Events that inadvertently led to Pearl Harbor

Teddy Roosevelt, courtesy of: The Saturday Evening Post

For centuries Asian products were desired, but one of the most profitable trade routes operated from India to China, introducing opium into that country.  This market accounted for 20% of the British Empire’s revenue and was the basis of the Roosevelt family wealth.

Teddy Roosevelt, a frail and sickly aristocrat, was taught thru his youth and at Harvard of Aryan supremacy in government and intellect.  Columbia University professor John Burgess impressed him with white American world domination.  With this ideology, he followed the European nations in absorbing colonies.  He pushed for control of the Philippines where the American behavior was deplorable, but overlooked.  The U.S. Minister to Japan, DeLong, encouraged “General” Charles LeGendre to go to Japan and instruct them on invasion tactics and instigate his “Monroe Doctrine” for Asia. (Three decades later it would be known as the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere of WWII).  When Japan invaded Manchuria, Roosevelt said, “I was thoroughly pleased with the Japanese victory for Japan is playing our game.”  Although U.S. advisors assured Korea that America was their “Elder Brother,” in 1905 Roosevelt closed the embassy and said, “I should like to see Japan have Korea.”  The Nobel prize committee did not know of his secret meetings with Japan during the Russo-Japanese War and gave him the Peace prize.

Teddy Roosevelt had not only opened the door for Japan to conquer neighboring nations, he gave them the ideal instructor and plans to do it with.  For detailed information see: The Imperial Cruise, by James Bradley

Japan’s fear of being colonized and the government’s expansionist policies led to its own imperialism in Asia and the Pacific, as it sought to join the great powers, all of which were Western nations.  The Japanese government saw it necessary to become a colonial power in order to be modern and therefore Western.   In addition, resentment was fanned in Japan by the rejection of the Japanese Racial Equality Proposal in the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, as well as by a series of racist laws, which enforced segregation and barred Asian people (including Japanese), from citizenship, land ownership, and immigration to the U.S.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Being that Japan found it necessary to import food, fuel and American planes parts, here was the edge that FDR needed to coax the U.S. public into war.  When Germany failed to declare war, he froze Japan’s assets on July 26, 1941.  The ABCD powers (American, British, Chinese & Dutch) followed suit and this became a choke chain around Japan’s neck which FDR jerked as he saw fit until Pearl Harbor exploded into a scene of destruction.  This action not only got the U.S. into the war, but FDR made certain that the major effort would be to assist his friend Winston Churchill – not the Pacific.

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Military Humor –

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Farewell Salutes – 

Richard O. Bassuener – Falls Church, VA; US Army, Vietnam, Captain, 172nd Military Intel Detachment, Bronze Star

Raymond C. Chapman – Buffalo, NY; USMC, Vietnam, baker

Orville J. Cox – Haskell, TX; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Pfc. # 18038067, 34/24 Pursuit Group, KIA (Bataan, Luzon)

Kenneth Gettman – Fort Morgan, CO; US Navy, USS Yorktown & Midway

William A. Hansche – Piscataway, NJ; US Air Force, Major (Ret. 23 y.) / Civilian, US Army

Thomas L. Harrington – Sioux City, IA; US Navy, USS Midway & Dyes

Robert E. Leahy – Fitchburg, MA; US Navy, USS Midway

Ronald E. Nichols – Stow, OH; US Navy, USS Midway, Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Ret.)

Kenneth Pennington (105) – Wheeling, WV; US Navy, WWII, ETO & PTO, USS Princeton, Engineering Chief Torpedo Planes, USS Midway /  Korea, Warrant Machinist One (Ret. 20 y.)

Charles R. Powers – Riverside, CA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Pfc. # 19028288, 28th Material Sq/20 Air Base Group, POW, DWC (Cabanatuan Camp, Luzon)

Carl Swanson – Jefferson, WA; US Air Force

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qr Pacific Paratrooper code

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As We Move Forward…

Courtesy of: “Voice of the Angels”

As we venture back to the past, Smitty’s letters, the Farewell Salutes, occasionally a homeland episode and military humor will be published each week.   My bibliography has grown to 6 pages long; my library has grown considerably since I first chronicled the war., you can see them at Library YTD.

I will be re-blogging  some of my own posts from the Archives – updated since they were first published.

This entire site is dedicated to my father, Everett A. Smith, aka “Smitty”, who served in the Headquarters Company/187th Regiment/11th Airborne Division in the Pacific during WWII and the 11th A/B as a whole; therefore it is only right that I do so.

Smitty never said, “I did this” or “I did that,”  it was always – “The 11th did IT!”

Smitty or Pops

As a member of the 11th Airborne Association myself, I am privy to their newsletter, “The Voice of the Angels,” edited by Joann Doshier, and I will be using quotes and stories from that publication.  Mr. Matt Underwood, past editor and the officers of the Association have been of great assistance to me and I thank them very much for their help.

This website is ever changing and being updated, because further knowledge is always being learned.  Smitty told me and many others, “I try to learn something every day.  When I stop, Please, close the lid.”  I have never forgotten that motto to live by and I sincerely hope you all do the same.

Major General Joseph May Swing, Cmdr. of the 11th Airborne Div.

Please, DO continue to share what stories you know and/or a link to data you’ve uncovered and put them in the comments.  I am afraid no emails will be opened.  If you are not a blogger, you can Follow by clicking the Follow button in the top right-hand corner of each post.

I thank you all for your contributions in the past and hope you will continue to do so.  If you are new to this site – WELCOME!!  We have a wonderful group of people participating here – join them.  Reminder  – help show your support of our veterans .

Please remember that these countries, in the following posts, were in a horrendous war and NOTHING written or quoted here is with the intent to disparage any people or nations.  And, I have tried to limit the amount of gory details without shading the facts.  I hope I succeed.

Click on images to enlarge.

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Military Humor – 

Some definitions you may want to keep in mind:

ARMY – a body of men assembled to rectify the mistakes of the diplomats

DRAFT BOARD – the world’s largest travel agency

MILITARY EXPERT – one who tells you what will happen next week – and then explains why it didn’t

NEW GUINEA SALUTE – waving the hand over the mess kit to ward off the flies

PACIFIST – a person who fights with everybody BUT the enemy

WAR – a time that starts off paying old scores and ends up by paying new debts

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Farewell Salutes – 

William Anders – brn: Hong Kong; US Air Force, fighter pilot, MGeneral, Naval Academy Class of ’55 / NASA Astronaut

Bill Cameron (100) – Vancouver, CA; RC Navy, WWII, ETO, HMCS Kitchener

Gary E. Dunbar – IA & CA; US Navy, Vietnam, gunner’s mate, USS Piedmont, Midway & Enterprise /  Nuclear weapons inspector, Chief Petty Officer (Ret.)

William Russell Enoch – Sunderland, ENG; Royal Air Force / actor

Robert E. Feron – Hempstead, NY; US Army, WWII, Co C/78th Regiment // USMC, Korea, Sgt., USS Midway & Antietam

George Herbert – Fall River, MA; US Navy, WWII, PTO, gunner’s mate 1st Class, USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor, HI)

Gerald Francis Long – MN; US Army, Vietnam

Robert “Al” Persichetti (102) – Rochester, NY; US Navy, WWII, PTO, radioman, USS Eldorado

Robert Ryan Jr. – Coronado, CA; US Navy, Vietnam, A-7 Corsair pilot, USS Constellation & Enterprise, US Naval Academy Class of ’67 / USS Midway Museum volunteer

Robert T. Williams – Skaneateles, NY; US Navy, WWII, USS Midway

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Smitty: Everett A. Smith

Smitty in school & his mother, Anna Smith, Broad Channel, NY

The next posts will be a re-play of Smitty’s bio and letters home to his mother on Broad Channel, NY.  We have quite a number of new readers who are unfamiliar with Smitty.  I hope none of my long-time readers become bored.

Everett Smith was born Dec. 12, 1914 and grew up across from the gentle waves of Jamaica Bay on an island one mile long and barely four blocks wide.  This was the tight-knit community of Broad Channel, New York.  He resided with his mother, Anna, on peaceful East 9th Road and spent his days between school, working and helping to care for his grandmother.  Everett’s nickname had always been “Smitty” and so, the name of his fishing station came to be.  In 1939, at 24 years of age, he married a woman named Catherine and she joined the Smith household.

Smitty’s boat rental

News of Hitler and his rise to power filtered into the newspapers and radio, but the Smith’s still had the memories of WWI and their financial struggles in what would be become known as the Great Depression.  The majority of the U.S. population held the ideal of isolationism in high regard and the Smith household agreed wholeheartedly.  Everett was baffled by FDR’s election as his past political and personal records indicated both amoral and often criminal behavior.  The president began to stretch his powers to the limit to assist his friend, Winston Churchill, but U.S. citizens were straining to survive.

Grassy Point, Broad Channel, NY

On Oct. 30, 1940, Roosevelt spouted in Boston, “I give you one more assurance.  I have said it before, but I shall say it again and again and again: Your boys are not going to be sent to any foreign wars.”  My father did not believe FDR then and as we look back — he was right.

Fort Dix, NJ

Everett received his draft notice in Sept. 1942.  He would be sent to Fort Dix, New Jersey where he volunteered for the paratroopers.  He would immediately then be sent to Camp MacKall, North Carolina for the start of his vigorous training.  Smitty became part of one of the most unique army units of its day, the 11th Airborne Division, Headquarters Company, 187th regiment.

Draft card
You’re in the Army now!

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Military Humor – 

“I’VE BEEN TRYING TO GET MY LIFE IN ORDER FOR 15 YEARS. NOW MY DRAFT BOARD EXPECTS ME TO DO IT IN 10DAYS!”

“This one is from the army.”

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Farewell Salutes – 

Bud Anderson (102) – Auburn, CA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, P-51 Triple Ace pilot, 357th FG  /  test pilot  / Pentagon/ Vietnam, Commander 355th TAC Fighter Wing, Col. (Ret. 28 y.), DFC, Bronze Star

George E. Davies – Portland, OR; US Army Air Corps, WWII, SSgt., B-24 Asst. Engineer, 345BS/98BG/9th Air Force, KIA (Bucharest, ROM)

Respect
Courtesy of Dan Antion

Herbert Elfring (102) – Watertown, SD; US Army, WWII, PTO, Captain, Pearl Harbor survivor

Noah Huff – USA; USMC, Cpl., Marine Fighter Squadron 242, F-35B, DWS (Hiroshima, JAPAN)

Mark Long – Bury St Edmunds, West Suffolk, Suffolk County, UK; RAF, Squadron Leader, Typhoon/Spitfire pilot

Bryan Myers Jr. – Cobden, IL; US Army, Korea, Pvt., CoH/2/35/25th Infantry Division, KIA (Mt. Chulmol, SK)

Marvin Price –  Missouri City, TX; US Air Force, Vietnam, Iran, P.I., aircraft maintenance (Ret. 26 y.)

John Robertson – USA; US Air Force, Captain, 80th Operation Support Squadron, pilot/instructor, Air Force Academy (class 2019), DWS (Sheppard AFB, TX)

Cierra Nglias Truce – Koror City, Palau; US Army, Pfc., supply specialist, 1/5/1/11th Airborne Division ‘Artic Angels’, DWS (Alaska)

Mose E. Vance – Bradshaw, WV; US Army, WWII, ETO, Pvt., CoF/2/180/45th Infantry Division KIA (Reipertswiller, FRA)

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