on the loss of your neighbor.
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Thank you very much, Joy. As a Mormon, he is onward to the next chapter of his life, so as I told Dan, I think I’m feeling sorry for myself.
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The Rakkasans moniker is a deep honorific. It encapsulates the virtue of courage.
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I like that today’s Rakkasans are holding to that tradition!
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Absolutely!
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Smitty’s approach to life was amazing. The nickname is pretty cool. I can see why it stuck with them. Sorry to see your neighbor listed today. I liked the cartoons!
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Thank you for reading the entire post, Dan. Yes, my mood has been subdued lately due to Mark’s death. I lost yet another friend. It was his choice to let go, as he’s been in pain for quite a while, so I suppose I’m feeling sorry for myself.
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It’s difficult to lose longtime friends.
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Yes, it is. I appreciate you understanding.
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