Blog Archives
Mules in the CBI and their Veterinarians
Merrill’s Marauders
We often comment on the animals who help us, especially in war, BUT the Veterinarians who care for them are very rarely given a voice…
I received a message from Lavinia Ross @ Salmon Brook Farms about her veterinarian, D.E. Larsen, DVM and his mentor, Robert W. Davis, DVM, Please visit to read!
“GP, you might like this post by our old veterinarian who retired some years back. One of his mentors in vet school was the same veterinarian who cared for the mules used by Merrill’s Marauders in Burma during WWII.”
Article about Dr, Davis
Dr. David E. Larsen, So. Korea
The most famous American unit of the CBI was the 5307th Composite Unit, also known as “Merrill’s Marauders.” Undertaking operations similar to those of the Chindits, it used large numbers of mules. Six Quartermaster pack troops were part of the unit, and mules were liberally issued to the rest of the unit as well to transport their own equipment and supplies. Each troop had about 300 mules and 75 men.
Dr. Robert Davis, India
During campaigns the mules proved their worth time and again. Don L. Thrapp served with the Marauders and later wrote of his experiences with the pack mules during the fighting at Tonkwa against the Japanese. “They were zeroed in on our bivouac area at a river crossing, and their fire caused us some casualties in men and animals. One tree burst accounted for seven animals. Another shell cut between two mules … and burst about eight feet behind them, but injured neither.”
In the words of a veteran of the China-Burma-India Theater, retired Technical Sergeant Edward Rock Jr., [they] “served without a word of complaint or lack of courage. They transported artillery, ammunition, food, and medicine, and under enemy fire transported the wounded. Many of the CBI veterans are here today because a mule stopped a bullet or a piece of shrapnel meant for the GI. Mules fell in battle, mortally wounded, and we shed tears for them.”
moving through Burma w/ supplies for the 475th Inf.
Pack mules indeed performed yeoman service in Asia and other theaters during World War II, hauling weapons and equipment as well as saving lives by carrying wounded off the front lines. They took the same risks as their human masters and too often they paid the ultimate price.
Wingate, Chindits & mules
A report on April 4, 1944, from one of the units of Merrill’s Marauders described their sacrifice in detail: Japanese artillery fire had killed or wounded most of the unit’s mules. The mules really proved their value in the CBI with both British and American units fighting there. The famous British Brigadier Orde Wingate used large numbers of mules to supply his Chindit Brigade.
Francis & Donald O’Connor in their movie.
After the war, the mules were not forgotten. A beloved character, “Francis the talking mule.” became a well-known movie. https://pacificparatrooper.wordpress.com/2020/04/20/francis-the-talking-mule/
I hope some of this has encouraged you to check out more….
David E. Larsen, DVM
Please be sure to visit Dr. Larsen’s site, and Lavinia’s too, she deserves a big Thank You.
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Military Humor – 
Farewell Salutes –
John Bergman – Osbourne, KA; US Army, WWII, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
No greater love
John Boyko – Lansing, MI; US Navy, WWII, PTO, PT boat service
Biacio Casola – Bronx, NY; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Oklahoma, Seaman 1st Class, KIA (Pearl Harbor, HI)
Paul C. Charvet – Grandview, WA; USNR, Vietnam, Comd., A-1H Skyraider pilot, Attack Squadron 215, USS Bon Homme Richard, KIA (Thanh Hoa Prov., N.Vietnam)
Adabelle I. Crum – Lagrange, KY; US Women’s Marine Corps, WWII
Peter “Harmonica Pete” Dupree – Ogdensburg, NY; US Army, WWII, 4th General Hospital
Thomas Eubanks (103) – Springfield, OH; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, B-17 tail gunner
Terrance G. Fitzsimmons – NYC, NY; US Army, Korea
Claire Menker – Milford, MA; Civilian, WWII, Firestone Co., gas mask production
Harold J. Smith Jr. – Levittown, NY; US Navy, WWII
Thomas J. Wilson (102) – Petaluma, CA; US Army, WWII, ETO
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Honoring Merrill’s Marauders
There is a passing member of Merrill’s Marauders in the Farewell Salutes today. This post is an attempt to honor their contributions.
James E. Richardson
“If they can walk and carry a gun,” Major General Joseph Stillwell presciently told Brigadier General Frank Merrill in 1943, “they can fight!”
After being run out of the Burmese jungle by the Japanese in May of 1942, Stillwell had, according to one war correspondent, appeared “like the wrath of God and cursing like a fallen angel.”
The general didn’t mince his words either, telling reporters that the joint expedition between a small contingent of American, British, and Chinese troops “got a hell of a beating. We got run out of Burma and it is humiliating as hell. I think we ought to find out what caused it, go back, and retake it.”
Gen. Stillwell
The following year a determined Stillwell took a major step toward getting his wish, as allied leaders, many who sought to rectify the previous campaign’s novice display of jungle fighting, mapped out a plan for a ground unit trained and equipped to engage in “long-range penetration” missions.
In what was to be the forerunner for today’s special forces units, 3,000 American men volunteered for the newly formed 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) — code name: Galahad.
Dubbed Merrill’s Marauders after their commander, the men were tasked with a “dangerous and hazardous mission” behind Japanese lines in Burma, where the fall of the country’s capital of Rangoon had severely threatened the Allied supply line to China. The Marauders were tasked with cutting off Japanese communications and supply lines and pushing enemy forces north out of the town of Myitkyina, the only city with an all-weather airstrip in Northern Burma.
Merrill’s Marauders
Although operational for only a few months, Merrill’s Marauders gained a fierce reputation for hard fighting and tenacity as the first American infantry force to see ground action in Asia.
“Highly trained infantrymen whom we regard today as heroes, such as the Special Forces, look to Merrill’s Marauders as role models,” Eames said in a press release. “The unimaginable conditions these men successfully fought through changed the understanding of the limits of human endurance in armed conflict. The Congressional Gold Medal brings them the public recognition they deserve. We are honored to have assisted in getting it across the finish line.”
2 Aug. ’44, 75 yards from enemy positions, US Army Signal Corps, Merrill’s Marauders. named 5307th Composite Unit
Reached by email, Eames said he became involved after a colleague and fellow attorney, Scott Stone, met Marauders Bob Passanisi and Gilbert Howland in the cafeteria of the Senate Dirksen Building.
“When he found out why they were there, he immediately offered to help,” Eames said. “One of the first things he did was call us, and I agreed to get a team involved.”
For the other surviving Marauders, the acknowledgement is somewhat bittersweet.
2 of the survivors of Merrill’s Marauders
“This recognition means so much to me and the other survivors and our families,” Passanisi, Merrill’s Marauders Association’s spokesperson, said in the release. “My one regret is that only eight of us are alive to enjoy this historic honor.” (now only 7 remain).
Passanisi was luckier than most. Traversing nearly 1,000 miles behind enemy lines, the Marauders marched over some of the most treacherous terrain in the world, combating not only a determined enemy, but fighting off myriad diseases, scorching heat, venomous snakes, and bloodsucking leeches.
The exploits of the Marauders and their daring mission to recapture the vital town and airstrip at Myitkyina made headlines throughout the United States in 1944 — but at a steep cost.
movie poster, Merrill’s Marauders
After five months of combat, 95 percent of the Marauders were dead, wounded, or deemed no longer medically fit for combat. By the time the force was deactivated in August 1944, many, including Congress, wondered whether Stillwell had sacrificed the Marauders due to poor planning and his own dreams of glory and revenge. Still, despite the unit’s staggering losses — fighting in five major battles and over 30 other engagements — the Marauders became one of the most renowned units to come out of World War II, carrying with them a legacy of bravery and the fortitude of the human spirit.
Seventy-six years later, the recognition by Congress shines “a light on that forgotten theater in the Pacific that was so crucial in defeating the Japanese,” said Gilbert Howland, a Marauder veteran.
“We did it because our country needed us.”
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Fay (Fotini) Argy – Camden, NJ; Civilian, Bud Manufacturing, WWII, bombs
Mary ‘Lorraine’ Bromley – Rock Island, IL; US Navy WAVE, WWII
Frank DeNoia – New haven, CT; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Canberra
Kenneth Fenton – Paraparaumu, NZ; NZ Army # 30202, WWII, ETO & PTO / Vietnam, Colonel (Ret. 32 y.)
William J. LaVigne II – USA; US Army, Afghanistan & Iraq, MSgt., HQ Co/Special Operation Command, 2 Bronze Stars
Anna McNett – Grand Rapids, MI; US Navy WAVES, WWII
Richard Nowers – Atkinson, IL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 507th Fighter Group, 3 Bronze Stars
Anthony Polizzi – NY; US Air Force, Captain, 15th Maintenance Group, Wing Comdr.
James E. Richardson – Knoxville, TN; US Army, WWII, CBI, Merrill’s Marauder
William Salley – Springfield, SC; US Army, Korea & Vietnam, Lt. Colonel (Ret.), Purple Heart
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Ordnance Spitfire in the Pacific War
Australia’s highest scoring fighter pilot of WWII, Clive ‘Killer’ Caldwell, helps push his Spitfire CR-C JL394 out of camouflage, Aug. 1943
The Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal Indian Air Force and the RAF also used Spitfires against Japanese forces in the Pacific theater. The first Spitfires in the Far East were two photo-reconnaissance (PR IV) aircraft which operated from airfields in India from October 1942.
Clive Caldwell
Japanese raids on Northern Australia hastened the formation in late 1942 of No. 1 Wing RAAF comprising No. 54 RAF Squadron No. 452 Squadron RAAF, and No. 457 Squadron RAAF under the command of Clive Caldwell. The wing arrived at Darwin in February 1943, and saw constant action until September. The Mk Vc versions received by the RAAF proved unreliable and, initially at least, had a relatively high loss rate. This was due to several factors, including pilot inexperience, engine over-speed due to the loss of oil from the propeller speed reduction unit (a problem resolved by the use of a heavier grade of oil), and the practice of draining glycol coolant before shipment, resulting in internal corrosion of the Merlin engines.
Another factor in the initial high attrition rate was the relatively short endurance of the Spitfire, most of the sorties were, flown over the wide expanse of ocean between Australia, New Guinea and Timor. Even when fitted with drop tanks the Spitfires could not afford to fly too far from base without the danger of running out of fuel over water. As a result, when an incoming raid was detected, the Spitfires were forced to climb as fast as possible in an attempt to get into a favorable position.
RCAF Spitfire 411 Squadron
In the prevailing hot, humid climate this meant that the Merlin engines were often overheating even before combat was joined. The Spitfires were fitted with the Vokes tropical filters which reduced performance: in an attempt to increase performance the filters on several Spitfires were removed and replaced by the standard non-tropicalized air intake and lower engine cowlings which had been manufactured by the base workshops. The experiment proved to be a failure and the Spitfires were quickly refitted with the tropical filters.
Many of the Australian and British airmen who flew in 1 Wing were experienced combat veterans, some of whom who had flown P-40s with the Desert Air Force in North Africa, while others had flown Spitfires over Europe. They were used to being able to outmaneuver opposing fighters and were shocked to discover that the Zeros they were now flying against were able to outmaneuver the Spitfire.
Raid on Darwin (May 2, 1943)
Strength
Japanese Australians and British
27 Zeros 33 spitfires
25 Bombers
Aircraft lost
6-10 14
That was just one raid.. For almost two years beginning Feb 1942 the airspace over North West Australia was routinely penetrated by Japanese raids, about 70 in total.
Spitfires in Darwin
By mid-1943 the heavy losses imposed on the Japanese Navy in the Solomon Islands campaign and in New Guinea meant that the JNAF could not keep up its attacks on northern Australia. Other units equipped with the Spitfires in the SW Pacific Area included No. 79 Squadron, No. 85 Squadron RAAF, No. 458 Squadron RAF and No. 459 Squadron RAF.
In the SE Asia, the first Spitfire Vcs reached three squadrons on the India-Burma front in November 1943. Spitfire pilots met Japanese for the first time on Boxing Day, 1943. A pair of Spitfires piloted by Flying Officer Geoffrey William Andrews and Flight Sergeant Harry B. Chatfield attacked a formation of Japanese planes over Chittagong. Andrews destroyed a fighter and a bomber, damaging a second, while Chatfield shot down another two. On the last day of 1943, Royal Australian Air Force Spitfires destroyed eleven Japanese bombers and three fighters. Churchill complimented the Australian Squadron for their “brilliant exploit”.
Pilots trudge thru the mud at the advanced airbase in Burma after sorties with the Japanese.
Spitfires ensured that the Allies gained and held air superiority during the battles of Kohima and Imphal from early to mid 1944, in which the Japanese attempt to destroy the British 14th Army and invade India was also defeated. By 1945, when the Allies launched offensives into Burma, the Japanese were unable to challenge the Allies’ air supremacy. Spitfires took part in the last major pitched battle of the war involving the Western allies – No. 607 Squadron and No. 273 Squadron flying the MKVIII armed with 500 pound bombs helped destroy a Japan breakout attempt at Sittang Bend in July and early August 1945.
This post was the suggestion of Dan Antion.
Resources: Pacific Spitfires.com; History Exchange; Wiki; Aviation Profiles.
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Military Humor – 
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Farewell Salutes –
William Atterson – Clark Range, TN; US Army, Japanese Occupation, 11th Airborne Division
Howard E. Cook Jr, – W. Palm Beach, FL; US Navy, pilot
Courtesy of John @ https://lvphotoblog.com/
Frank ‘Slick’ Dercher – Kansas City, KS; US Navy, WWII, USS California
Patricia Felton – Queensland, NZ; RNZ Navy # 46253, WREN, WWII
James Garrison – Johnston, IA; US Army, WWII, PTO, 24th Division, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
Clyde Hymel – Garyville, LA; USMC, WWII, PO, Silver Star
Millard “Smoke” Lea – Union City, IN; US Army, Korea, 101st Airborne Division
Robert Malone – Alexandria, VA; US Army, WWII
Paul Niloff – Sherbrooke, CAN, RC Army, WWII, Medical Corps
Ralph Peavy – Liberty, KY; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO
Chuck Yeager – Myra, WV; US Army Air Corps, WWII, mechanic / pilot / test pilot / Vietnam, BGeneral (Ret. 34 y.), Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
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Pacific War Trials – part three
Kempeitai
The British prosecuted Japanese along the Malay Peninsula, in Borneo, New Britain, Rangoon and Singapore. In Malay, 35 Kempeitai (secret police) were tried and 29 went to the gallows. The most publicized trial involved those at the “River Kwai” for causing almost 600 deaths of the 2,000 POWs that built the Burma Siam railroad.
Shiro Ishii
Australia listed 35 separate charges, including cannibalism and mutilation of a dead body. The most famous was Shiro Ishii of Unit 731 for subjecting prisoners to horrendous experiments. These crimes against humanity were normally held in cooperation with British and American officials. One trial held on New Guinea was for a Japanese officer who ate part of an Australian POW. The defense claimed starvation as a reason for his mental demise – he was hanged.
The largest trial of 503 Japanese was held by Australia for cruelty to prisoners on Amoina and 92 were convicted. In Rabaul, New Britain, 1,000 American and British POWs were forced to march 165 miles and only 183 made it the entire route. The Japanese commander executed the survivors. The officer had survived the war – but not the court.
Michiaki Kamada
The Netherlands tried an ugly case for Vice Admiral Michiaki Kamada who ordered 1,500 natives of Borneo murdered. Four others were executed for their participation in the awful treatment of 2,000 Dutch prisoners on Flores Island. Another case involved the treatment of 5,000 Indonesian laborers, 500 Allied POWs and 1,000 civilians.
China tried 800 defendants, whereby 500 were convicted and 149 sentenced to death.
The French held the least number of trials and dealt with them as ordinary crimes. Five Japanese were given the death penalty for the murder of American airmen in Indochina. The French were still holding their trials as late as November 1951.
As mentioned previously, the Russian “trials” were held as propaganda against the West. The charges would be dismissed, due to “arrested development.” ( suggesting that the Japanese were hindered in their development since they were not subject to Soviet culture and education.) The Soviets publicly made it clear that they were “on to” Japan and her American friend’s plot against them.
Abe Koso under guard.
The U.S. Navy tried the Japanese accused of crimes on the Pacific islands. Three were held on Kwajalein, in the Marshall Islands and 44 were put on trial on Guam. These were closely held in conjunction with British, Australian and Indonesian officials. Abe Koso, became the naval commander at Kwajalein and ordered the beheading of nine Marine Raiders that were left behind after the Makin Raid. Koso defended his acts by claiming the Marines were U.S. spies. The tribunal rejected his claim and 19 June 1947, he was hanged.
To be continued…
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Military Humor – 
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Farewell Salutes –
La Fayette A. Bronston – Springfield, OH; USMC, VIetnam, SSgt., 3 Purple Hearts, Bronze Star, Silver Star
Max W. Daniels (103) – Lake Como, PA; USMC, WWII, cook
WHAT IS A VETERAN?
Joe, Francis & Harry Doyle – Arthur, CAN; Canadian Armed Forces, WWII, KIA (in Memorandum by the Doyle Family)
James Fleming – Hawkes Bay, NZ; NZEF, WWII # 103747, NZ Engineers
Leo Hines – Albany, NY; US Army, Vietnam, 506/11/101st Airborne Division
Wally McLaughlin – Minneapolis, MN; US Army, Korea, 187 RCT/11th Airborne Division
William Schroeder – Boise, ID; USMC, Korea, B Co./1/7th Marines
Michaela Ticha – CZE; MFO Sgt. (Multinational Force & Observers), KIA (So. Sinai)
Gregory Troutman – Salisbury, NC; US Army, Korea & Vietnam, 187th RCT / Pentagon, Col. (Ret. 30 y.)
John ‘Val’ Wachtel IV – Topeka, KS; US Army, Vietnam, Green Beret
SOE / SIS Cooperation
An interesting look back into the British operations in the CBI Theater during the Pacific War.
Much has often made of the fractious relationship between the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS,) and the Special Operations Executive (SOE). The words used to sum up the problem between the two organisations is often something along the lines of SIS needed peace and quiet to collect intelligence, while SOE was hell bent on making loud bangs and disturbing the wasp’s nest. In the Far East, SIS used the cover name of the Inter-Services Liaison Department (ISLD), a name which hints at working with other British units, but by the later years of the war, in Burma at least, the archives suggest a much more cooperative arrangement than mere liaison.
The relationship between SIS and SOE in Burma was not always smooth, like any relationship, but the two secret services were forced together for pragmatic reasons. Probably the main reason for this is the lack of resources sent East due to…
View original post 1,047 more words
OSS Unit 101 – American/Kachin Rangers
OSS Unit 101
After the withdrawal of the two Chinese divisions back to China, from Burma, ordered by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, this left a large void in the area in which they operated. The British were unable to fill the area with troops vacated by the Chinese and thus the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Detachment 101 was tasked the mission with its “Kachin Rangers,” numbering 10,800 indigenous soldiers at the time, at full strength, comprising four (4) battalions.
During most of the unit’s existence, it funded and coordinated various resistance groups made up of the Kachin people of northern Burma. The best known resistance force was known as the Kachin Rangers and was under the command of Carl F. Eifler, though often the term Kachin Rangers has been used to describe all Kachin Forces raised during the war by the Americans in Northern Burma.
Carl F. Eifler, (second from the left)
In July 1942, twenty OSS men moved in and set up headquarters at Nazira in the northeastern Indian province of Assam. No operations of any significance occurred until the end of 1942. Starting in 1943, small groups or individuals were parachuted behind Japanese lines to remote Kachin villages, followed by a parachute supply drop. The Americans then began to create independent guerrilla groups of the Kachin people, calling in weapons and equipment drops. In December 1943 Stilwell issued a directive that Detachment 101 increase its strength to 3,000 guerrillas. They were recruited from within Burma, many of them “fierce Kachins”.
Once established, the groups undertook a variety of unconventional missions. They ambushed Japanese patrols, rescued downed American pilots, and cleared small landing strips in the jungle. They also screened the advances of larger Allied forces, including Merrill’s Marauders.
Unit 101, American/Kachin Rangers
The first United States unit to form an intelligence screen and organize and employ a large guerrilla army deep in enemy territory.
They pioneered the unique art of unconventional warfare, later incorporated as fundamental combat skills for our Army Special Forces (Green Berets). They have been credited with the highest “kill/loss ratio” for any infantry-type unit in American military history.
Capt. Charles Coussoule of the OSS American/Kachin Rangers was known to his men as “Col. Greek”. On his way home!
The Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation award to Department 101 says in part: The courage and fighting spirit displayed by its officers and men in offensive action against overwhelming enemy strength reflect the highest tradition of the armed forces of the United States,” signed Dwight D. Eisenhower, Chief of Staff, January 17, 1946. He was of the opinion that Detachment 101 performed in an outstanding manner, one of the most difficult and hazardous assignments that any military unit had ever been called upon to perform.
| SUMMARY OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS |
| Total Det. 101 personnel Officers Enlisted men |
250 750 |
| Highest guerrilla strength | 10,800 |
| Espionage agents with radios | 162 |
| U.S. personnel killed, all causes | 27 |
| Native personnel killed | 338 |
| Espionage agents | 40 |
| Japanese killed | 5,400 |
| Additional Japanese estimated killed or wounded | 10,000 |
| Japanese captured | 78 |
| Bridges demolished | 57 |
| Trains derailed | 9 |
| Vehicles destroyed – captured | 272 |
| Supplies destroyed – captured – tons | 15,000 |
| Allied men rescued | 425 |
| Intelligence furnished to Northern Combat Command (NCAC) | 85% |
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Current News – 
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NATIONAL COAST GUARD DAY. National Coast Guard Day on August 4 celebrates and honors the courageous work of the service members of Coast Guard. The United States Coast Guard is one of the five US Armed Forces. It is a maritime, military and multi-missioned service. It operates under the Department of Homeland Security during peacetime.
2. This month of August is dedicated to paying our respects to all the brave men and women wounded or killed in combat. The official Purple Heart Day is observed on the 7th day of August each year, commemorating the historic day in 1782 that General George Washington, Commander-In-Chief of the Continental Army, commissioned the first Purple Heart Medal, originally called the Badge of Military Merit
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Military Humor –
WWII newspaper
Reaction to V-J Day
Marines’ introduction to Chinese peddlers.
(By Sgt. Roland G. James USMCR.)
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Farewell Salutes –
Jimmie Calder – Pensacola, FL; US Navy, WWII, / US Army, Korea & Vietnam, MSgt. (Ret 22 y.)
Howard Davis – Bono, AR; US Army, WWII, PTO
Don Erwin – IN; US Army, WWII, SSgt.
Ivan Graves – Rose City, MI; US Navy, WWII, USS Cleveland
Florence Huntzicker – Chicago, IL; Civilian, US Army Regional Office, WWII
Chris Kraft Jr. – Phoebus, VA; NASA Houston Control Director for Moon landings
William Krysak – Forsyth, GA; US Army, Korea, 187th RCT
Edward McCaffrey – Bronx, NY; USMC, WWII, PTO
Shirley (Miller) Niedzwiecki – AUS, Women’s RA Air Force, WWII
Patrick Simpson – Eugene, OR; US Army, Vietnam, 1st Calvary Div., Silver Star, (Ret. 26 y.)
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CBI Rescue
Vol. IV No. 1. Delhi, Thursday, Sept. 13, 1945. Reg. No. L5015
Troop Carrier Non-Com Survives
Epic Parachute Drop In Burma
Drops Over 7,000 Feet With Only Arm In Ring
By PVT. W. E. CHILTON Roundup Field Correspondent
SECOND TROOP CARRIER SQ., ASSAM – From the confusion that was war came a lot of stories of rescue and survival, but none can top the recent wild parachute ride of Sgt. John Stevens of Woodstown, N.J., over the tangled North Burma terrain.
Stevens is a crew chief in the Second Troop Carrier Squadron, veteran transport outfit which has seen two and a half years service in all three nations of the CBI Theater. He was heading in a C-46 towards the foothills of The Hump when at 7,000 feet altitude the right engine commenced sputtering. Seconds later the radio operator tore past him, grabbed a parachute and opened half the cargo door.
General Stillwell talking with members of the 2nd Troop Carrier Squadron
BAIL OUT
Making his way to the cockpit in order to offer his service to the pilot, Stevens perceived there was nothing that could be done. The pilot was yelling at the top of his lungs, “Bail out! Bail out!” Stevens retraced his steps to the rear of the plane and pulled a parachute from its rack. However, the C-46 was being buffeted about so badly by the terrific up and down drafts that he was unable to remain on his feet.
Stretched full length on the floor of the heaving aircraft, the sergeant attempted wriggling into the chute. This, likewise, proved futile. In utter despair he hooked his arm through one of the loops which emanate from the seat of the chute and pondered vaguely the next step in this grotesque nightmare.
He hadn’t long to wait. One instant he was recumbent along the floor, and then, falling figure in space. It took a while to realize the only possible means of succor was hooked in the crook of his arm. Twisting and turning he groped for the ripcord release, found it, yanked, then miraculously, the chute slowly, slowly unraveled, and the slowness of the unraveling was yet another marvel, for if the big nylon blanket had blossomed forth in one grand jerking operation, as is generally the procedure, the tremendous pressure exerted would have torn Stevens’ arm from its socket.
BLOODY GASH
In his descent he helplessly watched blood stream from a wide gash in his leg. As the ground rushed nearer, Stevens saw in dismay the skyscraper trees, the jungle grass, and the coarse and intertwining vines. But in that wonderful bag of luck there was plenty left, for he was finally caught up two feet from the earth. A simple turn and he was safe on the ground.
His leg needed immediate attention. Orientation in Burmese jungles would leave an Eagle Scout cold, but began climbing, stumbling and crawling. He had gone half-way up a knoll, when the babble of a foreign language reached his ears.
Naga tribesmen of Burma, WWII
HEAD HUNTERS
Upper Burma was and still is the home of several fierce head-hunting tribes, but these people proved friendly, particularly after an ample distribution of American cigarettes had been accomplished. American cigarettes are in fact to these Hills men what the Coca-Cola advertisements purport to be with the inhabitants of South America.
After a relaxing smoke, followed by a round table discussion through the medium of sign language, the tribesmen motioned Stevens to follow them. The party soon stumbled upon a small clearing. Here, a lean-to was constructed and while one of the natives remained behind with the stranded crew member, the rest proceeded to their village.
Two days passed in the lean-to before the first group returned with a home-made litter, on which they carried Stevens to a more permanent abode on the outskirts of their jungle hamlet. The Naga hills men fed him their native food: boiled rice, eggs, cracked corn, chicken and large, thin pancakes made of an ersatz flour. It wasn’t the Blue-Plate Special at the Waldorf Astoria, but it kept the sergeant alive.
HUMOROUS SIDE
During Stevens’ 19 days in these simple, rustic surroundings there were many incidents bordering on the humorous side. Upon first arriving, the local witch doctor showed a great desire to practice his wizardry on the sergeant’s injured leg. Stevens had to use all his diplomacy to dissuade the Naga medic and at the same time retain his friendship. Another such instance cropped up when the local chieftain brought a pipe to his bedside. One puff convinced the sergeant that the pipe contained, among other things, a good deal of opium, and he hastily put it aside. The jungles do, nevertheless, have their saloons, and the sergeant quaffed saku or as it is termed by our soldiers, bamboo juice. Saku is a concoction similar to the atomic bomb, both in content and effect.
Though skilled in the jungle, it takes even the Nagas many days to travel in their dense tropical homeland, and despite a runner being dispatched to the nearest Army outpost immediately after Stevens’ first contact with his hill friends, it was almost two weeks later that two members from the ATC Search & Rescue Unit reached him. They were Pfc. Joseph Fruge of Aberlin, La., and Pfc. Marvin C. Roberts of Mobile, Ala. They had parachuted, in the prescribed parachute method, into a clearing in a village about 14 trail miles away. A two day trek brought them to Stevens.
Stevens receives congratulations from his two rescuers, Pfc. Marvin Roberts, left, and Pfc. Joseph Fruge, prior to being evacuated successfully from the Burma jungles
SLOW EVACUATION
The leg was still in poor shape, in fact, gangrene had set in, but the original treatment had tempered the infection. With the coming of these G.I. angels of mercy, skilled in the latest medical developments, new wonders of science were hastily applied.
A short convalescent period and the patient was ready for evacuation – at best a slow and lengthy process. It was decided to build a tiny landing strip in a rice clearing not far off. This field would be large enough for an L-5 to land and take-off.
Exactly 19 days after Stevens’ unexpected appearance in the woods, two L-5’s, piloted by Capt. Jacob F. Craft of Galesburg, Ill., and Lt. Harold L. Haviland of Glendale, Calif., arrived at the small airfield. Stevens was loaded aboard Craft’s plane and flown directly to Upper Assam, where he eventually wound up in the 234th General Hospital.
NAGAS REWARDED
The Naga Hills men, by whose devotion and loyalty the life of another American had been saved, were well rewarded for their efforts. Two hundred pounds of rice were dropped from the air to the villagers and Stevens own squadron contributed another hundred pounds of rice and salt, two staples highly prized by these primitive people.
What happened to his plane is not precisely known and probably never will be. It apparently exploded, and parts of the fuselage and wings were discovered by the same rescue party which came to Stevens.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor –
Sad Sack from “YANK” magazine
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Farewell Salutes –
Walter Bingaman – Everett, WA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, navigator
Evelyn Cookson – Natick, MA; US Army, WAC, WWII, ETO, 50th Field Hospital
Tsugio Egawa – Chicago, IL; US Army, WWII
Joseph Fisher – Finksburg, MD; US Navy, WWII / USMC, Korea
Joseph Gallo – Corning, NY; US Army, WWII, 64/16th Armored Division, Bronze Star
Richard Halford – Pontiac, MI; US Army, Vietnam, 101st Airborne Division
Helen McBride – Lancaster, PA; US Army WAC, WWII
Ross Perot – Texarkana,TX; US Navy / Presidential Candidate
Nicholas Sacharewicz – Pinsk, POL; Polish 2nd Corps, WWII, ETO, Medal of Valour
Douglas Vahry – Taupo, NZ; RNZ Air Force # 391204, WWII, Flight Photo Intel Officer
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The British Unsung Hero of Burma
Major Hugh Paul Seagrim
Major Hugh Paul Seagrim
For all the heroes that became famous, there are just as many that did heroic deeds which, for them, was their duty. One of them, British Major Hugh Paul Seagrim, dedicated his life to resisting Japanese forces when they invaded Burma.
Seagrim was born in Hampshire, England in 1909. He was schooled at Norwich and then joined the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. In 1929 he obtained a commission in the British Indian army. He was sent to Burma and before long was accepted by the Karens, forming close friendships.
British in Burma
Burma, now called Myanmar, is situated west of Laos and Thailand in Southeast Asia. It was a colony of Great Britain from 1886 until 1948. The different major ethnic groups living in Myanmar are Burmans, Karen, Shan, Chinese, Mon, and Indian.
Most Indonesian countries regarded the British as haughty foreigners, who looked down on the native peoples while exploiting their land. They were pleased to find none of those traits in Seagrim.
He discarded his uniform, grew a beard and due to the sun his skin turned brown. The Major was always identifiable due to his extreme height of six feet four and earned the nickname “Grandfather Longlegs” from his men. He was a calm, grounded man who always put his men first and was kind to everyone.
Stuart tank advancing on Rangoon
In 1940, the Japanese invaded Burma, with their objective being the conquest of India. Over three hundred thousand British soldiers were forced to withdraw. Seagrim, however, stayed and fought.
The Burmans had their own Independent Army, which sided with the Japanese against the Karen, who possessed only crossbows for protection. Seagrim and his men hid in the jungle and obtained food and weapons when they could. Forced to move around to keep out of reach of the Japanese, they slept in crude bamboo huts and often had to eat rats. The Major was a man of faith and held a daily prayer service for those whose families had been converted to Christianity by missionaries in the 1800s.
After about a year of guerrilla warfare, the Japanese were aware of Seagrim and his men. Having by then lost their ability to wage war, they spied on the Japanese and relayed information to the British in India. Seagrim begged for reinforcements but to no avail.
The frustrated Japanese began attacking the Karen villages to flush the Major out of the jungle. One of their victims finally gave in after horrendous torture and revealed the location of the guerrilla army. As many as three hundred Japanese soldiers closed in on the area, but Seagrim and his men escaped.
Japanese firing squad
Rather than put the Karens in any more danger, the Major decided to surrender. He was taken to the “Rangoon Ritz,” a notoriously brutal prison. All through his captivity, the Major kept his poise, good humor and ability to walk with his head held high. He pleaded for the lives of his men, pointing out that he was the spy, not the Karens. When Seagrim refused to do what the guards told him, he did so courteously. He would not bow or show any submission but did so without animosity. Just his presence buoyed the spirits of the other prisoners.
After being sentenced to death by a Japanese tribunal, and ordered to dig their own graves, Seagrim and seven of his men were executed on September 22, 1944, as they were singing a hymn.
Seagrim posthumously received the Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire; the Distinguished Service Order and the George Cross.
The medals are on display at the Imperial War Museum in London.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military in the Movies –
General admission – Private showing.
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Farewell Salutes –
Kenneth Adams – Cincinnati, OH; US Navy, WWII
John Bauer – Furth, BAV; US Army, WWII, ETO & Nuremberg Trials, MIS Interpreter “Richie Boys”
Harold Dawson – Bartow, FL; US Army, WWII
Allen Glenn – Great Mills, MD; US Navy, ATC, Vietnam, Desert Shield & Desert Storm
Gerard Gorsuch – NYC, NY; US Navy, WWII & Korea
Bonnie Jackson – Edgar, AZ; US Army Air Corps,WAC, WWII
Jack Moyers – Denver, CO; US Navy, WWII, pilot
Christina Neigel – Verendrye, ND; Civilian, Red Cross, WWII
Robert Sommer – Woodstock, IL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, B-17 gunner
Frederick Wheeler – Concord, MA; Civilian, WWII, ETO, ambulance driver
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CBI – British receive POW’s / Vietnam in the picture
Japanese POWs in Malaya
“From May onwards, prisoners in a terrible state came in daily,” recorded a British gunner unit in Burma, “many of them armed with nothing more dangerous than bamboo spears, trembling with a mixture of malaria and humiliation.”
British soldiers in Burma
But if some proved ready to quit, others did not. To the end, most Japanese who lost their ships at sea deliberately evaded Allied rescuers. On the deck of HMS Saumarez, destroyer Captain Martin Power was directing rescue operations after sinking a Japanese convoy off the Nicobars, when he suddenly heard a “clang” against the ship.
Andaman and Nicobars Islands
Peering over the side, he saw a bald, heavily built Japanese man clinging to a scrambling net with one hand, while hammering the nose of a shell against the hull with the other. Power drew his pistol, leaned over and whacked the man’s head.
“I could not think of anything else to do – I spoke no Japanese. Blood streaming down his face, he looked up at me, the pistol 6 inches from his eyes, the shell in his hand… I do not know how long I hung in this ridiculous position, eyeball to eyeball with a fanatical enemy, but it seemed too long at the time. At last he dropped the shell into the sea, brought up his feet, and pushed off from the ship’s side like an Olympic swimmer, turned on his face and swam away.”
***** ***** *****
By this time of the Pacific War, the Vietnam area of Indochina was in dispute. DeGaulle demanded that the current Vichy government take a firm stand, but this was a disaster. The Japanese had staged a pre-emptive coup against the Saigon administration. Frenchmen became POW’s and their future fate would cause Anglo-American arguments. When US planes arrived from China to carry out evacuations, the French were furious that the aircraft did not bring them cigarettes.
London’s Political Warfare Executive sent a directive to Mountbatten that highlighted the political and cultural complexities of the CBI: “Keep off Russo-Japanese, Russo-Chinese and Sino-Japanese relations except for official statements. Show that a worse fate awaits Japan if her militarists force her to fight on… Continue to avoid the alleged Japanese peace feelers.”
The Dutch, French and British owners of the old Eastern empires were increasingly preoccupied with regaining their lost territories – and they were conscious that they could expect scant help from the Americans to achieve this. The British Embassy in Washington told the Foreign Office:
“If we prosecute the Eastern War with might and main, we shall be told by some people that we are really fighting for our colonial possessions the better to exploit them and that American blood is being shed to no better purpose than to help ourselves and Dutch and French to perpetrate our degenerate colonial Empires; while if we are judged not to have gone all out, that is because we are letting America fight her own war with little aid, after having her pull our chestnuts out of the European fire.”
Quotes taken from “Retribution” by Max Hastings
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – 
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Farewell Salutes –
Edward Bailey – Parma, MI; US Navy, WWII, PTO, 2nd Lt., pilot, KIA
David Cruden – Hurtsville, AUS; RA Air Force # 422443, 460 & 582nd Bomber Command Squadrons
Fred Hermes Jr. – Villas, NJ; US Coast Guard, Academy Grad., Commander (Ret.)
William A. Laux – LaCrosse, WI & Arrow Lakes, CA; US Army, WWII, ETO
John Moore – Baltimore, MD; US Navy, WWII, Captain (Ret.)
Ronald S. Richardson – Gisborne, NZ; RNZ Air Force, WWII, ETO, Lt. Commander, pilot, KIA
Robert Stoner – Buffalo, NY; US Navy, minesweeper
Harry Thomas – Marlington, WV; US Army, WWII
Michael C. Ukaj – Johnstown, NY; USMC, Iraq (the NY limo crash on his 34th birthday)
Elwood Wells – Epsom, NH; US Army Air Corps, WWII, CBI, Captain, 1337 A.F. Base, KIA
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Gurkha Soldier – 13 May 1945
The 4th Gurkhas at kit inspection
Never mess with a Gurkha. Not everyone knows this, but then again, many people don’t know what a Gurkha/Gorkha is. Gurkhas were a branch of troops from Nepal who historically served with the British army and now serve around the world. Gurkha troops served admirably during WWI, winning nearly 2,000 awards for bravery serving in virtually every theatre of the war.
In WWII, the Japanese Empire spread through Asia and the Pacific. Americans mostly recall the island hopping and battles over patches of turf like Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima. The British fight (supported by China and some Americans) against Japan centered around Burma (Myanmar) and was a terrible slugfest in the depths of the South Asian jungles.
The Gurkhas were a major force for the British in the Burma campaign and on May 13th, 1945, five days after victory in Europe, the Gurkhas would face intense Japanese assaults. Lachhiman Gurung and his detachment manned the forward-most position on the banks of the Irrawaddy River.
A little after one in the morning the Japanese led a furious assault with around 200 men. The attack was aimed at Gurung’s position as he and his comrades held a hill that would give the Japanese sweeping views and attack lanes to the rear of British positions.
Type-97 Japanese grenade
The Japanese started their assault by tossing grenades into the foxhole of Gurung. Gurung responded by calmly grabbing the grenades and tossing them back. After a couple of times doing this, Gurung’s luck ran out as a grenade exploded in his right hand as he was trying to throw it away.
The blast took off Gurung’s fingers and most of his hand. It fractured several bones in his right arm and left shrapnel wounds in his right leg and face, damaging his eye. Gurung’s comrades were completely incapacitated by the blast, and so the defense fell to Gurung.
He brought up his rifle with his left arm and gunned down the advancing Japanese, even reloading with his left hand. Try reloading a rifle with your non-dominate hand, it’s quite difficult, even without life-threatening wounds.
Bleeding profusely in the middle of the night, Gurung held off sporadic assaults for four hours. As the sun rose, the Japanese assault faded away. Of the approximately 200 Japanese attackers, 87 of them were dead, with 31 of them laying in the immediate vicinity of Gurung’s location.
garrison hill during advancement
Gurung was immediately hospitalized where he would eventually lose his right eye. His right arm was saved, but he lost most of the use of his right hand. He would be awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions.
Gurung still wanted to serve and was allowed to return to his unit, staying with them through the liberation of India in 1947. He retired shortly after to work on a farm in his native Nepal.
Gurung had five children and eventually moved to London where he would pass away from pneumonia in 2010. The Gurkhas again served in nearly every theatre of the world war, earning close to 3,000 awards for bravery.
The Gurkhas were known for outstanding bravery in battle and their use of the fearsome Kukri blade as a utility knife and in battle.
Sir Ralph Turner, a well-known British professor, had this to say about the Gurkhas: “Uncomplaining you endure hunger and thirst and wounds; and at the last, your unwavering lines disappear into the smoke and wrath of battle. Bravest of the brave, most generous of the generous, never had country more faithful friends than you.”
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – CBI Roundup style – 
WACs Wanted – 2 to 1
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Farewell Salutes –
Leonard Bellis – Philadelphia, PA; US Army, Captain
James Brook – OR; US Navy, WWII, pilot, / FBI
Charles H. Daman – Coeur d’Arlene, ID; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, SSgt., nose gunner, KIA
Thaylon Hobbs – Logan, UT; US Navy, WWII
Charles “Bud” Jenkins – Fayetteville, NC; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, Pfc., 307th A/B Engineers/82nd Airborne Div., KIA
Robert McCooley – Patterson, NJ; US Navy, Cuban Missile Crisis
Frank Perry – San Leandro, CA; US Army Air Corps, WWII
Robert Rusello – Massena, NY; US Army, 221 Signal Corps
John Stormer – Altoona, PA; US Air Force, historian, / (author)
Max Tadlock – Toledo, OH; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, pilot
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Pacific Paratrooper 