Eye Witness Account – Edward Dager

“We Gave Our Best” by: Kayleen Reusser

From : “WE GAVE OUR BEST” by Kayleen Reusser

In December 1944, SSgt. Edward Dager, crew chief for P-38 and p-39 planes was riding in LST-738, a landing ship designed for tanks, near the island of Mindoro.  LST-738 was one of a group of 30 LST’s landing at the island carrying tanks and vehicles.

Suddenly, Dager’s LST was fired on by Japanese kamikazes.  “They came in fast,” he said.  Dager’s LST returned anti-aircraft fire, hitting several of the planes.  When one kamikaze slammed into Dager’s vessel, the 130 crew members aboard were unable to control the fires.  “The captain ordered us to abandon ship,” he said.

Ed Dager, SSgt, US Army Air Corps

Oil from the damaged ship spread on the water.  Frantic seamen scrambled to swim away as more fires sprang up.  Allied ships in the area worked together to fire on the kamikazes and rescue the LST-738’s crew.

Thankfully, no crew member died from the assault, though several were injured.  Dager was burned on his face and right arm.  he and the other wounded were taken by PT boat to a hospital, where they received morphine injections and other care-giving ministrations.

Everything happened so fast and was so chaotic that Dager’s whereabouts became unknown to military officials.  The results were catastrophic.  “My parents received a telegram stating I had been killed in action,” he said.  The War Department soon discovered the error and tried to remedy the misinformation.  “The next day they sent another telegram to my parents saying I was okay.”

Born in 1921, the youngest child in a family of ten, Dager grew up on a farm outside of Monroeville, Indiana.  He quit school to find work, but in 1942, he was drafted into the U.S. Army.  After completing basic training at Camp Perry, Ohio, Dager was assigned to airplane mechanic school with the Army Air Corps.

As part of the 80th Fighter Squadron, “The Headhunter”. 8th Fighter Group, 5th Air force, Dager sailed from San Francisco to Brisbane, Australia, then New Guinea where he was assigned to an Allied air base.   “It was hard not to stare at the natives at New Guinea,” he said.  The walked around with bones in their noses.”

SSgt, Dager was assigned as crew chief in charge of 8 P-39s and P-38s.  The had four 50-caliber machine-guns and a 20 mm cannon.” he said.  Dager took his job seriously.  “A pilot from Boston told me I was the best crew chief because I kept the cockpits clean.”  Dager was aided by an assistant.

As missions often required 5 and 6 hours of flight time, crews were awakened during the dark, early hours of the morning.   “At 0200 hours someone blew a whistle to wake us up,” said Dager.  “We always did a final check of each aircraft before it took off.”

Being on the flight line in the middle of the night with a bunch of sleepy crews would be hazardous.  Dager witnessed one serviceman who drove his jeep into the wash of a plane’s propellers (current of air created by the action of a propeller),  “That was a sad sight,” he said.

Ed Dager

While Dager was friendly with flight crews, but he kept an emotional distance.  “We were there to fight a war.  We learned not to get too attached to people.”

It was not easy.  Many years after one pilot whom Dager had known was declared MIA, due to his plane’s crash, his daughter called Dager.  “She asked for details about her father and his last flight.” Dager provided what little information he knew.  “It was hard losing people.”

In summer 1945, he was helping to launch P-38s from Okinawa when President Truman ordered bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima.  Those actions subsequently ended the war with the surrender of the Emperor in September.  By November, Dager had enough points to be discharged.

He returned to Fort Wayne, IN where he farmed and worked at ITT, retiring in 1985.  Dager married in 1946 and he and his wife, Mavis, were parents to 2 daughters.  “I was in the war to do a job,” he said.  “I was young and thought if I made it home, that was okay.”

Ed and Mavis Dager, R.I.P.

Sadly, the Purple Heart recipient, Sgt. Dager left us on 23 February 2018

Click on images to enlarge.

############################################################################################

Military Humor – 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

############################################################################################

Farewell Salutes – 

Thomas Anderson – Rockton, IL; US Air Force (Ret. 23 y.), 11th Airborne Division

Jerry Cain – Painter, WY; US Army, Vietnam, 320 Artillery/101st Airborne Div., Purple Heart, Distinguish Service Medal

Michael Dippolito – Norristown, PA; US Army, 82nd Airborne Division

Kenneth Ebi Jr. – Moline, IL; US Army, WWII, PTO, 1st Lt., 7th Infantry Division Engineers

James Heldman – San Francisco, CA; US Army, Vietnam, Battalion Comdr., 2/4 FA/9th Infantry Division

Cyril Knight – Invercargill, NZ; 2NZEF J Force # 634897, WWII, Pvt.

Perry Owen – Houston, TX; US Navy, WWII & Korea

Carmine Picarello – Bayonne, NJ; US Army, MSgt. (Ret. 24 y.) / US Navy, Intelligence

Roy Scott Jr. – Columbus, OH; US Army, Vietnam & Desert Storm, 173rd Airborne Division, Bronze Star

Mary Zinn – London, ENG; Civilian, Red Cross

#############################################################################################

Advertisements

Home Front – Wartime recipes (2)

From: The 1940’s Experiment .

We discussed rationing and we’ve discussed just how well our parents and grandparents ate – despite the rationing and time of war when all the “good” stuff was going overseas!  So …. as promised, here are some more of the wonderful recipes from the 1940’s.

Please thank Carolyn on her website for putting these delicious meals on-line!

Recipe 31: Farmhouse Scramble (version 1)

Recipe 32: Cottage Pie

Recipe 33: Potato and Cheese Bake

Recipe 34: Boeuf Bourguignon 1940s Rations Style

Recipe 35: Potato Floddies

Recipe 36: Bread and Apple Pudding

Recipe 37: Danish Apple Pudding

Recipe 38: Vegetable Stew

Recipe 39: Wartime Welsh Cakes

Recipe 40: Cold meat pasties

Recipe 41: Quick chocolate icing

Recipe 42: Potato Rarebit

Recipe 43: Mock Cream Recipe 2

Recipe 44: No Cook Chocolate Cake

Recipe 45: Mince Slices

Recipe 46: Marmite Mushrooms (a modern creation?)

Recipe 47: Eggless Fruit Cake

Recipe 48: Potato and Carrot Pancakes

Recipe 49: Potato and Lentil Curry

Recipe 50: Mock Goose

Recipe 51: Wartime Eggless Christmas Cake

Recipe 52: Vegetable and Oatmeal Goulash

Recipe 53: Irish Soda-Bread

Recipe 54: Eggless Pancakes

Recipe 55: Carrot Cookies

Recipe 56: Herby Bread

Recipe 57: Poor Knight’s Fritters

Recipe 58: Eggless Mayonnaise

Recipe 59: Split pea soup

Recipe 60: Potato Fingers

Being it’s the Holiday Season, I’ll steal 2 more from Carolyn :

Recipe 102: Eggless christmas pudding

Recipe 157: Ministry of Food Christmas Cake

Click on images to enlarge.

#############################################################################################

Military Humor –

Survivalist, Best Before end of the world

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

##########################################################################################################

Farewell Salutes – 

Daniel E, Baker – Tremont, IL; USMC, Cpl., KIA

James M. Brophy – Staatsburg, NY; USMC, Major, KIA

Maximo A. Flores – Surprise, AZ; USMC, SSgt., KIA

Kevin R. Herrmann – New Bern, NC; USMC, Lt. Colonel, KIA

Don Jennings – Martinsburg, WV; US Navy, WWII, Aviation Machinist Mate

Harold Kaplan – Newburgh, NY; US Air Force, 374th Tac Hospital & 6407th USAF Hospital, psychologist

Tom Knibbs – Boca Raton, FL; US Air Force, Vietnam, Captain, pilot

Jahmar F. Resilard – Miramar, FL; USMC, F/A-18 pilot, Captain, KIA

William C. Ross – Hendersonville, TN; USMC, Cpl., KIA

Aubrey Venable – Rustburg, VA; USMC, WWII

Marines lost 5 December 2018

############################################################################################

North Luzon – July 1945

Kiangan Valley

XIV Corps plans for operations against the remainder of the Shobu Group differed only in detail from those I Corps had previously employed.³⁷ Reduced to their simplest terms, both sets of plans called for the exertion of unremitting pressure against the Shobu Group wherever Shobu Group troops were to be found.

East of the Cagayan River the 37th Division, and for a time a regiment of the 6th Division, hampered by supply problems and torrential rains, patrolled vigorously, forcing Japanese troops ever farther into the Sierra Madre. From 1 July through 15 August the 37th Division and attached units killed about 1,000 Japanese east of the Cagayan, itself losing approximately 50 men killed and 125 wounded.

On the northwest and west, opposition was stronger and better organized. Here the 15th Infantry, USAFIP(NL), finally secured the Sabangan junction of Routes 4 and 11 on 9 July, and on the next day the 11th Infantry occupied Bontoc. The 19th Division’s defenses in the Lepanto Mines-Mankayan area began to fall apart before attacks of the 66th Infantry, USAFIP(NL), on 10 July; Mankayan fell on the 20th.

The 66th Infantry secured the junction of Routes 11 and 393 at KP 90 on 25 July, making contact the same day with troops of the 15th Infantry coming down Route 11 from Sabangan. The 19th Division now began withdrawing into the upper Agno Valley to block the northern, western, and southern approaches to Toccucan, at the western end of Yamashita’s last-stand area in the Asin Valley.

The 15th and 121st Regiments, USAFIP(NL), immediately began attacks toward Toccucan, but found the 19th Division remnants still capable of effective resistance. By 15 August the USAFIP(NL)’s leading units were four miles short of Toccucan on the northwest and a mile and a half short on the west.

Meanwhile, the 66th Infantry , USAFIP(NL), had struck south from KP 90 along Route 11 to make contact with troops of the 32d Division, coming north from KP 21. The clearing of Route 11 north from Baguio had become a matter of pressing urgency because the heavy summer rains were making it nearly impossible to supply the USAFIP(NL) either by airdrop or over tortuous Route 4 from the west coast. Mixed forces of the 58th IMB and the 19th Division held along Route 11, their principal defenses located in the vicinity of Gambang, about five miles south of KP 90. Here, on 29 July, the 66th Infantry, USAFIP(NL), and the 127th Infantry, 32nd Division, finally made contact.

The two regiments next swung eastward into the Agno Valley near Buguias and initiated a drive south along the valley to gain contact with the 126th Infantry, 32nd Division, coming north up the valley from Ambuclao and Bokod. Starting off on 1 August, the 126th Infantry found few signs of the 23rd Division, which had melted away eastward into the inhospitable Cordillera Central.

On the east side of the Shobu Group’s last-stand area, while the 6th Division was making its strongest effort an attack toward Kiangan, elements of the division struck north up Route 4 and reached Banaue on 20 July. Meanwhile, troops of the 11th Infantry, USAFIP(NL), had started south along Route 4 from Bontoc and on 21 July made contact with the 1st Infantry, 6th Division, at Polis Pass, five miles north of Banaue. This contact, coupled with that between USAFIP(NL) and 32d Division units on Route 11 eight days later, marked the complete encirclement of the Shobu Group last-stand area.

The 1st Infantry, 6th Division, and the 11th Infantry, USAFIP(NL), turned east from Banaue along Route 389, on which about 2,500 Japanese of the 103d Division and the 4th Air Division had concentrated in mid-July. The 11th Infantry ultimately made its main effort from the north and east, and, with the 1st Infantry in support, cleared Route 389 by 9 August. The Japanese forced off Route 389 hid in mountains north of that road and east of Route 4 until the end of the war.

Click on images to enlarge.

############################################################################################

Military Humor – 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

############################################################################################

Farewell Salutes – 

Dan Alion – Rock Hill, SC; US Navy, WWII, radio-morse code operator

Gerard Bradley – Richmond, VA; US Navy / USMC, Korea

George Danscak – Munhall, PA; US Coast Guard, WWII

Marion Greene – Atlanta, GA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, B-24 Gunner, 466th Bomb Group

Charles Kaitlin – Boca Raton, FL; US Army Air Corps, WWII

Darrence Lewis – Hazel Park, MI; US Army, WWII, Commander, 738th Tank Battalion

Maika – NETH & USA; US Army, Sgt., 6 Afghanistan tours, 75th Ranger Reg./2nd Batt., Canine Explosive Detection Unit, KIA

Robert McDevitt Jr. – Dayton, OH; USMC, Vietnam

George Parmenter – Great Falls, MT; US Army, WWII, Co. I/163/41st Division

Walter Tokarski – Baltimore, MD; US Navy, WWII

############################################################################################

CBI – July 1945

From: the CBI Roundup – the Major has no wish to go home…..

Among the 10th Air Force *wallahs it is highly doubtful which is the better known story, that of Maj. George E. Williams or the crashing, smashing glorious finale of Little Audrey.
We can’t tell you the Little Audrey yarn, for the chaplain would probably raise hell, but we can and will tell you the sad history of “Hard Luck” or “Good Luck” Williams, depending on whether you look at it from your own or his attitude.

Williams is Quartermaster for the 10th, and scheduled to return shortly to the States. He is currently trying to avoid flying Stateside, so before we begin the sad saga of Williams, if anyone knows of a nice, comfortable boat with a fearless skipper who doesn’t ask questions, please inform the major.

Williams, according to the 10th AF PRO, is an affable soul, healthy as anyone can be who has sweated out about two years over here and is a moderately happy-go-lucky Air Corps *wallah. Unfortunately there is no one in the entire 10th who will knowingly ride in a plane with him.

Shortly after his arrival in the then CBI Theater the major had to be piloted to the Arakan. He arrived safely. On the takeoff the B-25 failed to rise fast enough and after hitting a tree the only part left intact was the fuselage which skidded along the ground to a dead stop amidst a huge puddle of gasoline.

The gasoline failed to ignite and out stepped William and the entire crew – unscratched.  Williams then entered into the full stride of his “accident” career. Included were several L-5 crackups, getting lost while flying less than 50 miles over flat country on a perfectly clear day, another B-25 mishap and an episode in a C-46 over The Hump.

It was the second B-25 adventure which soured Williams’ associates on flying with him anywhere for any known reason. After completing a tour of Burma bases, he had to be flown back over the little hump into India. The B-25 took off without incident and the plane flew towards the tricky Ledo Pass. But before crossing over into India, Williams found he could get off at a Burma strip just this side of the Burma side of the pass and complete his business.

“Cabin in the Sky” 10th Air Force

Our hero was safely deposited on terra firma and gaily waved goodbye to the B-25 crew as they headed for India. The plane was never heard of again.

Williams’ final air chapter came on a C-46 trip over The Hump. Unable to hold his altitude, the pilot ordered the passengers to bail out. Williams was number two in the parachute line. As number one stood hesitating to gather his courage before leaping, the pilot suddenly changed his mind and decided he could hold the plane in the air.

Williams, keeping his parachute on and gloomily reflecting that he would probably have to jump anyway, “sweated out” the rest of the trip until the plane put its wheels down. “Well, we made it,” commented the pilot, with a grim look at the dejected Williams.
So Williams is now awaiting transportation back to the States. And all things come to him who waits. Or do they?

 

*wallah – slang for a chap or fellow

HQ., NORTH BURMA AIR TASK FORCE – He is the oldest member of the 10th Air Force, having served three years both in the headquarters of the 10th and its units; he has been in service for more than five years, four and a half of which have been spent overseas, both in North Africa and the India-Burma theaters; but he is not a member of the USAAF nor does he wear an American uniform. He is Squadron Leader W. B. Page, of the RAF, serving as liaison officer with headquarters of Brig. Gen. A. H. Gilkeson’s North Burma Air Task Force, a 10th Air Force combat unit.

Page’s long tour with the 10th began just three years ago when he worked with the Seventh Bombardment Group. From there it was a jump to the original India Air Task Force, under Brig. Gen. Caleb V. Hayes and then to the headquarters of the 10th under the command of Maj. Gen. Howard C. Davidson.
Page is a natural for the job of liaison between the USAAF and the RAF. Although born and raised in England he lived in New Jersey and worked in New York City prior to entering the British forces five years ago.

#############################################################################################

Military C.B.I. Humor – 

“Shome dirty shon-of-a-gun shawed my bed in half_____

“THE FOLKS ARE AWAY AND WE CAN HAVE THE SOFA TO OURSELVES.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#############################################################################################

Farewell Salutes – 

Thomas Braatz – Kenosha, WI; US Army, All-Star Football Team

William V. Fuller – Hadley, ENG; RAF

Albert Madden (100) – Hyannis Port, MA; US Army, WWII, Korea & Vietnam, Bugler 9th Infantry Division

Jason M. McClary – Export, PA; US Army, Afghanistan, Sgt., KIA

Richard Murphy Jr. – Silver Spring, MD; USMC, WWII, PTO, SSgt., KIA (Saipan)

Dennis Norling – MN, TX, & FL; USMC, Vietnam, 2 Purple Hearts

Robert Patten – Holllywood, FL; US Army, Korea & Vietnam, 1st Sgt.

Raymond Plank – Minneapolis, MN; US Army Air Corps, WWII, bomber pilot

Leonard Segal – Bourne, MA; US Army, radio operator

Edward Shapiro – Schenectady, NY; US Army, 2nd. Lt., Dentist

#############################################################################################

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.

#############################################################################################

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

#############################################################################################

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.

#############################################################################################

Military Humor – 

PT humor From: https://ptboatred.wordpress.com/

 

Navy humor, From: https://muscleheaded.wordpress.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#############################################################################################

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

+++++          +++++

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

#############################################################################################

Current News – The New/Old Army Uniform

New/retro Army uniform

By COREY DICKSTEIN | STARS AND STRIPES Published: November 19, 2018

WASHINGTON — The Army is finalizing its new green throwback uniforms inspired by soldiers’ World War II attire, but only recruiters should expect to don the new duds for the time being.

The service was making final tweaks to the design of the new uniform, to be officially called Army Greens, which will see an initial run of some 200 prototypes that will be fielded primarily by recruiters, Sgt. Maj. Daniel Dailey, the service’s top enlisted soldier, said Monday. It could be another three months before that initial batch of uniforms is ready. But the vast majority of soldiers will not have an opportunity to purchase or receive the Greens until the summer of 2020.

Dailey received positive feedback from soldiers he spoke to about the new uniforms during a visit in recent days with troops in Asia, the Army’s top enlisted soldier told reporters at the Pentagon.

Sgt. Major Daniel Dailey

“This is something I think is very positive for the United States Army,” he said. “This is a great day to be a soldier, as I’ve gone around and talked to soldiers in the last few days overseas … an overwhelming majority are truly excited about this new uniform.”

Despite the ongoing tweaks – the Army has made changes in recent weeks to the jacket’s collar and the shirt’s material, for example – the service has made some important decisions about the uniform, Dailey said. Standard headgear to be worn with the Greens will be the Army’s Garrison Cap, which is an olive green, straight sided, foldable hat. Berets and the Service Cap will be optional to wear with the uniform.

Sgt. Major Dailey at Army/Navy Game 2017

Three new, optional jackets will be authorized to wear with the Army Greens – a green tanker jacket, essentially a zip-front, water-resistant windbreaker; a brown leather bomber jacket, and the popular green “Ike” jacket, modeled after the cropped jacket made famous by Gen. Dwight Eisenhower during World War II. All soldiers will be issued a green all-weather, trench coat-style jacket with the new uniforms.

Additionally, the Army is planning to allow soldiers assigned to airborne units to wear jump boots with the new Army Greens, Dailey said. The service has yet to make a decision, but it could switch to brown jump boots for the new uniform.

The new uniforms, which had been colloquially referred to as Pinks and Greens – a reference to a slightly different version of the World War II-era uniforms, have been a pet project of Dailey’s. The service has spent more than a year considering and developing them.

On Nov. 11, which was Veterans Day, the Army quietly announced its decision to adopt the new uniforms. However, the service has yet to conduct a high-profile, public rollout of the gear. Dailey said he expects official photographs detailing the uniform to be released in the near future.

Recruiters and some high-profile soldiers will begin receiving prototypes of the new uniform early in 2019, said Army Col. Steve Thomas, a project manager who led the Army’s development of the uniforms for Program Executive Officer Soldier. The uniforms will then start to be phased into the rest of the force in the summer of 2020 and will not be required until the summer of 2028.

That should give enlisted soldiers plenty of time to purchase the new gear with their uniform allowances, keeping them from having to pay out of pocket, he said.

Nonetheless, Dailey said the Army does not yet have an estimate for the cost of the new uniforms that he could announce publicly. The Army has pledged the Greens would not put additional costs on either enlisted soldiers nor on American taxpayers.

The Army is not ditching its blue service uniform. That uniform will become the service’s dress uniform that soldiers don for more formal occasions, whereas the Greens will be worn in day-to-day settings, Dailey said. Commanders will set soldiers’ duty uniforms, so troops who currently wear combat uniforms most days are likely to continue to do so, he said. The blues will be renamed, possibly to Army Dress Blues, Dailey added.

The sergeant major of the Army said he plans to wear his unofficial version of Army Greens at the Army-Navy football game Dec. 8 in Philadelphia.

“I’m excited about this,” Dailey said. “And soldiers are too.”

dickstein.corey@stripes.com

Click on images to enlarge.

#############################################################################################

Military Uniform Humor –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#############################################################################################

Farewell Salutes – 

Francis Brown – Media, PA; US Army, WWII, ETO, Silver Star

Ray Chavez (106) – San Diego, CA; US Navy, WWII, Pearl Harbor

Robert Davenport – Sioux City, IA; US Army, WWII, Sgt., 383rd Infantry

Ellen Fritz – IL; US Navy WAVE, WWII / US Army Corps of Engineers

George Gillespie – Rome City, IN; US Army, WWII, ETO

Leandro Jasso – WA; US Army, Afghanistan, Sgt. 75th Ranger regiment, KIA

Howard Lockwood – Sydney, AUS; Australian Reg. Army # 57095, WWII

Ernest Murphy – Norwalk, CT; US Navy, WWII, submarine service

Ulysses Pinell – Maringouin, LA; US Army, WWII / US Navy, Korea

Robert Sirois – Pittsfield, ME; US Navy, WWII

Irene Zuckermann – Manhassett, NY; US Army WAC, WWII, Nurse Corps

#############################################################################################

Thanksgiving – Then and Now

WWII vs Afghanistan

THEN – WWII

Stanley Collins, US Navy: “I was on submarine duty in the Pacific in the year 1943. We were in the area off the cost of the Philippines. I remember having a complete turkey dinner on Thanksgiving. While the turkeys were cooking, the submarine took a dive. We went down too steeply and the turkeys fell out of the oven onto the deck. The cook picked them up and put them back into the oven — and we ate them, regardless of what may have gotten on them as a result of their fall. That meal was so good!”

Ervin Schroeder, 77th Infantry Division, 3rd Battalion, I Company, US Army: “On Thanksgiving Day, we made our landing on Leyte Island in the Philippines very early in the morning. We therefore missed our dinner aboard ship. Somewhere down the beach from where we landed, the Navy sent us ham and cheese sandwiches. My buddy happened to get one of the sandwiches and brought it back to our area. I was complaining to him for not bringing one back for me when he started to have stomach cramps… At this point, I shook his hand and thanked him for not bringing me a sandwich.”

Bill Sykes of Plymouth, Combat Engineers and then 1095th Engineer Utility Company, Command SoPac, US Army Engineers 1942-1945:

“The Thanksgiving dinners were served on trays. (My first one, with the Combat Engineers, was served in mess kits. That doesn’t work too well.) They had cranberry sauce, stuffing, the whole thing. It was a good meal. But the feeling of Thanksgiving wasn’t there. The meal was there, but the feeling of Thanksgiving wasn’t. I guess you couldn’t have Thanksgiving when you were overseas. There wasn’t much to be thankful for. It was sad. Although, I guess there was some thankfulness, at least you were still alive!”

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

NOW – 2018

This year, service members received:
— 9,738 whole turkeys
— 51,234 pounds of roasted turkey
— 74,036 pounds of beef
— 21,758 pounds of ham
— 67,860 pounds of shrimp
— 16,284 pounds of sweet potatoes
— 81,360 pies
— 19,284 cakes
— 7,836 gallons of eggnog

“All of [U.S. Army Central Command’s] food, with very few exceptions, has to come from U.S. sources and moved into the theater,” said Sgt. Maj. Kara Rutter, the ARCENT culinary management NCO in charge. “There are also challenges with the quantity of the food that we’re getting. When you talk about buying 23,000 pounds of shrimp, obviously that affects the entire market.

“We also have to ensure we’re respecting our host nations’ cultures. In some countries, we might not be able to serve certain foods because of cultural and religious considerations.”

Soldiers operating in isolated locations will also receive a hot Thanksgiving meal, Rutter added, thanks to food service professionals in the U.S. who prepared a series of “Unitized Group Rations,” which is “basically a meal in a box.”

“Being away from home during the holidays is very difficult,” Rutter said. “There are a lot of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines who frankly are away from home for their first Thanksgiving, and they are doing some difficult things.

“We want them to be able to take a minute, take a knee, and eat the same type of food that their families are eating 9,000 miles away, all while thinking of them at the same time.”

#############################################################################################

Military Humor and something to think about – 

humor from Afghanistan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turkey will travel

 

“And you were whining about sitting next to Uncle Milt!!”

 

 

 

 

Military turkeys

#############################################################################################

Farewell Salutes – 

Richard Arcand – Chelmsford, MA; US Navy, WWII & Korea, Lt.Comdr. (Ret.)

Robert Browning – Cary, NC; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, 194th GIR/17th Airborne Division

Dick Cadic – NJ; US Army, WWII, T-3 Sgt., telegraph

Thomas Fussell – Alamogordo, NM; US Air Force, Vietnam, Lt.Col., fighter pilot

Edward Gould – Christchurch, NZ; RNZ Army # 61449, WWII, 44/8th Army

Norman Kroeger – Hartford, WI; US Navy, WWII, USS New Mexico

Vincent Losada – San Antonio, TX; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, B-17 Bombardier, 487th Bomb Group

Larry McConnell Sr. – Des moines, IA; US Army, WWII & Korea

Walter Shields – Brooklyn, NY; USMC, WWII

Cowden Clark Ward – Fredericksburg, TX; Civilian pilot, founder of “Freedom Flyers”

#############################################################################################

 

 

11th Airborne Paratrooper – Melvin Garten

Col. Melvin Garten

Wednesday, July 04, 2018

Media’s self-importance never dies

An Associated Press photographer died. He was the fellow who took the picture of a fully armed paramilitary immigration enforcement officer taking a screaming child of six by force who was hiding with an adult in a closet, as the Clinton administration had no compunction about separating a Legal Immigrant from his family on American soil.

The Associated Press ran a 749-word obituary on the photographer, Alan Diaz. It was an interesting story — AP hired him after he took the SWAT team-crying kid photo.

But the story was a bit much, and a reminder of the media’s overblown sense of importance. The word iconic appeared four times.

Which brings me to a story I read about Melvin Garten, a real hero. His death brought no AP obituary because he never got a byline:

Toby Harnden, the Times of London reporter who has covered war with the troops and United States politics with equanimity, tweeted on May 6, 2015: “Trumpeter, food blogger, actress, golfer get New York Times obits today, but this man has his death notice paid for by family.”

The man whose family had to pay for his obituary was Melvin Garten, the most decorated and forgotten soldier at the time of his death.

Heroes are born and made. Melvin Garten was born May 20, 1921 in New York City, where he became another smart Jewish boy attending City College of New York.  Japan’s sneak attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, greatly altered his immediate plans. Upon graduation from CCNY, he joined the Army and became a paratrooper with the 11th Airborne Division.  He then married his girlfriend, Ruth Engelman of the Bronx, in November 1942. She was a war bride. Everyone said the marriage wouldn’t last, and they were right because the marriage ended on January 9, 2013 — the day she died.

Melvin and Ruth Garten

Melvin went off to the Pacific Theater of the war, where he participated in what can only be described as an audacious airborne raid of Los Banos in 1945, rescuing more than 2,000 U.S. and Allied civilians from a Japanese prison camp. He was a highly decorated soldier, earning the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, a Presidential Unit Citation and the Purple Heart with three Oak Leak Clusters for his wounds in battle. He was tough and handsome and courageous.

As would war. At dawn on Sunday, June 25, 1950, with the permission of Stalin, the North Koreans crossed the 38th parallel behind artillery fire. Melvin was back in combat. Captain Garten proved his mettle again as commander of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division.  President Eisenhower awarded him the Distinguished Service Cross.

The citation reads: “Captain Garten distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces near Surang-ni, Korea, on 30 October 1952. On that date, observing that assault elements of Companies F and G were pinned down by withering fire on a dominant hill feature, Captain Garten voluntarily proceeded alone up the rugged slope and, reaching the besieged troops, found that key personnel had been wounded and the unit was without command. Dominating the critical situation through sheer force of his heroic example, he rallied approximately eight men, assigned four light machine guns, distributed grenades and, employing the principle of fire and maneuver, stormed enemy trenches and bunkers with such tenacity that the foe was completely routed and the objective secured. Quickly readying defensive positions against imminent counterattack he directed and coordinated a holding action until reinforcements arrived. His inspirational leadership, unflinching courage under fire and valorous actions reflect the highest credit upon himself and are in keeping with the cherished traditions of the military service.”

Pork Chop Hill

Having served at Luzon and Pork Chop Hill, Captain Garten came home and the family moved around. Ruth took care of her men.

“I never even bought my own clothes,” Melvin told Mike Francis of the Oregonian a few months before her death. “I never went shopping. It was not a part of my life. As an Army wife, she took care of those things.”

Their sons were in their teens when the Vietnam War erupted. Melvin earned his Combat Infantry Badge for the third time — perfect attendance as those men with that distinction of serving in those three wars called their service. The Army put him in command of the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry in 1968 and he reinvigorated the unit, calling it the No Slack battalion.

Just as he almost completed the turnaround, his jeep ran over a Vietcong mine, sending shrapnel to his leg and to his head. Another war, another Purple Heart, only this time it cost him his leg. The military sent him to Walter Reed to recuperate.

Ruth went alone, shielding her sons from the news, as they were in college. She wanted to see how he was. Melvin was in horrible condition. His head wound was more serious than their sons realized. For nearly a year, he worked to recover from the explosion. Melvin wanted to stay on active duty as a one-legged paratrooper. She supported his decision. They had to appear before a medical board. Ruth told the Oregonian, “When I got there, they wanted to know only one thing. ‘Was he as difficult a man before was wounded as he is now?’ one board member asked. ‘No difference,’ I answered. And he passed.”

His assignment was as post commander of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, home of the Airborne and Special Operational Forces, a nod to his sterling and exemplary service under fire.

Gen. Eichelberger (C) w/ Gen. Swing (R) planning the raid of Los Banos

Melvin retired as the most decorated man in the Army at the time with the Distinguished Service Cross, four Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars, five Purple Hearts, two Legion of Merits, two Joint Service Commendations, a Combat Infantry Badge for each of three wars, and a Master Parachutist Badge with two combat jump stars. Melvin paid dearly for those awards, but so did Ruth. She was one of the few women to receive five telegrams over the years informing her that her husband was wounded in combat. And by few, I mean I do not know of another.

But his retirement in Florida began three wonderful decades for them. In 2000, Ruth and Melvin moved to Oregon to live near their son,  Allan. Doctors diagnosed her as having Parkinson’s. Mike Francis interviewed Melvin and their sons 11 months before her death. Melvin said, “All these things she put up with. All the things she did for the family. She kept our lives going for 70 years. ”

Following her death on January 9, 2013, the family buried her in Arlington, where all our military heroes belong. He joined her there following his death on May 2, 2015.

Click on images to enlarge.

#############################################################################################

Military Humor – 

Para-Toast.

‘I count only four parachutes. Where’s Mr. Simms?’

 

 

 

 

 

 

#############################################################################################

Farewell Salutes – 

Richard Bettinson – Pelly, CAN; RC Air Force/RAF, WWII, ETO

John Carberg – New London, CT; USMC

Robert Daughtery – Clinton, IN; US Army, WWII, PTO, 3rd Signal Battalion

Paul Fournier – Cleveland, OH; US Navy, WWII

John Graziano – Elkridge, MD; US Air Force, Captain, 87th Flying Training Squadron, KIA

Hank Kriha – Oshkosh, WI; US Army, WWII, PTO, 32nd Red Arrow Division

George McClary – Pueblo, CO; US Coast Guard, WWII, USS El Paso

James Ruff – Summitt, NJ; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, SSgt., 11th Airborne Division

Harold Sullivan – Morriston, FL; US Army, WWII, ETO / Korea, Purple Heart

John Yordan – Detroit, MI; US Army

#############################################################################################

Gen. Kenney’s report – Reorganization – July 1945

18 July 1945, Okinawa, 90mm AAA-gun emplacement

During the night of 1 July, I found out that the was on Okinawa was not quite over.  Around midnight a party of Japs blundered into a fight with the guards about 50 yards from my tent. I put my pistol on a chair beside the bed.  The shooting died down a little later and I went to sleep.  The next morning, as I was taking off for Manila, Col. ‘ Photo’ Hutchison told me that he had had another battle going on during the night near his HQ.

On July 10th it was announced from Washington that the B-29s in the Marianas would form the 20th Air Force, under Gen. Twining and that those operating from Okinawa would form the 8th Air Force, under Jimmy Doolittle.  The 8th & 20th would together be called the United States Strategic Air Force, with Gen. Spaatz in command.

American soldier, Okinawa

On the same day, Nimitz turned over control of the 7th A.F. to the Far East Air Forces and told the Marine Fighter Wing at Okinawa to operate in conjunction with our (Army) show there.

On the 12th, Lord Louis Mountbatten and a few members of his staff flew from India to Manila for a conference with MacArthur.  We briefed him on the coming Olympic Operation and his staff in turn gave us the details of the proposed British operation to recapture Singapore.

Mountbatten wanted some bombing assistance at that time, if we had any to spare.  MacArthur asked me what I could do.  I gave him the details about the Australians and our B-24s and Mountbatten was quite pleased.

Kyushu Island, July 1945 bombing

All through July we kept moving aircraft into Okinawa from both the 5th and 7th Air Forces.  Generals Whitehead and Tommy White set up their HQ on the island and began the final sweep of Japanese shipping from the Yellow Sea and the Straits of Tusishima, between Japan and Korea.

In conjunction with the B-29 from the Marianas, who were battering the big cities of Japan apart and burning them down, we concentrated our attacks on the island of Kyushu, smashing airdromes, burning up gasoline stocks and wrecking the railway centers, bridges and marshalling yards.

The attacks were being made with a ever-increasing weight, as airdromes were being finished on Okinawa, allowing us to move the aircraft forward from the Philippines and the Marianas.

By the end of July, on an average day, when weather permitted large operations, there would be over 1500 of my airplanes operating along the line from Japan to Formosa to Shanghai to Borneo and the Netherlands East Indies.  Of this number around 600 bombers, strafers and fighters would be attacking targets in Japan itself.

It was a far cry from the days back in 1942, when a raid of 50 or 60 planes was such big news that we boasted about it for days!

Click on images to enlarge.

#############################################################################################

Military Humor – 

Great Lakes Training 1945

From: David Hart at https://mywarjournals.com/

#############################################################################################

Farewell Salutes – 

Paul Connelly – Tulsa, OK; US Army Air Corps, WWII / US Navy, Korea

Brian Hawkins – Pasadena, TX; US Army, 143rd/36th Division, medic

Herbert Hill – Shreveport, LA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, B-24 nose gunner

Ellis Lindsey – SC; US Army, 511th/11th Airborne & 504th/82nd Airborne divisions

William Mercantonio – East Orange, NJ; US Army Air Corps, WWII, Korea, TSgt.

Earl Ray – Cadillac, MI; US Army, MP

Maureen Rodgers – London, ENG; British Navy WRENS, Hut 11 decoder, Bletchley Park

Roland Rioux – Vero Beach, FL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO / Korea, Cuban Missile Crisis

Nicholas Vollweiler – Pleasant Valley, NY; US Army, K-9 instructor, Japan Occupation

Sam Wagner – Tonville, CO; US Army, WWII, PTO, Bronze Star

#############################################################################################