Blog Archives
August 1945 – James Fahey’ Diary
USS Montpelier
From: The Secret Diary of an American Sailor, Seaman First Class, James J. Fahey aboard the USS Montpelier :
2 August – All hands rose at 4:30 am because of storm warnings, the ships turned back 110 miles from Shanghai. A typhoon is heading towards our position. We will then travel south and patrol around until the danger passes. The sea was full of enormous swells today.
3 August – It was very chilly on the midnight to 4 am watch. The sea was very rough. All hands were up for sunrise General Quarters at 4:30 am. We were to refuel the destroyers today but could not because of the condition of the ocean.
The radio reported that 820 B-29 super forts hit Japan — 819 planes returned to their home bases. It was the largest raid in history. They dropped 6600 tons of bombs.
Clement Attlee defeated Churchill in the election for Prime Minister of England. The Detroit Tigers are in first place by 3 games in the American League. A B-25 medium bomber crashed into the Empire State Building in NYC. Fourteen were killed and many suffered injuries.
The weather cleared and we headed up the China coast again. Capt. Gorry spoke over the loudspeaker informing us that we were 140 miles from Shanghai. We will advance north of the mouth of the Yangtze River and then proceed to the one fathom curve. The battle cruisers, Guam and Alaska will not go up as far as us.. We will return and join the cruiser at approximately 2:30 am.
It will be a very dangerous mission because of the many reefs we could be grounded upon. I wonder what Fleet Admiral Nimitz has in mind when he made plans to send us up there. This is a very bold undertaking.
4 August – We cruised up the Yangtze River in the heart of Jap-held territory. The only ship we came across was a Chinese fishing schooner. It was very chilly on watch again. During the day we patrolled about 150 miles from Shanghai. We refueled a destroyer in the morning. In the afternoon we fired at sleeves that were towed by our carrier planes.
5 August – We left the Yangtze River. Last night we came close to ramming a 1000-pound mine, but we detected it in time. A destroyer blew it up with machine-gun fire. The explosion was terrific.
Our practice was interrupted today because of Jap airplanes. Our CAP combat air patrol planes from our carriers went after them. The Japs dropped their bombs in the water and ran for home, but our fighters caught up to one and shot it down. Our fighters shot down a couple more around 4:30. It must have burned the Japs to see us having practice in their own backyard. Sunday mass was held in the crew’s lounge.
James Fahey
6 August – The weather was very clear and sunny as we went to General Quarters. Jap bombers were overhead at 30,000 feet. We held our fire. They looked like little white spots in the sky. It took some time to locate them. They were directly overhead and remained there for some time. But as they positioned themselves in formation, they headed away from the fleet.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – 
“AND WHAT’S MORE, YOU CAN EXPECT A PRETTY STRONG LETTER FROM MY MOTHER, SO THERE!!”
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Farewell Salutes –
Walter Ashley – Bristol, CT; US Army Air Corps, WWII, B-26 tail gunner, 320th Bomb Group
Arthur Bleecher – Denver, CO; Merchant Marine, WWII, radio operator / US Army, Korea, Antiaircraft , Bronze Star
Malcolm Foster – Milford, DE; US Army, WWII
Clarence Helgren – Elgin, TX US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Co G/511/11th Airborne Division
William Matthews – Brewster, MA; US Navy, WWII
Wendell O’Steen – Meigs, GA; US Army, WWII, ETO, Interpreter / Korea
William Pollard – Pleasantville, KY; US Army, WWII, ETO, 1st Lt., antiaircraft
Kenneth Stetson – CA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, B-29 pilot
Charles Troeller – Lehigh Acres, FL; US Navy, WWII & Korea
Thomas Zinglo – Hollywood, FL; USMC, Korea
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Dexter – The Last US Naval Horse
Naval Square, Philadelphia, PA, the 24-acre plot of land on Grays Ferry Avenue has been associated with the Navy since 1827 and has the unusual distinction of being the final resting place of Dexter, the Navy’s last working horse.
The Philadelphia Naval Asylum, a hospital, opened there in 1827.
From 1838 until 1845, the site also served as the precursor to the U.S. Naval Academy, until the officers training school opened in Annapolis with seven instructors, four of them from Philadelphia.
In 1889, its name was changed to the Naval Home to reflect its role as a retirement home for old salts, as they used to call retired sailors.
It was in the service of the Naval Home that Dexter came to Philadelphia.
Originally an Army artillery horse foaled in 1934, Dexter was transferred to the Navy in 1945 to haul a trash cart around the Naval Home.
Despite his lowly duties, the men — only men lived there — loved him.
“That horse was more human than animal,” Edward Pohler, chief of security at the home, told the Inquirer in 1968. “He had the run of the grounds and would come to the door of my office every day to beg for an apple or a lump of sugar.”
The chestnut gelding was retired in 1966 and sent to a farm in Exton, but that did not last long. Naval Home residents who missed him committed to paying the $50 monthly bill for his feed and care.
For two years he grazed on a three-acre field that residents dubbed Dexter Park.
But on July, 11, 1968, Dexter, who had stopped eating and was not responding to medication, died at the age of 34 in his stall with a little human intervention to make it pain-free.
The next day, 400 people, including Navy men in dress uniform, turned out for a burial with full military honors.
Dexter was placed in a casket measuring 9 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 5 feet deep, with an American flag draped on the top. Retired Rear Adm. M.F.D. Flaherty, the home’s governor, offered final words, saying, “Dexter was no ordinary horse.”
As the casket was lowered by a crane into the 15-foot-deep grave, Gilbert Blunt rolled the drum and Jerry Rizzo played “Taps” on his trumpet. Members of the honor guard folded the flag into a triangle of white stars on a blue field and presented it to Albert A. Brenneke, a retired aviation mechanic and former farm boy from Missouri who was Dexter’s groom.
Brenneke recalled Dexter fondly, saying the horse was “very gentle and playful” and “liked to nibble on you,” according to news coverage of the funeral.
No sign exists marking Dexter’s final place.
The pasture, however, did not remain empty for long.
According to the December 1968 issue of the Navy magazine All Hands, a retired 16-year-old Fairmount Park Police horse named Tallyho took up residence at the Naval Home after Dexter’s death.
But, unlike Dexter, Tallyho, a bay gelding, was a gift to the home’s residents and did not receive an official Navy serial number.
“As was the case with Dexter, Tallyho’s only duty will be to contribute to the happiness of the men who share their retirement with him at the U.S. Naval Home,” the magazine said.
What happened to Tallyho after he went to the Naval Home is not clear.
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Military Humor – 
UH_OH !!
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Farewell Salutes –
Howard Acord – Frankfort, OH; US Navy, WWII, PTO, LST-1135
T. Moffit Burris – SC; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO
William Davis – Scottsdale, AZ; US Army, WWII, ETO
Lawrence Greenhouse – Syracuse, NY; US Army Air Corps, WWII
Alva Jackson Cremean – Madera, CA; USMC, WWII, KIA (Pearl)
Charlene Kelly – Spokane, WA; Civilian, aircraft dispatcher, Spokane Army Air Field
Willie Lawrence – Camden, AL; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS St. Louis, (Ret. 20 y.)
Joseph Pigeon – Wausau, WI; US Army, WWII, ETO, 555th Heavy Pontoon Batt/Corps of Engineers
Sheldon ‘Mike’ Rosenkranz – Miami, FL; US Army Air Corps, WWII
Dorothy Weichman – Plainfield, NJ; Civilian, Red Cross, WWII
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CHRISTMAS DAY
TO ALL THOSE THAT BELIEVE IN FREEDOM AND PEACE: MERRY CHRISTMAS!! FROM: PACIFIC PARATROOPER!!
PLEASE… REMEMBER THOSE THAT FOUGHT FOR US IN THE PAST…
AND THOSE WHO CONTINUE TO PROTECT US TODAY!!!
AND FOR THOSE SPECIAL PEOPLE WHO WAIT PATIENTLY AT HOME…
TO ALL THOSE WHO DO NOT CELEBRATE THIS HOLIDAY … I WISH YOU THE WARMTH AND PEACEFUL CONTENTMENT THAT IS REPRESENTED BY THIS SEASON !!!
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Military Humor –
Humor from deployed Marines
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Farewell Salutes –
Gerard Azemar – Lafayette, LA; US Army, WWII
Dick Bowersox – Tiffan, OH; US Merchant Marines, WWII
Darrell Dilks – Temple, OK; US Army, WWII, 2 Bronze Stars
Merlin Hicks – Iron Mountain, MI; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne Division
Dwight “Bud” Hudson – Berry, AL; US Navy, WWII, PTO, gunner’s mate, USS Charrette
J.B. Jones Sr. – Miami, FL; US Army, Korea, Purple Heart
Albert Kane – Dallas, TX; US Navy, WWII, Fireman 1st Class, KIA (Pearl Harbor)
Margaret McKillop – Port Austin, MI; US Army WAC, WWII
Karl Peterson – Warren, PA; US Army, WWII, ETO, 461st Antiaircraft Batt./69th Infantry Division, Communications Tech.
Jack Schultz – Laguna Hills, CA; USMC,Korea & Vietnam, Major (Ret. 21 y.)
John T. Williams – Windsor, VT; US Army, Korea
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Submarine Warfare – July 1945
Submarine tender, USS Anthedon, Australia 1945
From: the true story of America’s “wolf packs” and “life guard” teams – “Sink ’em All”. by Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood Jr., USN. “Uncle Charlie” spent 39 years in submersibles.
My long-delayed visit to Admiral Fife’s command finally got underway in a PBM from Saipan, 20 July 1945. Cavite and Manila were pitiful to behold. These once beautiful and picturesque Spanish-built cities lay in ruins.
On the north shore of Subic Bay, 60 miles up the coast, I found Jimmie Fife building a submarine base and rest camp in jungles where, in bygone days, we hunted wild pig and deer. Two pile-built piers extended into the bay, while 2 American and 2 British tenders with submarines alongside, lay at anchor farther out.
Aboard the tender Anthedon, anchored off the Base, I found Cmdr. Dick Hawes, an old friend from earlier submarine days. Even this fine, new tender command was not big enough to absorb Dick’s energies, so he had salvaged a small Japanese freighter and had it moored alongside. Repair crews worked elbow to elbow on the decks and in machinery spaces preparing her to run rations and materials up from the Fleet Base at Leyte Gulf.
Welcome sign for Subic bay, estab. July 1945
That afternoon, I went aboard the British tender Bonaventure with Captain Fell in order to take a dive in one of the XE midget submarines. The midgets were training for a break into Singapore Harbor to lay mines and limpets under the heavy cruisers, IJN Myoko and Takao, which had taken refuge there after being heavily damaged by USS Darter and Bergall. They also intended to cut the Hong Kong-Singapore cable off Saigon.
When I arrived on Guam, Admiral Nimitz sent for me and again warned me to be prepared to divide up the Sea of Japan with Russia, as she was coming into the picture on 15 August. I took a poor view of the impending situation. We had skimmed the cream off the Sea of Japan and there would not be much of a job for anyone in those waters except to pick up dunked *zoomies, smuggle in commando troops and land secret agents. Already an OSS officer had approached me with a proposition to put agents ashore on the west coast of Korea.
British XE-Midget submarine
Cmdr. “Tiny” Lynch, during a patrol in June and July, played a dangerous game of ‘Hide and Seek’ with 2 Japanese frigates. On 1 July, on the west coast of Korea, in dense fog about noon, an enemy convoy headed for Japan headed straight for his submarine. He distributed 8 torpedoes among the 4 leading ships. The frigate passed firing “full battle practice” and somehow missed the sub.
While Tiny dove for deeper water, all 8 torpedoes were heard to hit and high periscope reported mushrooms of smoke. But the situation was far from being in hand. He had only 2 torpedoes left, and one of them was a new hush-hush weapon, this seemed an excellent opportunity to test it. It was sent on it’s way.
Time dragged by and nothing happened. Tiny was ready to head for more shallow waters, when back from the fog, came the sound of a heavy explosion, followed by depth charge explosions. The torpedo had missed the first target, but hit the second and as she sank, all her depth charges exploded. Two freighters and a frigate – not bad for 15 minutes work. The mine-detecting gear worked!
Japanese midget subs in dry dock, 1945
*zoomies – Aviator. Usually applied to USAF pilots. Stems from the USAF Academy – the “blue zoo” where civilians observe formations march to lunch daily from the chapel wall
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – 
‘I joined the navy to see the world and I spent four years on a submarine!’
Farewell Salutes –
George Herbert Walker Bush – CT, ME, W.TX; US Navy, WWII, PTO, youngest pilot, USS San Jacinto Avengers, D.F.C. / CIA / 41st President of the United States of America
Dominic Calabrese – Bronxville, NY; US Army, 1st Lt.
Herbert Davidson – Pittsburgh, PA; US Navy, corpsman
Troy Fultz – Green Forrest, AR; US Army, WWII, Bronze Star
Hub Gray – CAN; RC Army, Korea, LT., 6/C Co./ 2nd Batt./Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry
James Harvey – New Haven, CT; US Navy, WWII / US Army, Korea
Carl King – Norwalk, OH; US Merchant Marines / US Army, WWII
Thomas (Bucky) O’Brien – Broad Channel, NY; US Army, Vietnam
Scott Stearney – Chicago, IL; US Navy, Middle East, Vice Admiral, Commander of Naval Forces Central Command
Edward Vetting – Manitowoc, WI; US Army, WWII, ETO
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PT Boat report – July 1945
New Guinea, July 1945
The final invasion of the SW Pacific area was made on 1 July, 1945, when troops of the 7th Australian Division were landed at the oil port of Balikpapan in SW Borneo. The amphibious attack group commander wanted PT boats patrolling the beachs beforehand to prevent the enemy from erecting obstacles.
Accordingly, 4 Pt’s of Squadron 10, 4 from Squadron 27 and the patrol boat tender USS Mobjack, under Lt. Cmdr. Tappaan, were dispatched. They strafed and rocketed the beaches to keep the enemy away.
Mindanao, 1945, PT-150 in foreground
The Varuna arrived with 8 more PT’s and the task unit was brought to full strength with the arrival of 7 more boats. On the night of 9/10 July, Lt. A.W. Allison’s PT-73 and Lt. C.S, Welsh’s Pt-359 were sent to destroy a reported enemy radar station on Balabalagan Island. The boats did a thorough job of strafing huts and buildings and 130-foot tower, in the face of machine-gun and rifle fire.
When PT boats 163, 167 & 170 returned to the island, they found all enemy equipment destroyed, 6 fresh graves and one dead Japanese soldier.
PT Advance Base, Brunei Bay, Borneo 1945
The western coast of Celebes was where the PT boats found Japanese shipping. On 22 July, Lt. Roger Waugh in Pt-163, Lt. Baker in PT-174 and Lt. Harrison’s PT-170 made a daylight strike on Paloe Bay, Celebes, along with RAAF Kittyhawk fighters. The combined effort destroyed 4 prahaus, damaged a hotel, dock and many houses in Dongala town. The fires could be seen 30 miles out at sea.
PT Cradles on USS Oak Hill (LSD-7), Espiritu Santo Is. 23-24 July 1945
The period of June to July 1945 was characterized by the disappearance of PT targets around the SW Pacific except for Morotai, where the boats continued to encounter small enemy craft because of the static land situation and large enemy concentrations on Halmahera.
As the Philippine campaign drew to a close, plans were made to transfer squadrons and tenders from the 7th Fleet to the Pacific Fleet for operations in the north.
Espiritu Santo Is., Boat Base # 2, July 1945
The original plans for the Japanese invasion, Operation Olympic, did not include PT boats, but the Commander Amphibious Force Pacific Fleet asked Commodore Bates to submit a plan for the use of 200 along the Japan coast.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor –
PT humor From: https://ptboatred.wordpress.com/
Navy humor, From: https://muscleheaded.wordpress.com/
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Farewell Salutes –
James Brennan Sr. – Lawrence, MA; US Army, WWII, Korea & Vietnam (Ret. 32 y.)
Kenneth Chesak – El Paso, TX; US Army, Vietnam, 82nd Airborne Division
Leo Devane – Albany, NY; US Navy, WWII, ETO, Petty Officer
Norman Garfield – Philadelphia, PA; US Army, Sgt., Signal Corps
Olivia Hooker (103) – Tulsa, OK; US Coast Guard SPARS, WWII
Leo Kornblath – Roslyn Heights, NY; Civilian, US Navy, WWII, minesweeper draftsman / US Air Force, B-29 Flight Engineer
Joe Lauzon – Sault Ste. Marie, CAN; RC Army, WWII, Queen’s Own Rifles, 3rd Division
Irving Levin – Stuart, FL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO,B-29 Flt. Engineer, 20th Air Force
Kenneth Sanborn – Macomb County, MI; US Air Force
Gillis Wilder – Corbin, KY; US Navy, WWII
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Images is courtesy of: https://mywarjournals.com/
Dylan J. Elchin – Hookstown, PA; US Air Force, Afghanistan, SSgt., 26th Special Tactics Squadron, 2- Purple Hearts, KIA
Eric M. Emond – Brush Prairie, WA; USMC/ US Army, Afghanistan, Sgt.1st Class, 1/3rd Special Forces Group (21 y. served), KIA
Andrew P. Ross – Lexington, VA; US Army, Afghanistan, Captain, 1/3rd Special Forces Group, KIA
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Veterans Day 2018
A MESSAGE FROM THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES….
https://mailchi.mp/nara/0rjknzxchj-763401?e=2018eed2da
NO MATTER WHAT COUNTRY YOU LIVE IN – IF YOU ARE LIVING FREE – THANK A VETERAN !!!
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Here We Go……
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Farewell Salutes –
Daniel Buchta – Far Rockaway, NY; US Navy, USS Nimitz
Jean Danniels – ENG; WRENS, WWII
Waverly Ellsworth Jr. – Buffalo, NY; US Navy, Korea, medic
Virgil; Johnston – Grove, OK; USMC, WWII
Alma (Smith) Knesel – Lebanon, PA; Manhattan Project (TN), WWII
Samuel Mastrogiacomo – Sewell, NJ; US Army Air Corps, WWII, MSgt., B-24 tail gunner, 2nd Air Div./8th A.F. (Ret. 33 y.)
Willis Sears Nelson – Omaha, NE; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, B-17 pilot
Gregory O’Neill – Fort Myers, FL; US Army, WWII, ETO, 787th
Orville Roeder – Hankinson, ND; US Army, Medic
Nicholas Vukson – Sault Saint Marie, CAN; RC Navy, WWII, Telegraphist, HMCS Lanark
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Home Front – A Weed Went to War
Late in World War II, the common milkweed was often the only thing that kept a downed aviator or soaking-wet sailor from slipping beneath the waves. The plant’s floss was used as the all-important filler for flotation devices.
The northwest part of the Lower Peninsula, particularly the area around Petoskey, became the country’s picking and processing center for milkweed floss. By the time the war ended, an army of citizens—including schoolchildren—led by a visionary doctor had helped keep America’s servicemen safe from harm.
In the early 20th century, the typical filler for life preservers was a material called “kapok.” A cottony fiber extracted from the pods of the ceiba tree, kapok was cultivated in the rainforests of Asia. America’s primary source for this material was the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia).
Then, in 1937, came Japan’s invasion of China, which initiated World War II in the Pacific.
Enter Dr. Boris Berkman, a Chicago physician and inventor who was a champion of the milkweed, long considered a noxious weed to farmers. Berkman envisioned this plant as a new crop rivaling the soybean in usefulness. He suggested more than 20 uses for the plant’s stems, leaves, and pods: among them insulation, pressed board, oil, animal food, rayon, cellophane, dynamite, surgical dressing, and textile fibers. In his 1939 patent application for a milkweed gin to process the plant, he asserted that “milkweed is an American crop capable of producing untold benefits to the American farmer, and not subject to the uncertainties attending the importation of foreign raw materials.”
This October 1944 scene shows Six Mile School students pointing upwards to some of the 109 sacks of milkweed pods they gathered for the war effort. The bags are hanging in a corn crib near the school so the pods could dry out. Teacher Louise Behrend (left) looks on proudly.
This would be the first factory of its kind in the world. The Navy contract initially called for 200,000 pounds of milkweed floss production in 1942, then increased its request by 100,000 pounds for other experimental uses. Such an endeavor would require harvesting over 2 million pounds of ripe milkweed pods. The spot chosen to host this ambitious project was in the milkweed-rich hills along the Lake Michigan shore.
Picking was a low-tech, labor-intensive task, requiring some knowledge of the plant and the seasonal variations that affected it. It was crucial for processing that the pods be picked while they were ripe but not yet fully open. Too early, and the crop would be spoiled by moisture. Too late, and there would be no crop at all.
Pickers entered their fields knowing that it took approximately two full bags, or about 20 pounds of ripe pods, to produce enough floss for one life jacket; “Two Bags Save One Life” was the government slogan. This fact provided a simple message to all involved: that they were doing their part for the war effort.
Berkman continued to champion the milkweed cause, registering various patents including the use of the plant’s floss as an “ear defender” (ear plug) and clothing liner. But he was never able to raise interest in developing another processing facility.
Still, his achievements as the head of the Milkweed Floss Corporation of America did stand on their own. Under his leadership, it is estimated that enough material was collected and processed over the life of the Petoskey facility to fill 1.2 million life preservers.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Home Front Political Cartoons –
Sioiux City Times
Rochester Times
Chattanooga Times, the overburdened railroads
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Farewell Salutes –
Kenneth Clark – Millport, NY; US Army Air Corps, WWII, Korea & Vietnam, pilot
Keith Cole – Grand Rapids, MI; US Army Air Corps, WWII, 492nd
Richard Johnson – Rockport, MA; US Air Force, Vietnam, Major, Academy graduate (Ret.)
John Karr – Washington D.C.; US Army, WWII, ETO
George Lynn – Gastonia, NC; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne Division / Korea, 2 Purple Hearts
Frank McPhillips – Burlington, VT; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, B-24 pilot, 8th Air Force
Harold Roberts Jr. – Melbourne, FL; US Air Force, Korea
Edward Smith – Broad Channel, NY; US Navy, WWII, Captain
Raymond Stucky – Newton, KS; US Army, WWII, Medical Corps
Brent Taylor – North Ogden, UT; US National Guard, Afghanistan, Major, KIA
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USS Indianapolis (CA-35) – 30 July 1945
USS Indianapolis off Mare Island, 10 July 1945
Sadly, four days later after delivering the components of the atomic bomb from California to the Pacific Islands in the most highly classified naval mission of the war, USS Indianapolis is sailing alone in the center of the Philippine Sea when she is struck by two torpedoes and sunk within twelve minutes. The ship was without a sufficient number of lifeboats, her disappearance went unnoticed for almost four days and the navy search team was called off early. Therefore, only 316 men of her 1,196-man crew were rescued. This has been considered the most controversial sea disaster in American history.
For the next five nights and four days, almost three hundred miles from the nearest land, the men battle injuries, sharks, dehydration, insanity, and eventually each other. Only 316 will survive. For the better part of a century, the story of USS Indianapolis has been understood as a sinking tale. The reality, however, is far more complicated—and compelling. Now, for the first time, thanks to a decade of original research and interviews with 107 survivors and eyewitnesses, Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic tell the complete story of the ship, her crew, and their final mission to save one of their own.
part of the Indianapolis crew
It begins in 1932, when Indianapolis is christened and launched as the ship of state for President Franklin Roosevelt. After Pearl Harbor, Indianapolis leads the charge to the Pacific Islands, notching an unbroken string of victories in an uncharted theater of war.
Then, under orders from President Harry Truman, the ship takes aboard a superspy and embarks on her final world-changing mission: delivering the core of the atomic bomb to the Pacific for the strike on Hiroshima.
Vincent and Vladic provide a visceral, moment-by-moment account of the disaster that unfolds days later after the Japanese torpedo attack, from the chaos on board the sinking ship to the first moments of shock as the crew plunge into the remote waters of the Philippine Sea, to the long days and nights during which terror and hunger morph into delusion and desperation, and the men must band together to survive.
Captain Charles Butler McVay III, US Navy
Then, for the first time, the authors go beyond the men’s rescue to chronicle Indianapolis’s extraordinary final mission: the survivors’ fifty-year fight for justice on behalf of their skipper, Captain Charles McVay III, who is wrongly court-martialed for the sinking.
What follows is a captivating courtroom drama that weaves through generations of American presidents, from Harry Truman to George W. Bush, and forever entwines the lives of three captains—McVay, whose life and career are never the same after the scandal; Mochitsura Hashimoto, the Japanese sub commander who sinks Indianapolis but later joins the battle to exonerate McVay; and William Toti, the captain of the modern-day submarine Indianapolis, who helps the survivors fight to vindicate their captain.
USS Indianapolis survivors on Guam, August 1945
McVay was found guilty on the charge of failing to zigzag. The court sentenced him to lose 100 numbers in his temporary rank of Captain and 100 numbers in his permanent rank of Commander, thus ruining his Navy career. In 1946, at the behest of Admiral Nimitz who had become Chief of Naval Operations, Secretary Forrestal remitted McVay’s sentence and restored him to duty. McVay served out his time in the New Orleans Naval District and retired in 1949 with the rank of Rear Admiral. He took his own life in 1968.
A sweeping saga of survival, sacrifice, justice, and love, Indianapolis stands as both groundbreaking naval history and spellbinding narrative—and brings the ship and her heroic crew back to full, vivid, unforgettable life. It is the definitive account of one of the most remarkable episodes in American history.
From: War history on-line, “In Harm’s Way” and the USS Indianapolis official website.
The wreck of the USS Indianapolis was finally found 19 August 2017.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Political Humor –
DEPENDS ON YOUR POINT OF VIEW!
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Farewell Salutes –
Thomas Buchinsky – PA; US Navy, Vietnam, USS Saratoga
Elihu ‘Al’ Channin – CT; US Air Force, Korea, pilot
David Davis – Granite City, IL; US Air Force, Korea
Clarence Gransberg – Hatton, ND; US Navy, WWII
Joseph Kennedy – Aurora, CO; US Air Force, Flight Instructor (Ret. 30 y.)
Fred Marloff – IN; US Navy, WWII, PTO
James R. Peterson – Mason City, IA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, B-24 waist gunner on “Black Jack”, 43rd/403 Bombardment Squadron
Joachim Roenneberg – NOR; Norwegian underground, WWII, demolition, Operation Gunnerside
Margaret Strautman – Montreal, CAN; RC Navy, WWII, ETO
Henry Wheeler – Buffalo, NY; US Army, WWII, ETO, 12th Army, Intelligence, Bronze Star
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Research for Jeff S. –
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From a U.S. sailor’s diary (Balikpapan)
USS Montpelier (CL-57)
Wednesday, 27 June 1945: USS Montpelier
The bombers started early this morning, it was 7 A.M. The men on the 5″ and 6″ guns will be glad when we leave here.(Balikpapan). The past 10 days they have been in those hot steel mounts and turrets passing big shells and powder cases. They start passing the ammunition at 7:30 AM and don’t stop until 6 PM. Then they stay up all night standing their usual watches.
James J. Fahey’s secret diary
The Australian cruiser, Hobart, one heavy cruiser and some destroyers came in today, many PT boats and gunboats also came in. A destroyer pulled alongside with 60 bags of mail. The air mail was only 16 days old!
The demolition squad returned to our ship this morning, they were soaking wet. They have a very dangerous job clearing the place of mines and underwater obstacles put there by the Japs, they must have worked all night. One of our b-25 medium bombers came in so low on a strafing run that it hit some trees and landed in the water. One of our small boats was sent to pick up the crew, lucky for them no one was hurt.
The Australian soldiers that we have with us are always studying their maps, charts and photos. These men are special troops and have important jobs to do when they land
War Diary of the USS Montpelier
Thursday, 28 June 1945
All hands got up at 6 AM. We really opened up on the Japs today and so did the bombers. When it was all over you could see nothing for miles around but thick black smoke, it rose so high into the sky for miles, it went so high that it was out of sight. I never saw anything like it before.
There was enough black smoke here to cover many big cities, at the same time it was enough to choke you. I don’t know how the Japs can stand it. There were so many huge storage tanks exploding and so many miles of Borneo were blacked out that it looked like the end of the world.
Today while we were covering the demolition crew, the Jap machine-guns opened up on them, they had some casualties. They had a very rugged job to do, they were in the water near shore and the Japs were looking at them not too far away.
They must have ice water in their veins, no wonder it is such a tough outfit to join. I can see why they have such heavy casualties. The Japs gave them a hot time with their machine-guns and mortars. The demolition crew set off long chains of explosions. They have to clear a path in the water for our landing craft…..
There is a big wall and many steel posts plus mines. The demolition men can stay under water for a long time, but when they come up, the Japs open up on them. We fired back and knocked out their guns and crews.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – 
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Farewell Salutes –
Max Barton – Streator, IL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 193rd Ordnance Co./5th Air Force
John Clement – Quantico, VA; USMC, WWII, PTO, Purple Heart
Fred Frevert – Los Angeles, CA; US Army, WWII, PTO, 38th Infantry Division
Noel Grimm – Hudson, OH; US Army, WWII, PTO, Sgt., M.P.
Robert Hagan Sr. – PA; US Air Force, Captain, pilot
Frederick Hopkins – New Plymouth, NZ; J Force # 444837, WWII, PTO
Stanly Kretowski – Cobourg, CAN; Canadian Army, WWII, ETO
Vinnie O’Hare – Broad Channel, NY; US Army, WWII
Charles Slade Jr. – Saginaw, MI; US Army, WWII, ETO
Jerry A. Williams – Phoenix, AZ; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne Division
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C.B.I. Theater – June 1945 (1)
Harassed and groggy after ever-increasing aerial blows, residents of Japan’s main cities once more sought shelter underground this week as Super-Forts rode high and unchallenged over the island kingdom. But, for once, the giant planes did not only unleash cargoes of flaming death. Huge paper bombardments also rained down on the cities, spraying millions of propaganda leaflets over wide areas.
Text of the leaflets was soon revealed by Radio Tokyo, which reported they were signed by President Truman and advised the Japanese people to get out of the war or face the same destruction that was accorded the German people. “Unconditional surrender,” the broadcast reported the pamphlets as reading “would not mean obliteration or slavery for the Japanese people.”
However, Uncle Sam’s airmen backed up the threats implied in the propaganda warfare with two “knockout” punches aimed at Nippon’s “glass jaw” – her concentrated industrial empire.
As Maj. Gen. Curtis S. Lemay, Commander of the 12th Bomber Command, assessed the results of last week’s destruction raids on Tokyo in an announcement that 51 square miles surrounding the Imperial Palace grounds in the heart of Japan’s capital city are “great masses of gray ashes and fire-blackened ruins of the few buildings left standing.” Super-Forts struck in force at Yokohama and Osaka.
Metrotogoshi Railway Station, Tokyo, after incendiary bombing.
The next day, more than 450 B-29’s returned from the heaviest daylight raid on Japan and reported giant fires were burning all over the industrial section of Tokyo’s port city of Yokohama. Later the enemy High Command conceded that “considerable damage” was inflicted and reported a high wind was spreading fires throughout the city’s automotive, aircraft, shipbuilding and rubber plants. Aerial photographs revealed that the raid, in which 3,200 tons of incendiary bombs were dropped, had burned out nearly seven square miles of Yokohama’s principal business and industrial center.
The Super-Forts were out again, this time striking at the manufacturing center of Osaka. More than 450 bombers, escorted by 150 Mustang fighters, dropped 3,200 tons of bombs. The attack was concentrated on harbor facilities, shipyards, warehouses and factories. Reports indicated that 86 square miles of Japan’s most highly industrialized city were destroyed or heavily damaged and Japanese broadcasts admitted that flames started throughout the manufacturing heart of the city were only gradually being brought under control.
Osaka 1945
The naval air force was out in strength, too. Striking on two successive days, planes attacked Southern Kyushu airfields from which the Japs have been launching suicide aerial attacks against the American fleet. Meanwhile, the Jap government announced that the entire naval air corps of Japan has been converted into a “suicide corps” for attacks against Allied warships.
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The British this week announced formation of new SEAC Army, the 12th, under the command of Lt. Gen. Montague Stopford, to be based in Rangoon.
In the meantime, the 14th Army continued its mopping up operations in Burma, with the enemy making desperate attempts to keep open his escape routes to the east.
At the “Kama” escape route, north of Prome and east of the Irrawaddy River, the British killed 1,221 Japs in a series of engagements.
In the Kalaw, area Empire troops have captured a “staircase,” which goes up to the mountains northwest of Kalaw. This was rugged terrain and presented difficulties comparable to any in the entire Burma campaign.
The Japs are resisting in Burma from Pegu in the south to Mawchi Road in the north. British reports say the enemy is just as fanatical as ever in his resistance. During the week, planes of Eastern Air Command hit troop concentrations in Moulmein and attacked the jetty area in Martaban.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – CBI Roundup Style –
“BE CAREFUL, JOE! IT MIGHT BE A TRAP!”
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Farewell Salutes –
William Blancheri – Los Angeles, CA; USMC, WWII, PTO, Pharmacists Mate, 2/2nd Marines, KIA (Betio)
Harry ‘Bud’ Calsen – Brookfield, IL; USMC, WWII, PTO, TSgt., A/2nd Amphibian Unit, KIA (Betio)
Robert Holmes – Salt Lake City, UT; USMC, Pfc., KIA (USS Oklahoma)
Robert Kitchner – Pittsburgh, PA; US Army, Korea
Richard Murphy – Washington DC; USMC, WWII, PTO, SSgt., 6th Marines, KIA (Saipan)
Henry Sakaida – Los Angeles, CA; Civilian, Pacific War Historian, eg: “Winged Samurai”, “The Siege of Rabaul”, “Pacific Air Command WWII”
Lester Schade – Holton, WI; USMC, WWII, PTO, Captain, 4th Marines, KIA, (Enoura Maru, hellship)
Neil Simon – Bronx, NY; US Army Air Corps, (renown playwriter)
Arthur Weiss – St. Louis, MO; US Army Air Corps, WWII
Lowell “Whip” Wilson – Lynchburg, SC; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, 306th Bomber Group, Silver Star
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