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1EyedJacks -> RE: Possible WITP news? (10/29/2007 7:13:10 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: m10bob
quote:
ORIGINAL: Don Bowen
A long time ago, as a fresh-faced and naive 3rd Class in Baltimore, I walked into a neighborhood bar and saw a sign that said:
Free Beer Tomorrow
Wonderful, I thought, and arranged my schedule to return the next day - when I marched in and asked for my free beer. The bartender, of course, told me to come back tomorrow - the sign still said: Free Beer Tomorrow.
Please forgive me for pulling the same trick on the forum!
Anyway, the complete definition of what is coming is on the next page....
Don
See Feinder..This is how you do it..
(Next page).[:D]
Shigetoshi Kudo Night Fighter Ace
Born in 1920 in Oita Prefecture, he joined the Navy in 1937, first serving as a mechanic, then a reconnaissance pilot before being assigned to the Tainan Kokutai in October 1941, seeing combat in the Philippines and Dutch East Indies.
August 29, 1942 - Piloting a C5M Babs, Shigetoshi Kudo attacked a formation of 8 x B-17s, climbing above them to 7,500m where he dropped an aerial burst bomb (Sango aerial burst bomb). He aimed for the B-17s on the left of the formation and claimed to have hit both the #2 plane, which caught on fire and went down while the #1 bomber went into the clouds. He was awarded a definite and a probable though U.S. records do not show any losses of B-17s on this date.
The Tainan Kokutai was renamed the 251st Kokutai in early 1943. In May of that year they received two J1N1 Gekko (Irving) nightfighters armed with upward and downward firing 20mm cannons. Flying from Lakunai Airfield near Rabaul, Kudo was the first to test the aircraft in combat, flying with Lt. (jg) Akira Sugawara as observer. He would become the first night fighter ace on either side of the Pacific War. Satoru Ono also flew from Rabaul.
In July, he was assigned to Ballale Island. Later in July he was presented with a ceremonial sword by Admiral Jinichi Kusaka (11th Air Fleet), for his air service. In total, he earned 9 credited victories and was known as 'King of the Night'.
June 26, 1943
Shot down two B-17s, firing from below using 164 rounds of 20mm ammunition.
July 7, 1943
Took off for an evening patrol from Ballale flying with Akira Sugawara as observer. Thie Gekko used its two downward pointing 20mm cannons (on other occasion he had used the guns that pointed upwards). This would have required Kudo to approach the Hudson unseen from above and behind and then firing when in position 30 degrees above the Hudson's fore-aft axis (allowing for deflection).
Claims in C5M Babs
1. B-17 by aerial burst bomb (August 29, 1942)
P. B-17 by aerial burst bomb (August 29, 1942)
Claims in J1N1 Gekko
P. B-24 (June 30, 1943) possibly 42-40254 307th BG, MACR 30
Confirmed Night Fighter Victories
1 . B-17E "Honi Kuu Okole" 41-9244 (May 21, 1943)
2 . B-17E 41-9011 (May 21, 1943)
3 . B-17E "Georgia Peach" 41-24454 (June 13, 1943)
4 . B-17E "Naughty But Nice" 41-2430 (June 26, 1943)
5. B-17F "Taxpayers Pride" 41-24448 (June 26, 1943)
6. B-17F "Pluto" 41-24543 (June 30, 1943)
7. RNZAF A-28 Hudson NZ2033 (July 7, 1943) observer Sugiwara
In February 1944, he was transferred back to Japan with the Yokosuka Kokutai, and severely wounded in a landing accident in May 1945. He died in 1960.
References
Moonlight Interceptor covers Kudo's victories.
Naval Night Fighters by Yoji Watanabe 28 - 45
Imperial Japanese Navy Aces 1937-45 by Henry Sakaida page 49 - 50
The Siege of Rabaul by Henry Sakaida page 38 - 41
70,000 to One by Quentin James Reynolds page 8
Thanks to Henry Sakaida, Edward Rogers for additional information
Lt. Tsuneo Hitsuji Shootout Between H6K5 Mavis and B-17
Background
In the Solomons, there were air to air combat between long range patrol planes which came across each other during their long overwater flights. In such encounters, US B-17 and B-24 were almost always superior to their Japanese opponents which were mostly slower, less heavily armed, and almost unarmored flying boats and floatplanes. When the Japanese started losing flying boats in a rapid succession, they at first did not realize the casualties were being caused by enemy patrol planes, because most of them were apparently shot down before they could radio an detailed message about their opponents.
Translated excerpt from: Saigo no Hikotei (The Last Flying Boat) Lt. Hitsuji was a pilot of an H6K2 Mavis Flying boat of the 851st Kokutai on November 21, 1942 when he encountered a B-17E Flying Fortress 41-2433 also on patrol.
November 21, 1942
"Enemy plane! Close! Starboard and to the rear!" the tail gunner reported. "All men on air to air battle station!" I yelled as I put the plane in a full speed dive to sea level.
It was 0700 November 21, 1942, 150 nautical miles south of Guadalcanal. We were in midst of a very bloody battle, losing flying boats almost every day to unidentified enemy activities. Our boats would have just enough time to radio a consecutive "hi" signal (consecutive signaling of the Japanese Morse code signal for the character "hi", the initial for "hikoki" or airplane) before the shoot-out followed by silence. Very few survived air combat. If a boat is able to make detailed reports about the enemy, that boat was sure to make it back.
Our commanding officer was in distress about the mounting losses, and just a few days ago, I had assured him that this will not go on for long. So far 16 of our boats were lost. I was not about to be number 17. It wasn't a patrol plane's duty to engage in air battles, but now I had no choice.
I figured that the fight must be decided quickly. The B-17 positioned itself above and to the starboard rear of our plane and followed us with ease. It must be radioing it's base about our position. One of them was bad enough. If there were two or even fighter planes we did not have a chance. I made a tight turn to the port and headed towards the enemy. The only chance we had was the relatively small turning radius of our slow plane compared to that of the fast B-17.
The enemy was obviously surprised at our sudden turn. As we passed each other, our tail cannon fire hit the B-17 and its port inside engine started smoking. The enemy fled, trailing a long streamer of black smoke. The enemy was surprisingly inpersistent. We continued our search mission, but I had a feeling that it wasn't over yet.
"Eat your breakfast now before they come back" I ordered and went to the commander's seat to open my lunchbox. Pretty soon the co-pilot silently pointed his finger forward and to the port. I took a hard look, and there he was. Another big-tailed B-17 heading straight toward us. The one we damaged must have called for help. We were all ready to fight, and I stood up from my seat. I sealed the tank chamber and pulled the fire extinguisher lever. This fills the tank chamber with CO2. All gunners manned their stations. I could see the front gunner grinning in his turret.
"Okay we're ready" someone said. At altitude 30 meters and speed 150 knots, we headed towards squally skied in the direction of our base. The enemy didn't start his attack immediately. It flew alongside us and passed us. I figured that he was avoiding our tail cannon. It would probably be making a frontal attack. The shoot-out was about to begin.
"Here it comes!" someone shouted, and at the same time, the enemy's front guns and all four of our starboard machine-guns started firing. As we passed each other, I could see the enemy's tail gun fire, but tracers were way behind us. No hits on either side. We didn't change our course and headed toward the squall.
The faster enemy caught up quickly and crisscrossed our path, attacking as it passed us.
We were at very low altitude, and the sea behind us whitened with machine-gun fire. As the shooting went on, this started moving closer and closer. I could not hear anything other than the roar of the machine-guns and the engine noise. I couldn't keep my eyes off the enemy for a moment. The enemy made its fourth pass, and as it crossed our path, a 50 caliber shell jumped into the cockpit.
I heard someone yell "Damn!" and smelled smoke at the same time. I turned around and two men were down on the floor. Our main radio man PO2 Watanabe's left arm was hanging limp from his shoulder, and blood was shooting up to the ceiling. Flight engineer Leading Mechanic Nakano was down on the floor, holding his left arm, and shouting "Gasoline, gasoline!".
He was yelling to the radioman because the spark from the telegram key could set the vaporized gasoline on fire. But the injured radio man continued to send the message that we were combating an enemy bomber. The enemy started making yet another pass.
I took off my muffler and threw it to Lt. (jg) Ide who was shooting away, and yelled "Stop his bleeding!" I could see from the tank chamber window that gas was gushing out of a hit tank. It was a miracle that it wasn't on fire. The floor was soon covered with gas. I injected additional CO2 gas, and I could see the white gas filling the tank chamber. The injured mechanic was still yelling "Gasoline!". I could only yell back "It's okay! You worry about yourself!"
We were able to stop the radioman's bleeding, but the enemy still kept attacking. Amid the exchange of machine gun roar, I could hear bullets tearing into our plane. The plane shook under the impact. All four engines were driving at full power.
On their sixth pass, the moment I saw their tailgun fire, there was an enormous banging noise up front gunner PO1 Takahashi pointed to the floor beneath the pilot's seat and I noted a big hole about 30cm, on the keel of our bow. I could see waves from the hole.
By this time, I was sure that this enemy has shot down more than one flying boat. "It wasn't fighters. It was this guy. Another patrol plane!. I'm going to get him. He is not going to have anymore kill marks!" As I came to this realization, there was a new determination in my mind. If we can't down him with our guns, we will ram him. I drew and loaded my pistol.
"If worse comes to worst we'll ram him, okay?" I patted the main pilot Ensign Kobayashi's sholder with my pistol. He nodded lightly. "Okay, we're ready then". My mind was set. I was going to shoot myself at the moment of the ramming so I would die before the crew.
I noted that the side panel of the commander's seat was burning hot. I was shocked to find the bullet that hit the crew crewmen perched in the panel. Had I not been standing, this bullet would have hit my back! (This bullet is still in my possession).
I noticed that the enemy's fire was getting considerably weaker. Either some of their gunners were knocked out, or they were out of ammo. I was getting the feeling that we may be able to make it when the co-pilot suddenly put the plane in a dive. The sea was right in front of us.
"Not yet!" I yelled, thinking that he was about to ram the B-17, but soon realized that our co-pilot PO1 Kira evaded a collision with the enemy who came in from the side. The enemy passed about 30meters behind us. The tail gunner poured an entire drum of 20mm cannon shells into the B-17.
The shells all hit the enemy's fuselage. The enemy passed us from the right, then banked left and started closing into our plane. I could see the enemy pilot's face. I couldn't help but fire my pistol at the enemy.
Maybe the enemy was trying to ram us too. I noticed all his guns were pointing random directions. He must have been out of ammo. He flew alongside us banking and yawing for a while, but eventually disappeared into the rain towards Guadalcanal, trailing gasoline. "We won!" we said to each other, but we could no longer fight.
Aftermath
Lt. Hitsuji's H6K made it back to Shortland Seaplane Base. As soon as the nose touched the water on landing, water started gushing in from the hole in the bow. Since they did not have material to close the big hole in the bow, they stuffed their life jackets into the hole. This obviously wasn't holding up, and six men piled up on the life jacket-stuffed hole to stop the water. By the time they were beached, these men had their head barely above water. Everyone was covered with water, oil, and blood.
Their plane #36 (could have been O-36 or 851-36 or 51-36) had endured ninety-three 50 caliber bullets.
Measures were immediately taken to improve the defensive capability of the flying boats. The following conversions were made on the field.
1) Fuel tank protection : All fuel tanks were covered with rubber, and held together with wire net. (Hitsuji notes that American self-sealing tanks with the rubber inside the tank was much more effective, but that couldn't be done in the field.)
2) Improved defensive armament: Machine-guns on H6Ks were increased from one 20mm and seven 7.7mm to three 20mm (tail and waist) and five 7.7mm (front, dorsal, ventral, and fuselage sides).
3) Armor: 20mm armor plate behind the pilots' seat and 20mm shield at gunners' positions. However, Hitsuji notes that the armor behind the pilot was something of a mixed blessing. Since they didn't have bullet-proof glass, if the bullet came in from the front and hit the pilot , the bullet would not just pass through, but be deflected by the armor plate and tear the pilot's body apart.
4) Increased air to air gunnery training.
These conversions amounted to 1.5 tons in additional weight, but this did not affect speed and range performance.
Lt. Hitsuji survived the war, and wrote his biography which was published as Saigo no Hikotei (The Last Flying Boat).
John Grey Gorton
Not a great deal is known about John Gorton's childhood. It is believed he was most probably born in the Melbourne suburb of Prahran on September 9, 1911. He was raised in Port Melbourne before moving to Sydney with his parents in 1916. Gorton attended numerous schools before travelling to Spain in 1934 where he met his wife, American Bettina Brown.
After the outbreak of war with Germany, Gorton enlisted with the RAAF on November 8, 1940. He trained at Essendon and Wagga Wagga before sailing for England where he completed his training at Hendon. Initially bound for the Middle East, Gorton's unit (232 Squadron) was diverted to aid in the defence of Singapore - arriving there on January 13, 1942.
On the morning of January 21, Gorton's Hurricane was shot down and forced to land on Bintarn Island near Palemberg, Sumatra. Gorton, who hadn't tightened his harness correctly was slammed into the instrument panel, breaking his nose and causing facial injuries. He was initially posted "Missing, Believed Dead" before being rescued at a later date.
Gorton was evacuated from Singapore aboard the ammunition ship Derrymore which was torpedoed on February 13, 1942. He spent 24-hours aboard a crowded life raft before being picked up the Australian corvette, HMAS Ballarat.
After being posted to Darwin with No. 77 Squadron (Kittyhawks), Gorton was involved in his second air accident. Whilst flying P-40E A29-60 on September 7, 1942, he was forced to land due to an incorrectly set fuel cock. Both Gorton and his aircraft were recovered several days later.
John Gorton's final air incident came on March 18, 1943 after being posted to Milne Bay with 77 Squadron. His Kittyhawk's (A29-192) engine failed on take off, causing the aircraft to flip at the end of the strip. This left Gorton shaken, but unhurt.
In March 1944, Gorton was sent back to Australia with the Flight Lieutenant. His final posting was as a Flying Instructor with No. 2 Operational Training Unit at Mildura, Victoria. He was then discharged from the RAAF on December 5, 1944.
After the war, Gorton became involved in politics where he served as a Senator for the state of Victoria between 1950 and 1968; the Minister for the Navy; as well as Minister for Works and Education.
John Gorton became Australian Prime Minister after the mysterious disappearance of the then Prime Minister, Howard Holt. Gorton was elected Liberal Party leader on January 10, 1968 and officially sworn in as Prime Minister on March 1. He then declared himself out of office after a tied vote of confidence in his leadership on March 10, 1971.
Gorton remained in politics, including time as Minister of Defence, until 1975. He passed away in St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney on May 19, 2002.
Related Links:
Australian WW2 Nominal Roll Profile
National Archives of Australia Biography
Jack Clark USN Lunga Boat Patrol & Beachmaster
Mr. Fuller was in the USN Lt in charge of the Lunga boat pool. He was also beachmaster on 7-8 August 1942. Thanks to Peter Flahavin for providing this interview. Mr. Clark passed away in 2001.
College Lift & The Navy
Closer to War
Pearl Harbor
Overseas
USS Fuller Guadalcanal Landing
Marauding Submarines
Goettge Patrol
Guadalcanal Diary
Leaving Guadalcanal
V-J Day and Honorable Discharge
College Life & The Navy
September 1930, I enrolled in Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois. At that time we were just 12 years out from WWI Armistice, and Germany had a loud mouth spellings about the great Aryan race which would rule the World. The University required A Major field and at least two Minor fields of concentration. I had always had but one idea in mind, I wanted to design Buildings and things Mechanical, hence the Major was easy. We were offered a course sponsored by the US Navy, which would lead to an Ensign's Commission in the Naval Reserve. That was one Minor, others I elected were Physics, Philosophy, Bus Ad, and English.
In June 1934, complete with mortar board and gown, I was graduated with a BSc Eng, and one bright and shiny gold stripe on my Navy blue uniform. After several starts(these were depression days) I finally became employed by a US Major Oil Company in their Chicago Regional Office. In Chicago, we had a very strong Naval Reserve Group of nine Divisions, each of which was training to man a Destroyer.
Closer to War
In early 1940, The US Navy sent out an invitation to Reserve Officers to request Active Duty. Later in the year our generous President, viewing the hardship Great Britain was enduring, gave our Destroyers in exchange for bases all over the world. Then the Navy sent out a sequel to their first invitation stating that it was disappointed with the response, and so stated, then added a footnote that if the results did not pick up, the Reserves would be activated. They weren't kidding. Halloween 1940 we were in the Navy. But we had no Destroyers to man. Four or five Chicago Divisions were chosen to man a new type of Combat Transport. My Division was picked to go aboard the USS Fuller, then converting in Seattle. So off to Seattle.
Pearl Harbor
We sailed with about ten other Combat Transports under the Flag of Commander Landing Force One. Following Commissioning, we departed for San Diego to pick up a load of Marines, supposedly for a practice landing. The group we picked up became later The First Marines, and we finally landed them in Iceland. We returned empty first to Boston, then to Norfolk. We practiced landing exercises with the Army and the Marines until a Santa Claus trip to the Caribbean. Our Commanding Officer assured us that we would be home for Christmas 1940. It was at this time the Jap decided to bomb Pearl Harbor, we were at war. We did have a final Christmas with the family. Then up to New York to pick up the Second contingent of US Army to move them to Belfast, Ireland and across to Glasgow to pick up assorted passengers and return the to the New York. As soon as we unloaded we were sent to Norfolk to pick up a Marine Defense Battalion for Apia, Somoa, this was rush rush.
Overseas
After Apia we departed for Wellington to await the First Marines. They turned out to be a lot of the same crowd we took to Iceland. Thence in a very well protected Convoy to Koro Island of the Fiji Group to meet up with additional Marines from Pearl and the West Coast. We had a disastrous practice landing, which was called short. We then left for Guadalcanal. I was detached to serve with the shore base (you will have read about my fun and games on the beautiful tropical paradise).
USS Fuller
I rejoined the USS Fuller and sailed the milk run, Suva to Noumea to Gaudalcanal 13 times (after the third trip, we didn't have to have a helmsman) I held a Deck and Engineering Commission so was eligible to serve in any capacity. My duties on the USS Fuller were Engineer, Boat Repair, and Beachmaster
Guadalcanal Landing
You must remember that back in the early days, we landed only the First Marines and a few Second Marines. Also a part of the First took Gavuto, Florida Island which housed the main portion of the Jap fighting force. The landing there was a much stiffer one than ours, the exercise was short and sharp. Our reports had shown that there were a couple of thousand Japs on Guadalcanal and only about 200 on Gavutu. The reports were correct, except that they mistook the force on the Canal, they were mostly a labor force, and few fighting personnel. This balance soon altered with new Jap landings below Red Beach. After the Marines had taken the airport [ Henderson], and withdrawn all the supplies on Red Beach, they established a perimeter to cover the airport and Kukum. Beyond those areas it was suspect.
Marauding Japanese Submarine
We did have boats stranded on the beach at Red Beach and used to continue to go into the area to remove them. There was a nasty Jap Submarine which used to come up about 6:00 AM and 3:00 PM to shell us, then about midnight really tear up and down the water front sending up a wake which put the abandoned boats further up on the beach, just to make our jobs harder. We did manage to get most of them off, but there were a few we couldn't get, so at a later date managed to disable with gun fire from a small Patrol craft.
Goettge Patrol
We were requested to have boats available the take our Marine pals behind the Jap lines at Matanikau. They would land beyond the village, closing the escape route. As this was a daylight raid, and volunteers were not called it was an ordinary expedition for us and I did not go along. As usual, we armed the boats, loaded them and sent them off. I believe that our friends had an idea that the boats would lay off waiting for them to complete their games. This would not have been healthy for my crews, as we did not have air coverage, so they came home. Later in the day we returned to pick the Marines up. The Jap of course had followed them back, and we were a bit pushed to get them aboard. Finally, we decided that we would engage with our Lewis guns, and we got our passengers loaded.
The Jap Unit they encountered was a Special Naval Fighting Force. They had also been the proud owners of the Headquarters of the U.S.Naval Defense Force Kukum, but now we were. The attack was in retaliation for Col. Frank's ambush. There was little time time look around. Of the ambush, there were three survivors, who escaped by swimming back to Kukum. They were Corp. Joseph Spaulding (New York City), Sgt. Charles G. Ardnt (Okolona, Miss), and Sgt. Frank L. Few (Buckeye, Ariz).
The Patrol was a write off. I did take them down as directed. I wanted to lie off, but he insisted that I return to base, as I might upset the whole scheme. Directly after we departed, it would seem that they walked into an ambush. From later reports the Colonel was the first, and received it on the head. We heard no noise as our boat engines would have drowned out any rifle reports. The night was pitch black on the beach, but we always had sufficient light at sea. And we had traveled that coast many times picking fire fights with the Japs, for amusement after dark.
From the many later reports, the bodies were never found, though there were many searches. It was believed that the Jap buried them close to the river, and in shallow graves, then at high tide they were washed out to sea. Just after we returned to Kukum, and secured the boats, one of the Patrol arrived back at our headquarters, and told us of the ambush. Lt Comdr. Dexter, USCG, my boss took him to General Vandergrift's headquarters immediately. According to my friend Dick Tregaskis, Guadalcanal Diary, there were two others to escape. We had a very late night that night, but finally gave it away.
Guadalcanal Diary
I kept a diary while on the Canal. It was the only one I kept as they were forbidden because of the information they might contain to aid the enemy. It covers the two months I spent on the Canal and the time in Hospital on Villa.
Goettge Patrol
Except from the diary of Lt. Jack Fuller repair officer US Navy boat pool
"…Tonight a small raiding part left to go down into Jap territory to ask for the surrender of all remaining Japs. They had one prisoner who volunteered to take them down,an interpreter and about 20 men.
We were all laughing and talking to the members of the little party while they were awaiting the boat which was to take them down.They left feeling quite confident in their mission. We waited until our boat returned and then turned in.According to the boat crew everything was quiet and peaceful.
Shortly after we had hit the sack a runner came in from the party. He had swum and run back. He told us that the entire party had run into an ambush and were killed. The Jap they had taken with them had apparently led them into a trap. That is the way those devils are. They have on occasion waved a white flag signifying surrender, and as soon as the Marines have come out to get them, the Japs open fire. They respect nothing. The only way to treat them is to kill them all. About the only prisoners being taken are those who were members of the workers group…".
Ilu River Battle
Excert from the diary of Lt. Jack Fuller repair officer US Navy boat pool
"…went out to the airport and then the Tenaru battlefield . I have never in my life seen such a sight.The bodies did not only have gunshot wounds,but were horribly mangled.The heads of most of them had been blown off. The bodies were all ripped open and entrails were spilled on the ground. Arms and legs were laying all over the area. Heads with tops blown off exposing the brains. The ground was thoroughly soaked with blood. The stench was almost unbearable. The Jap prisoners were at work burying the corpses. They had been working all day.
Some of the piles had been buried, but the majority were still in the foxholes they had dug. It was brutal, even to the burial. The engineers would blast a long trench,then the prisoners would load about 20 bodies on a truck,the truck drove over to the trench, and the Japs would unceremoniously dump or roll the bodies off the truck into the trench. Parts of bodies were just kicked off into the trench.As soon as 40 or 50 bodies were dumped a bulldozer would push sand over them and fill up the hole. No markers of any kind were set up.
There was a huge pile of gear which had been collected.In the pile were many helmets, all of which had some sort of a hole in them, if they weren't blown to bits.The gear this outfit had brought with them was considerable. Food, tons of ammunition, flame throwers, mortars, machine guns and rifles. All had gas masks and plenty of hand grenades.
Several of the Marine officers said that they had been in battles in the last war, but had never seen such a tangled wreckage of human bodies and equipment. There were very few if any survivors from this action. It seems that if a Jap were wounded and knew he was going to be captured he would pull the pin of a grenade and hold it to his head. This accounted for many of the ruined bodies. There were apparently no prisoners taken. We lost about 20 men.
After having seen this battlefield, things seem so muddled up again. It seems as though we just get one philosophy of life established and are living comfortably by it, when along comes the war.When we went into this thing we were all rational average American citizens. Life was held dear and it was very pleasant. Now all is changed.
The Japs are a different people.They are a suicidal race. Life is very cheap. If they die in battle they go to an Exalted Heaven. It does not seem possible that these 700 men a few hours ago were laughing,talking,singing the same as we. They walked into a trap from which none of them escaped.Now they are no more.
When you see so much death around you,something seems to change inside of you. Maybe you get a hardness,at any rate you catch yourself changing a part of your personality. You look at the piles of mangled flesh and think
"the dirty yellow rats".T hey deserve more than they got. The only answer is - War is absolutely useless and is certainly HELL. There is no justification and therefore no philosophy to cover it.
So many people killed for some silly reason, mostly because someone has a lust for power and someone else's wealth .We would all like to have things without any effort,but most of us know that such a system will not work. I sincerely hope that I can forget these scenes I have viewed today, but I do not believe I ever will.I am afraid that to many of the men who fought this battle life will now become very cheap. Now I know why, after the last war, men returned disillusioned. War is that way….."
Leaving the Canal
I left the USS Fuller in Noumea and was sent to Brisbane, the Townsville to make up a unit for a landing in New Guinea. After a year, I was transferred to Auckland and on to Dunedin for R&R. New Zealand became a back base, so back to the Islands. This time to Santos as a Repair Officer on a Repair Ship. We then left to sail to Manos Island. In the meantime, the Navy was running out of Sea going Officers, so after two and a half years out here I was returned to the States.
V-J Day & Honorable Discharge
I turned my jat around and headed back to sea again. This time as the Executive Officer of a Hospital Ship. I ended this duty after watching the Jap sign the Capitulation (we were anchored next to the USS Missouri). Back to the States and Chicago and Great Lakes Naval Training Station where I was released from active duty, awaiting orders to active duty. By this time I had amassed three stripes to replace the one I started with back in 1934. I had 5 1/2 years sea and foreign station. I finally received an Honorable Discharge in 1961 and had completed 27 years in the Reserve.
http://www.pacificwrecks.com/
Isn't this a copywrite infringement? - [:D][:D]
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