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Gen. Swing’s sword
Gen. Swing accepting the sword w/ Gen. Eichelberger
Even though Smitty had earned his points to go home, he was still an NCO on General Swing’s staff and was required to finish out his duties as such. After going through combat in the South Pacific, it would be in peaceful occupational Japan where Smitty’s temper would get the better of him.
Non-nonchalantly going about his business at the headquarters of Camp Schimmelpfennig, Smitty just happened to glance through the glass partition that sealed off Gen. Swing’s office. Inside was an officer holding and admiring the Japanese sword that his commander intended to keep and bring home as a souvenir. Smitty didn’t think much of it at the time; he was busy and many people commented on the weapon. so he continued down the hallway. A short while later, the entire office could hear the general demanding to know what had become of his sword. It was gone.
Cpl. Smith is standing far right
My father didn’t think twice, this was his general. He went into the room and told Swing what he had witnessed. Without a second thought, the two men went to the other man’s office, but neither the man or sword was there. The officer in question showed a few moments later. When the general explained why they were waiting for him, the officer became indignant and professed his innocence (just a tad too much). My father said the air of tension in the room became thick enough to use a machete on. This was when Smitty’s temper went out of control and with one right cross – sent the officer through his own glass partition.
Of course, this action made it necessary to bust Smitty back down to private, but he didn’t care about that. He was still furious that the sword was never returned. It all could have gone worse if the general had not been there or if he did not believe Smitty’s word. Smitty said it was worth being busted just to wipe the smirky grin off the officer’s face. The officer, I believe, was a replacement and had not seen much (if any) combat, just a blow-heart. Smitty later offered his two Japanese swords to General Swing, but he refused. My father didn’t believe the general would have taken the Emperor’s own sword as a replacement. I can clearly see my father’s face contort when he thought of the thief and he would say, “That know-nothing mattress salesman from Texas!” I’m sure it was for the best that the two men never met again stateside as civilians.
Smitty, in Japan
“The guy snapped the picture just as a flock of geese flew by.”
Unfortunately, a similar incident occurred to my father. As he happily began packing to go home, Smitty noticed that an expensive set of carved ivory chop sticks he had purchased somehow had disappeared. They also were never recovered. (I had often wondered if the two incidents had been related, but I suppose we’ll never know.)
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Norbert Antor – Comstock Park, MI; US Army, WWII, ETO, Purple Heart
Milton T. Bauer – Newton, KS; US Air Force, Korea, pilot, Distinguished Flying Cross
Traditions of Honor & Respect
Wiiliam A. Gardner – Allentown, PA; US Army, Korea / asst. chief scientist for NASA projects
Wing O. Hom – Boston, MA; US Army, WWII, ETO, Co B/7/3rd Infantry Division, KIA (Cisterna di Latina, ITA)
John L. McGraw – Summit, NJ; US Navy, Jacksonville Naval Air Station
Bobby Osborne – KY & OH; USMC, Korea, Purple Heart / Grand Ole Opry singer, “Rocky Top”
Anthony J. Palmer – Grove City, PA; US Army, Korea
Paul D. Rooney – Somerville, MA; US Coast Guard
Donald D. Shorr – Forest Hills, NY; US Navy, WWII
Ricky Z. Simon – Delray Beach, FL; US Army, WWII
Garrett A. Sullivan – Cambridge, MA; US Air Force, Korea
James W. Thompson – Wheeling, WV; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Corpsman w/ USMC
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AM I TOO LATE FOR MONDAY?
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Japanese-Americans | the Nisei in WWII, part one (1)
Nisei soldiers
Smitty held the Nisei in very high regard and I would be remiss in neglecting to tell their story. Beside, one of these men might have been directly responsible for the safe return of my father. In reality, it would be near impossible to relate a story of the Pacific War without mentioning their service. Some of this unique intelligence force worked ‘behind the scene’ stateside U.S.A. or Australia, but many were up front and fighting at and behind enemy lines.
Smitty always had extreme appreciation for the courage, resilience and down-right crazy stunts they pulled off. They were capable of going behind the lines to acquire information or cut into the radio lines and all the while they remained quite aware that their own units might mistake them for the enemy when they returned. This did happen more than once.
Most everyone is aware of whom the Nisei are, but for clarification purposes, here are some of the terms that might be used in this section or if you continue with your own research:
AJA – Americans of Japanese Ancestry
MISers – the name used for students and graduates of the Military Intelligence Service Language School
Issei – first generation Japanese-American
Nisei – second generation Japanese-American, (this term is for definition only – Nisei prefer to state that they are American)
Kibei – Japanese-American who received education in Japan
At the language school, the students were crammed with courses and put on a strict schedule. Some courses included:
Kanji – a Japanese method of writing based on Chinese logographic characters
Kaisho – the printed form of Kanji and can only be read by someone who has memorized a great number of ideographs
Gyosho – hand written Japanese, very similar to the Palmer Method of Penmanship and is very difficult for Americans
Sosho – the shorthand version of Kanji and almost impossible for an American to learn. Most Japanese field orders were taken down by this method.
Kai Rasmussen
It must be noted that many of these men had family incarcerated in detainment camps and serving in the Imperial Army & Navy, but in school, on the job and in combat they loyally worked to do their level best. The language school began 1 November 1941 at Crissy Field, with Lt. Colonel John Wickerling in charge. His right hand man, educator and recruiter, Kai Rasmussen, was a primary force in the success of the school. He was a West Point grad who spoke Japanese with a Danish accent and would eventually earn the Legion of Merit for his efforts.
A move was necessary from San Francisco to Camp Savage, Minnesota. The change in location was largely due to the bigotry that had overwhelmed California at the time. The most influential white supremacists included: Earl Warren; The Natives Sons and Daughters of the Golden West; William Randolph Hearst and his newspapers and Congressman Leland Ford. Eventually, the school needed to expand and moved to Fort Snelling, St. Paul.
Rasmussen’s right hand man was John Fujio Aiso, an attorney out of Brown and Harvard and had studied at Chuo University in Tokyo. (He was originally assigned to a motor pool because the Army felt they had no need for additional lawyers.) Rasmussen traveled across the country in attempts to find candidates for the school. The Pentagon had kept the paperwork for the operations of the Nisei secret for three decades, but Smitty began talking about them once I was old enough to ask questions.
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Military Humor –
“BECAUSE DOORS ARE FOR SISSIES.”
“AIM FOR THE CAT!”
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Current News – 
Please hop on over to Pat’s blog to help share a veteran’s birthday! Click HERE for equips!!
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Farewell Salutes –
Ruby Atchley – Pine Bluff, AR; Civilian, WWII, ammo plant
Jerry G. Cooper – Hattiesburg, MS; US Army, Vietnam, Captain, 101st Airborne Division, helicopter pilot
Tabe de Vries – Ljmuiden, NETH; Dutch Underground, WWII
Harry E. Elston III – Warren, OH; US Army, Vietnam, H Co/75th Infantry Rangers
William Hodge – New Haven, CT; US Army, WWII, Sgt.
Clyde H. Lane – Greece, NY; US Army, 503/11th Airborne Division
Thomas C. Mayes, Jr. – Coral Gables, FL; US Air Force + Reserves, Captain
Douglas L. Townley – Tonawanda, NY; USMC, WWII
Robert E. Weisblut – Washington, D.C.; US Army
James A. Whitmore – Mesquite, NV; US Air Force, Electronic Warfare Officer on F-105’s & F-16’s
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Smitty | Still in Japan
No matter where he is or what he’s doing, Smitty will be seen touring the sights. In Japan, he also did his best to absorb the culture that surrounded him.
Inside the above brochure, Smitty wrote, “Right after we left this place, it burnt down. This was really a million dollar joint! Wow! The girls here, by the way, are very nice. I like these people much better than the Filipinos.” (Just to remind the reader, and in all fairness, Smitty had lost his best friend to a Filipino Japanese sympathizer (makipilli) with a grenade booby-trap in his cot)
In October 1945, General Pierson was transferred back home. He was replaced by General Shorty Soule who had commanded the 188th regiment in both training and combat. He was later promoted to assistant division commander of the 38th Division and at this point he began to head the Miyagi Task Force.
Hereafter, the troopers began to return to the States as they collected their “points” and the replacements that were arriving were not jump qualified. Gen. Swing established yet another jump school, the fourth one in the history of the 11th Airborne. This one was established at the former Japanese Air Corps base near Yanome; about 15 miles from Sendai.
Following through with his own requirements that all men in the division be both paratroopers and glidermen, Swing started a glider school in the summer of 1946 at Yamoto Air Base. [renamed Carolus Field, in honor of Cpl. Charles Carolus, killed in a glider crash near Manila, 22 July 1945]
Smitty, in Japan
On the reverse side of the picture above, Smitty wrote, “a beauty of a flock of ducks were going by just as the jerk snapped the camera.”
The 187th Regiment, was by this time, now being called “Rakkasans” (umbrella men) by the Japanese, a name which stayed with them through four wars: WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, Desert Storm and the Operations of today.
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
John W. Archer III (102) – Mount Holly, NJ; US Army, WWII, 5th & 7th Armies
Jackson W. Baumbach (100) – New Cumberland, PA; USMC, WWII, PTO
Patricia Carbine – Aberdeen, SD; US Army WAC, WWII, ETO, nurse
Ethel (Marder)Donley – New Bedford, MA; US Navy WAVE, WWII, Pharmacist’s mate
Charles W. Eeds – Durant, OK; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Cpl., 48th Materiel Squadron, POW, DWC (Cabanatuan Camp)
Michael T. Ernst – MA; US Navy, SEAL, Chief Special Warfare Operator
James E. Farley Sr. – -Columbus, OH; US Merchant Marines & US Coast Guard, WWII
Obed D. Howard – Corsicana, TX; US Navy, WWII, PTO, coxswain for Adm. Nimitz
Martin L. Nass – NY & La Jolla, Ca; US Navy, WWII, USS Topeka
Leroy M. Slenker – Portland, OR; US Army, WWII, PTO, Pvt. # 19004368, 75th Ordnance Depot Co., POW KIA (Luzon, P.I.
Mark Williams – Delray Beach, FL; US Air Force, pilot,
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Smitty & the 11th Airborne in Japan
Smitty’s, Broad Channel, NY
Just as General Douglas MacArthur said to Gen. Robert Eichelberger that it was a long road to Tokyo, so it was for Smitty. Yes, the stretch from Broad Channel to Camp MacKall and finally Atsugi Airfield was a long and arduous road, but here, the 11th Airborne Division arrives in Japan to begin the Occupation and to help start the rebuilding of a country.
With the initial arrival of the division, rarely was a female between the ages of 8 and 70 seen on the streets. The Japanese had heard their government’s propaganda for years as to the American looting and raping, so they were understandably afraid of the conquering troops. But many were confused about the peaceful attitude of the soldiers and a member of the 511th regiment was stopped one day by a Japanese officer, he asked, “Why don’t you rape, loot and burn? We would.” The trooper answered that Americans just don’t do that.
11th A/B guarding the New Grand Hotel
With the New Grand Hotel surrounded by troopers, the manager and his staff bowed to Gen. MacArthur and his party and directed them to their suites. Tired and hungry from their long flight, the Americans went to the dining room and were served steak dinners. Gen. Whitney remembered wanting to take MacArthur’s plate to make certain it hadn’t been poisoned. When he told the general his concern and intentions, MacArthur laughed and said, “No one can live forever.”
The hotel would become his headquarters and later that evening, MacArthur told his staff, “Boys, this is the greatest adventure in military history. Here we sit in the enemy’s country with only a handful of troops, looking down the throats of 19 fully armed divisions and 70 million fanatics. One false move and the Alamo would look like a Sunday school picnic.” (The fact that nothing happened, I believe, said quite a bit about Japanese integrity.)
Atsugi Airfield, Japan 1945
The division Command Post was moved from the Atsugi Airfield to the Sun Oil Compound in Yokohama. This compound had about 15 American-style homes complete with furniture, dishes, silver and linens. The senior staff officers were not so fortunate. They were put up in warehouses on the docks, often without heat.
Smitty @ Sun Oil
On the reverse side of this photo, Smitty wrote: “A picture of the General’s gang taken in the living room at Yokohama. Reading left to right – baker, first cook, Mess Sergeant, me headwaiter and on the floor, second cook. Those glasses you can see were always full. You can’t beat this Japanese beer.”
Smitty (2nd from left) and rest of the crew
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In the Philippines, the Japanese emissary General Kawabe, finished their surrender talks. Kawabe’s aide, Second Lt. Sada Otake, introduced himself to a Nisei G.I. standing guard outside. The guard, in response, said his name was Takamura. Otake said he had married a Nisei by the same name and did he had a sister named Etsuyo? The guard nodded and Otake said, “I’m her husband. Look me up in Japan.” And the brothers-in-law shook hands. (Small world or fate?)
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Tokyo Rose – on the air
On 1 September, newsmen Harry Brundige and Clark Lee, with the help of a Japanese newsman, located Tokyo Rose with her husband in their hotel, the Imperial. Brundige offered her $2,000 for an exclusive interview for “Cosmopolitan” magazine. She agreed and together they typed out 17 pages of notes. The editor of the magazine was so astounded that Brundige had made a deal with a traitor that he rejected the story. The notes were handed over to Lee, who wrote his own version of the story for the International News Service.
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
John F. Aranyosi – Hammond, LA; US Army, WWII & Korea, Sgt. (Ret. 22 y.)
J.D. Bishop – Anniston, AL; US Army, WWII, PTO, Purple Heart
Final Mission
Try A. Charles (103) – DeLeon, LA; US Merchant Marines, WWII, ETO, radioman/medic
Lionel J. Desilets (100) – Paradise Hill, CAN; RC Army, WWII
William H. Flowers (100) – Cambridge, MD; US Army Air Corps, WWII, B-25 flight instructor
Guy J. George – Barre, VT; US Army, WWII, CBI
William F. Gusie – IL; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Fire Controlman 3rd Class, USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor, HI)
Vernon Hermann – Seward, NE; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Pharmacist’s Mate / Korea, Observer Corps
Marvin Krauss – Redding, CT; US Navy, WWII, Corpsman
Richard M. Marshall – Gilbert, AZ; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne Division
A.N. Perry – Surfside, FL; US Coast Guard, WWII, PTO, LST radioman
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Operation Downfall – part one
Plans for Japan – click to enlarge
The original idea for the invasion of Japan was approved in July 1944 and received constant, precise detailing up until the actual signing of the surrender. Operation Downfall was broken into two separate plans, Operation Olympic which would be followed by Operation Coronet.
With all the devastation already incurred on Japan, a forceful occupation would still be very costly. The Japanese Army controlled the government and their wish was a fight down to the last man, woman and child. Later on, members of that army stated that it would have been an all out suicide effort of every person in Japan to fight to the death.
Women pose for propaganda poster as “beachfront kamikazes”
Operation Olympic, which included 750,000 troops were to land on Southern Kyushi 1 November 1945. In the first wave, Army, Navy and Marine personnel – 436,486; the second wave to hold 356,902. (How they managed to be so specific is way over my head.) The air support would total 22,160. The D-Day Operation Overlord would have paled in comparison and this led the Joint Chiefs of Staff to agree that this rendered Russia’s involvement unnecessary.
MacArthur’s estimations of casualties and wounded that he sent to Washington were judged by the invasion of Luzon. Gen. “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell sent his report based on the Okinawa battles; these were much higher.
While Europe’s “Overlord” had beach codes such as: Omaha, Utah, Sword and Gold, “Olympic” had a variety of automobiles for the beaches that were then grouped by type. Gen. Krueger’s Sixth Army, that included the 11th Airborne Division, was scheduled to land at Miyazaki, the eastern prefecture of Kyushu, the third largest island of Japan. The forty-mile long shallow beach areas were coded as ‘Chevrolet’, ‘Chrysler’ and ‘Cord.’ (Highlighted sections on map above.) At the time, there were approximately 126,000 Japanese troops in that zone. Even after both atomic bombs were dropped, the Sixth Army was expected to have 15,000 casualties.
MacArthur had wanted to keep Gen. Eichelberger close to him and direct the operations since his record with the 11th A/B on Luzon was so efficient. As had been mentioned previously, the five-star general felt that Gen. Krueger had led a rather undistinguished campaign thus far.
Jeep stockpile
The itemized tons of materiel listed in the plans grew beyond comprehension. P-51 Mustang fighters were shipped to Guam still in their crates. Stocking grew on Tinian, Saipan, Samar, Luzon, Hawaii, the Marianas, the Carolines and the west coast of the U.S. (just to name a few). The logistics could only be explained by experts.
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Lawrence D, Adkisson – Wichita, KS; US Navy, WWII & Korea
Maude Bourassa – Durand, IL; Civilian, WWII, Chevrolet Tank Plant
John Collier (102) – Newberry, SC; USMC, WWII, PTO, Sgt, Major, POW / Korea (Chosin Few)
Richard Friday – Washington DC; US Army, WWII, ETO,Co. H/398/100th Division, Silver Star, Purple Heart
Robert Harrell – Morristown, TN; US Army, WWII, Signal Corps
Louis Iauco (101) – Syracuse, NY; US Army, WWII
John Karakiozis – Clarksburg, WV; US Army, Korea, 187th RCT
John Caldwell McLean – Port Elgin, CAN; RC Air Force, WWII, ETO, gunner, Halifax bomber “Willie the Wolf”, Swordfish Sq. 415
John Pluhacek – Omaha, NE; US Army, WWII
Eunice Salmon (102) – Clinton, MA; US Navy WAVE, WWII, nurse
Jane Winstone – Whanganui, NZ; British ATA, WWII, pilot, KIA (1944)
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Making a Jump on Aparri, Luzon
Jump on Aparri
As the ground races up to meet the troopers, they see the tall, thick fields of the sharp kunai grass, flooded rice paddies, carabao ruts and bomb craters – all would prove dangerous. The Task Force would lose 7%, two men killed and 70 wounded as they landed in 25 mph winds. The battle-hardened paratroopers collected their flame throwers, howitzers and rifles from the gliders and reassembled with “Espirit de Corps.”
Aparri jump
The 11th Airborne battled the Shabu Forces on a 75 mile hike in 120 degree heat to connect up with the Connolly Task Force. The combined goal was to prevent the enemy from escaping into the Cagayan Valley and out to sea. Lt. Col. Burgess met Gen. Beightler, on 26 June, and received a rather snide remark about how his men had saved the 11th A/B. Burgess became quite red-faced and replied that he was under orders to save the 37th Division. Gen. Swift, standing off to one side, laughed and said, “Well, you SOUND like one of Swing’s boys.” (referring to General Joe Swing).
11th A/B Div. drops in Aparri, Luzon, P.I.
The Gypsy Task Force marched away to the 37th’s Headquarters to request C-47s to transport the unit back to Lipa. Burgess was denied and told to countermarch to Aparri and have the trucks take them south to Manila. That would mean they would still need to march another 55 miles from Manila to Lipa. Instead, the men bribed the C-47 pilots with Japanese swords, guns and various other paraphernalia in exchange for a flight back. (Necessity is the mother of invention.)
Bold headlines exploded in the Australian newspapers: U.S. Paratroopers Land In Northern Luzon – “After the 11th A/B Division made their air-borne landing near Aparri on June 23rd., using their gliders for the first time, carrying howitzers, jeeps and mobile equipment. Each trooper jumped with 100 pounds of gear strapped to his body.”
In the 26 June 1945 issue of The Army News – “On Saturday, from 600 feet into paddy fields, the 11th Airborne dropped near the port of Aparri in a surprise move against the Japanese forces in northern Luzon. They used their gliders for the first time in the southwest Pacific…”
Aparri, North Luzon
Gen. Joseph M. Swing
3 July, General Swing made an official note stating that he had implored the higher echelon of the Sixth Army two months previous with a plan to drop the entire 11th Airborne Division onto northern Luzon back when Gen. Krueger’s men were having so much trouble with the Japanese in Balete Pass. He expressed his frustration that his own plan to attack Aparri had gone unheeded. The Japanese had been given the opportunity to withdraw just enough to unite with reinforcements.
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Military Humor –
CAPTION THIS? WHAT COLD THE ARMY POSSIBLY BEEN UP TO?
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Farewell Salutes –
Harold Allen – Waverly, KS; US Army Air Corps, WWII
Ardeen Bauch – Quincy, IL; US Navy, WWII, PTO, radioman 1st Class
Aleutians, 1943
Andrew Coy – Pure Air, MO; US Army, Vietnam, 5th Special Forces, Mike Force Unit, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, (Ret. 25 y.)
Conrad ‘Billy’ Edwards Jr. – Bladenboro, NC; US Army, 82nd Airborne Division
Rodean Elmstrand – Hetland, SD; US Army, 11th Airborne Division
John W. Kohout – Ft. Myers, FL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, HQ Co/127th Engineers/11th Airborne Division
Simplicio Magno – LaTorre, PI; USMC, Vietnam, Purple Heart
David McCullough – Pittsburgh, PA; Civilian, Pulitzer Award Historian
William Porteous – Plymouth, CA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, HQ Co/511/11th Airborne Division
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Getting Leave on Australia!
Brisbane 1945
8 June 1945, Cpl. Everett Smith found himself and four others from the division on leave in Australia and Smitty was determined to have a good time! Those that went to Brisbane on the same orders for TDY were:
Lt. Col. Francis W. Regnier MC HQ 11th A/B Div.
Major George K. Oliver INF HQ 11th A/B Div.
T Sgt. Manuel C. DeBeon Jr. 187th Glider Infantry
Tec 4 Beverly A. Ferreira HQ 11th A/B Div.
The orders were signed by Major E.W. Wyman Jr., Adjutant General
Townsville, Queensland
My father never told me very much about his R&R and probably for a good reason. (For one, my mother was always around listening.). He did say that when he first arrived in Australia, he wanted a haircut and a shave. While the barber was working on him, he remarked that the pores in Smitty’s nose appeared enlarged. My father answered, “You spend five months in the jungles of New Guinea and see what your nose looks like.” Dad said after that, his money was no good. Everyone in the barbershop made such a fuss over him that he never got a word in edgewise. They were so extremely grateful to anyone who helped to stop the Japanese. Smitty did always tell me he wished he could make a trip back there; he thought Australia and her people were great, but sadly, he never did.
Perhaps the young lady, Joan, was the reason Smitty wouldn’t talk about his time on leave.
Joan
With his thoughts still focused on his R&R in Australia, Everett “Smitty” Smith landed back at Lipa City, P.I. only to discover that a mission was scheduled. The last remaining organized Japanese group, the Shabu Forces, were hold up in the northeast corner of Luzon and General Swing had organized the Gypsy Task Force to take them out. On his orders, this unique unit would include “all Camp MacKall veterans.” This would include men from the 187th Infantry, the 511th, the 457th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion, a platoon from the 127th Engineers and two platoons from B Company. Despite Gen. Krueger’s disapproval, Lt. Col. Henry Burgess, now 26 years old, would be the commanding officer. (Smitty was at the ancient age of 30, one of the oldest paratroopers besides one other soldier and a few of the officers.) Col. Lahti (31) would be CO for the reserve unit.
We’ll have more on Aparri, Luzon next week.
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Rex Allender – Cedar, IA; US Merchant Marines, WWII / US Army
Amador Barbosa (101) – Kansas City, KS; US Army, WWII, ETO
Farewell
Charlotte Bendure – Centralia, IL; US Navy WAVE, WWII, PTO
Ottaway B. Cornwell – Beaumont, TX; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, 1st Lt., pilot, 4 FS/52 FG/12th Air Force, KIA
David Curtis (104) – Salt Lake City, UT; US Navy, WWII, PTO & CBI, USS Black hawk
Joseph De Lorenzo – Pine Brook, NJ; US Army, WWII
Agnes Dion – Springfield, IL; US Navy WAVES, WWII, parachute rigger
Alfred Giumarra – Bakersfield, CA; US Navy, WWII, minesweeper, USS Mainstay
Eugene Gollin – Long Island City, NY; US Army, WWII, PTO, Captain, communications
John W. Harman (100) – Rock Hall, MD; US Army, WWII, CBI, 866th Bomb Squadron
Thomas McNeill – Elmira, NY; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 503/11th Airborne Division
Floyd D. Simmons (102) – Hontubby, OK; US Army, WWII, ETO, medic (He had been the oldest surviving Choctaw veteran).
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Lipa, Luzon | May 1945
Lipa, after bombardment
1 May 1945, the recon platoon found a company-sized unit of the enemy in the 187th’s zone of responsibility. The 2d battalion, along with 81mm mortars and LMGs (light machine guns) spread out to attack the enemy on three sides. F Company had a kill count of 92 Japanese versus one man of theirs missing the following day. From 3 May on, the fighting was considerable. 10 May, with the situation easing, the division left the area to be patrolled by Filipino guerrillas and was once again united and prepared to set up their base camp amongst the ruins of Lipa.
During the month of May, a new T O & E (Table of Organization and Equipment) was put into effect as replacements finally arrived. A battalion was added to each glider regiment. The 188th Infantry and the 674th Field Artillery became parachute units. The 472d Field Artillery Battalion was added to Division Artillery and the 187th became a Para-Glider Infantry Regiment. For the first time since their creation, the 11th A/B totaled 12,000 men.
VE-Day
7 May 1945, the war in Europe was over, the famous V-E Day, and the men of the 11th Airborne were very happy for their counterparts in the ETO, but they knew the Japanese would remain solid and faithful in their convictions. The fighting in the Pacific would continue, it was a matter of honor to the enemy.
My father, Smitty, had told me of the hatred the G.I.s felt for the enemy and granted, he wasn’t overjoyed at the prospect of getting shot at, but he said he had to have respect for their patriotism and tenacity. (Yamato damashii – Japanese spirit and Bushido – the way of the warrior.) Now, the troopers began to wonder if they would receive ample reinforcements. Rumors began to fly. (Actually, 6 May 1945, 8:41 p.m. Eastern War Time, in Reims, France after 5 years, 8 months and 6 days, the Third Reich ended.)
10 May, the 11th A/B Division regrouped outside Lipa. If a soldier was not at an outpost or out on patrol, he was helping to build a camp in the coconut groves with those all too familiar pyramidal tents. Bamboo and steel matting was used to raise the tents up about a foot since it was about to become rainy season once again. Between two mountains, USO shows and movies began to arrive and a jump school and glider classes were held for the “green” replacements.
11 May, was the first span of 24 hours in a total of 101 days that no one from the 11th Airborne Division had killed one of the enemy. Their average before that had been 93.8 Japanese per day and during that time General Swing was unable to afford even one company to be in reserve. (I believe this in itself deserves a commendation.)
Legionary U.S. ship, Bunker Hill, thought to be unsinkable, unfortunately succumbed to Japanese kamikazes.
USS Bunker Hill, May 1945
Article on USS Bunker Hill attack.
CLICK ON PICTURES AND STORY TO ENLARGE.
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Military Humor –
“EVEN IF SHE IS A BOOBY TRAP, CAN YOU THINK OF A BETTER WAY TO GO?”
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Farewell Salutes –
Helen Bailey – Dixonville, AL; Civilian, WWII, Hagler Field, radio operator
Darren Collins – Broken Arrow, OK; US Navy, Information Systems Technician 2nd Class, USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70)
Robert Davis – Nelsonville, OH, US Navy, WWII, USS Gardiners Bay
Catherine Howarth – Middletown, NY; Civilian, WWII, Civil Air Patrol
Leo LaFauce – Springfield, IL; US Army, WWII
Over the horizon
Theodore Mertz (100) – Vallejo, CA; US Navy, WWII
Gwendolyn Ross – Westlock, CAN; Civilian, WWII, military Aircraft maintenance
William O. Wood – Tallahassee, FL; US Army, WWII, ETO, SSgt., 328 BS/93 BG/8th Air Force, B-24 gunner, KIA (Ploiesti, ROM), To be buried 8/1/2022
Christopher Young – Irving, TX; US Army, Desert Shield & Desert Storm, Medic, 528th Special Operations Battalion (Airborne)
Jerome Zeugschmidt – Bronx, NY; US Navy, WWII,
Robert Zimmerman – West New York, NJ; US Army, WWII, ETO
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Mount Malepunyo
Mt. Malepunyo, Japanese defenses CLICK ON TO ENLARGE.
The next operation was Malepunyo. The exhausted men of the 187th were sent to Tiaong to relieve the 188th and allow them to join up the 511th regiment and the 8th Cavalry while they (the 187th) would remain to cut off any Japanese fleeing the high ground. The 187th laid ambushes for 10 miles and confirmed some 400 enemy killed or captured. During three simultaneous banzai attacks coming across the bridges, the 187th were told by a prisoner that they had nearly caught Gen. Fujishige.
Swing received orders to “go it alone, capture Mount Malepunyo and destroy all the Japanese thereon.” This was an area of thirty square miles of hills with a mangled rain forest and bamboo thickets. It had no roadways and was surrounded by wet slopes intermingled with sharp ridges. At one ridge, the troopers spotted fifty to sixty Japanese about 300 feet below them bathing in a stream as if they were oblivious to a war shattering the world around them. The men of the 11th A/B were certain that there was nothing luckier than to literally catch the enemy with his pants down!
But the Japanese were far from done. Holding higher ground, they slowed down the advance of American forces with snipers and machine gun fire. In one particular incident in what was called Hill 2610, men of the 511th were surprised to receive gunfire from carefully hidden apertures in the underground Japanese command post. The Japanese had to be flushed out using flamethrowers. The Americans were not without casualties. Wrote Flanagan:
“Before being mowed down, they (the Japanese) pulled one last trick which cost us casualties. Several of the Nips, as they ran out of the caves, threw large demolition charges into the air, where they burst, wounding and killing our men as well as themselves.”
Gen. Masatoshi Fujshige
After one fray, a patrol of the 187th found a Japanese diary attesting to the starving conditions the enemy were facing. The book read that they were without any communication to or from their headquarters. They were praying for help from Manila and hoped they would die bravely in their fight with the Americans. (Any papers found on the enemy were immediately handed over to a Nisei G.I. for translation).
General Fjishige gave an interview on 27 May 1946 at the Luzon POW Camp No. 1. He said, in reference to the plans for Macolod, that he took one month of planning and organizing the defense himself. He had their positions so well camouflaged that they could not be detected by land or air and were stocked with some of the best troops he had. The general stated that whoever attacked Macolod deserved the highest U.S. Army honors.
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Military Humor – 
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Farewell Salutes –
Ross Avellone – Lake County, OH; US Army Air Corps, WWII
Frank Blair – Sioux City, IA; US Navy, WWII, USS Blackhawk
Felix Bonacci (103) – brn: ITA; US Army, WWII, ETO, Interpreter
Guinevere Doyle Collier – Evansville, IN; US Army, 59th WAC unit
Melvin Frankel – Bethlehem, PA; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS New Mexico
Branford Freeman – Artesia, MS; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, 506/101st Airborne Division, mortarman
Gerald Grimes – Canton, OH; US Army, WWII
Clyde Hope – Amigo, WV; US Army Air Corps, WWII, 1st Lt., B-24 bombardier
Phyllis Brown Jones (100) – Flint, MI; Civilian, WWII, “Rosie” for the Hudson Motor Company
William J. Kerby (101) – Twin Pines, MI; US Army, WWII, ETO, 2 Purple Hearts
Barclay McFadden – Memphis, TN; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne Division
Larry Storch – NYC, NY; US Navy, WWII, sub tender USS Proteus / beloved actor-comedian
Ronald Taylor – Sandy, UT; UA Army, HQ Co/ 187th RCT
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Manila (cont’d) February 1945
The importance of Manila cannot be stressed enough. The natural harbor has served as a strategically situated port for commerce and trade for centuries. Manila Bay and Laguna de Bay are connected by the Pasig River.
As the 11th Airborne was switched back to the 6th Army, General Swing received orders to destroy all forces in Southern Luzon, specifically at Macolod and Lipa, along with clearing Route 19. The division had not received many replacements so they were even smaller in size than before; the 158th Regimental Combat Team was attached to partially compensate. The Manila-Batangas highway ran north to south and was essential to secure the port of Batangas for future landings.
Japanese in Manila
On top of all this, Swing was ordered to destroy enemy forces in Ternate. (Southern shore of Manila Bay) None of his men had the privilege of being in reserve, but the general had the utmost confidence in his men to succeed. His plan – Put the 187th on the right, going through the neck between Lake Taal and Laguna de Bay. The 158th on two other routes and the 1st of the 188th to Ternate.
Japanese gun in Manila from a super battleship.
22 February 1945, the Cairns Post reported that the 11th Airborne had been seen south-east of Laguna de Bay and surrounded an enemy unit at Mabato Point and compressed them into an area of 1200×800 yards. From there, they traveled through Alabang to Muntinupa where the Japanese were attempting to evacuate their troops. The 11th was relaying back reports of finding natives hacked to death by bayonet or burned alive by the enemy.
Lake Taal, from Smitty’s scrapbook
The 187th, with the675th Glider Field Artillery Battalion attached bivouacked near Mount Sungay and sent out daily patrols to the east. G-2 (Intelligence) knew the Japanese Fuji Force was out there and needed to picture the enemy locations. While the troopers fought ground battles, the engineers were carving out the mountain. The sheer cliff was almost vertical, but the roads being built was imperative.
Assistance with this article came from Rakkasans by Gen. E.M. Flanagan; the VFW; 2eyeswatching.com (pix only); The Angels: History of the 11th Airborne Division by Gen. Flanagan; Pacific War On-line encyclopedia, WW2 Database and my grandmother for keeping Smitty’s scrapbook – all I wish to thank for their diligence in recording history.
Yesterday, Saturday, 15 May 2022, was Armed Forces Day here in the U.S. I hope you continue to thank a veteran every chance you get!
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Robert Bluford Jr. (103) – Richmond, VA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, B-24 pilot
John L. “Gunny” Canley – Bend, OR; USMC; Vietnam, Sgt. Major (Ret.). Medal of Honor
Courtesy of Tofino Photography
Leonard Cecere – Retsof, NY; US Army Air Corps, WWII, CBI, Flight Engineer
Creedin Cornman – Carlisle, PA; US Army, WWII, 584th Antiaircraft Battalion
Ryan DeKorte – Lubbock, TX; US Navy, Electronics Tech 1st Class, USS Jason Dunham / Naval Special Warfare Unit
Augustine Delgadillo – Seligman, AZ; US Army, WWII, ETO& PTO
Edmund Liebl – Madison, WI; US Navy Air Corps, WWII / US Army, Medical Corps
Rudolph Macey – Tarrytown, NY; US Navy, WWII / FCC (Ret.)
Glenn E. Miller – MT. Palatine, IL; USMC, WWII, PTO & Occupation
Seth Plant – St. Augustine, FL; US Army, SSgt., 3/509th Parachute Infantry Regiment
Fred Ward – San Diego, CA; US Air Force / Beloved actor
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Pacific Paratrooper 