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11th Airborne Division honored
11th A/B trooper Wiiliam Carlisle on the cover of “Yank”
On the cover of the 14 September 1945 issue of Yank magazine,(Vol. 4 No. 13) is S/Sgt. William Carlisle of Chalmers, Indiana
This poem was written by: Pvt. Bronnell York, Battery D, 457th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion, 11th A/B; even if you are not a poetry enthusiast, it is worth reading.
“Victory For the U.S.A.”
We’re the boys of the 457,
Earning our major pay,
Fighting Japs and jungle life,
For three sixty cents a day.
Back home we’re soon forgotten,
By girls and friends we knew,
Here in the South Seas Islands,
Ten thousand miles from you.
All night the rains keep falling,
It’s more than we can stand,
“NO” folks, we’re not convicts,
We’re defenders of our land.
We’re the boys of many,
Bronnell York’s original poem
Holding the upper hand,
Hitting the silk and hoping,
We’re living when we land.
We’re having it pretty tough now,
You can believe what I say,
Some day we hope to live again,
Back home in the USA.
Victory’s in the making,
Our future will be serene,
We’ve got the Navy backing us,
Along with the fighting Marines.
We’re in this all together,
Fellas like you and me,
We’ll be a united people,
And our Country will be free.
There’s no two ways about it,
We’ll either do or die,
For our Country with dictation,
Is not for you or I.
When the war is over,
And we have finished what they began,
We’ll raise Old Glory high above,
The Empire of Japan.
So, to all you 4F jokers,
Who thinks there’s something you missed,
Don’t let the draft board get you,
And for God’s sake don’t enlist.
It might be a long time yet,
Then it might be any day,
When smiling faces see the Golden Gate,
And sail in Frisco Bay.
When this conflict’s over,
The boys can proudly say,
We had to fight for what was ours,
Victory for the U.S.A.!
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11th Airborne Memorial
Some of my friends and readers who visit often might remember this cover of Yanks magazine with William Carlisle , of the 11th A/B on the cover. Koji of http://p47koji.wordpress.com notified me that he found a William and Norma Carlisle in Chalmers, IN.
I sent a note to inquire about the photo. I received this reply from his widow:
“Hello! So nice of you to write, Bob would have been pleased. The picture on the cover of the Yank magazine is William Robert Carlisle, my husband. I’m sure he could have told you stories of the 11th Airborne. I’m Mrs. Norma Carlisle, Bob’s wife. I’m sorry to tell you that Bob passed away on Dec. 12 – 1997. I miss him! Hope you and yours are enjoying the Golden Years! God Bless, Norma
I was so disappointed to discover that we had lost yet another trooper’s tales of the era and a little taken back to see that he passed on what would have been my father’s 83rd birthday.
With many thanks to Josh, we now have a link to the war memorial that honors the 11th Airborne using Mr. Carlisle’s photo as a model.
http://www.warmemorialhq.org/cpg/thumbnails.php?album=520
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor –
“I dropped out of parachute school.”
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Farewell Salutes –
Stanley Abraham – Greenwood, NY; US Army, WWII, 299th Combat Engineers
Bobby ‘Pete’ Beckett – Logan, WV; US Army, WWII, Medic
Martha Groton – Washington D.C.; US Navy WAVE, WWII
Gordon Huff – CAN; RC Navy, WWII
William Jones – Tucker, GA; US Navy, WWII
James Myers – Rouseville, PA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Co. A/188/11th Airborne Division
Virgil Oyler – Barberton, OH; US Navy, WWII, aviation
Merle Smith – Clark County, WA; US Navy, Pearl Harbor, Electrician’s Mate 3rd Cl., USS Oklahoma, KIA
Randall Troop – Manchester, MA; US Navy, WWII, USS Colorado, radar
James Watson – Roanoke, VA; US Navy, WWII, ETO
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11th Airborne – Movin’ On
Smitty in Japan
This photograph was signed by two of my father’s buddies, John S. Lodero and Phil Martorano, both of Brooklyn, New York. Smitty (Everett Smith) is circled, but which two men are John and Phil is unknown.
When the SCAP Headquarters was set up in Tokyo, MacArthur was determined to create a “Peaceful and responsible government…” He also had to administer to a nation with nearly 70 million near-starving civilians and a constantly growing population of soldiers. The Japanese made the transition of being under one totalitarian rule to another quite easily and the general proceeded to supervise the writing and implementation of a new constitution. This was adopted in 1947, retaining the Emperor as a constitutional monarch and reestablished the primacy of the Diet. The zaibatu industrial combines were broken up and women were given rights.
Smitty’s brochures
The 11th Airborne was amazed by the change of attitude of the populace; without ever having actually been invaded, the Americans were being accepted. It made their future missions so much easier to accomplish. The Americal Division relieved the 11th Airborne on 14 September at their present locations and the following day, they began moving out by truck and railroad to their newly assigned zones in northern Honshu. Gen. Swing requested Gen. Dorn, who had served with Gen. Stilwell in China, to head the convoy.
In the Sendai area and billeted at the Japanese arsenal [name to be changed to Camp Schimmelpfennig, [named after the chief of staff who was killed in combat] were the – Division Headquarters, 127th Engineers, 408th Quartermaster, 711th Ordnance, 511th Signal, 221st Medical, Parachute Maintenance and the 187th and 188th regiments. The 511th went to Morioka [ name would be changed to Camp Haugen, for their leader killed in combat], the 457th and the 152d moved to Akita, the 472d went to Yamagata, the 674th was divided and sent to Jimmachi and Camp Younghans and the 675th went to Yonezawa.
In the Sendai area, Japanese authorities turned over hotels in the Matsushima area for officer’s quarters and their staff, which explains how Smitty came home with these beautiful brochures you will see pictured here. If you click on and enlarge the photo, you can see where Smitty pointed to the sort of room he was given.
Smitty’s room (bottom-right)
At one point while moving supplies, Eli Bernheim (S-4 Section of the 187th reg.), remembered the convoy of 40 Japanese charcoal burning trucks always breaking down and they became lost. The interpreter and Eli took out their map and became surrounded by curious townspeople. Eli slung his rifle over his shoulder and they scattered. The interpreter suggested laying the weapon down, the civilians regrouped and began touching his hair – turns out they had never seen an American before.
I suppose the word must have spread, because after that incident, the convoy was warmly greeted in every town they passed through. Once in their respective areas, the first priority was living conditions and the Japanese barracks were primitive with ancient plumbing and sewage deposited in reservoirs to be picked up later by farmers and used as fertilizer. The division historian recorded that of all the traffic accidents within the 11th A/B’s zone, NO trooper was ever guilty of hitting one of those “honey carts.”
General Swing made General Pierson commander of the 187th and 188th joint group which became known as the Miyagi Task Force. They set up their headquarters in an insurance company building in Sendai. The principle responsibility of the Miyagi Task Force was to collect and destroy all arms, munitions and armament factories. They were also charged with seeing that General MacArthur’s edicts were all carried out. Many of the military installations had underground tunnels filled with drill presses and machine tools of all types. The entire zone needed to be demilitarized and equipment destroyed. Colonel Tipton discovered a submarine base for the two-man subs and a small group of men still guarding them. They told the colonel that they just wanted to go home.
Smitty’s next move
Inside this brochure my father wrote, “No liquor here so didn’t have to go behind the bar, we drank our own. This is where I had my first real hot bath since coming overseas.”
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – 
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Farewell Salutes –
Vernon Bly – Beaver Creek, MN; US Navy, WWII, / USNR, Lt. Comdr. (Ret.)
Charles Byers – Santa Barbara, CA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, TSgt., 385/551 Bomb Squadron, Purple Heart
Francis Cooney – Providence, RI; US Army, WWII, PTO, SSgt.
Nick Frank – Canton, OH; US Army, 11th Airborne Division, Armed Forces Press
John Hall – Natick, MA; US Merchant Marines / US Navy, WWII, Pto, Midshipman, USS Brill
Gregory Kristof – ID; US Navy, USS Rankin
Byron Otto – Bradenton, FL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Co. C/457 Artillery/11th Airborne Division
Michael Stickley – Broad Channel, NY; US Army, Vietnam
James Thornberry – TN; US Navy, WWII, PTO
Elmer Upton – Port St. Lucie, MD; US Navy, WWII
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U.S. Army 244th Birthday / Flag Day
244 Years Strong
THE U.S. ARMY
AMERICA’S FIRST NATIONAL INSTITUTION
Since its official establishment, June 14, 1775 — more than a year before the Declaration of Independence — the U.S. Army has played a vital role in the growth and development of the American nation. Drawing on both long-standing militia traditions and recently introduced professional standards, it won the new republic’s independence in an arduous eight-year struggle against Great Britain. At times, the Army provided the lone symbol of nationhood around which patriots rallied.
PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO VIEW THESE TWO (2) VERY SHORT VIDEOS. THANK YOU
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Tomorrow is also Flag Day, an annual observance of the Second Continental Congress’ official adoption of the stars and stripes in 1777. At the time, they “resolved that the flag of the 13 United States” be represented by 13 alternating red and white stripes and the union by 13 white stars in a blue field, “representing a new constellation.” Now, more than 200 years later and with an updated design, the flag is an American icon. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania is the only state to recognize it as a legal holiday.
As national treasures go, it was a bargain: $405.90 was paid to Mary Pickersgill of Baltimore, who fashioned it from red, blue and undyed wool, plus cotton for the 15 stars to fly at the fortress guarding the city’s harbor. An enormous flag, 30 by 42 feet, it was intended as a bold statement to the British warships that were certain to come. And, when in September 1814, the young United States turned back the invaders in a spectacular battle witnessed by Francis Scott Key, he put his joy into a verse published first as “Defense of Fort M’Henry,” and then, set to the tune of a British drinking song – immortalized as “The Star Spangled Banner.”
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Harold Amstutz – Deerfield, MI; US Army, WWII, ETO, 8/4th Infantry Division
Donald Buckley – Herkimer, NY; US Army, Korea, HQ Co./187th RCT
Thurman Childress – Stamford, TX; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Co. E/188/11th Airborne Division
Valentine Ellis – Bothell, WA; US Army, WWII, ETO
Clyde Holcomb – Mobile, AL; US Army, WWII, ETO, 566th Anti-Aircraft Division, 3 Bronze Stars
Robert Mackey – North Bennington, VT; US Army Air Corps, WWII, Chief Warrant Officer (Ret.)
Sam Ostrow – Cincinnati, OH; US Army Air Corps, WWII
Milton Persin – Oak Brook, IL; US Army Air Corps, WWII
Harold Sanders – Hayesville, NC; US Army, WWII, ETO, Purple Heart
Walter Shamp – NY; US National Guard / US Army, WWII, 109/28th Division
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September 1945 in Japan
Dai Ichi Building in Tokyo flying both the American and United Nations flags
Soon after the official surrender of Japan, General MacArthur moved his headquarters into the Dai Ichi building in Tokyo. At noon, 8 September 1945, on the terrace of the U.S. Embassy, he met an honor guard from the 1st Calvary Division; they held the Stars and Stripes that had flown over the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. on 7 December 1941 – Pearl Harbor Day. As the red, white and blue began to rise… MacArthur said, “General Eichelberger, have our country’s flag unfurled and in Tokyo’s sun let it wave its full glory as a symbol of hope for the oppressed and as a harbinger of victory for the right.”
Hideki Tojo
Immediately after the ceremony, Major Paul Kraus and his MPs and a throng of reporters, (including George Jones of the New York Times) surrounded the home of Hideki Tojo. The general shot himself in the chest before anyone could enter his office. The bullet missed his heart. At the 48th Evacuation Hospital, he told Gen. Eichelberger, “I am sorry to have given General Eichelberger so much trouble.” The general asked, “Do you mean tonight or the last few years?” The answer was, “Tonight. I want General Eichelberger to have my new saber.”
Prince Konoye – 3 times Premier of Japan lies dead
The night before Prince Konoye was to be sent to Sugamo Prison, he drank poison and died. (I personally feel that the prince might have been acquitted of war criminal charges at the trials. He had tried for years to bring peace, his mistake being, his having chosen the Soviets as mediators and Stalin blocked him at every step.)
In reply of Allied and liberated Japanese press opinions of the Emperor, MacArthur was determined not to humiliate him: “To do so,” the general said, “would be to outrage the feelings of the Japanese people and make a martyr of the Emperor in their eyes.” As a student of Asian cultures, he proved to be correct. It would take two weeks, but the Emperor requested an interview with the general himself.
MacArthur and Hirohito meeting
His Majesty arrived in his ancient limousine with Grand Chamberlain Fujita and was met with a salute from General Bonner F. Fellers. When Fellers’ hand dropped, the Emperor grabbed it. An interpreter quickly explained that the Emperor was happy to see him. Fellers replied, “I am honored to meet you. Come in and meet General MacArthur.” Nervously, Hirohito allowed himself to be escorted up the staircase to the general’s office.
Trying to ease the tension, MacArthur told him he had been presented to his father, Emperor Taisho, after the Russian-Japanese War and offered Hirohito an American cigarette. The Emperor’s hand shook as it was lit and the general then dismissed everyone except the interpreter. The conversation before an open fire was observed, unknowingly, by Mrs. MacArthur and their son, Arthur who hid behind the long red drapes.
Emperor Hirohito rides at the imperial palace in 1940 wearing the uniform of commander in chief of Japanese forces. Associated Press
The emperor had been forewarned not to assume any responsibility for the war, but he did just that.”I come to you, General MacArthur, to offer myself to the judgment of the powers you represent as the one to bear sole responsibility for every political and military decision made and action taken by my people in the conduct of this war.”
MacArthur freely admitted being moved “to the marrow of my bones. He was an Emperor by inherent birth, but in that instant I knew I faced the First Gentleman of Japan in his own right.”
The Japanese acknowledged, without reservations, the temporal power of the current shogun, but revered what was eternal. (The Imperial Palace)
Resources: U.S. Signal Corps; “The Rising Sun” by John Toland; Gene Slover’s US Navy Papers; historyinanhour.com
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – 
“Cover me Johnson… I’ve got to Tweet this.”
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Farewell Salutes –
Elton Barber – Buckley, WA; US Navy, WWII, ETO, USS Chester
Robert “Sam” Carlson – MS; US Army Air Corps, WWII
THANKS Veterans for walking the walk!
Eugene Duffy – Beach Grove, IN; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Co. A/127 Engineers/11th Airborne Division
Willard Dykes – Meridian, ID; US Army Air Corps, WWII
Albert Green – Sandy, OR; US Army, Korea, Co. G/187th RCT
James Heflin – Memphis, TN; USMC, WWII, PTO
Alice Jefferson – Stoneham, MA; US Coast Guard SPAR, WWII, Commander (Ret. 25 y.)
David Kesler – Berthoud, CO; US Navy, WWII, Baker 2nd Class, USS Oklahoma, KIA, (Pearl Harbor)
Robert Spence – Montreal, CAN; RC Air Force, WWII
Benjamin Starr – Montgomery, AL; US Army Air Corps, WWII
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D-Day from a different view
German POWs
On 6 June 1944, Milton Roger Sosin, a seasoned reporter, took a ride up the south shore of Lake Okeechobee, Florida. Overnight, the long anticipated invasion of Europe had begun.
The Miami Daily News was in search of local reactions from people in Florida – Sosin was assigned to talk to Germans. Not German-Americans, and some weren’t too far away.
Milton Sosin, Miami Herald reporter
In May of 1943, Allied forces had begun to ship German POWs to the United States, more than 9,000 were sent to Florida’s 22 prisoner of war camps. Near Clewiston, FL, was Liberty Point and Sosin was on his way.
On that warm day, he drove up U,S. 27, past pastures and farm land. When he got to Liberty Point, prisoners were marching in from the fields, in formation, their shovels slung over their shoulders like rifles.
The draft had decimated the American labor force and disrupted the usual flow of Caribbean workers, so the Germans were put to work planting and harvesting sugar cane.
The Germans were happy to talk. Yes, they had heard of the invasion, on radios the camp commander had bought them from what they earned running a canteen at the camp. Enough of the POWs spoke English to translate the broadcasts to the rest.
June 1944 Headlines
The POWs told Sosin the reports were propaganda. Germany, they said, surely would prevail. Sosin’s story headline read, “Arrogant Nazis still laud Hitler. Der Fuehrer’s Forces Think Germany Will Win The War.”
Sosin described the prisoners as “jaunty, confident and arrogant members of Der Fuerhrer’s forces – not cowed and beaten soldiers of a nation being pushed into a tighter and tighter circle.”
But their Glade home was no picnic for the fair-skinned men. When the American Red Cross showed up, the temperature was 103°F and it had not rained for 6 months. Prisoners worked long, hard hours, but the Americans could feel no sympathy for them – they knew what U.S. POWs in Germany were going through.
German prisoner buys candy at the canteen
The prisoners were paid 80 cents a day in coupons which they traded for cigarettes and beer. Barracks held 6-men each and had mosquito netting. They were served the same meals as their American camp guards. Nearly 300 POWs fished in the local canals, saw films twice a week and assembled a band using instruments bought with their canteen money.
German POWs play chess
Prisoners had newspapers, took educational courses, played soccer and volley ball at a nearby school and competed against a local softball team. But when the POWs went on strike whining over a cigarette ration cut – the army handed down a “No Work – NO Eat.” policy.
The prisoner’s had a social structure loosely split among the elite Afrika Korps captured in 1942; troops in Italy ’43-’44; and those captured after D-Day. The Afrika Korps officers refused to believe what the new arrivals reported about the Normandy beaches and believed they were spies trying to demoralize them. The korps prisoners would lord over the other POWs, doling out discipline and punishments.
Escaped German POW
Some tried to escape, but Florida was not the easiest place to go on the lam. Most did not go very far.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – 
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Farewell Salutes –
Ralph Brown – Maori Hill, NZ; RNZ Air Force # 424421, WWII
Paul ‘Bud’ Erlacher Jr. – Milford, CT; US Army Air Corps, WWII, Sgt. Medical Corps
Lee Holstein – Laguna Woods, CA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Co. B/187/11th Airborne Division
Durwood Johnson – Cravens, LA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, B-17 tail-gunner
John Knaur – Des Moines, IA; US Navy, WWII, steamfitter, USS Amycus
Jack Maddox (100) – GA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, crew chief, 62 FS/56FG/8th Air Force
Newton Nelson – River Falls, WI; US Navy, WWII & Korea
Harry Siria – Thompson Falls, MT; US Navy, WWII, PTO, fire ship
Otho ‘Coke’ Wiseman – NM; US Army, WWII, ETO, Purple Heart
Elvin Zipf – Pompton Plains, NJ; US Navy, WWII, air corps
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Additional Surrenders
Lubang Island surrender
The extraordinary reluctance of Japanese soldiers to surrender was regarded by the Allies at the time as an indication of fanatical devotion to the Emperor. While that was doubtless a factor, particularly among the officer corps, other elements may have been at play. Inoue Hayashi, a junior Japanese Army officer, claimed that the iron rule against surrender was necessary to prevent a total collapse of morale. (Hastings 2007):
“If we were told to defend this position or that one, we did it. To fall back without orders was a crime. It was as simple as that. We were trained to fight to the end, and nobody ever discussed doing anything else. Looking back later, we could see that the military code was unreasonable. But at that time, we regarded dying for our country as our duty. If men had been allowed to surrender honorably, everybody would have been doing it.”
“Those who know shame are weak. Always think of [preserving] the honor of your community and be a credit to yourself and your family. Redouble your efforts and respond to their expectations. Never live to experience shame as a prisoner. By dying you will avoid leaving behind the crime of a stain on your honor.”
Prince Konoye – 3 times Premier of Japan lies dead
The logical demands of the surrender were formidable. So many different ceremonies took place across Asia and the entire Pacific. Here we will look into some that proceeded peacefully and others that refused the peace. In actuality, the state of war between the U.S. and Japan did not officially end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect 28 April, 1952.
One mass surrender did occur at Noemfoor in September 1944 when 265 Japanese enlisted men, angry at their superiors for stealing their food for their own use. And, in August 1945, another starving Japanese military unit surrendered to a lieutenant in New Guinea. On 1 December 1945, Captain Oba and 46 members of his unit were the last Japanese on Guam to surrender.
In 1946, on Lubang Island, Philippines, intense fighting developed on 22 February when American and Filipino troops met 30 Japanese soldiers. Eight of the Allied troops were killed. Then in April, 41 members of a Japanese garrison came out of the jungle, unaware that the war was over.
Ei Yamaguchi entering his old tunnel.
At the end of March 1947, a band of Japanese led by Ei Yamaguchi of 33 men renewed the fighting on Peleliu Island. There were only 150 Marines stationed on the island by that time and reinforcements were called in to assist. A Japanese Admiral also went to convince the troops that the war was indeed over. The holdouts came out of the jungle in two different groups in late April. Yamaguchi returned to his old tunnel in 1994 and Eric Mailander and Col. Joe Alexander interviewed him. To see the interview go to – http://www.pacificwrecks.com/people/visitors/mailander/ (If this link was not done correctly, please go to Pacific Wrecks. com)
In that same month, on Palawan Island, 7 Japanese troops armed with a mortar launcher emerged from the jungle and surrendered. On 27 October 1947, the last Japanese soldier surrendered carrying a water bottle, a broken Australian bayonet and a Japanese entrenching tool.
USMC base during Operation Beleaquer
Not until late 1948, did 200 well organized troops give themselves up on Mindinao, P.I. And, in China, 10-20,000 well equipped Japanese troops who were trapped in the mountains of Manchuria between the warring Nationalist and Communist forces, finally found a chance to surrender thanks to the efforts of the USMC Operation Beleaguer.
In 1949, there was one report of two men living in the shadow of American troops finally turning themselves in.
Teruo Nakamura was one of the last known holdouts of WWII when he emerged from the jungle retreat that housed him in Indonesia, December 1974. There were rumors of men claiming to be holdouts in the 1980’s, but none were officially confirmed.
Probably the most memorable of the holdouts was Hiroo Onoda, whose story we will see in the next post.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Personal Note –
Those expecting a D-Day post, simply type, ‘D-Day’, into the Search bar at the top-right of this post and you are bound to find one of interest. A rather different view of D-Day will be forthcoming.
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Military Humor –
This comic strip was found on the opposite page of the Japanese surrender article, N.Y. Daily News, 3 Sept. 1945, by Smitty’s mother.
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Farewell Salutes –
Eli Blumenberg – Denver, CO; US Navy, WWII
William Tully Brown – Winslow, AZ; USMC, WWII, PTO, Navajo Code Talker
Dorothy “Red” Churchill (104) – Wallingford, CT; Civilian photographer for US military
Frank DeGennaro – Canonsburg, PA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Co. A/188/11th Airborne Division
Edwin Glatzhofer – Pinehurst, NC; US Army, WWII, Signal Corps
H.W. Hanks – Memphis, TN; US Army, WWII, ETO, 103rd Infantry Division
John Knauer – Des Moines, IA; US Navy, WWII, steamfitter, USS Amycus
Louis Levi Oakes – Akwesasane, NY; US Army, WWII, Co. B/442nd Signal Battalion
Louis Smith – Carlisle, AR; US Navy, WWII
Burton Walrath – Cedar Key, FL; US Army, WWII, ETO, 1st Sgt., Combat Engineers
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Japanese Holdouts on Saipan
Anatahan Island surrender
On September 2, 1945, representatives from the Allied and Japanese governments signed the peace treaty that ended World War II.
Or did it?
In June 1944 American warships sank several Japanese troop transports. Survivors from the vessels swam to safety and reached the island of Anatahan, located approximately 75 miles north of Saipan. The island was uninhabited, and possessed steep slopes, deep ravines, and high grass.
In January 1945 a B-29 bomber from the 498th Bomber Group, returning from an air raid over Japan, developed engine trouble and slammed into a grassy field. The crash killed the entire crew.
The small group of Japanese who had survived the sinking of their transports quickly cannibalized the aircraft. They utilized metal from the wreckage to manufacture makeshift knives, pots, and roofing for their huts. The plane’s oxygen tanks held their potable water, clothing was fashioned from the silk parachutes, and cords were used to make fishing lines. The aircraft’s weapons were confiscated as well.
Surrender at Anatahan Island
Later in 1945, the Japanese were discovered by Chamorros who had gone to Anatahan to recover the remains of the missing bomber crew. The natives returned and testified to authorities that they had seen the Japanese soldiers and also one Okinawan woman.
Upon hearing this news, U.S. planes dropped leaflets on the island asking the soldiers to surrender. Fearing execution, the holdouts refused the request. With the small band of Japanese virtually isolated from the outside world, they were soon forgotten.
Then, after six years of this Spartan existence, Kazuko Higa, the Okinawan woman, got the attention of an American ship as she walked on the beach. When approached by a landing party, she asked to be taken from the island.
Upon her arrival on Saipan, Higa told U.S. officials that the Japanese did not trust the Americans. It was also learned that the woman had a busy love life while imprisoned there and her flirtations had caused some jealousy. It seems she would “transfer her affections between at least four of the men after each mysteriously disappeared as a result of being swallowed by the waves while fishing.”
Finally, the Japanese government intervened and contacted the families of the survivors, asking them to write letters telling their loved ones that Japan had surrendered.
In addition, a letter from the governor of Kanagawa Prefecture was sent to convince the “Robinson Crusoes” to give themselves up. It read in part: “Previously, in our country, a prisoner of war lost face. That is not so now. The Emperor ordered all our people, wherever they were, to surrender peacefully. I believe you have read letters from your family which said not to worry which will give you confidence to give yourself up to the Americans. In the box of new letters sent to you we are enclosing a piece of white cloth with which you can signal the Navy boat. You do not have to worry. The Americans will give you their best attention and kindness until you are returned to our country.”
This message was dropped on June 26, 1951. Several days later, the Japanese waved the white flag of surrender.
On June 30, 1951, the USS Cocopa, a U.S. Navy tug, appeared offshore. Lieutenant Commander James B. Johnson, the ship’s commanding officer, and Mr. Ken Akatani, an interpreter, made their way to the beach in a rubber boat.
Once ashore, Johnson and Akatani met with the Japanese to accept their formal surrender, now dubbed Operation Removal by the U.S. Navy. With their meager belongings wrapped in cloth, the survivors were brought aboard the tug and sent to Guam. Once there, they boarded a Navy plane and were flown to Japan to be reunited with their families.
Other stories of Japanese military personnel holding out in South Pacific locales continued for years. We will discuss more in the following post on Thursday.
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Military Humor –
This B-29 crew on Guam wasted no time in starting an enterprising venture.
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Farewell Salutes –
Beford Brown – Miami, FL; US Navy, WWII, Boatswain’s mate 2nd Class, USS Intrepid
John Cheesman – New Haven, CT; US Army, WWII, PTO
Sherman Douglass – Gloucester, MA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, Sgt.
Bruce Dowd – Howick, NZ; RNZEF #637275, WWII, Pte.
E.W. “Tony” Gehringer – St. Louis, MO; US Navy, WWII & Korea, (Ret. 21 y.)
Richard Haviland – Harvey, IL; US Navy, WWII
Joseph Milligan Jr. – Savannah, GA; US Coast Guard, WWII
Michael Ryan – New Orleans, LA; US Navy, WWII, Higgins boat duty
Erma Scott – Huntington, WV; US Army WAC; WWII, Corps of Engineers / Pentagon
John Walker Jr. – Weaver’s Ford, NC; US Army, WWII, ETO, Cpl., 84th Infantry Division
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Surrenders in the Pacific
Okinawa
Once the Emperor gave his speech for peace, the Japanese gave their surrenders across the Pacific, but not all went as smoothly as the one held on the USS Missouri. As late as 31 August, according to U.S. Intelligence reports, the Japanese refused to believe the surrender reports and ambushed a SRD party and three of the Japanese were killed.
In the Ryukyus, things were far more simple. The senior officer in the Sakishima Gunto, Lt. General Gon Nomi, Toshiro, whose headquarters was on Miyako Shima, had been given authority to conclude a peace treaty for all Army and Navy forces in the Sakishima Gunto, Daito Islands and the islands in the Okinawa Gunto not already under American control. The official papers were signed on 7 September 1945, with General Stillwell presiding.
Gen. Hata at surrender table with the Soviets
General Shunroku Hata and his Army had taken only three weeks in April-May of 1944 to rout 300,000 Chinese soldiers in Honan to secure the Peking-Hankow railroad. He then moved south and then west to meet up with the Japanese forces in French Indochina. The 14th Air Force and the Chinese Air Force could not stop the offensive and by the end of May, General Marshall and the Joint Chiefs of Staff basically wrote off the Chinese Theater. Yet in the end, Gen. Hata signs the surrender.
Lord Louis Mountbatten with MacArthur
12 September, Lord Mountbatten accepted the surrender of all enemy forces in Southeast Asia in Singapore. Once again, the Union Jack was flying over Government House. But, due to Britain’s overstretched resources, Japanese soldiers were used to maintain law and order in the region. Europe’s colonialism was severely damaged and in 1947, Britain granted independence to India and Pakistan.
17 August, American parachutists landed near Nanking on the Wse-hsien interment camp. The Japanese were forced to protect the troopers from the unrest (actually chaos) erupting in the area between Communist and Nationalist armies. On 9 September, General Ho Chin accepted the Japanese surrender of China (except Manchuria, Formosa [now Taiwan] and Indochina north of the 16th parallel in the name of Chiang Kai. Mao’s forces stayed away even though Allied officials were present. By not being at Central Military Academy in Whampoa, he was in violation of the Potsdam accords and went on to accept his own regional surrenders.
Australian & British POWs on Borneo
The British had been slow in retaking Hong Kong and revolts broke out. The POWs were not receiving food and the Chinese population caused riots in the streets. The British civil servants eventually took over while the Japanese kept the order. 16 September, the official surrender took place, but not until November were all Japanese troops in the New Territories relieved, disarmed and repatriated.
After a meeting in Rangoon, Mountbatten arranged for the Allied forces to enter Siam and Indochina. Thirteen days later, he flew his 7th Indian Division to Bangkok to move onward to Saigon. They were to assist the French in securing the southern half of Vietnam again as a French colony. The Americans felt that the French had already bled the country dry over the past century and so here – the start of the Vietnam War that would last until 1974.
Thailand had survived by playing both sides while attempting to appear neutral. Japanese General Hamada, responsible for heinous POW atrocities, committed seppuku.
Indonesia was grateful to the Japanese for throwing out the Dutch and declared their independence. Although British and Dutch troops made attempts to return them to colonization, they resisted. The Americans moved in with orders to disarm the Japanese and then leave. It would take four years of fighting before the Hague would recognize Indonesia as a sovereign country.
Burma disliked the Japanese, but they had given them a taste of independence from the British. They took no part in the surrender proceedings. After the Japanese were shipped home and fighting resumed with the British, the independent nation nation was established 4 January 1948.
India had acquired their own army under the Japanese Co-Prosperity Sphere, but not independence. After the war, the British tried in vain to hold the country, but hostility forced them to grant India their freedom in 1947. The transition was overseen by Governor General Mountbatten.
Korea – September 1945 – being relieved of all weapons
In Korea, the Japanese were ordered to sweep Inchon harbor of mines before the American fleet arrived. The Japanese, here again, were needed to maintain order until Koreans could be trained to contain the mobs. Korea had actually been ignored as far as surrender and removal of the Japanese. The U.S. had gone there to disarm the enemy. The end result of the incompetent handling of Korea during and after WWII attributed to the Korean War.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor –
Envelope Art
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Farewell Salutes –
Michael Bach – Utica, NY; US Army, Korea, Vietnam, 101st Airborne Division
Donald Creedon – New Hartford, NY; US Army, Korea, 187th RCT
Leo Fitzpatrick – Sharon, MA; US Navy, WWII
Robert Glass – Crosby, MN; US Merchant Marines, WWII, PTO / US Air Force (Ret. 22 y.)
Lewis Holzheimer – Neihart, MT; US Army, WWII, ETO, 60th Infantry Regiment, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
Russell Kelly – Seabrook, NH; US Navy, WWII
Willard Marquis – Casper, WY; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO
Louis Orleans – Ft. Collins, CO; US Army, WWII
Martin Sander – Odenton, MD; US Army, WWII, Sgt.
Wiley Walker – Canyon, TX; US Army, 1st Calvary Division, Colonel (Ret. 27 y.)
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MEMORIAL DAY 2019
Luxembourg American Cemetery
Just a Common Soldier (A Soldier Died Today)
by A. Lawrence Vaincourt
He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.
And tho’ sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,
All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.
But we’ll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,
And the world’s a little poorer, for a soldier died today.
He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,
Michael, my son.
For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.
Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,
And the world won’t note his passing, though a soldier died today.
When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young,
But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.
Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land
Smitty, my father
A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?
A politician’s stipend and the style in which he lives
Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.
While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal and perhaps, a pension small.
James J. O’Leary, my uncle
It’s so easy to forget them for it was so long ago,
That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we know
It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.
Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,
Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?
Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend
His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?
He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,
Arthur Mulroy, my cousin, now deceased
But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier’s part
Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.
If we cannot do him honor while he’s here to hear the praise,
Then at least let’s give him homage at the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say,
Our Country is in mourning, for a soldier died today.
© 1987 A. Lawrence Vaincourt
THESE TROOPS TOOK THE TIME TO FIGHT FOR YOU AND ME. PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO HONOR THEM.
Posted here courtesy of : Partnering With Eagles
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Not your usual Military Humor today….
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE.
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Farewell Salutes –
Vernon Bishop – Santa Rosa, FL; US Army, WWII, ETO, 1st Army Group
David Bond – Tampa, FL; USMC, Major (Ret.22 y.)
Tim Conway – Cleveland, OH; US Army / comedian 
Eugene Galella – Memphis, TN; US Navy, WWII, ETO/ETO, pilot / USNR, Lt. Commander (Ret.)
Charles Holland – Aberdeen, NC; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Co. C/187/11th Airborne Division
Don Jesperson – Idaho Falls, ID; US Army, Korea, Co. B/187th RCT
Kaylie Ludwig – IL; US Navy, Lt., Medical Corps, 6th Fleet, USS Arlington
Ralph Manley – Springfield, MO; US Army, WWII, ETO, 101st Airborne Division, demolitions
I.M. Pei – brn. Canton, CHI; Civilian, WWII, bomb fuse creator / architect
Herman Wouk – NYC, NY; US Navy, WWII, destroyer minesweeper / author
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Table For One
A VERY SPECIAL POST FOR A VERY IMPORTANT WEEKEND! PLEASE THANK OUR HOST FOR PUTTING THIS TOGETHER FOR US.
Let’s face it…. Nobody REALLY enjoys working during a Holiday weekend, however, when I walked into the cafeteria at Jackson Madison General Hospital, I saw this. This is called a Table For One, and it’s a wonderful tribute / memorial to the Military Service Members who have fought and died to defend our great country.
Thank you to the staff member who put this together to remind us all about the freedom we have today.
The framed plaque, which is on the table, reads:
* This table, set for one, is small, symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner, alone.
* It is set for one, symbolizing the fact that some are missing from our ranks.
* The tablecloth is white, symbolic of the purity of their intentions to respond to their country’s call to arms.
* The black napkin represents the sorrow of captivity.
* The single red rose in…
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