Blog Archives
Pearl Harbor – your opinion? / “Leora’s Letters” review
This subject is still a topic of debate, even to this day. Please watch these 2 videos before giving me your opinion. Thank You.
################################################################################################################
Book Review – “Leora’s Letters” by: Joy Neal Kidney
No one warned me that when you read this book – you must be prepared to join the family.
Reading Leora’s Letters, you do not merely become acquainted with this close-knit, hard-working family – you become one of them. In this tumultuous period of our history, you are transported into the heartland’s home front and the different areas of combat of that age. You can understand their dreams and hopes; feel their anguish, trepidation and heartaches and you pull for each member of that family to succeed just as you do for your own loved ones.
One need not be a WWII buff or knowledgeable of military operations to comprehend the Wilson brothers’ correspondences. You need not be familiar with Iowa in the 1940’s to grasp the emotions and hardships they endured.
This non-fiction experience will not disappoint – and don’t take MY word for that!! After reading it, I researched the opinion of other readers and it has a solid 5-Star rating!! Click HERE or the link above to purchase this treasure or click on Joy’s name above to reach her website.
###############################################################################################################
Military Humor –
###############################################################################################################
Farewell Salutes –
Barbara Barnett – Chappaqua, NY; US Army WAC, WWII, nurse
Calvin Beazley – Chesterfield, VA; US Army, WWII, SSgt.,1151st Engineer Combat Group ? Korea
Cecil Crookshanks – Rainelle, WV; US Navy, WWII, Korea & Vietnam (Ret.)
Theodore Fibison (100) – Syracuse, NY; US Army Air Corps, WWII, pilot, Flight Instructor
Don Howison – Bradenton, FL; US Navy, WWII, PTO, The last officer of the USS Indianapolis to take his final voyage.
Margaret Madden – Berlin, MD; US Navy WAVES, WWII
Colin G. Parry – Hamilton, NZ; RNZ Air Force # 432370, WWII
Wallace Ramos Jr. – Honey Grove, TX; US Navy, WWII / Korea, Chief Petty Officer (Ret.)
Arthur B. Summers – Poplar, MT; USMC, WWII, PTO, Gunnery Sgt., KIA (Tarawa)
LLoyd R. Timm – Kellogg, MN; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Seaman 2nd Class, USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor)
##############################################################################################
U.S. Coast Guard disaster, the USS Serpens
USS Serpens USCG
The sinking of the ammunition ship USS Serpens in January 1945 was the single deadliest day in the history of the Coast Guard. The gigantic explosion, which killed 250 sailors and almost vaporized the ship, was blamed on an accident involving the ship’s explosive cargo. Now, new allegations push the theory that the ship was actually attacked by a Japanese submarine—and that U.S. Navy officials were covering this up as late as 2003.
On the night of January 29th, 1945 the island of Guadalcanal was wracked by a truly massive explosion. The USS Serpens, whose crew had been handling a cargo of anti-submarine depth charges, exploded with the force of 600 tons of explosives.
Serpens, a Liberty Transport Ship, 424 feet long and displacing 14,250 tons, practically disappeared in the blink of an eye. The ship, save for a section of the bow, disappeared from the face of the earth. Along with it went 193 Coast Guardsmen, 56 U.S. Army soldiers & a U.S. Public Health Service surgeon.
One sailor who responded to the explosion stated:
“…as we came into closer view of what had once been a ship, the water was filled only with floating debris, dead fish, torn life jackets, lumber and other unidentifiable objects. The smell of death, and fire, and gasoline, and oil was evident and nauseating. This was sudden death, and horror, unwanted and unasked for, but complete.”
The U.S. Navy would ultimately chalk up the incident to an accidental detonation of the ship’s cargo: 3,399 unfused bombs, each containing 350 pounds of high-explosive Torpex. That adds up to 1,189,650 pounds of high explosive, or 594 tons. As the Coast Guard states, “By 1949, the U.S. Navy officially closed the case deciding that the loss was not due to enemy action but an “accident intrinsic to the loading process.”
Now, 74 years later, a son of one of the lost crew members of the Serpens is lobbying for the Pentagon to reconsider the official explanation. Backing him up are some curious facts, allegations, and discrepancies, as reported recently by the Sarasota-Herald Tribune:
- Amazingly, there were two survivors of the ship explosion, both of whom survived in the remaining bow section of the ship. One of them reported that a Japanese submarine had been tracking the Serpens before the explosion.
- Two explosions were heard by nearby military personnel. The second explosion was the detonation of the million plus pounds of high explosives aboard the ship. According to the submarine theory, the first explosion was a torpedo which then set off a huge “secondary” explosion of the ship’s cargo.
- A majority of the Court of Inquiry convened to look into the accident believed that the ship had been the victim of enemy action—yet the Navy still insisted the cause of the explosion had been an accident.
- Japanese radio propaganda actually announced the explosion before Japan could have plausibly learned about it from the Americans, suggesting a submarine reported the attack back to Tokyo.
Veering into sinister territory: the Navy Judge Advocate General’s conclusions on the Serpens’ sinking, dated 1949, “were checked out of the National Archives Records Administration in 2003 by the Navy JAG’s office and never returned.”
USS Serpens’ caskets at Arlington Cemetery
At 76, the retired Central Intelligence Agency senior finance officer and certified fraud investigator wonders if he’s onto one of the last cover-ups of World War II.
So why would the U.S. Navy cover up the incident? By 1945 Guadalcanal was thousands of miles behind friendly lines and was part of the logistics chain supporting the Allies’ advance on Japan itself. Anti-torpedo nets were supposed to be strung along Lunga Point to protect ships like the Serpens, but were often less than 100 percent reliable.
The death of 250 military personnel far from the front line would have been a major embarrassment to the Navy.
Could the Navy reverse course and come clean? In 2001, Naval historians pieced together enough evidence to convince the Chief of Naval Operations and Secretary of the Navy that the USS Eagle 2, a patrol boat sunk off the coast of Maine in 1945, was the victim of a submarine attack. For decades, the Navy believed Eagle-2 had been the victim of a boiler explosion.
USS Serpens monument
Historians discovered reports by survivors that a mysterious submarine with unique symbols painted on the conning tower was sighted at the time of the attack. The symbols matched those painted on the German Navy U-boat U-583,proving it was responsible for the sinking.
The official explanation for the loss of Serpens leaves open the possibility that members of the crew were in some way incompetent and caused their own deaths. A submarine attack, on the other hand, could mean that local anti-submarine defenses were not strong enough and would fault the Navy’s leadership.
Reopening the case of the Serpens could help clear the names of the crew—and determine why the real truth didn’t come out decades sooner.
Story by:
Kyle Mizokami
Click on images to enlarge.
##############################################################################################
Military Humor –
##############################################################################################
Farewell Salutes –
Stuart Amstutz – New Orleans, LA; USMC, WWII, PTO
Jeff Bricker – Quincey, IL; US Army, Gulf War, 82nd Airborne Division
John Christopher – Roswell, GA; US navy, WWII, PTO, USS Rodman
Aubrey Downey – Morvin, AL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, CBI; 375th Bomb Squadron
William Frasher – Philadelphia, PA; US Army, WWII, ETO
Frederick Gerken Jr. – Denville, NJ; US Army, WWII, Pvt., cannoneer, 398th Infantry Reg., Bronze Star
Richard Lillie Sr. – Boston, MA; US Navy, WWII, USS Bunker Hill
Ceci Nelson (102) – Oklahoma City, OK; US navy, WWII
Peter Povich – Akron, OH; US Army, Cpl., 11th Airborne Division
John A. Shelemba – Hamtramck, MI; US Army, Korea, L Co./3/34/24th Infantry Division, KIA (Taejon)
##############################################################################################
Christmas poems for our military (1)
Sailor Santa
“A Different Christmas Poem”
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn’t loud, and it wasn’t too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn’t quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
091202-N-5339S-693
GROTON, Conn. (Dec. 2, 2009) Santa Claus stands with Sailors aboard the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Miami (SSN 755) during the submarineÕs return to Naval Submarine Base New London after an eight-month deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by Electronics Technician John Sabados/Released)
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
“What are you doing?” I asked without fear,
“Come in this moment, it’s freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!”
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire’s light
Then he sighed and he said “Its really all right,
I’m out here by choice. I’m here every Night.”
“It’s my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I’m proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at “Pearl on a day in December,”
Then he sighed, “That’s a Christmas ‘Gram always remembers.”
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of “Nam”,
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I’ve not seen my own son
In more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures;
He’s sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue… an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.”
“So go back inside,” he said, “harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I’ll be all right.”
“But isn’t there something I can do, at the least,
“Give you money,” I asked, “or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you’ve done,
For being away from your wife and your son.”
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
“Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we’re gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.”
LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE.
#############################################################################
Military Humor –
Easton, MD–Dec. 22, 2011–This is a Christmas display at the home of Tom and Alice Blair, which includes an F 104 jet, staff photo/Barbara Haddock Taylor} [Sun Photographer] #9306
Aboard the USS Nimitz
#############################################################################################
Farewell Salutes –
Arnold Arons – Vacaville, CA; US Navy, WWII / US Air Force, Korea & Vietnam, (Ret. 30 y.)
John Bayens – Louisville, KY; USMC, WWII, PTO, Pfc., Co B/1/6/2nd Marine Division, KIA (Tarawa)
Joseph Cuda – NE; US Army Air Corps, WWII
Glenn R, Goff III – Hardeesville, SC; US Army, Vietnam, specialist
Francis Jackson – Oak Mills, KS; USMC, WWII, PTO, Korea & Vietnam, MSgt. (Ret. 30 y.)
Richard Little – Mobile, AL; US Navy, WWII, USS Henry W. Tucker / US Air Force, Korea
Maurice Mounsdon (101) – Litchfield, ENG; RAF, WWII, Lt., pilot, 56th Squadron “The Few”
Michael Soares – New Bern, NC; US Army, WWII, ETO, 2nd Lt., tank commander / US Navy (Ret. 25 y.)
Gordon Whitlow – Sioux Falls, SD; Merchant Marines, WWII / US Air Force, Korea
John Voogt – Newport, RI; US Navy, WWII, Korea & Vietnam
#############################################################################################
Wartime Football
One of the Sports Facts newspaper of April 25, 1950 with photos of Bronko Nagurski.
What many people today don’t know is that professional football went through many of the same trials and tribulations that baseball did during the war years. Making matters even worse for the owners and fans of the sport was the fact that even in the 1940s, professional football was not as popular as its college counterpart.
Adding to the wartime troubles for football was the fact that college football remained somewhat unaffected, as the players were mostly younger or exempt (at least temporarily) from the military draft. That meant that star college players kept playing, but star professional players found themselves in uniform.
American footballer Tuffy Leemans
To keep people interested in the game, the National Football League (NFL) came up with sort of a gimmick, much like their baseball counterparts – they re-signed older, retired stars. The most famous of the returning players was Bronko Nagurski, who had played for the Chicago Bears and had retired in 1937. Nagurski, who became famous in college and the pros as a fullback, returned to football as a tackle.
Other (future) Hall of Famers included Green Bay quarterback Arnie Herber, who had retired in 1940, and halfback Ken Strong. Herber signed with the New York Giants and Strong returned to that team.
Steagles starting line-up
Teams as a whole went through hard times because of the war. The Cleveland Browns suspended play for 1943. Many people would be surprised to hear that the two Pennsylvania teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles, actually merged for 1943, and played in both cities. People dubbed the team “the Steagles.”
The “Steagles” only lasted one year, but in 1944 Pittsburgh combined with another struggling team, the Chicago Cardinals. The official name of this team was the catchy “Card-Pitt Combine” and they were so bad they went winless that year. Opposing teams ran over them so much that sportswriters and fans began calling the team “the Carpets.”
The year 1945 saw the end of the “Combine,” but two teams that do not exist anymore, the Boston Yanks and the Brooklyn Dodgers (yes, football “Dodgers”) merged at that time and played as the “Yanks,” but left a city tag off the name.
During the war, a surprisingly large number of NFL players were killed overseas. Many of the players went into combat roles – their athletic prowess and toughness made it almost inevitable, and the death toll reflected that. Nineteen active or former players were killed in action, as was an ex-head coach and a team executive.
Al Blozis, Giants tackle, died in World War II. According to Mel Hein, “If he hadn’t been killed, he could have been the greatest tackle who ever played football
Of those NFL players killed in action, probably the best-known was Al Blozis, who played tackle for the New York Giants and had been “All-League” (the early NFL’s “All-Pro”). Blozis was 6’6” tall and weighed 250 lbs. Blozis was in the Army, and actually could have claimed exemption from front-line infantry duty because of his size and instead put into the artillery or a support branch, but he would not take the exemption.
During basic training, he set the Army record for a grenade throw – he had been a varsity shot-putter at Georgetown University. In the winter of 1944, just six weeks after playing in the 1944 NFL Championship Game, Blozis was killed by German machine-gun fire as he helped look for some missing men in the snow-covered Vosges Mountains of eastern France.
Three men who had played in the NFL or pro football or later had connections to it were awarded the Medal of Honor during the war, one of them posthumously.
Joseph Jacob Foss wearing the highly prized Medal of Honor bestowed upon him by President Roosevelt for outstanding gallantry against the Japanese in the Solomons.
The most famous of the three was fighter pilot Joe Foss, who was the leading Marine ace of WWII with 26 victories. He later was commissioner of the AFL from 1960-66 as well as being governor of South Dakota.
Maurice Britt briefly played end for the Detroit Lions before the war. He fought in North Africa and Italy and was the first man in WWII to be awarded all four of the top medals of valor: the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, and Bronze Star. He also received four Purple Hearts. Football was easy compared to all that.
Jack Lummus, USMC, Medal of Honor recipient; Battle of Iwo Jima
Andrew Jackson “Jack” Lummus played with the 1941 New York Giants and received the Medal of Honor for actions taken during the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. He destroyed many Japanese positions single-handedly, despite being wounded multiple times, before being killed by a land-mine.
Tom Landry, USArmy Air Corps / Coach Landry
Perhaps the most famous of them all, at least in regard to football, was legendary Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry. At 19, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and flew 30 missions in a B-17 over occupied Europe, surviving a crash in Belgium on his way back from bombing a German armaments plant in Czechoslovakia. He was on the real “America’s Team” long before he coached the other one.
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE.
#############################################################################################
Military Humor –
‘These military teams really take their defence seriously…!’
#############################################################################################
Farewell Salutes –
Stephen F. Ambrose – Trumbull, CT; US Army, WWII
Francis Behrendt – Charleroi, PA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, Co. E/188/11th Airborne Division
V. Herbert Brady Jr. – Macon, GA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO
Peter Corchero – Mayfirled, CA; US Army Air Corps, WWII
Michael Howard – South Kensington, ENG; British Army, WWII, ETO, Lt., Coldstream Guards. Military Cross / Military Historian
Evelyn Owens – Harlan, KY; Civilian, “Rosie” @ Willow Run, B-24 riveter & crane operator
Thomas Parnell – Somerset, WI; US Army Air Corps, WWII, gunner
David Ridley – Brockville, CAN; RC Air Force, WWII, 514th Squadron, Lancaster navigator
Jerome Thomas – Chicago, IL; US Navy, WWII, PTO, LST # 991
John Weatherly – Grand Island, NE; US Army, WWII, ETO, 349th Infantry Regiment “Blue Devils”
#############################################################################################
Military during Thanksgiving
The Thanksgiving Day card GP Cox received from the National WWII Museum in New Orleans
I WISH TO EXPRESS MY THANKS TO EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU !!! AND MAY WE ALL THANK THOSE VETERANS WHO FIGHT FOR US !!!
Thanksgiving during WWII…
They’re celebrating Thanksgiving on this very day,
My thoughts are at home, though I’m far away;
I can see everyone, eating dinner deluxe,
Whether it be chicken, turkey or even duck;
The fellows over here won’t whimper or moan,
They’ll look to the next one and hope to be home.
Truly and honestly, from way down deep,
They want you to be happy and enjoy your feast.
These holidays are remembered by one and all,
Those happy days we can always recall.
The ones in the future, will be happier, I know
When we all come back from defeating the foe.
_______Poem by an Anonymous WWII Veteran
Thanksgiving
For those of you living where there is no official Thanksgiving Day on this date – look around – family, friends, Freedom and life itself – all enough to give thanks for each day !
FROM: PACIFIC PARATROOPER – May you all have a happy and healthy Holiday Season !!
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE.
#############################################################################################
Please be considerate to those who may not be celebrating…..
#############################################################################################
Military Humor –
Navy
Army
#############################################################################################
Farewell Salutes –
Donald Archer – Omaha, NE; US Army Air Corps, WWII, B-25 navigator
John Boone – Summerville, SC; US Army, WWII, ETO, light mortar, Co. I/319/80th Division
Juan Borjon Jr. – Morenci, AZ; US Army, Spc., 11th Airborne Division
WWII Memorial poem at Arlington Cemetery
Don Dyne – Kelseyville, CA; US Navy, WWII, PTO / Korea, radio tech.
Adolph J. Loebach – Peru, IL; US Navy, WWII, USS Oklahoma, KIA, (Pearl Harbor)
Donald McElwain – Holyoke, MA; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Ensign, LST
Frank Merritt – Broxton, GA; US Army, WWII, PTO
Charles G. Ruble – Parker City, IN; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, TSgt., 441st Troop Carrier Group, KIA (Germany)
Elmo Sepulvado – Zwolle, LA; US Army, WWII, ETO
Gerald N. Wilson – Camden, MI; US Army, Korea, Cpl., 1st Calvary Division, KIA
#############################################################################################
##########################################################################################################################################################################################
Strategy Page’s Military Humor and more….
Military Common Sense Rules
A lot of life’s problems can be explained by the U.S. Military and its applications of common sense …
- “Sometimes I think war is God’s way of teaching us geography.”
(Paul Rodriguez) - “A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what’s left of your unit.”
(Army’s magazine of preventive maintenance ). - “Aim towards the Enemy.”
(Instruction printed on US M79 Rocket Launcher) - When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend.
(U.S. Marine Corps) - Cluster bombing from B-52s is very, very accurate. The bombs always hit the ground.
(U.S. Air Force) - If the enemy is in range, so are you.
(Infantry Journal) - It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed.
(US Air Force Manual) - Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons.
(Gen. MacArthur) - Try to look unimportant; they may be low on ammo.
(Infantry Journal) - You, you, and you . . . Panic. The rest of you, come with me.
(Marine Gunnery Sergeant) - Tracers work both ways.
(US Army Ordnance) - Five second fuses only last three seconds.
(Infantry Journal) - Don’t ever be the first, don’t ever be the last, and don’t ever volunteer to do anything.
(US Navy Seaman) - Bravery is being the only one who knows you’re afraid.
(David Hackworth) - If your attack is going too well, you have walked into an ambush.
(Infantry Journal) - No combat ready unit has ever passed inspection.
(Joe Gay) - Any ship can be a minesweeper… once.
(Admiral Hornblower) - Never tell the Platoon Sergeant you have nothing to do.
(Unknown Marine Recruit) - Don’t draw fire; it irritates the people around you.
(Your Buddies) - Mines are equal opportunity weapons.
(Army Platoon Sergeant) - If you find yourself in a fair fight, you didn’t plan your mission properly.
(David Hackworth) - Your job is to kill the other person before they kill you so that your national leaders can negotiate a peace that will last as long as it takes the ink to dry.
(Drill Instructor)
23. In the Navy, the Chief is always right.
#############################################################################################
More Military Humor –
#############################################################################################
Farewell Salutes –
Joe T. Avant – Greenwood, MS; US Army, Korea, Cpl., Heavy Mortar Co./31st RCT, KIA (Chosin Reservoir)
Why Bliley – Richmond, VA; US Army, WWII, PTO, 77th Division
Last Flight
Josephine Boyd – Ochiltree City, TX; Civilian, Amarillo Air Force Base, weapons instructor
Egbert Crossett – Corona, NM; US Navy, WWII, CBI, Medical unit
Kirk T. Fuchigami Jr. – Keaau, HI; US Army, Afghanistan, Warrant Officer, 1/227/1/1st Calvary Div., Apache pilot, KIA
David C. Knadle – Tarrant, TX; US Army, Afghanistan, Warrant Officer, 1/227/1/1st Calvary Div., Apache pilot, KIA
James P. McMahon – Rockford, IL; US Army, Somalia, Sgt. Major (Ret. 30 y.), Delta Force, Silver Star, Purple Heart
Thomas Parnell – Somerset, WI; US Army, WWII, gunner
Rex Ruwoldt – Darwin, AUS; Australian Army, WWII, 19th Machine-Gun Battalion
Dean Weber – Hot Springs, SD; US Navy, WWII
#############################################################################################
No Hallowe’en in the early ’40’s
WWII put quite the damper on any activity as chaotic as Halloween was back in those days … according to history war shortages made everyone edgy, and towns clamped down on Halloween pranking with both curfews and notices sent home from principals and police. There was a national plea for conservation: any piece of property damaged during Halloween pranking was a direct affront to the war effort.
In 1942 the Chicago City Council voted to abolish Halloween and institute instead “Conservation Day” on October 31st. (This wasn’t the only attempt to reshape Halloween: President Truman tried to declare it “Youth Honor Day” in 1950 but the House of Representatives, sidetracked by the Korean War, neglected to act on the motion. In 1941 the last week of October was declared “National Donut Week,” and then years later, “National Popcorn Week.”)
Editorial pages coast to coast filled with warnings to young people and their parents, such as this one from the Superintendent of Schools in Rochester, NY in 1942: “Letting the air out of tires isn’t fun anymore. It’s sabotage. Soaping windows isn’t fun this year. Your government needs soaps and greases for the war…Even ringing doorbells has lost is appeal because it may mean disturbing the sleep of a tied war worker who needs his rest.”
SO, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE OUR OWN FUN TODAY!!
C’mon!!!
Military Pumpkins
To find templates for your own pumpkin carvings – CLICK HERE !!
Click on images to enlarge, have fun, but be safe!!
################################################################################################
Military Humor –
################################################################################################
Farewell Salutes –
Edwin Benson – W. Newton, MA; USMC, WWII, PTO, Pvt., Co. L/3/2nd Marines, KIA (Tarawa)
Leo Cohen – Far Rockaway, NY; US Army, WWII, ETO, 11th Armored Div., tank operator, Purple Heart
Porfirio C. Franco Jr. – Albuquerque, NM; US Army, WWII, PTO, Pvt., POW, KIA (Manila)
Howard ‘Mike’ Hunt – Plok City, IA; US Army Air Corps, WWII & Korea
Billy E. Johnson – White Oak, TX; USMC, Korea, Pfc, KIA (Chosin Reservoir)
Russell Lubbers – Bozeman, MT; US Army, Korea
John Moro – Columbus, OH; US Navy, WWII, USS Hancock
Sam Storms – LaFeria, TX; US Army, Korea, Major, Silver Star, Purple Heart, KIA (Chosin Reservoir)
Grady Trainor – Clarksville, TN; US Army, WWII, Korea & Vietnam, Sgt. Major (Ret. 31 y.), Silver Star, Bronze Star,
Raymond Wallace – Dexter, ME; US Army, Vietnam
################################################################################################
Ted Nelson – Stud Welder / Anne Clare, Book Review
Ted Nelson
Eighty years ago, many rural homes weren’t electrified, nor did they have indoor plumbing. Glenn Miller and Billie Holiday were at the top of the charts. A brand-spanking-new car could be yours for well under $1,000. And the state-of-the-art battleships — whole floating cities unto themselves — were that era’s equivalent of the Space Shuttle. While working at Mare Island Naval Shipyard Ted Nelson had his big idea. And what an idea! Ultimately, Nelson’s advancement helped save the Navy so many man-hours that he earned top-of-the-line commendations and set in motion a legacy of excellence that remains on the leading edge of the industry to this very day.
Mare Island Shipyard, WWII
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard, where Nelson worked in the years leading up to and during World War II, was the Navy’s first base on the Pacific Coast, located just north of San Francisco and now a California Historical Landmark. In its day it was the United States’ controlling force in the area’s shipbuilding efforts – at least 89 seagoing vessels were constructed onsite before its closure. During its World War II years, the Mare yard specialized in submarines, making it something of a hotbed of innovation, and young Ted Nelson, working on both repairs and new construction, fit right in.
“Prior to World War II, the Navy was attaching wood decking on many vessels using through-bolting,’” says John von der Lieth, Senior Nelson Stud Welding Field Sales Representative at Stanley Engineered Fastening. “This often required many levels of scaffolding underneath the wood deck just to install nuts onto threaded bolts attaching the wood to the steel frame below. The nuts were often also then tack-welded to prevent them from vibrating loose.”
“Well, Ted was a real inventor type, and he devised a handheld arc welding gun that looked kind of like a drill press. He would insert a threaded stud into the gun and place that down into a pre-drilled hole in the wood decking, making contact with the steel frame of the vessel below. The stud gun was connected to an arc-welding power source and a timing control device. When triggered, the stud gun coil would energize, lifting the stud off the steel frame just enough to establish an electric arc. Within a split second, the stud was melted (along with the steel base metal) and then was plunged home into the molten pool, establishing a complete joint penetration weld, and all of this was taking place from the topside of the wood decking.”
“The ‘Nelson Stud Welding Process thus eliminated the need for the vast scaffolding below the wood decks, dramatically reducing the time involved to install the decking, and producing a superior quality, full penetration welded connection. Ted also produced a special flanged nut to securely fasten the top side of the wood planks onto the studs, filling the pre-drilled, countersunk holes that were created to install the threaded studs. This also allowed for much easier replacement of any future damaged wood decking,” explained von der Lieth. “It changed the face of the war effort.”
Ted nelson ‘E’ citation
So, with his ingenuity and strong desire to solve a problem, Ted Nelson saved the Navy an estimated 50 million man-hours and the Nelson Specialty Welding Equipment Corp. was awarded two Navy “E” Citations, presented only to companies who met outstanding production criteria during the war effort. Not only did production numbers climb, the stud welding process also saved an unparalleled amount of money with respect to the foregone need for scaffolding, as well as labor and materials cost.
Ted Nelson’s invention was right on time. “The Nelson welding guns, studs, and nuts were used to install wood decking on submarines, battleships, and aircraft carriers. The patent for the decking gun was filed May 31, 1941,” says Clark Champney, Nelson Stud Welding Application Development Manager, and resident Nelson historian at Stanley Engineered Fastening. “Six months and one week later on December 8, 1941, the United Stated entered World War II.”
After the war, Nelson took his invention private, setting up shop in a coastal California garage in Nelson Stud Welding’s first incarnation. “Ted Nelson had the mind-set early on that his invention could be used in a wide variety of industries – he had a real vision,” says von der Lieth. “Although he hadn’t been a part of the company for many years at the time of his death in the 1990s, he was still a very active inventor into his 80s – he’d invented a hospital bed that rotated 360 degrees for hip replacement patients. He invented a glider that had an emergency engine in it – they called it the Hummingbird. He had countless minor inventions, and that’s why he ultimately sold the stud welding business – because he was an inventor type; problem-solving was his first love.”
Story idea from: Koji Kanemoto
Click on images to enlarge.
#############################################################################################
Book Review – “Whom Shall I Fear?” by: Anne Clare, our Naptime Author
“Whom Shall I Fear?, by Anne Clare
Without giving readers too much insight and being the cause of stumbling into a spoiler, I shall begin this review by applauding Anne Clare, who has researched her way into creating a lovely romantic tale intertwined with the struggles and pains of war.
Amid the years of WWII bombings, the loss, deprivations and combat, two very different people are seemingly thrown together. Their worries, dreams and realities are shown to you through their correspondence. BUT – behind it all lurks the sinister aspirations of a narcissistic coward and his cohorts.
I found myself thinking about the story long after putting the book down – and to me, that is one major characteristic of an excellent novel.
Thank you, Anne, for granting me the privilege of owning a copy of your creation and for giving me the lingering question in my mind of – who should they have feared the most?
I highly recommend “Whom Shall I Fear?” to all.
#############################################################################################
Military Humor –
“These aren’t barnacles. Someone stuck their gum down here.”
Shipbuilding Safety Award – or – Why women live longer than men.
#############################################################################################
Farewell Salutes –
Charles Atkinson – Arvada, CO; US Army, Vietnam, Military Police
Eugene Barbezat – St. Johns. AZ; US Army / US Air Force, Vietnam, Lt. Col. (Ret.), Intelligence
Tom Curtsinger – KY; US Army Air Corps, WWII
Warren Eginton – Brooklyn, NY; US Army, WWII, PTO, 716th Tank Battalion
Donald Love – Hamilton, NZ; British Merchant Navy, # R258982. WWII
Lynn McDonald – Rochester, NH; US Army Air Corps, glider pilot
Leon “Jack” Persac Jr. – Baton Rouge, LA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, B-17 ball turret gunner
Robert D. Sullivan – Fairbury, NE; US Army, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Lt. Colonel (Ret. 27 y.)
Homer Terry – Tahoka, TX; US Air Force, WWII, Korea & Vietnam, pilot/logistics, Colonel (Ret. 32 y.)
Channing R. Whitaker – Granger, IA; USMC, WWII, PTO, Pvt., Co. A/1/6th Marines, KIA (Tarawa)
#############################################################################################
Ruby Boye, WRAN Coastwatcher
Ruby Boye
MRS. RUBY BOYE lived with her husband, Mr. Skov Boye, at Vanikoro, a small tropical island in the Santa Cruz group of the then British Solomon Islands
Soon after the commencement of World War 2, the Australian Navy installed a powerful AWA tele-radio for communication between Vanikoro and Tulagi. The radio was operated by a qualified telegraphist on the island.
The Vanikoro radio operator wished to return to Australia to join the RAAF. Before departing, he taught Ruby how to transmit weather reports and operate the radio in code, and during the following months she learned Morse Code from a book. Eric Feldt, the Commander in Charge of the Coastwatcher movement, appointed Mr. and Mrs. Boye as members of his organization.
Ruby Boye on Vanikoro
Mr. and Mrs. Boye realized the importance of Vanikoro in relation to coastwatching, and few white men knew more about the Solomons and Santa Cruz Islands than Mr. Boye. When the evacuee ship arrived, Ruby refused to leave, announcing that she proposed to stay and operate her radio. As well as their own safety, Mr. and Mrs. Boye had their two sons, Ken in the RAAF and Don, still a schoolboy in Sydney, to consider.
With the evacuation of the other Europeans from Vanikoro, Ruby and Skov took on many extra tasks. They had to act as doctor treating the sick. They extracted teeth and arbitrated disputes between the natives.
After the Japanese landed at Tulagi, Charles Bignell, a Solomon Islands plantation owner, called at Vanikoro in his ketch for fresh water and food. Charles warned Ruby and her husband that a Japanese ship was in the Santa Anna area. Charles’ wife, Kathleen, and son, Ted, both good friends of Ruby’s, had been captured by the Japanese at Rabaul. Margaret Clarence’s book ‘Yield Not to the Wind‘ covers this episode.
Ruby Boye
Between 4th and 8th May 1942, the Battle of the Coral Sea took place. Ruby, some 700 miles away from the Coral Sea Battle area, was sending out coded meteorological data, and acted as an emergency relay station in communicating reports between coastwatching stations in the Solomons and Vila, the US Navy base receiving station, in the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu).
The USS Lexington was lost while the Japanese carrier Shoho was sunk. HMAS Australia and Hobart took part in the battle. The Japanese main object, the capture of Port Moresby, was denied them, nor did they ever get as far south again.
Even so in 1942 Japanese naval forces were operating north, south, east and west of Vanikoro. Ruby was on duty during the Battle of Savo Island in August 1942, when HMAS Canberra was lost, together with the USS Astoria, Vincennes and Quincy.
Guadalcanal, where the Japanese fought until early 1943, was only some 500 miles north by west of Vanikoro and during that critical period, Ruby was in easy range of Japanese aircraft that flew at low heights over the Island on many occasions. For safety reasons it was decided to relocate the tall radio mast and equipment across the river from the living quarters.
A punt.
After the suspension bridge crossing the river from the residence to the radio shack was destroyed in a cyclone, four times a day, often in torrential tropical downpours, this indomitable lady had to cross the crocodile-infested Lawrence River by punt, and then often walk through ankle-deep mud to transmit the important meteorological data obtained from her own readings.
The night transmitting session was the most hair-raising, because the crocodiles became active at dusk. Spotlights would sometimes reveal the evil eyes gleaming like two orange lights in the dark. In fact a number of dogs and cats were killed and fowls perched under Ruby’s residence were often seized by the crocodiles.
Newspaper article on Ruby Boye
In September 1942, the USS Wasp was torpedoed while covering a Guadalcanal Troop Convoy. The burning carrier sank with the loss of 193 sailors, leaving during that month the USS Hornet as the only operational undamaged US carrier in the Pacific. The Hornet was to meet her end in the Battle of Santa Cruz, in October 1942. In the same engagement, the Japanese carriers Zuiho and Shokaku were damaged. This battle took place very close to the Island Group of which Vanikoro was part. Ruby recalls: After sending the usual weather report, an English-speaking Japanese voice came crackling through. ‘Calling Mrs. Boye, Japanese Commander say you get out.’ The message at this point was jammed by other coastwatchers and she was informed later the rest of the message was unprintable.
Japanese aircraft dropped pamphlets to the Vanikoro natives telling them to work for the Japanese and report the whereabouts of Europeans. On Guadacanal, coastwatchers found the bodies of nuns and priests bayoneted by the Japanese. As a result of the Japanese threats, it was considered desirable that Ruby should be in uniform for the sake of her own protection.
Remainder of Ruby Boye article.
At times US Navy seaplane tenders, including the USS Curtiss, were based at Vanikoro to refuel and service Catalina flying boats. A group of American Naval Officers landed, Mr. Boye was greeted by an Admiral who said ‘My name is Halsey. I’d like to meet that wonderful lady who operates the radio here.’ Admiral William A. ‘Bull’ Halsey was the C- in-C of the South Pacific area at that time. He had such a high regard for Ruby that he arranged for a US Naval Catalina Flying Boat to take her south for medical treatment for shingles. While Ruby was on sick leave, she was replaced by four US Naval Radio men, two on duty and two off.
In 1944 Ruby was awarded the BEM for meritorious service as a Coastwatcher in the Solomons. In addition, she received the 1939/45 Star, the Pacific Star, the War Medal and the Australian Service Medal, the Returned From Active Service Badge and is a Life Member of the WRANS Association.
The letters of appreciation, the photos and autographs from Admirals Nimitz, Halsey and Fitch and the recent invitation to Texas for the Grand Opening of the Admiral Nimitz Memorial mean more to Ruby than money.
Ruby returned to Sydney in 1947 with her husband when he became terminally ill. He arrived in Sydney just two weeks before his death. Ruby Boye passed away 14 September 1990.
Click on images to enlarge.
#############################################################################################
Military Humor – Saturday Evening Post style –
“And when you go forth into the world,
be it as riveters, welders, or mechanics,
keep ever bright before you the slogan of
Sweet Lawn Seminary—’A lady, first, a lady always!'”
June 5, 1943
“It’s some game she learned in the Army.”
August 22, 1942
#############################################################################################
Farewell Salutes –
Joseph F. Boschetti – Philadelphia, PA; USMC, WWII, PTO, KIA (Tarawa)
Edward Dillon (100) – San Diego, CA; US Army, WWII, ETO, 3rd Army
Philip Gamache – Blairsville, GA; USMC, WWII, PTO
Richard Keatinge – Tenderfield, AUS; Australian Military, WWII, Medical Team
Imogene Kinge – Monette, TX; Civilian, “Rosie”, aircraft construction
Birdie McInnis – Clanton, AL; Civilian, WWII, Brooklyn Army Airfield, aircraft inspector
Richard Oster – New Orleans, LA; US Army, WWII, PTO
Gerald B. Raeymacker – Erie, PA; US Army, Korea, Sgt., KIA (Chosin Reservoir)
Evelyn Smith – Westwood, KS; Civilian, Secretary to the Commander of the 6th Corps, Camp McCoy
Louis Wiesehan Jr. – Richmond, IN; USMC; WWII, PTO, F/2/8th Marines, KIA (Tarawa)
#############################################################################################
U.S. Navy Birthday
The US Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which the Continental Congress established on 13 October 1775, by authorizing procurement, fitting out, manning and dispatch of two armed vessels to cruise in search of munitions ships supplying the British Army in America. The legislation also established a Naval Committee to supervise the work. All together, the Continental Navy numbered some 50 ships over the course of the war, with approximately 20 warships active at its maximum strength.
In 1972, Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Elmo R. Zumwait, authorized recognition of 13 October as the Navy’s birthday. Not to be confused with Navy Day (the founding of the Navy Department), the Navy Birthday is intended as an internal activity for members of the active forces and reserves, as well as retirees and dependents. Since 1972, each CNO has encouraged a Navy-wide celebration of this occasion “to enhance a greater appreciation of our Navy heritage and to provide a positive influence toward pride and professionalism in the naval service.”
Although written by a Royal Navy Admiral in 1896, “The Laws of the Navy” began to appear in the US Naval Academy’s “Reef Points” Plebe Handbook and is still there today. The sketches were added by Lt. Rowland Langmaid R.N. during WWI.
Beginning of “The Laws of the Navy”
Part 2
Part 3
End of “The Laws of the Navy
Click on images to enlarge!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Navy Humor –
HAVE A BALL – BUT DON’T ROCK THE BOAT!!
Lady Popeye
for you submariners
for you surface-vessel types.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Farewell Salutes –
Russell Allen – Lovell, ME; US Navy, Vietnam
Francis Currey – Selkirk, NY; US Army, WWII, ETO, TSgt., Medal of Honor
Joseph Gildea – Hollidaysburg, PA; US Army, Occupation, 593rd Ordnance / US Navy, Vietnam, Capt., USS Rush & Hancock, US Naval Graduate
Everett Grabau – Spring Valley, MN; US Navy, WWII
K.Wayne Hays – Van Buren, AR; US Navy, WWII, pilot
Joe Irwin – St. Shelbyville, TN; US Navy, WWII, PTO
Rocco Lombardi – Ivoryton, CT; US Navy, WWII, LST-616
Richard McConville – Teaneck, NJ; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Missouri
Robert L. “Cajun Bob” Thoms – Baton Rouge, LA; USMC, Vietnam, SSgt., Silver Star
Alex Wolffenden – New Smyrna Beach, FL; US Navy, WWII
