Blog Archives
CBI – British receive POW’s / Vietnam in the picture
Japanese POWs in Malaya
“From May onwards, prisoners in a terrible state came in daily,” recorded a British gunner unit in Burma, “many of them armed with nothing more dangerous than bamboo spears, trembling with a mixture of malaria and humiliation.”
British soldiers in Burma
But if some proved ready to quit, others did not. To the end, most Japanese who lost their ships at sea deliberately evaded Allied rescuers. On the deck of HMS Saumarez, destroyer Captain Martin Power was directing rescue operations after sinking a Japanese convoy off the Nicobars, when he suddenly heard a “clang” against the ship.
Andaman and Nicobars Islands
Peering over the side, he saw a bald, heavily built Japanese man clinging to a scrambling net with one hand, while hammering the nose of a shell against the hull with the other. Power drew his pistol, leaned over and whacked the man’s head.
“I could not think of anything else to do – I spoke no Japanese. Blood streaming down his face, he looked up at me, the pistol 6 inches from his eyes, the shell in his hand… I do not know how long I hung in this ridiculous position, eyeball to eyeball with a fanatical enemy, but it seemed too long at the time. At last he dropped the shell into the sea, brought up his feet, and pushed off from the ship’s side like an Olympic swimmer, turned on his face and swam away.”
***** ***** *****
By this time of the Pacific War, the Vietnam area of Indochina was in dispute. DeGaulle demanded that the current Vichy government take a firm stand, but this was a disaster. The Japanese had staged a pre-emptive coup against the Saigon administration. Frenchmen became POW’s and their future fate would cause Anglo-American arguments. When US planes arrived from China to carry out evacuations, the French were furious that the aircraft did not bring them cigarettes.
London’s Political Warfare Executive sent a directive to Mountbatten that highlighted the political and cultural complexities of the CBI: “Keep off Russo-Japanese, Russo-Chinese and Sino-Japanese relations except for official statements. Show that a worse fate awaits Japan if her militarists force her to fight on… Continue to avoid the alleged Japanese peace feelers.”
The Dutch, French and British owners of the old Eastern empires were increasingly preoccupied with regaining their lost territories – and they were conscious that they could expect scant help from the Americans to achieve this. The British Embassy in Washington told the Foreign Office:
“If we prosecute the Eastern War with might and main, we shall be told by some people that we are really fighting for our colonial possessions the better to exploit them and that American blood is being shed to no better purpose than to help ourselves and Dutch and French to perpetrate our degenerate colonial Empires; while if we are judged not to have gone all out, that is because we are letting America fight her own war with little aid, after having her pull our chestnuts out of the European fire.”
Quotes taken from “Retribution” by Max Hastings
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – 
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Farewell Salutes –
Edward Bailey – Parma, MI; US Navy, WWII, PTO, 2nd Lt., pilot, KIA
David Cruden – Hurtsville, AUS; RA Air Force # 422443, 460 & 582nd Bomber Command Squadrons
Fred Hermes Jr. – Villas, NJ; US Coast Guard, Academy Grad., Commander (Ret.)
William A. Laux – LaCrosse, WI & Arrow Lakes, CA; US Army, WWII, ETO
John Moore – Baltimore, MD; US Navy, WWII, Captain (Ret.)
Ronald S. Richardson – Gisborne, NZ; RNZ Air Force, WWII, ETO, Lt. Commander, pilot, KIA
Robert Stoner – Buffalo, NY; US Navy, minesweeper
Harry Thomas – Marlington, WV; US Army, WWII
Michael C. Ukaj – Johnstown, NY; USMC, Iraq (the NY limo crash on his 34th birthday)
Elwood Wells – Epsom, NH; US Army Air Corps, WWII, CBI, Captain, 1337 A.F. Base, KIA
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Nudge In Rear Came Too Soon, So Mitchell Gunner Bombed Wrong Target In China
B-25, “Ormoc Bay”, by: Jack Fellows from the IHRA
By Sgt. Marion Hargrove
SOMEWHERE IN CHINA–This story has been held back for a while because the fellow was mighty sensitive about it, and he happens to be a tech sergeant, 6 feet 2 and weighing 200 pounds. He’s cooled off a little, so now it can be told.
The tech sergeant is Karl May of Yakima, Wash., an aerial engineer and gunner in one of the local Mitchell B-25 bombers. The tale goes back to the time when he was still a buck private, working as an armorer in his squadron and bucking like hell for a job on a combat crew.
They finally let him go on a few missions to try him out. He got along fine until his third trip. That was the raid on the big Jap base at Hankow, former Chinese capital, on the Yangtze.
There were two minor defects that day in the bomber to which May was assigned: there were no racks in the ship for fragmentation bombs and the interphones were temporarily out of commission.
Well, they were working the thing out all right without fragracks or interphones. They had Pvt. May squatting by the photo hole with a stack of frag bombs and the understanding that when the turret gunner nudged him in the behind he was to cut loose with all he had.
Fragmentation bomb
It happened that the bomber had a passenger that day–maybe an observer from Washington, maybe a newspaperman, maybe just a sightseer.
This worth person grew unaccustomedly chilly, saw that the draft came from the open photo hole and decided to ask the private beside it to close it. The private – yep, it was May – had his back turned, so the passenger sought to attract his attention with a gentle nudge in the rear.
Pvt. May reacted like the eager beaver he was. He held one frag bomb over the hole and let it drop. Then he turned another loose into thin air. He was preparing to drop every bomb in the ship – until he was rudely and violently stopped. To May’s dismay he learned: 1) that the ship was nowhere near Hankow, 2) that he had been given no signal and, 3) that he had just wasted a couple hundred dollars’ worth of U.S. high explosives.
B-25 dropping frag bombs
The mission proceeded to Hankow, where May dropped the rest of his bombs through the photo hole, an armful at a time. But his heart was heavy at the thought of having goofed previously.
When the plane returned to its base, there was an intelligence report from the Chinese Army waiting for it. According to this report, two bombs dropped on a Japanese barge on the Yangtze had scored direct hits, sinking the barge and drowning 160 Japanese soldiers.
T/Sgt. May never tells the story himself and he gets mad when he hears anyone else tell it. Only those who’ve seen the records will believe it.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – 
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Farewell Salutes –
Wayne Bauer – Las Cruces, NM; US Army, WWII, ATO
Harry Carlsen – Chicago, IL; USMC, WWII, PTO, 2nd Marine Division, KIA (Tarawa)
Images is courtesy of:
https://mywarjournals.com/
James Fleischer – Detroit, MI; US Army
John Guice – Greenville, AL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO
Robert Hegel – IN; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, 15th Air Force, navigator
Claude A. Rowe – Chuka Vista, CA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, Tuskegee
Elizabeth Schwantes – Kaukauna, WI; US Coast Guard, WWII
Leslie Thickpenny – Pukekohe, NZ; NZ Air Force, WWII, flight engineer
Henry Wheeler (100) – Buffalo, NY; US Army, WWII, 12th Army, Intelligence, Bronze Star
Robert Zeigler Jr. – Ft Lauderdale, FL; US Army, Korea
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From a U.S. sailor’s diary (Balikpapan)
USS Montpelier (CL-57)
Wednesday, 27 June 1945: USS Montpelier
The bombers started early this morning, it was 7 A.M. The men on the 5″ and 6″ guns will be glad when we leave here.(Balikpapan). The past 10 days they have been in those hot steel mounts and turrets passing big shells and powder cases. They start passing the ammunition at 7:30 AM and don’t stop until 6 PM. Then they stay up all night standing their usual watches.
James J. Fahey’s secret diary
The Australian cruiser, Hobart, one heavy cruiser and some destroyers came in today, many PT boats and gunboats also came in. A destroyer pulled alongside with 60 bags of mail. The air mail was only 16 days old!
The demolition squad returned to our ship this morning, they were soaking wet. They have a very dangerous job clearing the place of mines and underwater obstacles put there by the Japs, they must have worked all night. One of our b-25 medium bombers came in so low on a strafing run that it hit some trees and landed in the water. One of our small boats was sent to pick up the crew, lucky for them no one was hurt.
The Australian soldiers that we have with us are always studying their maps, charts and photos. These men are special troops and have important jobs to do when they land
War Diary of the USS Montpelier
Thursday, 28 June 1945
All hands got up at 6 AM. We really opened up on the Japs today and so did the bombers. When it was all over you could see nothing for miles around but thick black smoke, it rose so high into the sky for miles, it went so high that it was out of sight. I never saw anything like it before.
There was enough black smoke here to cover many big cities, at the same time it was enough to choke you. I don’t know how the Japs can stand it. There were so many huge storage tanks exploding and so many miles of Borneo were blacked out that it looked like the end of the world.
Today while we were covering the demolition crew, the Jap machine-guns opened up on them, they had some casualties. They had a very rugged job to do, they were in the water near shore and the Japs were looking at them not too far away.
They must have ice water in their veins, no wonder it is such a tough outfit to join. I can see why they have such heavy casualties. The Japs gave them a hot time with their machine-guns and mortars. The demolition crew set off long chains of explosions. They have to clear a path in the water for our landing craft…..
There is a big wall and many steel posts plus mines. The demolition men can stay under water for a long time, but when they come up, the Japs open up on them. We fired back and knocked out their guns and crews.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – 
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Farewell Salutes –
Max Barton – Streator, IL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 193rd Ordnance Co./5th Air Force
John Clement – Quantico, VA; USMC, WWII, PTO, Purple Heart
Fred Frevert – Los Angeles, CA; US Army, WWII, PTO, 38th Infantry Division
Noel Grimm – Hudson, OH; US Army, WWII, PTO, Sgt., M.P.
Robert Hagan Sr. – PA; US Air Force, Captain, pilot
Frederick Hopkins – New Plymouth, NZ; J Force # 444837, WWII, PTO
Stanly Kretowski – Cobourg, CAN; Canadian Army, WWII, ETO
Vinnie O’Hare – Broad Channel, NY; US Army, WWII
Charles Slade Jr. – Saginaw, MI; US Army, WWII, ETO
Jerry A. Williams – Phoenix, AZ; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne Division
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Gen. Robert Eichelberger Remembers
Generals Eichelberger & MacArthur
From: “Our Jungle Road to Tokyo”
I remembers a story Bob Shoe told on himself. During the hottest of the fighting on Negros, he was making a trip to the front to look over the situation. His jeep passed through a weary column of the 503rd Parachute Regiment which had been relieved after many hours of fighting and was on its way to the rear.
General Shoe is completely free of pretentiousness; he was born honest and friendly. When he stopped for a drink at a spring, he spoke to a grimy paratrooper. His question didn’t mean anything; it was merely passing the time of day.
“How are things at the front?” Shoe asked cheerfully.
11th Airborne paradrop
The veteran paratrooper, probably 20 years old, looked at Shoe’s clean uniform and his star and his jeep with elaborate boredom and said nothing. Shoe went on to the front and was promptly shot. It was a bloody wound and the stretcher which carried him toward the rear was thoroughly incarnadined.
On the way back, his stretcher was stopped by a military traffic jam, and he found himself again among the walking 503rd. He asw the same redheaded young Pfc he had encountered back at the spring. The Pfc was friendly now. He grinned. “General,” he said, ” how are things at the front?”
***** ***** *****
Our Jungle Road to Tokyo”
I took a flying boat to Jolo, Philippines. The USS Boise dropped anchor in Jolo Harbor and I rejoined General MacArthur, who reported the Borneo expedition completely successful. After a tour of the island, we went back aboard the Boise and headed for Davao City. Gen. Kenney, who now commanded both the 5th Air Force and the 13th Air Force, was aboard. George and I spent 2 hours discussing the Philippines campaign and the problems which lay ahead.
That evening MacArthur talked to us for almost 2 hours about coming events and next morning we landed at Davao City. We went as far as Mintal, where Jack Clifford and his troops had not yet been able to end their struggle against a stubborn enemy.
But we had reason to observe that massive artillery support – now under command of Hugh Cort – was true, accurate and devastating. It was then that MacArthur told me he did not believe there were 4,000 Japanese left alive on Mindanao. The surrender figures at war end were 23,000 enemy soldiers, showed how wrong he was.
***** ***** *****
Generals Eichelberger & MacArthur
I was proud of the job the 41st Division had accomplished at Zambo when the fighting was done. They laid down their guns and went to work. They cut weeds and they cleaned out debris. They became good neighbors.
The Japanese had refused to allow Catholic Filipinos (and there were a good many in that Moslem area), to worship at the ancient shrine of Bien Bemido al Virgen del Pilar. The shrine was about the size of an American sandwich shop and was tucked into a space along a section of the Fort Pilar wall which had fallen into ruin.
GIs of the 41st Signal Company went to the work of repair and finally put up a sign welcoming all nationalities to worship there again. Before long, there were hundreds of burning candles.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – 
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Farewell Salutes –
Paul Anderson – Fargo, ND; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, Air-Sea Rescue
Joseph Bacigalupi – Little Silver, NJ; US Army
Edwin Bullington – Prairies Grove, AR; US Navy, USS Observation Island, photographer
Harry Doty – Milford, IN; US Army, WWII, artillery
Leonard Fenimore – Cabria, PA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, SSgt., 11th Airborne Division
Aaron Justice – Weirton, WV; US Army, WWII, ETO
David Lessin – Newark, NJ; US Army, Major, Medical Corps
Gerald Rothaermel – Bridgeport, CAN; Canadian Air Force, WWII
Leonard Solomon – Brooklyn, NY; US Army, WWII, ATO, TSgt., 42nd Coast Artillery of Engineers
Norman Wecker – Chicago Heights, IL; US Navy, WWII, PBY pilot
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The Generals, Australians and Borneo (2)
The Borneo Campaign Map
From: “General Kenney Reports”
[continued from the previous post where the Generals were on the island of Labaun after the Australian troops had landed to take it back from the Japanese.]
We got to the USS Boise and the next morning we all went over to the beach near Brooketon. Gen. Wooten joined us. We waded through a half mile of swamp to a road where 6 jeeps picked us up and drove into the town of Brooketon itself. The place was completely wrecked by bombing.
Australian soldiers firing artillery, Borneo
Wooten said they encountered very little opposition until they got about 10 miles inland, where they were in contact with about 500 Japs who were dug in on a hill commanding the road. He had radioed for some airplanes from Palawan to blast their artillery out of the hills so he could use the road.
MacArthur, of course, wanted to see what as going on, so we climbed in the jeeps and headed off for more trouble. About 5 miles down the road we came to an overturned Jap truck. It seemed that about 2 hours before, the truck with 12 Nips on board, had dashed along the road with the lights turned on, the horns blowing, and the fools all yelling “Banzai”, heading for the Aussies who were marching toward them. The Aussie machine-gunners had taken care of the truck and all the Japs.
***** ***** *****
MacArthur on Labaun, Borneo 10 June 1945
From: “The Australian Experience”
The decision to bring forward the OBOE VI operation, on the western side of Borneo, was a strategic surprise to the Japanese. The area around Brunei Bay facilitated rapid deployments and operational maneuver from the sea. General MacArthur set Z-Day as 10 June 1945. Naval and landing force command for the Brunei Bay amphibious assault, landing 33,500 personnel and 49,500 tons of supplies and equipment was delegated to Rear Admiral Royal, and Major General George Wootten, commander of the Australian 9th Division.
The Brunei Bay operation was, according to MacArthur, ‘flawlessly executed’. Between 10 June 1945 and the end of the war, the fighting at Brunei Bay and Labuan led to the loss of 119 Australians killed and a further 221 wounded. At least eight Americans lost their lives and 55 were wounded. The Japanese lost 1,375 and 130 captured during this operation, although guerillas probably killed another 1,800 throughout British Borneo.
Borneo, 1945
The order of battle for the ground forces for the OBOE II is indicative of the Australian Army’s approach. Australians made up 94 per cent of the invasion force. It was built around the Australian 7th Infantry Division. The major Australian contribution, its nine infantry battalions (in three brigades) were central to the activities of the ground force. The Australian artillery and armored units were allocated an infantry support role, and were not well versed in the application of combined arms teams.
The US Army provided the specialist amphibious ship-to-shore units for the Australian division. While the Australian Army was responsible for beach operations, the Navy provided a Beachmaster and the RAN Beach Commandos. The NEI troops did fight but were also employed as interpreters and as security for the Netherland Indies civil affairs organization. The RAAF airfield construction squadrons, which were attached to the ground force commander, were to land early and have an airbase ready for Allied aircraft in just four days.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – 
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Farewell Salutes –
Atilano ‘Al’ David – Angeles, P.I. & NM; WWII, PTO, Sgt. 31st Regiment Philippine Division, (Bataan Death March survivor)
Harold P. DeMoss – Nashville, TN; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Ensign, Fighting Squadron 100, KIA
Hubert Fuller – Huntington, WV; US Army, WWII, PTO, 147th Signal/7th Armored/3rd Army
Frank Guerrieri Sr. – Garfield, NJ; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS St. Louis
John Hickman – Auckland, NZ; RNZ Navy # 14321
Kathy Meinsen – Bastrop, TX; US Army
Gerald Nehring – Hinckley, IL; US Army, WWII, CBI
Thomas Reilly – Scituate, MA; US Coast Guard, Chief Boatswain’s Mate (Ret. 24 y.)
Norman Summers – Auckland, NZ; Royal Navy # MX801257 / RNZ Navy # 12177
Julian Waldman – Oceanside, NY; US Army, WWII
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Personal Note – I have having a little computer trouble. If I do not answer comments or visit your site, I will do so as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.
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C.B.I. Theater – June 1945 (2)
Assembling the helicopter at Myitkyina. Shortly after, it would land on a Burma peak for the 1st such mercy mission in this area.
AAF HQ. – Capt. Frank W. Peterson maneuvered the helicopter through the maze of jungled Burma peaks and set the small ship down on a rough strip atop a razorback mountain whose sides fell off steeply to narrow valleys 2,500 feet below.
Twenty-four hours later, after gas and oil had been air-dropped, he took off again, this time carrying a passenger: 21-year-old Pvt Howard Ross, ground observer at an isolated weather station outpost in North Burma who was suffering from a badly infected gunshot wound in his hand.
This air evacuation mission, marking the first time a helicopter had been employed in rescue work in this Theater, climaxed one of the most amazing stories to come out of India-Burma. The story had its beginning when, after the forced landing of a B-25 on an isolated mountain-top in Burma, it was determined that a helicopter would be necessary to effect the rescue of the bomber crew, none of whom were injured. The request was made by radio to Army Air Forces Headquarters in Washington.
A crew at Wright Field, Ohio, was ordered to begin the dismantling of a helicopter and, working all night, loaded it upon a C-54 cargo plane by the following morning. meanwhile, Peterson, a Wright Field test pilot was ordered to accompany the engineering crew to Burma.
Four days later, the C-54 with its rescue mission cargo landed at Myitkyina, only to learn that the men they had been rushed overseas to rescue had already been evacuated. It was decided, however, to continue with the assembly of the helicopter as rapidly as possible in the event another emergency should arise.
Late that night, Lt. Leo J. Kenney, commanding officer of the jungle rescue unit, awakened Peterson and told him that a member of a weather station located high on a 4,700-foot mountain in the Naga Hills, with a gun shot wound. With medical aid 10 days distant by mountain trail, air rescue had to be attempted despite the inaccessibility of the station even to parachute jumping.
Pilot Erickson & Igor Sikorsky test the Sikorsky R-4, 1942 The following morning the rescue mission took off. Since the helicopter was not equipped with radio and Peterson and Lt. Irwin C. Steiner, another veteran pilot from Wright Field who accompanied Peterson, were flying over unfamiliar territory, the rescue ship was escorted by two L-5’s piloted by T/Sgt. William H. Thomas and S/Sgt. Gibson L. Jones.
Four times, the helicopter became separated from its guide planes, a low ceiling having enveloped the mountain country. But each time the planes renewed contact. Once the helicopter made three attempts before finally topping a 5,000-foot mountain peak. Another time, the ship ran out of gas and had to make a forced landing on a sand bank in the Chindwin River, where Peterson and Steiner sat down and waited for fuel to be air-dropped from the L-5’s. Up in the air once more, the helicopter climbed up over rocky peaks which jutted sharp above matted jungle, finally landing at the crude air-drop field near the weather station just before running out of gas again. The next day, nine days after engineers began disassembling the helicopter at Wright Field, Peterson flew the wounded man out of the jungle.
***** ***** *****
General Joseph “Vinegar Joe” Stillwell, commander of U.S. Armies in the China, Burma, and India Theater, proudly wears his newly received four stars on his collar and the tag on his jeep. October 26, 1944. He was recently promoted to the rank of Full General.(AP Photo)
Uncle Joe Stilwell has returned to the grim but satisfying business of killing Japs – as Commanding General of the U.S. 10th Army, which this week annihilated the remnants of enemy opposition on bloody Okinawa.
Okinawa’s soil today contains the mortal remains of Lt. Gen. Simon Boliver Buckner, Jr., the colorful commander who led the new 10th Army ashore last Easter Sunday. In their last hour of military triumph, G.I.’s and his ranking officers reverently buried the general beside the men of the Seventh Division.
The nation applauded the move that placed four-starred Uncle Joe in command of the 10th Army. While in Chungking and India, Stilwell helped plan and carry out the liberation of North Burma and the building of the Ledo Road which later took his name.
Joe Stillwell, one of the most beloved generals in WWII
Subsequent differences of opinion with Chiang Kai-shek led last October to Uncle Joe’s recall to Washington where he was given command of Army Ground Forces.
Stilwell carried out his job with AGF with determination and spirit, bit no one doubted that it was his prayer to be returned to a combat assignment against the Japanese.
The death of Buckner brought to 34 the number of U.S. generals lost from all causes in action thus far in World War II, including four lieutenant generals. Shortly after the 10th Army Commander was killed, Brig. Gen. Claudius M. Easley, assistant commander of the 96th Infantry Division on Okinawa, also died in action.
Click on some of the images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – CBI Style –
“HEY BABE, YOU DROPPED YOUR HANDKERCHIEF – SIR!!
“HERE’S THAT STOVE YOU REQUESTED BACK IN DECEMBER.”
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Farewell Salutes –
Timothy Bolyard – Thornton, WV; US Army, Afghanistan, Sgt. Major, KIA
John Breitmeyer – Christchurch, NZ; RNZ Navy # NZ9045, WWII
Warren Foss – St. Louis, MO; US Navy, WWII, PTO
Helmer Holmberg – Brn: SWE; Swedish Army, WWII
John Innes – Brisbane, AUS; Civilian, Pacific War Historian eg: “Guide to the Guadalcanal Battlefields”
Ruth Mesich – Wakefield, MI; US Navy WAVE, WWII
Millard Odom – Bateville, AR; USMC, WWII, PTO, Sgt., 3/2nd Marine Regiment, KIA (Tarawa)
Vinnie O’Hare – Broad Channel, NY; US Army, WWII
Robert Prata – Brooklyn, NY; US Army, Vietnam
Roy Stilwell Jr. – Chicago, IL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 13th Air Force
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C.B.I. Theater – June 1945 (1)
Harassed and groggy after ever-increasing aerial blows, residents of Japan’s main cities once more sought shelter underground this week as Super-Forts rode high and unchallenged over the island kingdom. But, for once, the giant planes did not only unleash cargoes of flaming death. Huge paper bombardments also rained down on the cities, spraying millions of propaganda leaflets over wide areas.
Text of the leaflets was soon revealed by Radio Tokyo, which reported they were signed by President Truman and advised the Japanese people to get out of the war or face the same destruction that was accorded the German people. “Unconditional surrender,” the broadcast reported the pamphlets as reading “would not mean obliteration or slavery for the Japanese people.”
However, Uncle Sam’s airmen backed up the threats implied in the propaganda warfare with two “knockout” punches aimed at Nippon’s “glass jaw” – her concentrated industrial empire.
As Maj. Gen. Curtis S. Lemay, Commander of the 12th Bomber Command, assessed the results of last week’s destruction raids on Tokyo in an announcement that 51 square miles surrounding the Imperial Palace grounds in the heart of Japan’s capital city are “great masses of gray ashes and fire-blackened ruins of the few buildings left standing.” Super-Forts struck in force at Yokohama and Osaka.
Metrotogoshi Railway Station, Tokyo, after incendiary bombing.
The next day, more than 450 B-29’s returned from the heaviest daylight raid on Japan and reported giant fires were burning all over the industrial section of Tokyo’s port city of Yokohama. Later the enemy High Command conceded that “considerable damage” was inflicted and reported a high wind was spreading fires throughout the city’s automotive, aircraft, shipbuilding and rubber plants. Aerial photographs revealed that the raid, in which 3,200 tons of incendiary bombs were dropped, had burned out nearly seven square miles of Yokohama’s principal business and industrial center.
The Super-Forts were out again, this time striking at the manufacturing center of Osaka. More than 450 bombers, escorted by 150 Mustang fighters, dropped 3,200 tons of bombs. The attack was concentrated on harbor facilities, shipyards, warehouses and factories. Reports indicated that 86 square miles of Japan’s most highly industrialized city were destroyed or heavily damaged and Japanese broadcasts admitted that flames started throughout the manufacturing heart of the city were only gradually being brought under control.
Osaka 1945
The naval air force was out in strength, too. Striking on two successive days, planes attacked Southern Kyushu airfields from which the Japs have been launching suicide aerial attacks against the American fleet. Meanwhile, the Jap government announced that the entire naval air corps of Japan has been converted into a “suicide corps” for attacks against Allied warships.
***** ***** *****
The British this week announced formation of new SEAC Army, the 12th, under the command of Lt. Gen. Montague Stopford, to be based in Rangoon.
In the meantime, the 14th Army continued its mopping up operations in Burma, with the enemy making desperate attempts to keep open his escape routes to the east.
At the “Kama” escape route, north of Prome and east of the Irrawaddy River, the British killed 1,221 Japs in a series of engagements.
In the Kalaw, area Empire troops have captured a “staircase,” which goes up to the mountains northwest of Kalaw. This was rugged terrain and presented difficulties comparable to any in the entire Burma campaign.
The Japs are resisting in Burma from Pegu in the south to Mawchi Road in the north. British reports say the enemy is just as fanatical as ever in his resistance. During the week, planes of Eastern Air Command hit troop concentrations in Moulmein and attacked the jetty area in Martaban.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – CBI Roundup Style –
“BE CAREFUL, JOE! IT MIGHT BE A TRAP!”
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Farewell Salutes –
William Blancheri – Los Angeles, CA; USMC, WWII, PTO, Pharmacists Mate, 2/2nd Marines, KIA (Betio)
Harry ‘Bud’ Calsen – Brookfield, IL; USMC, WWII, PTO, TSgt., A/2nd Amphibian Unit, KIA (Betio)
Robert Holmes – Salt Lake City, UT; USMC, Pfc., KIA (USS Oklahoma)
Robert Kitchner – Pittsburgh, PA; US Army, Korea
Richard Murphy – Washington DC; USMC, WWII, PTO, SSgt., 6th Marines, KIA (Saipan)
Henry Sakaida – Los Angeles, CA; Civilian, Pacific War Historian, eg: “Winged Samurai”, “The Siege of Rabaul”, “Pacific Air Command WWII”
Lester Schade – Holton, WI; USMC, WWII, PTO, Captain, 4th Marines, KIA, (Enoura Maru, hellship)
Neil Simon – Bronx, NY; US Army Air Corps, (renown playwriter)
Arthur Weiss – St. Louis, MO; US Army Air Corps, WWII
Lowell “Whip” Wilson – Lynchburg, SC; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, 306th Bomber Group, Silver Star
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Mickey
Get an aerial view from an aircraft called MICKEY.
Delivered to the AAF on July 8, 1944, this “H” model went into service with the 389th Squadron in March 1945. The pilot was Maj. James M. Wylie, the 389th Squadron C.O., and he named the aircraft MICKEY, after his wife’s nickname. When S/Sgt. Orian E. Hackler, the crew chief, asked about a tail identifier, Wylie replied that it would be nice to have “X,” for “X marks the spot.”
Wylie claimed this aircraft was a “pilot’s dream,”, and he flew most of his missions in it. On one, he almost lost control of it over Nichols Field on February 6, 1945. An unexploded 20mm shell tore through one wing and the plane swooped towards the ground before Wylie regained control and returned his damaged mount to Mangaldan. Afterwards, the aircraft received only occasional small arms hits. The profile painting shows MICKEY at Mangaldan during April 1945, with 67…
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The End of the Okinawa Fighting
Okinawa
Hari-kari to end Okinawa
‘The Fall of Japan” by William Craig, excerpt submitted by Rosalinda Morgan who can be found at https://subliblog.wordpress.com/
On the evening of the twenty-first of June, Generals Ushijima and Cho sat down to a sumptuous meal in their home under Hill 89. Overhead the Americans walked on top of the escarpment, where Japanese soldiers continued to resist them by fighting for every rock and tree.
The generals ate quietly. As their aids offered toasts, the two leaders drank to each other with dregs of whiskey preserved for this moment. A full moon shone on the white coral ledges of Hill 89 as a final tribute rang through the cave: “Long live the Emperor.”
At 4:00 A.M. on the morning of the twenty-second, Ushijima, cooling himself with a bamboo fan, walked with Cho between lines of crying subordinates to the mouth of the cave. There Cho turned to his superior and said, “I will lead the way.” The two generals emerged into the moonlight. They were followed by several staff officers.
Outside the entrance a quilt had been laid on top of a mattress. Loud firing sounded on all sides as American infantrymen, no more than fifty feet away, sensed movement. Ushijima proceeded to sit down and pray. Cho did the same.
Ignoring the guns and grenades, Ushijima bowed low toward the ground. His adjutant handed him a knife. The general held it briefly in front of his body, then ripped it across his abdomen. Immediately his adjutant raised a jeweled sword and brought it down across his neck. Ushijima’s head toppled onto the quilt and blood spattered the onlookers. Within seconds, General Cho died the same way.
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Okinawa, The Flag is raised
By 30 June, even the mopping up was completed’
The battle of Okinawa had ended. Over 12,000 Americans and more than 100,000 Japanese were dead and there were 7,401 military prisoners. The American flag flew only 350 miles from Japan.
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Clearing the post of Naha, 19 June 1945
During the Okinawa campaign, a very strange “armed truce” occurred on a nearby island. The commander of the small Japanese garrison asked to have time to consult with Tokyo about continuing his pointless holdout. He later met several American emissaries on his beach and informed them that he was forbidden to surrender – but he would not fire on parties visiting the island for recreational purposes – on the condition that they did not molest his people. Quite an improvement on the “old Pacific War”.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – 
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Farewell Salutes –
Alan I. Armour – Chicago, IL; US Army, Korean War, Lt., battalion cmdr. 187th RCT “Rakkasans”
Raymond Bonang – Boothbay Harbor, ME; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 880th Airborne Engineers
John Broderick – Pittsbourgh, PA; US Army, 756th Field Artillery Battalion, MSgt.
William Fouty Sr. – Tukwila, WA; USMC, WWII, PTO
G.M. ‘Jim’ Greene – Conway, AR; US Army, WWII, PTO, 7th Cavalry
John McGinnis – NY; US Army, Vietnam, 173rd Airborne Brigade
Chalmers Murray – Ft. Lauderdale, FL; US Army, WWII
Percy Overman Jr. – Newport News, VA; Merchant Marine, aviator
Howard Wildrick – Highland, NY; USMC
Thomas ‘Vic’ Varnedoe – Nashville, TN; US Army, Sgt., 2nd Infantry Division
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Okinawa – June 1945
Last picture ever taken of Lt.Gen. Buckner, the day before he died
By 10 June, the Marines had captured Yuza Hill. The 10th US Army suffered severe casualties before they and the USMC advanced to Kunishi Ridge, the western anchor of the Japanese defense; a massive fortress.
Gen. Buckner had been sending messages to Gen. Ushijima, urging him to surrender. So, when over a dozen Japanese wearing white hats appeared, the Marines assumed they were surrendering and they ceased operations. Shortly after the enemy soldiers ran, a mortar barrage began.
By morning, the Americans had a foothold on the ridge, but reinforcements were cut down when they tried to advance. Nine tanks were used to deliver 54 fresh men and supplies, but returned with 22 wounded. As the battle for Kunishi raged on, the tanks opened a road to continue supplying the Americans.
Okinawa
By 16 June, the US 96th Div. opened a road for the tanks to continue delivering supplies, as air drops were falling into enemy hands. Only one day later, Kunishi Ridge was considered a “mopping up” operation.
The Marines were sent to Mezado and Kuwango ridges where the enemy fire though intense, was short-lived. Meanwhile, the Army moved down the Pacific side of the island encountering the enemy at Yaeju Dake-Yuza Dake Escarpment. Naval gunfire and artillery smothered the enemy as the 10th Army proceeded hill by hill toward the tip of Okinawa, up Hill 89, Ushijima’s headquarters near Mabuni.
18th June – the 8th Marines moved into the line contribute their fresh, full strength to the slow drive. Army Gen. Buckner decided to leave the outpost he was at and found himself on a hill which afforded him a view of what was actually going on up at the front. He paused to watch for a few moments.
Oroku Peninsula where Japanese base force made their last stand
By this time, the Japanese artillery had been reduced to next to nothing, no shells had fallen in that area all morning. However, by some devious quirk of fate, a lone gun somewhere in the shrinking ranks of the enemy let go a few rounds. The first one felled the general, but no one else near him was injured. He died before they could evacuate him.
Gen. Geiger took over the command and followed what his late chief would have done. This was the first instance of a Marine officer commanding an Army unit of that size, though in WWI, MGen. Lejeune had commanded the Army’s Second Division in several operations.
Ambulance jeep, Okinawa
Although Allied land forces were entirely composed of U.S. units, the British Pacific Fleet (BPF; known to the U.S. Navy as Task Force 57) provided about a quarter of Allied naval air power (450 planes). It comprised many ships, including 50 warships of which 17 were aircraft carriers, but while the British armored flight decks meant that fewer planes could be carried in a single aircraft carrier, they were more resistant to kamikaze strikes. Although all the aircraft carriers were provided by the UK, the carrier group was a combined Commonwealth fleet with British, Canadian Australian and New Zealand ships and personnel. Their mission was to neutralize Japanese airfields in the Sakishima Islands and provide air cover against Japanese kamikaze attacks.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Current News –
Information on the upcoming events of the Bataan Legacy Historical Society….
http://bataanlegacy.org/future-events.html
Information contributed by Nasuko
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Military Humor – 
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Farewell Salutes –
Robert J. Andrews – Colorado Springs, CO; US Air Force, Korea & Vietnam, Lt.Colonel (Ret. 31 y.)
Rosetta Brobst – Laceyville, PA; WWII, US Army, nurse
Athol Currin – Wanganui, NZ; RSA # 816777, J Force 22nd Batt/42 Squadron
Robert Dole – Pearl City, IL; US Army, WWII, ETO, 665th Ordnance Co.
Dennis Garbis – Falls Church, VA; Vietnam, Lt.Colonel (Ret. 20 y.), Bronze Star
John McCain – Alexandria, VA; US Navy, Vietnam, pilot, USS Forrestal, POW / US Senator
Miriam Olsen – Eugene, OR; US Army, WWII, nurse
Ronald Setniker – Biwabik, MN; US Army, Vietnam, 101st Airborne Division
James Tisdale – Goshen, AR; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne Division, Bronze Star
John Waite – Clarkston, WA; US Navy, WWII, PTO
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