Search Results for ANZAC Day
ANZAC Day
In honor of the Australian and New Zealand soldiers who have fought in numerous wars for their freedoms and the rights of others; 25 April is the designated date for memorial ceremonies and tributes.
ANZAC’s hard at work
There are ceremonies for the ANZAC’s and there are other poems, but I believe this says it all…
Ode of Remembrance
They shall grow not old, as we are left grow old;
Age will not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
Gone but not forgotten
The Spirit of ANZAC
Remembrance
Click on images to enlarge.
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If you have the time – Please visit my past post for the Anzac Centenary and others. Besides these, you could add ANZAC DAY to your Tags on your Reader pages to honor these troops.
https://pacificparatrooper.wordpress.com/2015/04/25/anzac-centenary/
From Su Leslie ____
https://zimmerbitch.wordpress.com/2016/04/23/six-word-saturday-aucklands-wwi-dead-lest-we-forget/
From John’s Storybook ___
https://johnsstorybook.wordpress.com/2016/04/22/anzac-day/
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Farewell Salutes –
Dick Beitler – Berne, IN; US Army, WWII, PTO
Mark Briggs – (Memoriam) – NZ Army, WWI, WIA
U.S Forces Honor Guard to honor all those that served for our freedoms in every war.
Donald E. Cook – Princeton, IL; US Navy, Korea, USS Columbus, Underwater Demolition Team
Gary Hardman – Newcastle, AUS; RA Navy, Vietnam, HMAS Paramatta, Ibis & Torrens
Alfred Hudson – NZ; RNZ Navy # C/SSX16068, WWII, ETO
James Lang – Hunter, AUS; RA Army, Vietnam
Carl Mankey – N.E. IN; USMC, WWII, PTO, 2 Purple Hearts
Francis Queenin – Puhinui, NZ; NZ Air Force # 34677, driver
Marquerite Schouten – Wairarapa, NZ; British Army # W/315535, Cpl.
Frank Streather – Sydney, AUS; RA Air Force, WWII, 452 Squadron
Honore Wright – Tauranga, NZ; WWII, ambulance driver
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ANZAC Day
In honor of the Australian and New Zealand soldiers who have fought in numerous wars for their freedoms and the rights of others; 25 April is the designated date for memorial ceremonies and tributes. My apologies for being a day late in this post.
ANZAC’s hard at work
There are ceremonies for the ANZAC’s and there are poems, but I believe this says it all…
Ode of Remembrance
They shall grow not old, as we are left grow old;
Age will not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
Gone but not forgotten
The Spirit of ANZAC
Remembrance
Click on images to enlarge.
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Farewell Salutes –
Douglas Belsham – Whakatane, NZ; RNZ Air Force # 78699
The Missing Man formation
Glen Constantine – Lake Worth, FL; 101st Air Calvary Division, Vietnam
Stephen Fookes – Auckland, NZ; RNZ Air Force # S92108, F/S ACFT Technician
Tresham Gregg – Cape Town, So. Afr.; 3 Royal Tank Reg., Colonel, WWII, ETO
Willie Johnson – Green Forest, AR; US Navy, WWII, ETO, USS Kassan Bay
George Kortas – Antioch, IL; US Army, WWII, 60th Regiment/9th Infantry Div., Bronze Star & 3 Purple Hearts
Les Langdon – Tasmania, AU; RAAF, WWII, PTO & ETO
Donald Martyn – Toronto, Can; WWII, ETO, HMCS Kootenay, navigator’s yeoman
Jerald Nine, Sr. – Dale City, VA; US Army, Korea, medic
George Richardson – Palmerston, North, NZ; RNZ Air Force # 71261, WWII, LAC No. 14 (F) Squadron
Damian Roche – Sydney, AU; RAR, Brigadier (Ret. 35 years)
Vincent Schindler – Iona, MN; US Navy, Korea, USS Eversole
Alfred Watt – Darwin, AU; RA Artillery, Colonel, WWII; Korea w/ the 163rd NZ Field Battery
Frank Watts – Renton, WA; US Navy, WWII
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25 April ANZAC Women
ANZAC Women
With today’s pandemic situation, we are seeing many similarities to WWI (ending in 1919), the 1920 pandemic, the Great Depression and WWII predicaments that also affected the entire planet.
We are additionally discovering that along with our militarys, there are many others that deserve our thanks and appreciation. So __ with that in mind, I chose, along with Garrulous Gwendoline’s encouragement, to salute the nurses that risked their lives working beside the ANZAC troops that are to be honored this 25 April.
Miss Phyllis M. Boissier
(pictured bottom right in the above image)
Elected Matron of Manly Cottage Hospital in 1912, Boissier then joined the World War I effort. She signed up with the Australian Army Nursing Service and traveled to Egypt in 1914. She was awarded the Royal Red Cross for her war service at Gezirah, where she tended to the wounded soldiers from Gallipoli. She became Matron of the hospital at Dieppe, France in 1917.
In 1918 she accepted the role of Matron at the RPAH. During her years as Matron, Miss Boissier contended with overcrowding in the wards. She also dealt with complications related to a new onsite building project which caused increased expenditures exacerbated by the Great Depression. An outbreak of pneumonic flu challenged Miss Bossier, as almost one hundred nurses became sick and were unfit to work.
Pearl Elizabeth Corkhill
Pearl Corkhill
Australian nurse Pearl Elizabeth Corkhill earned a prestigious Military Medal for her bravery as she tended to injured patients during a heavy air raid by German forces. She was serving at a casualty clearing station not far from the front line in Abbeville, France when it came under attack on 23 August, 1918.
During the bombing, Corkhill remained calm and continued to tend to her wounded patients, despite the danger.
Louise Mack
(10 October 1870 – 23 November 1935)
Marie Louise Hamilton Mack was an Australian poet, journalist and novelist. During the First World War, she reported from the front line for London’s Daily Mail and Evening News. She later wrote an autobiography titled A Woman’s Experiences in the Great War and was the author of 16 novels and a book of poetry.
New Zealand nurse, E.S. Barker, Malta 1915
Esther Barker –
New Zealand’s Ms. Barker and 2 friends were caught in France when war broke out and they sewed shirts for the troops. During the Gallipoli campaign, “The Trio” as the three artists called themselves, joined up as British Red Cross voluntary aides and sailed for Malta with about 200 other women.
WRN Enid Bell
Enid Bell –
Ms. Bell, a New Zealand nurse Enid Bell was the first ever member of the Women’s Royal Naval Service. Enid Bell trained as an ambulance driver, and went to France with the British Red Cross in April 1917
Elizabeth Kenny
(20 September 1880 – 30 November 1952)
Elizabeth Kenny was an unaccredited Australian nurse, who developed a controversial new approach to polio treatment while caring for ill soldiers during the First World War. Her muscle rehabilitation principles became the foundation of physiotherapy.
Working in Australia as an unaccredited bush nurse, Kenny was later accepted to serve during WWI.
She was assigned to dangerous missions on “dark ships”, transport that ran with all lights off between Australia and England. She made 16 round trips and one around the world and was officially promoted to the rank of Sister..
Katie Louisa Ardill
(3 August 1886 – 3 January 1955)
Katie Louisa Ardill was among the first female doctors to join the British Expeditionary Forces in 1915 after her application to serve with the Australian Expeditionary Forces was rejected because she was a woman. At that time, the Australian government prohibited women from service, compelling them to join overseas units instead.
She served as a doctor, treating wounded soldiers for four years in Britain, France and Egypt during the First World War and was promoted to the rank of Captain.
Major Alice Ross-King
Major Alice Ross-King
(5 August 1887 – 17 August 1968)
Alice Ross-King was one of four nurses awarded a Military Medal for their selfless actions at a casualty clearing station close to the trenches during an air raid in France on 22 July 1917.
Ross-King rescued patients in tents shattered by bombs, either carrying them to safety or putting tables over their beds to protect them. She and three other nurses, Dorothy Cawood, Mary Jane Derrer, and Clare Deacon, were recognized for their courageous actions.
When WWII broke out, Alice re-enlisted with the Australian Army Women’s Medical Services and was heavily involved in raising funds for the Red Cross.
Lest we forget.
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Military Humor –
desert humor
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Quarantine Humor – 
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Farewell Salutes –
Trevor Beech – Manawatu, NZ; RNZ Navy # 4345, WWII, radar
Allan Godbaz – Auckland, NZ; RNZ Air Force # 4311330
Ian Gordon – Richmond, AUS; RA Air Force, Air Commodore (Ret.)
Gordon Habgood – NZ; RNZ Air Force, Squadron leader
Roger Midgley – Gandarra, AUS; RA Navy #R63489
John Parkes – Pukeohe, NZ; RNZ Army # 16417
Dorothy (Ford) Pollard – Rotorua, NZ; WRNZ Air Force # 4374, WWII
Reece Stratford – Nelson, NZ; 2NZEF # 273145, WWII, 23rd Battalion
Barry Tebbs – Hamilton, NZ; RNZ Air Force LAC # 344661
Michael Wright – Canberra, AUS; RA Navy, Commander (Ret.)
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ANZAC Centenary
James Charles Martin (1901-1915), youngest Australian KIA at Gallipoli
Anzac Centenary
Between 2014 and 2018 Australia and New Zealand will commemorate the Anzac Centenary, marking 100 years since their involvement in the First World War.
Gallipoli today
The Anzac Centenary is a milestone of special significance to all Australians and New Zealanders. The First World War helped define them as a people and as nations.
During the Anzac Centenary they will remember not only the original ANZACs who served at Gallipoli and the Western Front, but commemorate more than a century of service by Australian and New Zealand servicemen and women. [And I hope other nations will as well.]
The Anzac Centenary Program encompasses all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations in which they have been involved. And to honour all those who have worn the uniforms. The programs involved with the Centenary urge all to reflect on their military history.
Please take the time to visit my older ANZAC post to honor these men further – https://pacificparatrooper.wordpress.com/2014/04/26/anzac-day/
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Humour – Keeping their spirits up back in the day –
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Farewell Salutes –
James Cameron – Howick, NZ; RNZ Air Force # 412996, WWII
Remembrance
Peter Carter – Kilmore, AUS; RA Air Force (Ret.), WWII, Wing Commander
Thomas Davis – Thames, NZ; RNZ Air Force # 424644, WWII, Cpl.
Alexander Godwin – Sydney, AUS; RA Air Force, 7th Apprentice Intake
Henry Hubbert – Auckland, NZ; QSM # 197041, WWII
Alfred Hudson – NZ; Royal Navy # C/SSX 16068, WWII, ETO
Lawrence Layzell – Napier, NZ; RNZ Air Force # 41739, WWII
Eric Maxton – Albany, AUS; RA Air Force, 460 Squadron
Roger Murphy – Mitchell, AUS; RA Air Force (Ret.), 78th Fighter Wing
Neil Taylor – Hamilton, NZ; L/Cpl # 457137, WWII
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OKINAWA 78 years ago Stars & Stripes – Pacific
Stars and Stripes Pacific
By PFC. WILLIAMS LAND | STARS AND STRIPES May 22, 1945
Stars and Stripes presents these archive reports as they were written by the reporters in the field. The graphic and politically incorrect language used may be offensive to some readers.
Medic on Okinawa
Editor’s Note: A fortnight ago Bill Land, one of our battlefront reporters, learned that he was a father. Back to us by radio came this story of Oki’s orphans. Unable to go home to see his own daughter in Baton Rouge, La., Bill let himself go on Oki’s orphans – being left to die by the Sons of Heaven. But the GIs wouldn’t let the kids die…
OKINAWA – Here’s a story you could call “The Children’s Hour.” Ever since I got that radio about my new baby daughter I’ve had in mind writing a children’s story, especially since the material is so plentiful.
It is said that there are more children on Okinawa than there are goats, and, brother, that is some statement.
Very rarely does one see a woman who isn’t carrying either a born or unborn child around and most of the time it’s both.
For doughboys and leathernecks, the care of children started on the first day of the invasion, and from the way it keeps on, it looks as though “the Children’s Hour on Okinawa” will outlast Lillian Hellman’s play on Broadway.
Military government has even set up an orphanage, probably the first the island has seen.
“Since the natives showed interest only their own babies, we had to do something to care for children whose parents were killed or missing,” said Army Capt. W. W. McAllister of Iowa City, Ia., the officer in charge.
Nipples are made from surgical gloves and the orphans seem to take kindly to their new diet of canned milk through a glove.
Okinawa 1945
In another part of the island, Chief Pharmacist’s Mate Hugh Bell of Iberia, La., found himself playing the role of a mother when his outfit, a Marine reconnaissance unit, was scouting for suspected enemy installations and suddenly came upon a whole colony of natives hiding in a cave. Most of them were starving and sick and 35 children required immediate medical attention.
Bell, being the only “doctor in the house,” had all of them on his hands. For 24 hours he treated them, giving them plenty of food and feeding them canned milk while his buddies drank their coffee black.
“The kids thought I had used magic to fix them up,” he said, “and followed me around whenever I went. The headman of the group of cave dwellers told the unit command later that Bell was called “Mother” whenever they referred to him.
It is not at all a strange sight to see kids running around in cut-off GI woolen underwear or rompers made of fatigues, but Sally’s diapers made of green camouflage cloth really take the cake. Sally’s one of the orphans.
Sitting on the hard coral rock playing with the ration can, it looks as if she selected a soft tuft of grass to place her little behind on.
Pfc. John J. Stroke of Olmsted Falls, Ore., found her. She’s a two-year-old girl, and Stroke supervised her bath and sprinkled her with anti-vermin powder. Then, with the help of marine fatigues, a jungle knife and couple of pins, he went into the diaper business.
With most able-bodied Japs in the Imperial army or navy there seems a definite shortage of obstetricians among civilians and therefore many deliveries have to be performed by American soldiers and medics.
Relating his first attendance at childbirth here, First Class Pharmacist’s Mate Richard P. Scheid of Napoleon, O., warned, “I knock down anybody who calls me a mid-wife.”
Medic, Okinawa
As in the play, “The Children’s Hour,” and everywhere else, for that matter, there are good little children and naughty ones.
The other day, Sgt. Elvis Lane, marine combat correspondent from Louisville, Ky., ran across a couple of them who didn’t want to take to the American way of life at first. Dressed in a ragged Jap soldiers’ suits, they kept hoping to fight the “American devils” who were soon to be blasted by superior Japanese power.
That night, enemy units attacked the camp in which the two boys were staying and the air was filled with screams of the Jap wounded, the rat-tat-tat of machine gun fire and explosions of hand grenades. When morning came, the boys stared in horror at the Jap bodies and one of them said:
“Jap is a big liar. I think my brother and I want to be like our father – farmers.”
Marine First Lieutenant Hart H. Spiegal of Topeka, Kansas, uses sign language as he tries to strike up a conversation with two tiny Japanese soldiers captured on Okinawa. The boy on the left claims he is “18” while his companion boasts “20” years.
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE.
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SHOUT OUT !!!
ANZAC DAY
MAY WE ALL REMEMBER ON ANZAC DAY
Please keep in mind that Tuesday, 25 April is a remembrance day for Australians and New Zealanders.
It is one that I have tried to show respect and honor to…
https://pacificparatrooper.wordpress.com/?s=ANZAC+Day
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Thomas E. Button – NZ; RNZ Navy, CPO (Ret. 20 Y.)
Australian soldier pays tribute
Robert G. Cole – Montague, NJ; US Army, Vietnam, 101st Airborne Division, Bronze Star
Trevor Crawley – Hawkes Bay, NZ; RNZ Air Force # D80250, Flight Lt.
James Graham – Dunlap, TN; US Army, Korea, 187th RCT/11th Airborne Division
Ernest E, Hamilton Sr. – Key West, FL; US Air Force, Korea
Noah Evans – Decatur, GA; USMC, Pfc, M Co/3/Recruit Training Regiment
Peter W. Leufkens – Palm Springs, FL; US Army, Korea
William Peterson – Tamp, FL; USMC / US Coast Guard
Ken Potts (102) – Honey Bend, IL/Provo, UT; US Navy, WWII, PTO, coxswain, USS Arizona survivor
Robert R. Samples – Charleston, NC; US Army, Japanese Occupation, 187/11th Airborne Division, Army boxing team
Jozef Subritzky-Kusza – NZ; RNZ Army # A483345, Sgt.
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From GP –
I apologize if I happen to be missing some posts lately. The routine here has been disrupted somewhat.
Thank you for being understanding.
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Luzon | February 1945 (2)
Japanese in Manila
The final attack on the outer Japanese defenses came from the 11th Airborne Division. The division had been halted at Nichols Field on the 4th and since then had been battling firmly entrenched Japanese naval troops, backed up by heavy fire from concealed artillery. Only on 11 February did the airfield finally fall to the paratroopers, and the acquisition allowed the 11th Airborne Division to complete the American encirclement of Manila on the night of the twelfth.
As February opened, the 7th Allied Air Force continually bombed Iwo Jima, Marcus Island and Corregidor, while the 5th Allied Air Force not only targeted Corregidor, but Cavite, Cebu City, and enemy positions on Mindanao and Borneo.
Col. Robert Soule
The 11th A/B continued on to Tagaytay Ridge where they would come upon more of the enemy. Colonel Soule directed the artillery of the 674th and the 675th while the final assault was made by the infantry. The troopers went uphill through the Mount Cariliao-Mount Batulao defile. This was Shorty Ridge; the eastern area that needed to be free of Japanese before the 511th made their jump. (The regiment had to be capable of meeting up with the rest of the division within twenty-four hours of their landing.) The forward Command Group of the Headquarters Company went through a mile of enemy territory to destroy the resistance on the ridge and make that first contact.
A mere two hours later, the Command Group followed along the fire-swept road and set up the division command post on the ridge. The Reconnaissance Group, right behind them, did not rest, but continued on toward Manila. The Command Group then folded in behind and set up another command post while under heavy fire.
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE.
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Author’s Note –
I am having trouble with my wordpress notifications. They do not always give me a link to return to your site anymore. I’m doing the best I can to not only get this glitch repaired, but find a way back to each site.
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25 April | ANZAC Day
MAY WE ALL REMEMBER ON ANZAC DAY
Let’s all wish our Australian neighbors and friends a memorable ANZAC Day.
For those unaware of its meaning…
“Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders “who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations” and “the contribution and suffering of all those who have served”.
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Current News –
Crocodile in Key West
In South Florida, surprise visitors can crawl on their bellies. And wear out their welcome.
Naval Air Station Key West had to remove a stubborn crocodile from its airfield on Boca Chica Key so planes could take off and land. The croc was photographed basking in the spring sunshine with a Super Hornet fighter jet in the background.
Navy officials knew what to do. The air station, at mile marker 8, off the Overseas Highway, is located within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. She had been tagged about years ago, but now has a new tag.
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Military Humor –
Quite a tee off position!
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Farewell Salutes –
Hemming Anderson (104) – Tauranga, NZ; 2nd Expeditionary Force, WWII # 32089
Ian Cosgrove (100) – Winton, NZ; RNZ Army Medical Corps, WWII
Bob R. Hayes (100) – Mt. Vernon, NY; US Army, WWII
Aubie Kreusel – Gansville, LA; Civilian, WWII, Consolidated Vultee Aircraft (B-24 production)
Bernard Lampinen – Ashby, MA; US Navy, WWII
Harold Mann – Columbus, GA; US Army, WWII, ETO, 1255th Engineer Battalion
Jack E. Matson – Rock Island County, IL; US Army, WWII, PTO, SSgt. # 36431461, 382/96th Infantry Division, KIA
George Nelson – Wheatland, WY; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, Sgt., radioman, 8th Air Force
Hans Petersen – Shelby, DEN; Danish Resistance, WWII
William Ragsdale – TN; USMC, WWII, PTO, Cpl. # 433627, HQ Co/1/24/ 4th Marine Division, KIA (Saipan)
Hillary Soileau – Bunkle, LA; US Army, WWII, PTO, Pvt. # 34233291, Co F/2/27/25th Infantry Division, Bronze Star, KIA (“Galloping Horse Hills”, GUAD)
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Home Front – WWII Sweetheart Jewelry
Anne Clare, The Naptime Author, was kind enough to allow me to steal this article off her site, so Pacific Paratrooper could deliver a sweetheart of a post! Please go visit her and enjoy her other historical posts!
Does your family own any jewelry from World War II? Curator Kathleen Golden shares a few sweet pieces from our collection.
In honor of Valentine’s Day and the giving of trinkets and baubles, I thought it would be fun to share a collection of objects in the Division of Armed Forces History called “sweetheart jewelry.” Sweetheart jewelry first became popular during World War I, as a means of connection between wives, mothers and sweethearts back home and the men fighting overseas. It was one of many things that soldiers either made or purchased, along with pillowcase covers, handkerchiefs, compacts, and the like. But while the practice began back then, the concept really took off during the Second World War.
Sweetheart jewelry of World War II vintage was made of a variety of materials. Due to the rationing placed on metals during the war, many of the items were made from alternate materials such as wood and plastic. Sterling silver was not rationed, so it was used to produce better quality jewelry.
Why was this type of jewelry so popular?
It was fashionable: rationing of material resulted in clothing with little embellishment. Pinning a brooch on a lapel or wearing a locket gave the wearer a little bit of glitz.
It was patriotic: many of the pieces were produced in the shape of patriotic symbols; the flag and the American eagle were most often depicted. The slogan “Remember Pearl Harbor” found its way onto many pins, often accented with a pearl. Several of the costume jewelry manufacturers of the time, including Trifari and Coro, made patriotic-themed pieces.
It reflected a sense of service: many women proudly wore the pin version of a “man-in-service” flag, the blue star in the center, on a white background, with a red border, to indicate a son or husband in service. The service pins, more rarely, could have two or three stars, and rarer yet, could contain a gold star to indicate a death in service.
The collection in the Division of Armed Forces History contains numerous examples of the types of jewelry I’ve outlined. Here are a few favorite examples:
The production of sweetheart jewelry pretty much ended after World War II. In recent years, collecting the vintage pieces has been on the upswing. But during the war, it seemed that everybody had a piece or two.
While rummaging through my grandmother’s jewelry box a number of years ago, I found this patriotic pin:
The “Uncle Sam” hat is embellished with rhinestones, and on the brim is written “In Service For His Country”. I don’t know the particulars of how it came to be in her possession; my grandfather didn’t serve in World War II, but family members and friends did. I’ve worn it from time to time, usually on a patriotic holiday, or if I just feel like giving a shout out to our soldiers serving overseas. One day, in memory of my grandmother, it will become part of the museum’s collections.
Kathleen Golden is an Associate Curator in the Division of Armed Forces History.
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Click on images to enlarge.
Home Front Humor –
“When you boys finish with your Civil Air Patrolling, I’ll have some iced tea ready for you.”
“But Ida, do you think you’ll be HAPPY polishing shell casing?”
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Farewell Salutes –
Jude ‘Frank’ Babineau – Toronto, CAN; No. 2 Forward Observation/Royal Artillery. WWII
Ceaser Cellini – Cliftin, NJ; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, HQ/11th Airborne Division
MAY WE ALL REMEMBER ANZAC DAY, 25 April 2019
Peter Fitanides – Natick, MA; US Army, WWII, ETO, 406/102nd Ozark Infantry Division, medic
Frank Gonzalez – Tampa, FL; US Army, WWII, Sgt., 738th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion
Marshall Heffner – Ocean Springs, MS; US Merchant Marine, WWII, ETO
Elmer Janka – Wautoma, WI; US Army, WWII, ETO, 1st Infantry Division, Signal Corps
Frank Keller – Murray, KY; USMC, WWII
Ivan Miles – Christchurch, NZ; RNZ Army, WWII
Charles Parker – Slagle, LA; US Army, WWII, medic
Olen Shockey – Lexington, OK; US Navy, WWII, PTO, LCS Machinist Mate 1st Class
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Eye Witness Account – Leyte
Leyte patrol
These events took place in November 1944, therefore please do not be offended by any offensive language.
This was written by Pfc Deane Edward Marks, Light Machine-Gun (LMG) Platoon/HQ2/11th Airborne Division. From “No One Smiled On Leyte,” published in the “Voice of the Angels” newspaper, Matt Underwood, Editor.
“…It was still raining. We had no idea where we were going. Someone mentioned Ormoc, wherever that was. We heard that somewhere ahead, part of the C/511th was surrounded by the Nips. We didn’t have any idea what the hell was going on. After a day or two of walking, we arrive where the C/5511 had been. Now, I see my first dead man, he was a trooper. Now I realize what was going on. It was real, real. Somehow the mud seemed wetter, the rain colder and the stomach emptier.
Type 96 LMG
“…every now and then they would open up with their “woodpecker”. [name given to the Japanese Nambu 6.5mm light machine-gun Model 96] … the only thing you do is drop to the ground and roll over a time or two so when you lifted your head, you would not be in the sights of the shooter … ole Vicbert D. Sharp, LMG Platoon Sgt., starts wiggling up the side of the slope with his M-1. He stopped, saw a sniper in a tree, then another and with 2 quick shots, using Kentucky windage, he got the both of those Nips.
“One day we climbed up a very large plateau and moved up our LMG. We didn’t know why – shucks we never knew WHY we did anything. We just kept putting our feet in the mucky brown footprint in front of us. About 2 hours after we set up, we looked out into the valley and ‘holy cow!’ here came this C-47 barreling at eye level perhaps a thousand yards to our front … a slew of red and yellow parapacks dropped and troopers started jumping … We finally figured out that they were the 457th Airborne Artillery also part of the 11th Airborne!
Cameraman on Leyte
“We headed back to our perimeter around a place called Lubi …we looked up to see at least 6 C-47s flying at 6-8 hundred feet overhead. I found out later that they were Japanese “Tabbys” (a DC-2 built in Japan), loaded with a few hundred Nip paratroopers headed for the airstrips around Burauen … raised hell for a few days and nights and were finally driven off by the HQ Company/11th Airborne. (Smitty was there.)
“All the time the rain kept falling. We were all damp and cold. After dark, one’s eyes got big as saucers. You couldn’t see 5′ in front of you and your imagination would run rampant. There were Japanese out there and one consolation was, they were just as wet, muddy and cold as we were. Sitting in your foxhole at night and waiting to see if they would try to slip through was something else. You were full of anxiety….”
Click on images to enlarge.
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Current News –
To Remember – April 25th is ANZAC Day! To view this blog’s posts on that memorial day – type ANZAC Day in the search box [top right].
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“Valor with Honor” will be screened on Vimeo starting May 2017 for Asian Pacific Heritage Month. “Valor with Honor” not
only records the deeds and emotions of the veterans of the 442nd, but highlights the difficult struggle of the brave Nisei both on and off the battlefield.
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Military Humor –
“THIS WASN’T COVERED IN THE MANUAL!”
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Farewell Salutes –
Richard Allen – Little Rock, AR; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Bullwheel
Clifford Cursons – Wellington, NZ; RNZ Army # 239426, WWII, gunner
Arthur Gordon – Rochester, NY; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Cabot
Gary Hardman – Newcastle, AUS; RA Navy, Vietnam, HMAS’ Ibis & Parramatta
Robert Kabat – Cleveland, OH; US Army, 17th Airborne Division
Michael Mastel – Hague, ND; US Army, WWII, PTO, surgery technician
Walter Roderick – Fall River, MA; US Navy, WWII
Richard Saggau – Denison, IA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, 101st Airborne Division
George Teale – Vineland, NJ; US Army, WWII
Jack Wilson (106) – Willow Springs, IL; US Army, WWII
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Comrades – Ken Moore
New Zealand troops fire a 25-pounder at Kapyong, Korea
My own ANZAC Day post is scheduled for tomorrow, but once I read this…..
On ANZAC day, I thought it was fitting to re-post this poem. It felt a little strange, almost uncommfortable to be removing the airmen from the Roll of Honour to present a purely RNZAF and RAAF list for my previous ANZAC day post, so perhaps to make amends and remind us that the boys flew and died together, irrespective of their nationalities I represent ‘Comrades‘, by Ken Moore.
New Zealand gave a Squadron of Planes
When Britain’s need was dire
Both countries sons made up the crews
And they flew through hell and fire.
To the Pommy lads the Kiwi’s made
A gesture that was grand
They gave them honorary citizenship
Of their own beloved land.
Under New Zealand’s flag, they proudly flew
Comrades of the air
They lived and died, as side by side
Fate’s lot they chose to share.
In Wellingtons, Stirlings, then Lancasters
To the…
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ALLIED spies & saboteurs
Allen Dulles – OSS Intelligence I.D.
There is no way for me to include all the information for every spy and/or saboteur of WWII for two reasons – there were far too many and because they did their job and stayed top-secret. An example of this would be the French Resistance and the BCRA, made up of British, French and Cajun-American volunteers. But some, due to the fact that they became famous or their work finally de-classified, I have included here as a matter of interest.
“High Pockets”
Claire Phillips, aka Dorothy Clara Fuentes, aka Claire Fuentes, aka Madame Tsubaki was also known as “High Pockets” and the “American Mata Hari.” She operated a nightclub in Manila and used he cunning ways to extract data from the Japanese officers that frequented her establishment. The agent then sent her intel directly to Gen. MacArthur or the U.S. Navy. Claire managed to deliver food and other necessary items to Allied POWs and had an underground of Filipino guerrilla to assist her. Mrs. Fuentes was eventually caught, put on trial and sentenced to die, but this verdict was never carried out. She was liberated on 10 February 1945 and returned to the U.S. The movie, I Was an American Spy was based on her life.
Richard Sakakida was inadvertently included in Gen. Yamashita’s army when he moved east and was assigned to Japanese intelligence on Luzon. He gained the trust of the Imperial Army in Manila and gave what data he discovered to the Filipino ROTC Group of guerrillas until they were captured. Sakakida then began forging release papers to get some of the members out of prison. He was never suspected, but later slipped away from his post and hid out in northern Luzon for months. Although he had received medals for his work from the government, his actual loyalty was brought into question in later years.
Arthur Komori
Army Chief Warrant Officer, Arthur Komori, was an agent as part of the Counter Intelligence Corps. He enlisted with Richard Sakakida in Hawaii at the start of the war. He allowed himself to be captured and placed in a Japanese interment camp in the Philippines until he was ordered to escape by Gen. Wainwright 16 April 1942.
Julia Child – OSS quarters in Kandy, Ceylon
Julia McWilliams Child would gain fame as a chef and t.v. personality, but she performed far different duties during WWII. When the war began, she wanted to join the WACS or Waves, but was rejected due to her height of 6’2″. Instead, Julia became part of the OSS (forerunner of the CIA) and as one of her projects, she helped to develop a shark repellent for downed pilots and crews. Later on, she supervised an OSS facility in China where she dealt with top-secret documents and in Ceylon. Her life as a WWII agent was documented in the book, A Covert Affair: Julia Child and Paul Child in the OSS.
Marlene Dietrich, better known for her work as an actress, was German born. She joined the OSS where she entertained the troops and then secretly broadcast propaganda to the weary enemy soldiers. She received the Medal of Freedom for her operations.
Elizabeth McIntosh – on the job
Elizabeth McIntosh was a war correspondent that began working with the OSS directly after Pear Harbor. While stationed in India, she intercepted and rewrote Japanese postcards being sent home. She also found an Imperial Order that discussed surrender terms and many other documents.
The OSS did most of its work in Europe and in Detachment 101 of the Burma-India-China Theater, where they trained Chinese soldiers to fight the Japanese and supplied target information to Gen. Chennault, the creator of the famous ‘Flying Tigers’ besides their regular duties. Both MacArthur and Nimitz refused their service and used their own intelligence units, but much of the OSS data was relayed to them via Washington. Allen Dulles was station chief of the OSS (his I.D. card is pictured at the top of the post) and looked and dressed like a middle-aged college professor. A lawyer by trade, he worked for the State Department during WWI. He collected intelligence with a complex espionage network. Dulles recruited Mary Bancroft, daughter to the publisher of “The Wall Street Journal” to analyze German newspapers, but she quickly became an agent in the cloak-and-dagger fashion.
Hans Bernd Gisevius, code name “Dr. Bernhard,” was an agent of the Alwehr, the German secret service (SS). In 1939, he became part of Schwarze Kapelle (the Black Orchestra), the group formed to kill Hitler. He contacted Dulles in 1943 and Mary Bancroft became his contact.
One group, barely spoken of, was the SOA (or Z Special Unit, as it is known today), the Special Operations of Australia. Many were barely 18 years old when they were recruited and trained to infiltrate the Japanese lines. They were formed by a group of British covert executives operating in Malaya in mid-1943; even the Australian Army was unaware of this unit’s existence. Over the 3 remaining years of the war, over 1,000 men were taught parachuting, explosives and espionage on Fraser Island. After their training, most were dropped on Borneo and other islands in S.E. Asia; over 100 were killed in combat. They even carried the infamous cyanide tablets. They were honor-bound by the Secrecy Act for 30 years to never speak of their activities; even as the other WWII soldiers were celebrated on ANZAC Day. Twenty-one remaining SOA men held their first reunion in 2010 on the island where they were trained.
Wing Commander Forest “Tommy” Yeo-Thomas
The British spy who went by the code names, “Seahorse” and “Shelley” was the actual agent that inspired Ian Fleming to write his 007 series of books. Wing Commander Forest Frederick “Tommy” Yeo-Thomas was known to the German Gestapo as “The White Rabbit” and operated out of Vichy, France. An excellent accounting of his story is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._F._E._Yeo-Thomas
The most unsuspecting man (in my opinion) to become a spy – was already dead. Early 1943, Allied forces, planning their invasion, needed to convince the enemy that their landing site was somewhere else. “Operation Mincemeat” originally came from Ian Fleming. A Welsh laborer, already deceased after ingesting rat poison, had his pockets filled with false papers and left where the Germans could find him. The operation proved very successful.
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Farewell Salutes –
Paul Adams – Nebraska & Greenville, S.C.; U.S. Army WWII, Tuskegee Airman, 332nd Fighter Group
Pauline V. Simsovic – Dayton, OH & W. Palm Bch., FL; First Lieutenant WACS, WWII London
Marvin J. Newberg – Bronx, NY & Boca Raton, FL; First Lieutenant U.S. Army Air Force, B-25 navigator in India
Frank Richard Stranahan – Toledo, OH & W. Palm Bch., FL; U.S. Army Air Force, pilot, WWII
Richard Neuber – Port St. Lucie, FL.;U.S. Navy, WWII
Walter Stankard, Jr. – Waltham, MA & Boynton Bch., FL; U.S. Navy, USS Enoree, Korean War
Army Spc. John L. Burgess of Sutton Bay, Michigan, missing since his helicopter was shot down in 1970, Vietnam, was finally brought home for burial. He was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in a single casket along with the partial remains of two members of his crew.
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Please stop back and see the article I wrote for Judy over at http://greatestgenerationlessons.wordpress.com. Let us know what you think of it. I will later re-blog the guest post for your convenience. Thank you.
Pacific Paratrooper 