Blog Archives
Handling additional Pacific Surrenders
Okinawa surrender
In the Ryukyus Islands, things were far more simple than on the Missouri. The senior officer in the Sakishima Gunto, Lt. General Gon Nomi, Toshiro, whose headquarters was on Miyako Shima, had been given authority to conclude a peace treaty for all Army and Navy forces in the Sakishima Gunto, Daito Islands and the islands in the Okinawa Gunto not already under American control. The official papers were signed on 7 September 1945, with General Stillwell presiding.
Gen. Hata at the Soviet surrender table.
General Shunroku Hata and his Army had taken only three weeks in April-May of 1944 to rout 300,000 Chinese soldiers in Honan to secure the Peking-Hankow railroad. He then moved south and then west to meet up with the Japanese forces in French Indochina. The 14th Air Force and the Chinese Air Force could not stop the offensive and by the end of May, General Marshall and the Joint Chiefs of Staff basically wrote off the Chinese Theater. Yet in the end, Gen. Hata signs the surrender.
Lord Louis Mountbatten with MacArthur
12 September, Lord Mountbatten accepted the surrender of all enemy forces in Southeast Asia in Singapore. Once again, the Union Jack was flying over Government House. But, due to Britain’s overstretched resources, Japanese soldiers were used to maintain law and order in the region. Europe’s colonialism was severely damaged and in 1947, Britain granted independence to India and Pakistan.
17 August, American parachutists landed near Nanking on the Wse-hsien interment camp. The Japanese were forced to protect the troopers from the unrest (actually chaos) erupting in the area between Communist and Nationalist armies. On 9 September, General Ho Chin accepted the Japanese surrender of China (except Manchuria, Formosa [now Taiwan] and Indochina north of the 16th parallel in the name of Chiang Kai. Mao’s forces stayed away even though Allied officials were present. By not being at Central Military Academy in Whampoa, he was in violation of the Potsdam accords and went on to accept his own regional surrenders.
Lt. Gen. Masao Baba at Borneo surrender
The British had been slow in retaking Hong Kong and revolts broke out. The POWs were not receiving food and the Chinese population caused riots in the streets. The British civil servants eventually took over while the Japanese kept the order. 16 September, the official surrender took place, but not until November were all Japanese troops in the New Territories relieved, disarmed and repatriated.
After a meeting in Rangoon, Mountbatten arranged for the Allied forces to enter Siam and Indochina. Thirteen days later, he flew his 7th Indian Division to Bangkok to move onward to Saigon. They were to assist the French in securing the southern half of Vietnam again as a French colony. The Americans felt that the French had already bled the country dry over the past century and so here – the start of the Vietnam War that would last until 1974.
Thailand had survived by playing both sides while attempting to appear neutral. Japanese General Hamada, responsible for heinous POW atrocities, committed seppuku.
Indonesia was grateful to the Japanese for throwing out the Dutch and declared their independence. Although British and Dutch troops made attempts to return them to colonization, they resisted. The Americans moved in with orders to disarm the Japanese and then leave. It would take four years of fighting before the Hague would recognize Indonesia as a sovereign country.
THE JAPANESE SURRENDER IN BURMA, 1945 (SE 4821) Brigadier E F E Armstrong of British 12th Army staff signs the surrender document at Rangoon on behalf of the Allies. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205208318
Burma disliked the Japanese, but they had given them a taste of independence from the British. They took no part in the surrender proceedings. After the Japanese were shipped home and fighting resumed with the British, the independent nation nation was established 4 January 1948.
India had acquired their own army under the Japanese Co-Prosperity Sphere, but not independence. After the war, the British tried in vain to hold the country, but hostility forced them to grant India their freedom in 1947. The transition was overseen by Governor General Mountbatten.
Korea – September 1945 – being relieved of all weapons
In Korea, the Japanese were ordered to sweep Inchon harbor of mines before the American fleet arrived. The Japanese, here again, were needed to maintain order until Koreans could be trained to contain the mobs. Korea had actually been ignored as far as surrender and removal of the Japanese. The U.S. had gone there to disarm the enemy. The end result of the incompetent handling of Korea during and after WWII attributed to the Korean War.
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Military Humor –
Best Before end of the world
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Farewell Salutes –
Robert M. Abbott – Arvada, CO; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, HQ Co/11th Airborne Division,
‘Japan Surrender’ by: Howard Brodie
Patrick Blanchard Jr. – Minot, ND; US Army, Operation Iraq & Afghanistan, B Co/2/506/101st Airborne Division
Armada “Joe” Cafazzo – Hartford, CT; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne Division
Louis J. Demotsis – Talladega, AL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, B-17 belly gunner
George “Bob” Gamble – Liberty Lake, WA; US Navy, end of WWII, PTO, bringing troops home
Richard E. Johanson Sr. – Orofino, ID; US Navy, WWII, LST USS Oceanus
Gladys Le Breton (102) – St. Louis Plantation, LA; Civilian, WWII, submarine watch, Gulf of Mexico
Bill Moffett – Shawnee, KS; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO
Edward Puzio – Binghamton, NY US Army Air Corps, WWII, B-17 pilot
Vernon Sommerer – Jefferson City, MO; US Army, Japanese War Trials, MP
May-Blossom Wilkinson (101) – Wahiawa, HI; Women’s Army Volunteer Corps, Army Transport
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Book Review | “IN THE MOUTH OF THE LION” by J. Guenther
J. Guenther
I was privileged to receive this novel brilliantly authored by J. Guenther. This book transports you back to the days many of your relatives lived through – to the European Theater of WWII – the war that changed the world.
You will find easy reading and rest assured, no previous military or secret service experience or knowledge is required. This work has been tirelessly researched by the author and it shows. You’ll find characters you recognize, and should you not be familiar with their history, there are short bios in the rear of the story.
Allen Dulles: being in charge of the OSS, (predecessor of the CIA), at the Bern, Switzerland office.
Mary Bancroft: employee of the OSS and girlfriend to Dulles, after reading one of the agency’s handbooks, felt qualified to set off into the excitement and danger of being a spy. In my opinion, she was perhaps an exaggerated example of how that generation went above and beyond for the sake of trying to correct what was horribly wrong with the world.
Dr. Carl Jung
Just imagine driving eminent psychologist, Carl Jung, into Germany to meet with and psychoanalyze Adolph Hitler himself!!
Just when you feel the suspense is over, more questions arise to intrigue you – you stay riveted, turning page after page, as even more familiar names come on the scene in this well-paced adventure.
I’ll say no more of the story for fear of divulging too much – and it’s up to you, but I couldn’t help but have an Ah-Hah moment at the very end.
I should add, that at the very end of the book is also a psychological explanation of Hitler’s “voice”, of which I found very interesting.
I recommend this book to all.
“IN THE MOUTH OF THE LION”, by: J. Guenther
To reach J. Guenther or simply purchase a copy of “IN THE MOUTH OF THE LION”, or any of his other books _____HERE @ WordPress or @ Amazon HERE
OR: Here at Goodreads
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Current News –
The Navy has announced the names of the cruisers that it wants to decommission as part of the latest budget proposal, as well as confirming that all the Freedom-class littoral combat ships — including one that is less than two years old — are headed for scrap.
USS Bunker Hill (CS-52)
A Navy spokesman confirmed that the five cruisers slated for the cut are: USS Bunker Hill (CG-52), USS Mobile Bay (CG-53), USS San Jacinto (CG-56), USS Lake Champlain (CG-57) and USS Vicksburg (CG-69).
The Navy also confirmed that all of its Freedom-class littoral combat ships — the USS Fort Worth (LCS-3), USS Milwaukee (LCS-5), USS Detroit (LCS-7), USS Little Rock (LCS-9), USS Sioux City (LCS-11), USS Wichita (LCS-13), USS Billings (LCS-15), USS Indianapolis (LCS 17) and USS St. Louis (LCS-19).
11 of the ships slated for decommissioning are less than 10 years old and singled out the USS St. Louis as being less than two years old and two of the 24 ships as “currently in modernization.”
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Emile Alito Jr. – New Orleans, LA; US Navy, WWII, USS Mt. McKinley, radioman
Rockwood T. Benjamin – New Haven, CT; US Coast Guard, WWII / US Army, Korea, Sgt.
OUR FLAG
Courtesy of: Dan Antion
La Vern Buist – Mendon, UT; US Army, WWII, PTO, 1879th Aviation Engineer Battalion
Michael W. Caldwell – Quincey, IL; US Army, Vietnam, 82nd Airborne Division, Silver Star
Aubrey Churhman – KS; US Army Air Corps, WWII, C-46 & 47 pilot
Joseph F. Coda (103) – Lodi, NJ; US Army, WWII, Bronze Star
Norman C. Glenn – Garden City, SC; USMC, WWII
George Kittel – Brooklyn, NY; US Army, WWII, ETO
Verl E. Luzena (100) – Bradford, OH; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, Signal Corps, cameraman
Nehemiah Persoff – brn: ISR; US Army, WWII, Special Services (Entertainment unit) / Beloved actor
Elvin L. Phillips – Salt Lake City, UT; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, Sgt. # 19011888, B-24 gunner, 66th BS/44h BG/8th Air Force, KIA (Bucharest, ROM)
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January 1945 cont’d
11th Airborne, Leyte
As the fighting for the 11th Airborne Division, on Leyte, came to a close, the battalions worked their way back to Bito Beach. The 674th and 675th Glider Field Artillery and the 457th Parachute Field Artillery remained in strategic positions to cover them.
The Luzon Attack Force, commanded by VAdmiral Kinkaid, under MacArthur, was composed of 7th Fleet units and numbered more than 850 ships. This was divided into the Lingayen Attack Force (Vice Admiral Wilkinson commanding), the San Fabian Attack Force (Vice Admiral Barbey), a reinforcement group (R Admiral Conolly commanding), a fire support and bombardment group ( VAdmiral Oldendorf ) and surface and air covering groups (Rear Admiral Berkey and Rear Admiral C.T. Durgin, respectively, commanding). The Luzon Attack Force was to transport, put ashore and support elements of the 6th U.S. Army (Lieutenant General Walter Krueger) to assist in the seizure and development of the Lingayen area.
2→3 January – A military report showed that 111 enemy aircraft were destroyed on and above Formosa and the Ryukyu Islands. B-24’s hit Haha Jima and Iwo Jima over a seven hour period and areas of Luzon and the Netherland East Indies (NEI) continued to be hit.
In preparation for the upcoming invasions of Iwo Jima, Okinawa and eventually Japan, Gen. MacArthur was placed in command of US ground forces and Adm. Nimitz over all naval forces.
3→4 January – the 3rd Fleet, operating under Admiral Halsey, with its fast carrier task force commanded by VAdmiral McCain, was to cover and protect the operation by air strikes over Luzon. There was little airborne opposition, but unfavorable weather conditions somewhat reduced the toll of enemy ships, planes and facilities destroyed.
Yamashita’s division of Luzon
Early in January, Japan’s General Yamashita pulled his Fourteenth Army (260,000 men) back off of Luzon’s beach to conserve them. He was aware of the forthcoming invasions of American troops.
Yamashita divided his men into three defensive groups; the largest, the Shobu Group, under his personal command numbered 152,000 troops, defended northern Luzon. The smallest group, totaling 30,000 troops, known as the Kembu Group, under the command of Tsukada, defended Bataan and the western shores. The last group, the Shimbu Group, totaling 80,000 men under the command of Yokoyama, defended Manila and southern Luzon.
Yamashita tried to rebuild his army but was forced to retreat from Manila to the Sierra Madre Mts. of northern Luzon, as well as the Cordillera Central Mts. Yamashita ordered all troops, except those tasked with security, out of the city.
Almost immediately, IJN RAdm. Sanji Iwabuchi re-occupied Manila with 16,000 sailors, with the intent of destroying all port facilities and naval storehouses. Once there, Iwabuchi took command of the 3,750 Army security troops, and against Yamashita’s specific order, turned the city into a battlefield.
Major Thomas McGuire
7 January – US pilot and ace, Major Thomas McGuire (38 victories) was killed in a low-level combat with a group of Japanese Zero fighters, led by Shiochi Sugita, the 3rd highest scoring ace of the IJN Air Force, over Negros Island.
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Military Humor –
If it’s stupid, but it works > it ain’t stupid.
If at first you don’t succeed > call in an airstrike.
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE.
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Farewell Salutes –
James J. Bednarcik – Cleveland, OH; US Navy, WWII, PTO, SeaBee
Lawrence Brooks (112) – Norwood, LA; US Army, Australia, Pfc., 91st Engineering Battalion
Final Mission
Vincent D’Andrea – Sloatsburg, NY; US Navy, WWII, USS Broome
John Farnsworth (101) – Salem, MA; Civilian Conservation Corps / US Army, WWII
David Gilbert (105) – South Bend, IN; US Navy, WWII
Richard “Dick” Lutes – Wiscasset, ME; US Navy, Vietnam, Chief Aviation Structural Mechanic, Black Beret, River PT Sailor
Timothy D. Minatrea – Quitman, TX; US Navy, Desert Storm, Aviation Electricians Mate 1st Class
David V. Nguyen – Oakland, CA; CA National Guard, 870th MP Co.
Charles A. Peachtree Jr. – Lexington, KY; US Army, WWII, infantry
Juanita Quintero (100) – Pinole, CA; Civilian, welder, Richmond Shipyards
Edwin Schmidt – Alton, IL; US Army, WWII, PTO, cartographer
Billy Turner – Ardmore, OK; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Seaman 1st Class, USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor, HI)
Wesley Woods – Hornlake, MS; US Army, MSgt., 1st Stryker Brigade/25th Infantry Division
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Leyte, eye-witness account from Gen. Robert Eichelberger
Gen. Douglas MacArthur, left, Lt. Gen. Robert L. Eichelberger, right.
“Eighth Army took over Leyte on Christmas Day. There were 8 divisions fighting there when I assumed command. When the 32nd Div. and 1st Cavalry broke through on a narrow front, GHQ described the Leyte campaign as officially closed and future operations as “mopping-up.”
“Actually, the Japanese Army was still intact. I was told there were only 6,000 Japanese left on the island. This estimate was in serious error. Soon, Japanese began streaming across the Ormoc Valley, well equipped and apparently well-fed. It took several months of the roughest kind of combat to defeat this army. Between Christmas Day and the end of the campaign, we killed more than 27,000 Japanese.
Leyte painting, “FOLLOW ME!” by Col Aubrey Newman
“Many others, evacuated safely by bancas (small boats), and reappeared to fight the 8th Army on other islands. I called these singularly alive veteran troops the Ghosts of Leyte.
“I am a great admirer of Gen. MacArthur as a military strategist… But I must admit that after 6 years serving under him, I never understood the public relations policy that either he or his assistants established. It seems to me ill advised to announce victories when a first phase had been accomplished…
“Too often, as at Buna, Sanananda, as on Leyte, Mindanao and Luzon, the struggle was to go on for a long time. Often these announcements produce bitterness among combat troops, and with good cause. The phrase “mopping-up” had no particular appeal for a haggard, muddy sergeant of the Americal Division whose platoon had just been wiped out in western Leyte… Or to the historian of the 11th Airborne, who wrote:
‘Through mud and rain, over treacherous rain-swollen gorges, through jungle growth, over slippery, narrow, root-tangled, steep foot trails, the Angels pushed wet to clear the Leyte mountain range… It was bitter, exhausting, rugged fighting – physically the most terrible we were ever to know.’
11th Airborne field artillery on Leyte
The combat infantryman deserved the best and usually fared the poorest in the matter of sugar plums, luxuries and mail from home. The home folks in America were vastly generous, but transport to the front could not always carry out their good intentions. Ammunition and rations came first. This – the G.I. could understand… But, it was disconcerting to find out he had only been “mopping -up”.
“If there is another war, I recommend that the military and the correspondents and everyone else concerned, drop the phrase “mopping-up” from their vocabularies. It is NOT a good enough phrase to die for.”
This post is from “Our Jungle Road to Tokyo” by General Robert Eichelberger.
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE.
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Military Humor – 
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Farewell Salutes –
Clifford H. Bailey – Acoma, NM; (Acoma Indian Reservation); US Army Air Corps, Japanese Occupation, 11th Airborne Division
Benjamin R. Bazzell – Seymour, CT; US Army, Korea, Cpl; HQ/57FA/7th Infantry Division, KIA (Chosin Reservoir, NK)
Chester Benoit – Putnam, CT; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 503/11th Airborne Division
James E. Cruise – Toronto, CAN; RC Air Force, WWII, Navigator/ Flight Officer
Charles W. Harpe Jr. – Ashland, KY; USMC, WWII, Korea & Vietnam, Captain (Ret. 33 y.)
Anthony F. Mendonca – Waipahu, HI; US Army, WWII, PTO, Co A/106/27th Infantry Division, KIA (Saipan)
Lawrence Overley – Los Angeles, CA; US Navy, WWII, Fire Controlman 2nd Class #3820643, USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor, HI)
Robert Leslie Putnam – Mason, OH; US Army Air Corps, Japanese Occupation / Korea, 188 &187th/11th Airborne Division // Deputy Sheriff, Police Chief
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/224877961/robert-leslie-putnam
James N. Stryker – W.Nanticoke, PA; US Army, Korea, Sgt., Co. L/3/23/2nd Infantry Division, KIA (Han’gye, SK)
Morris E. Swackhammer – Binghamton, NY; US Army, WWII, ETO, Pfc., Co. C/1/143/36th Infantry Division, KIA (Fraize, FRA)
Flora Wilhelm – Evansville, IN; Civilian, WWII, aircraft riveter
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USMC Birthday | Veterans Day
US Marine Corps Birthday
10 November 2021 – The United States Marine Corps’ 246th Birthday
Prior to 1921, Marines celebrated the recreation of the Corps on 11 July with little pomp or pageantry. On 21 October 1921, Major Edwin North McClellan, in charge of the Corps’s fledgling historical section, sent a memorandum to Commandant John A. Lejeune, suggesting the Marines’ original birthday of 10 November be declared a Marine Corps holiday to be celebrated throughout the Corps. Lejeune so ordered in Marine Corps Order 47:
Sketch of the original Tun Tavern
11 November 2021 – U.S. Veterans Day
On November 11th, we pause to reflect on the history of this great Nation and honor all those who fought to defend it. Originally titled “Armistice Day” and intended to celebrate the end of World War I, “the war to end all wars,” Veterans Day allows us to give thanks to veterans past and present, men and women from all walks of life and all ethnicities, who stood up and said, “Send me.” We recognize your sacrifices, your sense of duty and your love for this country.
Poppy from MaryLou
Remembrance Day around the world!
Remembrance Day (sometimes known informally as Poppy Day) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth of Nations member states since the end of WWI, to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. Following a tradition inaugurated by King George V, in 1919, the day is also marked by war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries. Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November in most countries to recall the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918. Hostilities formally ended “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month”, in accordance with the armistice signed by representatives of Germany and the Entente.
Click on still pictures to enlarge.
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Military Humor – 
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Farewell Salutes –
George Ankomeus – Ft. Atkinson, WI; US Army, Korea, Co. A/187th RCT
Santina Breen – Elizabeth, NJ; US Navy WAVES, WWII
Eric David – brn: Koln, GER; US Navy, WWII, electrician’s mate
Edward Fay Jr. – Bradenton, FL; US Army, 11th Airborne Division
Robert J. Herynk – Hanover, KS; US Army, WWII, PTO, Pvt., Co K/3/126/32nd Infantry Division, KIA (Soputa-Sanananda Track, NG)
Allan F. Hicks – MO; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, SSgt. # 19145765, 319th Bomber Group/440th B Squadron, KIA (Italy)
Harold W. Lindsey – San Antonio, TX; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Seaman 2nd Class, USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor)
Stephen C. Mason – Jersey City, NJ; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, Pvt. # 12165894, HQ Co/505/82nd Airborne Division, Bronze Star, Silver Star, KIA (Beek, NETH)
James McDonald – Leveland, TX; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Fireman 1st Class, USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor)
Walter C. Stein – Cheyenne, WY; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Seaman 1st Class, USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor)
Michaux Turbeville – Dillon, NC; US Army, Korea, Pfc., HQ Co/3/31/7th Infantry Division, KIA (Chosin Reservoir)
Leon S. Wheeler – Conklin, NY; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Co. E/188/11th Airborne Division
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Why is the only person standing, the one in the wheelchair?
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Playing cards made history
Playing cards to pass the time
War can be hell… and war can be absolute boredom. There are few better ways to pass the time than by playing cards. They’re easy to carry: small and lightweight, they fit into a rucksack, duffel bag or Alice pack without having to sacrifice any piece of essential gear.
Plus – they’re cheap!
Wartime decks have been used to help soldiers in the field learn about their enemies and allies, to identify aircraft and even teach American history. In the 2003 invasion of Iraq, American forces used playing cards to identify the most wanted members of Saddam Hussein’s regime.
The U.S. Army and the United States Playing Card Company cooperation goes way back. But it was their brand Bicycle that took it to a whole new level.
During WWII, Allied Intelligence officers contacted the card company to produce the most clandestine deck of cards in history. According to the Geneva Convention, Allied POWs were guaranteed the right to receive mail and packages from the Red Cross. The Allies saw this opportunity to smuggle useful objects to the prisoners.
map cards
This led to a top secret mission producing a deck of cards that included a hidden map, showing escape routes, directions and valuable tips and information which could help an escapee reach friendly lines or cross a border into a neutral country.
The map was concealed between 2 layers that formed the playing card. Once it was submerged in water, the POW could peel off the layers and find part of the map on each card. The cards were distributed at Christmas via the Red Cross Christmas parcels. Being as cards were always included in their packages, these special decks went unnoticed by the camp guards.
The now famous but once top-secret map deck helped 32 people escape from Colditz Castle. Very little is known about the clandestine decks, even today, for it was kept a secret after the war – as their use was a violation of the Geneva Convention.
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Did you know… ?
- The 4 suits in a decks represent the 4 season
- the 13 cards to each suit represent the phases of the lunar cycle
- 52 cards to a deck is for the 52 weeks in a year and
- There are 365 symbols in a deck for the days of the year
These items were condensed from those found in “The Voice of the Angels” newspaper of the 11th Airborne Division Association.
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13 October – U.S. Navy Birthday 246 Years
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Marvin D. Actkinson – Palo Pinto County, TX; US Army # 18347542, Korea, Cpl., Co B/1/32/7th Infantry Division, KIA (Chosin Reservoir, NK)
Victor E. Barrett – Westminster, SC; US Merchant Marines
Withold “John” Brazinskas – brn: Flatow, GER; US Merchant Marines, Vietnam
Charles H. “Chubby” Damsel Jr. – Columbus, OH; US Army, counter-intelligence
Donald E. Farry – Lake Worth, FL; US Army
Jeffrey B. Faivus – Huntington, NY; US Army, Captain
Harvey C. Fruehauf Jr. – Grosse Pointe, MI; US Navy
Wayne F. Galloway – New Castle, IN; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Medical/11th Airborne Division
Denis H. Hiskett – Nebraska City, NE; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Fireman 1st Class, USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor, HI)
Lyman R. Sisney – Benton, IL; US Army, Korea, Co A/187th Regiment Airborne
Jack K. Wood – Wichita Falls, TX; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, 1st Lt., 344/98/9th Air Force, navigator, KIA (Ploiesti, ROM)
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Camp Stoneman part 1
POE/POD Camp Stoneman
Pvt. Smith was as cocky and proud as the next trooper, but he also thought of the Army as a learning experience and considered his new adventure as a chance to experience things he would not otherwise have the opportunity and on April 23, 1944, he stepped off a train near Camp Stoneman, California. It was here the troopers would learn how to live aboard ship, operate life boats, raft kits and climb up and down rope ladders. Censorship of the soldier’s letters began here.
Camp Stoneman
The Inspector General’s men discovered the ruse of the 11th A/B Division hiding behind the paperwork of Shipment #1855 and the troopers began to accumulate AW104’s in record amounts. (Under the Article of War #104 – a commanding officer may give punishment, as is necessary, without the threat of court-martial.) May 2, the 11th A/B moved to Pittsburg, CA by way of inland boats to their actual POE/POD (Point of Entry/Point of Departure), and the letters from Smitty began …
Letter I Tuesday 5/2/44
Dear Mom,
I sure am a fine one after calling you Sunday especially to wish you a Happy Birthday and I go and forget to, but I assure you it wasn’t intentional, but just excitement of the conversation. I tried yesterday to buy a card, but to no avail. No doubt by the time you receive this letter you will be wondering why I didn’t call you this week as I promised I would. It just so happened that we were confined to our company area starting yesterday morning, so it was an impossibility to get to either a telephone or telegraph office. From now on all my letters to you will be numbered as this one is in the upper left hand corner. In that way, you can read my letters in sequence and can tell whether or not you are receiving all my letters. I would also advise sending all letters to me from now on by airmail as that will be the quickest way. We heard that not all the mail so far from here has yet been sent out, but when it does go out, why you will no doubt get them all at once. Tell everyone at home to be patient and they will no doubt hear from me as I sit down Saturday and either write a letter or card to everyone I know. You had better check up on them all and see that they have my correct address, as the army will notify only you of any new changes. I sure don’t want to lose out on my letters of anyone just because they have an incorrect address. Yesterday we didn’t do much of anything, but Sunday was really quite an entertaining day. We went bowling, then to a free USO show and from there to a movie. The entertainment is so full and alive that sometimes it still persists in your dreams. Therefore, you can really say they even take care of you while you are slumbering. Well mom, that is all for now, so once more I want to wish you a “Happy Birthday” and the best of everything. Don’t worry and keep your chin up.
Love, Everett
PS – Be on the lookout for a new Class E allotment I made out and also a B allotment. Your allotments now will come to 22 dollars cash and a $18.75 war bond a month. I’m getting pretty good, aren’t I?
Camp Stoneman souvenir
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Current News – Everyone helps out when it comes to finding the MIA.
Austrian Raimund Riedmann, pilot with the Flying Bulls, flies a restored P-38 Lightning
Austrian, Raimund Riedmann, a pilot with the Flying Bulls, flies a restored P-38 Lightning during a fly over event for a recovery team attached to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), Austria, April 25, 2021. DPAA personnel arrived to conduct excavation operations in an effort to find a U.S. service member lost from a P-38 lightning that crashed during World War II. DPAA’s Mission is to achieve the fullest possible accounting for missing and unaccounted-for US personnel to their families and our nation. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Melanye Martinez)
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Military Humor – 
‘Lord, what have they done to him? He made his own bed!’
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Farewell Salutes –
Robert R. Arrowsmith – Livermore, CA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Pfc., rifleman, Co E/511 PIR/11th Airborne Division
Carmen DePaulo III – Jacksonville, FL; US Army, Africa, Green Beret, Medical Sgt., 3rd Special Forces
John Foye Jr. – Lowell, MA; US Navy, Japanese Occupation
William Halliday – Scarborough, CAN; Queen’s Own Rifles, WWII, ETO
Sherman Hoffenberg – Delray Beach, FL; US Army, WWII, ETO, Military Police
Clifford S. Johnson – Valatie, NY; US Army, Korea, Cpl., HQ Co./57 FA/7th Infantry Division, KIA (Chosin Reservoir)
Joseph Kuba (100) – Struthers, OH; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, Major (Ret.), 1264th Engineer Combat Battalion
Lindbergh Lopez – Niagara Falls, NY; USMC; WWII, Korea / US Army, Vietnam (Ret. 23 y.)
Ian N. Morosoff – Saquamish, WA; US Army, Pfc., Co. B/1/503/173rd Airborne Division
Robert Parker – Lansing, MI; US Army, WWII, PTO, pilot, 1st Lt.,35th FS/8th Fighter Group, KIA (New Guinea)
Lloyd Price – New Orleans, LA; US Army, Korea / singer
G. Clark Shaffer – Bloomsburg, PA; US Army Air Corps, Japanese Occupation, 5th Air Force
Bobby Unser – Albuquerque, NM; US Air Force, sharp shooter / auto racing champion
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1951 Japanese Surrender
1951 Japanese surrender
A group of stranded survivors of a Japanese vessel sunk by the American military found their way to the island of Anatahan, 75 nautical miles north of Saipan.
The island’s coast line is precipitous with landing beaches on the northern and western shore and a small sandy beach on the southwest shore. Its steep slopes are furrowed by deep gorges covered by high grass.
This brooding cone jutting from the sea floor is a large, extinct volcano with two peaks and a grass covered flat field, the final resting place for a B-29 Superfortress that crashed upon returning from a bombing mission over Nagoya, Japan on January 3, 1945 killing the aircraft’s crew.
Anatahan/Mariana Islands
By 1951 the Japanese holdouts on the island refused to believe that the war was over and resisted every attempt by the Navy to remove them.
This group was first discovered in February 1945, when several Chamorro from Saipan were sent to the island to recover the bodies of the Saipan based B-29, T square 42, from the 498th Bomb Group, 875th Squadron, 73rd Wing under the command of Richard Carlson Stickney, Jr.
The Chamorro reported that there were about thirty Japanese survivors from three Japanese ships sunk in June 1944, one of which was an Okinawa woman.
aerial view of Anatahan
Pamphlets had been dropped informing the holdouts that the war was over and that they should surrender, but these requests were ignored. They lived a sparse life, eating coconuts, taro, wild sugar cane, fish and lizards. They smoked crushed, dried papaya leaves wrapped in the leaves of bananas and made an intoxicating beverage known as “tuba”, (coconut wine).
They lived in palm frond huts with woven floor matting of pandanus. Their life improved after the crash of the aircraft. They used metal from the B-29 to fashion crude implements such as pots, knives and roofing for their hut. The oxygen tanks were used to store water, clothing was made from nylon parachutes, the cords used for fishing line.
Japanese soldiers surrender at Anatahan
The springs from machine guns were fashioned into fish hooks. Several in the group also had machine guns and pistols recovered from the aircraft. Personal aggravations developed as a result of being too long in close association within a small group on a small island and also because of tuba drinking. The presence of only one woman, Kazuko Higa, caused great difficulty as well. Six of eleven deaths that occurred among the holdouts were the result of violence.
One man displayed thirteen knife wounds. Ms. Higa would, from time to time, transfer her affections between at least four of the men after each mysteriously disappeared as a result of “being swallowed by the waves while fishing.”
American seamen, Anatahan
In July 1950, Ms. Higa went to the beach when an American vessel appeared off shore and asked to be removed from the island. She was taken to Saipan aboard the Miss Susie and, upon arrival, informed authorities that the men on the island did not believe the war was over.
Meanwhile, officials of the Japanese government became interested in the situation on Anatahan and asked the Navy for information “concerning the doomed and living Robinson Crusoes who were living a primitive life on an uninhabited island”, and offered to send a ship to rescue them.
The families of the Japanese holdouts on the island of Anatahan, were contacted in Japan and requested by the U. S. Navy to write letters advising them that the war was over and that they should surrender.
Japanese say goodbye to Anatahan
In January 1951, a message from the Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture was delivered. The letters were dropped by air on June 26 and finally convinced the holdouts that they should give themselves up.
Thus, six years after the end of World War II, “Operation Removal” got underway from Saipan under the Command of James B. Johnson, USNR, aboard the Navy Tug USS Cocopa. Lt. Commander James B. Johnson and Mr. Ken Akatani, an interpreter, went ashore by rubber boat and formally accepted the last surrender of World War II on the morning of June 30, 1951 which also coincided with the last day of the Naval Administration of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.
Click on images to enlarge.
From: AR Gunners.com By Pierre Kosmidis
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Military Humor – 
One of Murphy’s Laws
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Farewell Salutes –
Dorothy (Carter) Ahearn – Detroit, MI; Civilian, Red Cross, WWII, ETO
Hazel Boyas – North Royalton, OH; Civilian, WWII, drill press operator
Edward Cowen Sr. – Gadsden County, FL; US Army, WWII & Korea
Robert Lents – Bridgewater, IA; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Perch, POW, Chief torpedoman, 2 Bronze Stars, 2 Purple Hearts
Renee (Lupton) Rattet – New Beford, MA; US Army WAC, WWII
Gary Myers – Grand Lake, CO; US Army, Vietnam, 8/1st Air Cavalry Division, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
Charlie Pride – Sledge, MS; US Army / Country singer
Matthew A. Reluga (101) – Philadelphia, PA; US Army, WWII, ETO, rifleman/Intelligence, Silver Star, 5 Bronze Stars
Lyle Tefft – Lawrence, KS; US Navy, USS Bandera
Robert W. Young – Lewistown, MT; US Navy, WWII, PTO
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Current News – Missing In Action
Video from the U.S. Army, filmed 2 weeks ago.
Right now, there are about 82,000 total people still missing from every major conflict since World War II. Of those, 81 are from Nevada. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is a government agency that is actively searching for all of those people.
The DPAA is working to get DNA swabs of family members related to those missing so that if and when they’re found, they can be identified. They then work to actually locate the remains of the people missing.
Last year, 217 people were found and identified. About 75% of those are former unknown soldiers. The DPAA researches what is known about the unknown soldiers, then if they are confident they can identify them positively, they’re able to do DNA testing on the remains.
The other way MIA are identified is through a search. The DPAA researches anything from where the person was last seen to where planes went down to where major battles were fought. They conduct interviews with any witnesses then determine the best area to search. Then, they bring in teams of dozens of people and dig for about a month, hoping to find any human remains. Even if it’s just a tooth, that’s all it takes to ID a person and solve the mystery of what happened to them.
The DPAA held a meeting in Henderson to update local families on their loved ones’ cases. Attendees heard updates on new technology being used to search and their own personal cases. There were also chances for family members to give DNA swabs.
For the families of the POWs and/or MIAs – CONTACT
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Robert C. Agard Jr. – USA; US Army, Korea, Cpl., 2/24/24th Infantry Division, KIA (Taejon, SK
Jacob Cruz – Los Angeles, CA; USMC, WWII, Pvt., Co. D/1/6/2nd Marine
HONOR
Division, KIA (Tarawa)
Elmer E. Drefahl – USA; USMC, WWII, Cpl., USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor)
Henry E. Ellis – USA; USMC, Korea, Pfc., HQ Co./1/1st Marine Division, KIA (Koto-Ri, NK)
Harry Gravelyn (101) – Grand Rapids, MI; US Army, WWII, Captain, Co. D/331/83rd Division
Jesse D. Hill – Highland Park, MI; US Army, Korea, Sgt., Co. C/1/32/7th Infantry Division, KIA (Chosin Reservoir)
Marilyn Mackson – Lansing, MI; US Army WAC, WWII, Signal Corps decoder
Aurekui Ortiz – San Diego, CA; US Army, Korea, HQ Co./2/187th RCT
Joseph Pincinotti – Charleroi, PA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Co. D/457 Artillery/11th Airborne Division
Jimmy Young – Johnson City, TN; US Army, 89th Artillery, 11th Airborne Division
[The MIA’s recovered from the Korean War, and gradually being identified to come home, have been made possible by the joint talks between President Trump and North Korea]
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Arctic Operation Haudegen Dr. Wilhelm Dege
The weather station where 11 German soldiers were trapped, forgotten by the fallen Nazis.
I thank Klausbernd for bringing this story to Pacific Paratrooper about the last German to surrender. Not wanting any part of war, Dr. Dege became part of Operation Haudegen….
Weather played an important role during the Second World War. It dictated the outcome of Naval battles and decided the routes of military convoys. Weather and visibility affected photographic reconnaissance and bombing raids. Much of D-day planning revolved around the weather, and the landing itself was delayed by 24 hours because of choppy seas. Weather information was so sensitive that it was transmitted encoded from weather stations.
By August 1941, the Allies had captured many weather stations operated by the Germans on Greenland and on Spitsbergen, in the Svalbard Archipelago in Norway. These stations were critical because the air over Svalbard told a lot about what was coming over the North Atlantic and continental Europe. Svalbard Archipelago lies in the Arctic Ocean about a thousand kilometres from the North Pole. When Norway came under German occupation in 1940, the Nazis took control of the oil fields and the weather stations there. The Germans made many attempts to set up weather stations on Spitsbergen, but all failed or fell to the Allies.
Geologist Wilhelm Dege, head of Operation Haudegen. Photo: From the archive of Wilhelm Dege
In September 1944, the Germans set up their last weather station, code named Operation Haudegen, on Nordaustlandet, one of the most remote and northerly of the main islands in Svalbard. A U-boat and a supply vessel deposited eleven men, along with equipment, arms, ammunitions and supplies on the island and hurriedly retreated back to Norway before they could be discovered by Allied warships. The men set up the weather station and erected two inconspicuous flat-roofed huts using wooden panels and camouflaged with white nets.
Operation Haudegen started in December 1944. Five times a day, the station transmitted encrypted weather forecasts to the German naval command at Tromsø. In addition, once a week, they sent a hydrogen-filled weather balloon to 8,000 meters to obtain data from the upper atmosphere. The remaining time was spent exploring the island and learning about science, geography, philosophy and mathematics from the leader of the expedition, Dr. Wilhelm Dege. The young men built a sauna and helped themselves to the ample food supplies, enjoying delicacies like reindeer meat which most Germans at that time could only dream of in their bomb cellars.
The approximate location of the weather station of Operation Haudegen. Political map of Svalbard by Peter Hermes Furian/Shutterstock.com
Siegfried Czapka, the 18-year-old radio operator, told the German magazine Der Spiegel in 2010: “It was an unforgettable experience; we had everything but beer.”
But of course, life in the Arctic was harsh. Temperatures went well below freezing, there were snow storms and daylight was scarce. Polar bears were another threat. The men had to carry rifles with them every time they went outside. The men had been given rigorous training to deal with the hardship. They learned to ski, rappel down cliffs, build igloos, cook and bake, pull teeth, attend to gunshot wounds, and even amputate frozen limbs.
On May 8, 1945, the men received a message from their commanders in Tromsø that Germany had surrendered and the war was over. They were ordered to dispose of explosives, destroy secret documents and send weather reports unencoded. Then there was complete radio silence. The men tried contacting base but there was no reply. They started transmitting their coordinates on the wave lengths the Allies used but no ship or aircraft appeared. The men had two years worth of ration, but the idea of getting stuck on ice for any amount of time held little appeal. The men worried about their families back in Germany, whether they were still alive or killed by air raids. In desperation, they started transmitting on Allied distress channels.
Towards the end of August, a reply was received. Norwegian authorities assured the stranded men that a ship would set sail for Spitsbergen in early September. Their joy was boundless when on the night of September 3rd and 4th, a vessel arrived in the fjord near the weather station. It was a seal-hunting ship that was chartered by the Norwegian navy in order to pick up the Germans.
The Norwegians came ashore and they all had a big celebratory meal together. Then the commanding officer of the Germans formally surrendered—four months after the war ended—by handing over his service pistol to the Norwegian captain.
“The Norwegian stared at it and asked ‘Can I keep this then?’, recalled Dr. Eckhard Dege, the son of Wilhelm Dege, the commanding officer. “My father explained that he could because they were surrendering.”
The men were taken to Tromsø where they became prisoners of war for three months. In December 1945, they returned to their homes, to a divided country. Some found themselves on East Germany, others on the West. The men of the unit tried to meet each other, but it became impossible due to the tensions between East and West Germany. It was only 60 years after the incident, that two of the survivors were reunited for a trip to the island.
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Military Humor – 
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Farewell Salutes –
Bernis Allardyce – Beaumont, TX; US Army, Lt.Colonel (Ret. 25 y.)
Willard Alverson – Grand Rapids, MI; US Army, Korea, Ranger, Colonel (Ret. 31 y.)
Harold ‘Ron’ Hawkins – Tempe, AZ; US Army, Vietnam, 6th Special Forces, Sgt.
Emil ‘Gene’ Jemail – Newport, RI; US Army, 11th Airborne Division / JAG office Austria
James A. McNeill – Brooklyn, NY; USMC, Afghanistan, SSgt., 3rd Marine Logistics Group, KIA (Okinawa, non-combat)
Mavis Poe – Topeka, KS; Civilian US Navy, WWII, driver
Pleasant Rourke Jr. – Charleston, SC; USMC, WWII, PTO, Purple Heart
Mark Sertich (99) – Duluth, MN; US Army, WWII, ETO / world’s oldest ice hockey player
James Weber Jr. – Louisville, KY; US Navy, WWII Corpsman
Catherine Young – Napier, NZ; WRNZ Navy # 234, WWII
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Pacific Paratrooper 