Subject: WWII-L Digest - 29 Jan 1995 to 30 Jan 1995

From: Automatic digest processor <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 31 Jan 1995 00:01:21 -0500

There are 45 messages totalling 1976 lines in this issue.

Topics of the day:

  1. Farewell BBs(Victorian armorbenders)
  2. Lend-Lease Act
  3. POWs
  4. INF: USN Chronology 01-30-95
  5. International Law (3)
  6. INF: 50 Years Ago - 31-JAN-1945 (3)
  7. INF: 50 Years Ago Archives
  8. Holzinger (2)
  9. Rocket Fighter (3)
 10. Reenating events and USO Shows (2)
 11. Paul Tibbetts at Air Show
 12. Help for aunt in Westerly RI (4)
 13. Smithsonian Contact
 14. INF: 50 Years Ago -31-Jan-1945
 15. embarassing question (2)
 16. INFO-OSS/SOE Ops in Scandinavia (3)
 17. INF: Commandant at Auschwitz?
 18. Enola Gay Exhibit (2)
 19. INF : German System of Occupation
 20. Westerly RI oral history #1 (2)
 21. attempted Japanese coup of August 1945
 22. INF: 3rd Army Chronology - 30Jan45
 23. ? resources
 24. INF: 3rd Army Chronology - 31Jan45
 25. Enola Gay etc
 26. TAC: Aerial Mining
 27. P-51s to Russia?
 28. PAUL TIBBETTS AT AIR S
 29. Westerly RI oral history (1 of 5)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 00:02:13 EST
From:    Henry Sirotin <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Farewell BBs(Victorian armorbenders)

Richard Hough, I think, did an interesting book on Victoria-
Camperdown back in the late 1950s or early '60's, ADMIRALS IN
COLLISION.

HS

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 00:05:52 -0500
From:    John Sloan <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Lend-Lease Act

Hi Kevin,
The best I can do is give you another secondary source, but a book that lists
in its bibliography quite a few primary sources. This is by Robert Huhn Jones
- title is
Roads to Russia  - published by Univ of Oklahoma Press, 1969.
Primary sources for this kind of paper would include the original government
documents such as the Act itself and congressional hearings about it. Eye
witness accounts of course would also be primary sources, but not the only
ones.

Sounds like you have done quite a bit of work already. Good luch with the
paper.

john sloan

------------------------------

Date:    Sun, 29 Jan 1995 23:05:59 -0800
From:    Sidney Allinson <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: POWs

Today, I received a videotape, entitled:
        STALAG LUFT III -- John Cordwell's Wartime Log.

It is based on the illustrated logbook kept by an RAF officer during his
imprisonment at the Sagan PW camp.  It is particularly informative about
the planning and construction of the three escape tunnels, named Tom, Dick,
and Harry.  Tape uses an interesting technique: a mixture of Cordwell
himself talking on camera, close-ups of the illustrations in his log, and
dramatizations of scenes (by an American group of 'WW2 Re-Enactors')  Well
done. Gives a good overall conception of the atmosphere and actual getaway.

:-) Not at *all* like that Steve McQueen version.

--

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 04:00:18 PST
From:    "Keller, Theron P." <[email-masked]>
Subject: INF: USN Chronology 01-30-95

UNITED STATES NAVY CHRONOLOGY
from:
//byrd.mu.wvnet.edu/pub/history/military/wwii/naval_chronology/chr4(4,5).txt

1945
01/30 Tue. Army troops are landed on Grande Island, Subic Bay, Luzon,
           P. I.

Information compiled by U.S. Navy Historians.  For more information,
contact the Naval Historical Center at (202) 433-3940.
Archived by: "Larry W. Jewell" <[email-masked]>
Posted by:
Theron P. Keller
Logicon, Inc.
Dahlgren, VA  22448 USA
[email-masked]

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 12:23:51 +0000
From:    Nechama Cox <[email-masked]>
Subject: International Law

I am a graduate student researching Economic Warfare during WWII at the
University of London.

I have run into a legal question in my research.  Apparently one of the
problems with the blockade in WWII was that the mail had to be regarded as
inviolable. Some countries were upset that ships carrying mail were
searched for contraband.

My problem with this is simple -- I just got a package from the US, with a
sticker on it saying that it had been openned by Customs and then resealed.
If Customs can open mails looking for things that are illegal, how is this
different from Contraband Control looking at the mails?

Did International Law change since WWII to allow Customs to search incoming
mail?

Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Nechama

***************************************************************************

Nechama Cox                                         ()        ()
                                                    ||        ||
[email-masked]                                ||        ||
                                                  <~~~~>    <~~~~>
27 Heathway Court                                  {@@}      {@@}
Finchley Road and West Heath Road                  {**}      {**}
Hampstead, London                                  {@@}      {@@}
NW3 7TS                                            ----      ----
                                                  /    \    /    \
(081) 458-6510                                   |______|  |______|

**************************************************************************

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 07:23:46 EST
From:    John Davis <[email-masked]>
Subject: INF: 50 Years Ago - 31-JAN-1945

On 31-JAN-1945, the following occurred -

World War II - The Battlefronts
-------------------------------
Western Front - In the U.S. 9th Army sector, the 78th Division gains its
objectives and makes contact with the 1st Army at Widdau. In the 1st Army
sector, the 9th Division clears Widdau. The 2nd Division completes the
capture of Rocherath and continues northeast. The 1st Division moves
almost through the Buchholz Forest near Neuhof. In the 3rd Army sector,
units of the 87th Division take Amelscheid, Heuem, Alzerath and Laudesfeld.
The 4th Division clears Elcherath and Weppeler. The 90th Division engages
the enemy in positions around Winterspelt and Wallmerath, then bypasses
them to advance on Gros Langenfeld. In the 7th Army sector, the 36th
Division opens an offensive to clear the region west of the Rhine to the
south.

Eastern Front - Soviet foces continue to reduce the German pocket in East
Prussia, clearing Heilsberg and Friedland. The Red Army drives a spearhead
to Jestrow in Pomerania and in Brandenburg takes Landsberg Mesertiz,
Schwiebus and Zuellichau. The German garrison of Budapest continues to hold
out in the west part of the city.

Philippines - The 6th Army begins the final phase of the drive on Manila.
The 1st Cavalry Division starts toward Manila from Guimba. On the right
flank of the corps, the 40th Division is clearing the mountains west of
Clark Field and Ft Stotsenburg. In the I Corps sector, the 6th Division
continues limited attacks on Munoz but is unable to take it due to heavy
Japanese resistance. Patrols of the 25th Division find Umingan heavily
defended. XI Corps begins driving across the base of the Bataan Peninsula.
Units of the 11th Airborne Division land on the west coast of Luzon in the
Nasugbu area after a naval gunfire bombardment and take Nasugbu, Wawa and
Lian and drive inland toward the Tagaytay Ridge without opposition. On
Mindoro, the 21st Infantry moves from northeast Mindoro, where about 135
Japanes have been killed in the Pinamalayan-Calapan region, to the San Jose
area.

Camotes - Elements of the 7th Division finish clearing Poro Island and
prepare to return to Leyte.

The Homefront
-------------
16 Chidren Die In Fire - Sixteen chidren ages three months to five years
have perished when fire swept a wooden house in Auburn, Me., used as a day
nursery for war worker's children. One women was also burned to death.

Outstanding January Films - "Objective Burma" featuring Errol Flyn;
paratroopers in the Burmese jungle. "The Fighting Lady" photographed by
Navy photographers and narrated by Lt. Robert Taylor, USNR; life in and out
of battle aboard a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. (I assume they are talking
about the Lexington. Has anyone seen this? - JD)

=============================================================================

Sources: "United States Army in World War II, Chronology 1941-1945" compiled
by Mary H. Williams, Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of
the Army, "2194 Days of War" by Cesare Salmaggi and Alfredo Pallavisimi,
"Facts On File Yearbook 1945, Person's Index Of World Events" edited by R.L.
Lapica.

Copyright 1995 by John B Davis, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Previous articles are archived at ftp.webcom.com in directory /pub/jbd/www
and can be accessed via the WWW by URL: http://www.webcom.com/~jbd/ww2.html.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Davis                           | [email-masked]
Cary, North Carolina                 | http://www.webcom.com/~jbd/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 07:28:28 EST
From:    John Davis <[email-masked]>
Subject: INF: 50 Years Ago Archives

The January 1945 "50 Years Ago" articles are now available for downloading
from my "50 Years Ago" archives. In addition to past "50 Years Ago"
articles, these archives also include a number of additional WW II related
articles and files that I've found to be especially interesting. I am
constantly adding new files to my archives so you may want to check back
on a regular basis.

The best way to access the "50 Years Ago" archives is through the World Wide
Web. The WWW URL is "http://www.webcom.com/~jbd/ww2.html".  You may also
download the files by anonymous FTP. I have included instructions for doing
this below.

Instructions for downloading files by FTP -

The 50 YA articles are stored by month. To retrieve the articles by FTP, open
host "ftp.webcom.com", enter "anonymous" when prompted for login ID, enter
your Internet mail address when prompted for password. To change to the
directory where the articles are stored enter "cd /pub/jbd/www". Enter
command "ls" to get a listing of all the files available. The file name
identifies the month for 50 YA articles (example - sep1944.txt, contains the
September 1944 articles).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Davis                           | [email-masked]
Cary, North Carolina                 | http://www.webcom.com/~jbd/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 07:29:05 GMT-6
From:    "Robert T. Moore" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Holzinger

Hello, Chip!

Thanks for the note. You might contact Bill Huber in San Antonio for
the info preceding what you have. I am about to conclude this with a
posting on the dates of his promotion. Will post to the whole list.
If you are unsuccessful in obtaining his prior info, please let me
know.

Didn't know anyone one else was interested. I have the military
careers of all German generals, Army and Air Force for WWII, the
careers of all Knight's Cross holders of the Waffen-SS, and all the
careers of the KC holders of the paratroops, navy, mountain troops,
and many of the infantry.

If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask.

All the best.

Terry

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 07:39:34 GMT-6
From:    "Robert T. Moore" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Holzinger

Hello, Bill!

Here goes with some more info on Holzinger.

Befoerderungen

1.8. 1922-Schwarmfuehrer
18.12. 1923-Zugsfuehrer
11.11. 1927-Wachtmeister

15.8. 1928-Leutnant (erhaelt am 15.10. 1938 in der Wehrmacht
Rangdienstalter von 1.9. 1828)

1.9. 1932-Oberleutnant (erhaelt am 15.10. 1938 in der Wehrmacht
Rangdienstalter vom 1.10. 1932)

31.5. 1938-Hauptmann-3060-neuer Rangdienstalter vom 1.12. 1935
(82)

31.3. 1939-Hauptmann-2000-neuer Rangdienstalter vom 1.5. 1935 (24v)

14.8. 1940-Major-45-mit Wirkung vom 1.8. 1940 und Rangdienstalter vom
1.6. 1940 (44a)

8.4. 1942-Oberstleutnant-2350-mit Wirkung vom 1.4. 1942 und
Rangdienstalter vom 6.4. 1942 (1023)

Oberst im 2. oesterreichischen Bundesheer
General im 2. oesterreichischen Bundesheer

That concludes the info on Mr. Holzinger. Will be in touch, and hope
this has been of assistance and interest.

All the best.

Terry

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 07:43:50 GMT-6
From:    "Robert T. Moore" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Rocket Fighter

Hello,  William!

Gudmundur is correct in his post to you. Rudel was the most decorated
German soldier of WWII.

Among his other singular decorations, were:

    1. Pilot's badge in diamonds
    2. Front Flight Badge in diamonds
    3. Only soldier to wear the Front Flight Badge with the number
       2000 (indicating sorties flown)

If Reinhard Heydrich were awarded the decoration you mention, then it
was probably a Party decoration not meant for front-line soldiers.

    Hope this helps.

    Terry

>       You say that Hans Rudel was the most decorated German - wasn't
> Reinhard Heydrich the recipient (posthumous) of the German Order?
> Is this higher than the Gold Knight's Cross?  BTW, can you give me
> some details of the Gold KC?  I've never heard of it.  Thanks
>
> William Lippert
> The American University
>

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 08:53:52 CST
From:    "SCHERRER, TIM" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Reenating events and USO Shows

If anyone has any reenacting events or USO shows that they know of,
please send the information to me.  I am planning on posting the
schedule from the WWII HRS calender with any other events included.
E-mail me directly.

My local paper ran this headline on Saturday's paper--"Man charged in
Murders a WWII buff." The story was in reference to the guy in Chapel
Hill, NC who started sniping at people.  Apparently he used an M-1 "High
Powered" rifle for his attacks.  My reenacting roomate and I saved the
article as a refrigerator posting snippet.  So who is the next one to go
wacko-huh--who on the list???

************************************************************************
*  Tim A. Scherrer          "You'll be fighting WWII for the rest of   *
*  Facilities Supervisor     your life", Ron Scherrer, 1971            *
*  WP:816-785-5253                                                     *
*  HP:816-665-6704                                                     *
*  ID# [email-masked]                             *
************************************************************************

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 07:02:36 -0800
From:    John Riegsecker <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: INF: 50 Years Ago - 31-JAN-1945

At 7:23 AM 1/30/95, John Davis wrote:
[..]

>Outstanding January Films - "Objective Burma" featuring Errol Flyn;
>paratroopers in the Burmese jungle. "The Fighting Lady" photographed by
>Navy photographers and narrated by Lt. Robert Taylor, USNR; life in and out
>of battle aboard a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. (I assume they are talking
>about the Lexington. Has anyone seen this? - JD)

I've not seen it, but Jocko Clarke in _Carrier Admiral_ talks about a film
by this title, I think, of YORKTOWN.  If nobody posts a definite answer to
your query I'll check this evening at home.

John Riegsecker                                 (206) 756-3566
Dept of Mathematics and Computer Science        [email-masked]
University of Puget Sound

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 09:06:15 CST
From:    Jesse Carnes <[email-masked]>
Subject: Paul Tibbetts at Air Show

Dear all on the list ;

The Louisiana State Air Force group (specific title?) is having their state
convention here in Baton Rouge in May on the 11-13, I believe.
They have Gen. Paul Tibbetts scheduled -- as reported to me -- to be their
special guest speaker.

Further, I and others of the Harding Field Memorial Foundation(home of the
91st Bomb Group -- SEE "Memphis Belle", "Connecticut Yankee", "Ole Puss", and
other famous B-17F's) will hook up with the state AF group and have a 2-day
fly-in and more.

More later.

Jesse Carnes
[email-masked]

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 10:05:44 -0500
From:    Cheryl Abdullah <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Help for aunt in Westerly RI

> Cheryl,I can't offer much help [from AZ] but an 81 mm Mortar has a Bipod
> [two legs that support the tube or barrel]

Here is what the transcription itself says:  " A mortar shell is like a
little small missile.  You have a base plate, you have a tri-pot [probably
tripod] and you have a barrow, which would, you would elevate it at the
distance that you wanted that shell to go....[You] had the first gunner,
the second gunner and the third.  That's the three parts.  There were
three men to a mortar.  [Interviewer: What was the firing mechanism?]
Well, it was like an explosive on the bottom.  You shoot a gun and it has
a trigger and the trigger detonates [ouch?], your shell has the same thing,
it hits and then it goes off into the air.  It propels itself....[An 88mm
shell] is pretty big.  You had the 88mm mortars and you had the 60mm mortars."

End quote.  I will flag the hard copy of my summary with an "81mm mortar"
and "tripod or bipod?" queries.

> an Infantry Division runs> around 14,500 men plus equipment... which
> probably handles the boxcar> question.

Yup, I'd say he meant boxcars plural. (We're translating Rhode Islandese.)
The situtation with the boxcars is that it took 6 days and 5 nights to
take a trip across France (from Caen to Metz) that would normally take only
hours. At times, everyone had to be real quiet on the train to keep "bedcheck
Charlie" (German reconnaisance) from discovering their presence.

> I can help on some of that technical stuff... the rest is beyond> me.
> Jim O'Neil

Thanks, Jim, these were two quick examples of me feeling uncomfortable
about the transcriptions I'm working with.  I know from previous
interviewing work I've done (with children's authors) that even the
horse's mouth gets facts confused at times.  I'd *like* to run the 12
pages of finished summaries past at least one person familiar with
military stuff before submitting them as "done."  Before some kind person
volunteers, there are a total of 104 of these narratives (I'm only doing
six of them).

Westerly is a teeny town but its WWII contributions are significant
thanks to its Sons of Italy (most of whom came from Calobria in southern
Italy).

What I can do is upload my summaries to this list (except the Vietnam one
by an engineer who helped build Highway 20 there) and anyone who wants to
can comment on them.  Thanks again,

Cheryl                                    [email-masked]

------------------------------

Date:    Sun, 29 Jan 1995 18:19:00 -0600
From:    George Bauer <[email-masked]>
Subject: Smithsonian Contact

Would the person on the list from the Smithsonian pleas contact me privately?

[email-masked]

P.S.  I DON'T want to talk about Enola Gay...
 * RoboBOARD/FX 1.04

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 11:45:45 EST
From:    SKIP WILDER <[email-masked]>
Subject: INF: 50 Years Ago -31-Jan-1945

For John Davis:
        The "Fighting Lady" would be the YORKTOWN.

        Regards,
 -----------------------------------------------------------
 |    Skip Wilder              |                           |
 |    [email-masked]      |"The road to hell is paved |
 |    FAX (703)528-2103        | with good intentions."    |
 |    McLean, Virginia, U.S.A. |                           |
 -----------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 09:14:14 -0800
From:    Sidney Allinson <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: International Law

Nechama...
        It is likely that the parcel opened by Customs had a Customs
Declaration form stuck to it. Such a form says something to the effect
-- "May be opened for Customs inspection."

Incidentally, going back to WW2, a very large mail-opening operation
was maintained by the British (and later Americans) at Bermuda, where
international mail was routed.  There were several cases of enemy espionage
agents being discovered as a result.

Regards from British Columbia.

--

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 11:14:38 -0600
From:    "William L. Huber - SAA" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Rocket Fighter

>
> Gudmundur is correct in his post to you. Rudel was the most decorated
> German soldier of WWII.
>
> Among his other singular decorations, were:
>
>     1. Pilot's badge in diamonds
>     2. Front Flight Badge in diamonds
>     3. Only soldier to wear the Front Flight Badge with the number
>        2000 (indicating sorties flown)

Terry and Gudmundur are right.  In fact the #3 award above Terry
mentions is in gold with diamonds too - the only one of its kind -
like Rudel.  Rudel was the highest decorated combatant of the
Wehrmacht being the soul recipient of the Golden Oakleaves to the KC.
Goering's Grand Cross of the Knights Cross was awarded for political
reasons high among them was Goering's affinity for baubles like that.

> >       You say that Hans Rudel was the most decorated German - wasn't
> > Reinhard Heydrich the recipient (posthumous) of the German Order?
> > Is this higher than the Gold Knight's Cross?  BTW, can you give me
> > some details of the Gold KC?  I've never heard of it.  Thanks
> >
> > William Lippert

The only award I know of Heydrich winning posthumously was the Blood
Order and he was the last man to be awarded that particular
decoration.  It's formal name is "Die Ehrenzeichen 8/9 Nov. 1923 Blut
Orden" and was first awarded to members of early party organizations
that marched with Hitler on that date in 1923 to take over the
Bavarian Government.  Hitler's "Putsch" landed him in Landsberg Prison
where he wrote _Mein Kampf_ and was the genesis of the Goering drug
abuse problem.  Hermann took a round in the thigh and went to Denmark
where he was treated with morphine and developed an addiction.

Anyway, the Blood Order was struck and awarded in 1934 to commemorate
that event and was a very highly coveted Party award.  Due to its
status in the NSDAP the medal was issued in a second version (made of
800 silver rather than 990 as the first were) and was awarded for acts
of State service.  That is how Bormann and Heydrich got theirs.

The Gold KC is sort of a misnomer.  The award was a regular Knights
Cross but the ribbon attachment device was an enlarged set of
oakleaves and swords which were made of gold and encrusted with
diamonds.

It is interesting to note that the Knights Cross is somewhat
equivalent to the US Congressional Medal of Honor but that the
Germans, because they kept their heros in combat, had to devise
higher and higher awards as these men continued to distinguish
themselves.  First they replaced the ribbon attachment loop with a
bundle of three oakleaves to signify a subsequent award (like our
oakleaf cluster in the US military).  This had a precedent as there
were Pour le Merite winners in the Kaiser's army who won the oakleaves
but then when these men continued to accomplish amazing feats of skill
and daring Hitler had crossed swords attached to the Oakleaves for a
third award.  After that diamonds were inlaid into the oakleaves and
swords device to denote a 4th grade of the KC and finally Rudel's
Golden Oakleaves Swords and Diamonds were created by the Berlin firm
of Godet expressly for award by Hitler to Rudel.

There were a lot of guys who got the KC and over 1000 that got
oakleaves.  Terry Moore could give you exact numbers on them but what
stuck in my mind was that 150 awards of the swords and 28 diamonds
were awarded.  To my knowledge the CMoH was only awarded more than
once to the same man on two occasions but I could be wrong.

Sorry for going on and on but its rare that I have info to provide the
distinguished cadre of this list and I like to give back some of what
I enjoy getting so much.

Cheers, Bill Huber / [email-masked]

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 12:21:27 -0400
From:    Mike Yaklich <[email-masked]>
Subject: embarassing question

        Gee, its embarrassing for a self-described "Italian specialist" to
havve to ask this, but I'm wondering if one of the aircraft people on the list
can save me a bunch of digging.  My question concerns where some of the leading
aircraft manufacturers of WW2 Italy were located.  I know that Fiat was in
Torino, Breda in Milan, Macchi on the shores of Lake Como, and CANT in the
Trieste/Monfalcone area.  Can anyone out there tell me where Savoia-Marchetti,
Caproni, and Piaggio had their main factories?? (I know that Caproni farmed a
lot of its work out to subsidiaries, and that one of these was at
Castellamare).  Bonus points for Meridionale/IMAM or Saiman!!!  Also, I'm aware
that Reggiane was also a subsidiary of Caproni, am I correct in thinking they
were located in the Reggio Calabria area??  Any help, including a quick
reference source where I could find this for myself, would be greatly
appreciated (I checked three books on WW2 combat aircraft, including Gunston's
"Encyclopedia," without finding reference to the main Italian manufacturers
and their locations).

        Regards and thanks in advance

        Mike Yaklich

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 09:23:46 -0800
From:    Sidney Allinson <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: INFO-OSS/SOE Ops in Scandinavia

Has your friend read TWO EGGS ON MY PLATE.

Good insightinto work of Norwegian agents of SOE.

--

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 09:27:22 -0800
From:    Sidney Allinson <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: INFO-OSS/SOE Ops in Scandinavia

Hugh...
        Two other good accounts of SOE in Norway:

        WE DIE ALONE, by David Howarth (Collins, 1955)

        SKIS AGAINST THE ATOM (Wm. Kimber, 1964)

Regards -- Sidney.

Belay  -- that should read *1954*.

--

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 09:30:03 -0800
From:    Sidney Allinson <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: INFO-OSS/SOE Ops in Scandinavia

And how could one forget?

        The classic about Resistance in Denmark --

THE SAVAGE CANARY, By David Lampe.

Sidney.

PS: A government announcement said today that
"Morale was at an all-time low in the Canadain Forces..."
I wonder why...

--

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 12:42:35 GMT-6
From:    "Robert T. Moore" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: INF: Commandant at Auschwitz?

Hello, Brad!

You're welcome.

Terry

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 13:50:00 EST
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: Enola Gay Exhibit

The Associated Press is reporting that the Smithsonian has decided
to cancel the exhibition of the Enola Gay and the atomic bomb
exhibit.  Instead, they will simply show the fuselage of the B-29
and possibly a video of rememberances of it's crew.

The Smithsonian Secretary I. Michael Heyman said, "We made an
error."  (Understatement of the year!)

-------------------------------------------------------------------
|  Jack McKillop              |  Those who have long enjoyed such |
|  Bellcore                   |  privileges as we enjoy forget in |
|  Piscataway, NJ USA         |  time that men have died to win   |
|  [email-masked]  |  them.                     FDR    |
-------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 12:50:23 GMT-6
From:    "Robert T. Moore" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: INF : German System of Occupation

Hello, Perrin!

Will try to help.

> Hi from Paris, France and sorry for our poor english
> We are new to this list and very impressed by the exchanges here.
> Does any of you, gentlemen, know where we can find some informations about
> the different towns-places where the Oberfeldkommandanturen,
> Feldkommandanturen, Kreiskommandanturen and Orstkommandanturen were implanted ?

    You might secure a copy of a book the title which escapes me that
was published in Germany about 2 years ago that dealt with a complete
listing of all field post numbers. The information you seek can be
gleaned from there.

  > Furthermore, dos any of you know why there was just one Wehrmacht
> Kommandantur in this organization ?

    Not quite certain what you mean here. Normally a Kommandantur was
located in every significantly populated area of the Occupied
Territories, including France. For additional info on this, you might
contact Mr. Bill Huber in San Antonio, who may be able to provide you
with more insight into this.

    Hope this has been of assistance.

    Terry

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 12:32:23 GMT-6
From:    "Robert T. Moore" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Help for aunt in Westerly RI

Hello, Cheryl!

I will try to help.

>     Here's the gist of my request to this list: Have any of you undertaken
> a similar local-history project with success?

    You might contact your local public library for suggestions. The
WWII Commemorative Committee here is starting to develop such a
program in conjunction with the public library.

    Vets will ask to be identified, then contacted by library staff
to set up a time and place for the interview. All oral histories will
then be stored in the library and will be available to the public.

 Are there any suggestions
> out there for making this easier?  Is there some way to ensure that these
> oral histories don't suffer too much in the hands of us amateurs?!

    See above.

I'd like
> to gather some concrete suggestions before I next talk with my dear aunt.
>     I really want to help my aunt, she is quite stressed over the slow
> progress.  (She's been hacking away at this since about 1990.)
>     All the oral interviews are completed and transcribed, but the
> work of summarizing and publishing remains.  She's handed this out to
> various people for editing the summaries, and the quality varies a *lot*.

    Sounds good to me.

    Hope this helps.

    Terry

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 13:02:14 GMT-6
From:    "Robert T. Moore" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Rocket Fighter

Hello, Olivier Perrin and Chris Garcia!

Would add one more thing about Rudel's decoration. This award, and
all others owned by Rudel still exist, and are located in a safety
deposit box in Germany. They are in the safe-keeping of his son, from
what I was told by the family. Rudel was married three times, and his
last wife, much younger than, only recently remarried. She lives in
Austria.

One thing that Chris said at the conclusion of his post that "Rudel
was a devout admirer of AH" (to paraphrase, as I inadvertently erased
it). While I wouldn't disagree with that completely, he did remain
faithful to belief in National Socialism and to his service as a
soldier. He did make mistakes, no question of that, that cloud his
name, but his exploits speak for themselves, and to my mind, a
person's politics are a separate issue from his military exploits.

Thanks, again.

Terry

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 13:59:30 -0500
From:    Cheryl Abdullah <[email-masked]>
Subject: Westerly RI oral history #1

--1915860659-2129043075-791492735:#25905
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Content-Transfer-Encoding: QUOTED-PRINTABLE

=FEHere is my first attempt to post one of the Westerly oral histories.=F2

Cheryl                                    [email-masked]

--1915860659-2129043075-791492735:#25905
Content-Type: APPLICATION/octet-stream; name="morr.txt"
Content-ID: <Pine.3.07.9501301435.A25905@acme>
Content-Description: Ack Ack Morrone oral history

Narrator:  Technical Sergeant Angelo Anthony "Ack Ack"
Morrone

Brief Biographical Background:
DOB: 3/27/25
POB: Westerly, RI
Civilian premilitary occupation: High-school student;
helped father at family gas station/restaurant.
Post-military experience:  Gas-station attendant; first
commander and cofounder of the Westerly VFW Post.
Separation or discharge date:  Fall, 1945
Branch of Service:  Air Force.
Overseas duty:  Corsica.
Special Awards:   Distinguished Flying Cross.

1

Highlights/Anecdotes of the Military Experience:

Morrone was born on a farm in "Varietyville," a little
village on the edge of White Rock, off the end of Canal
Street.  He recalls seeing the National Guard and the
American Legion marching during parades in Westerly, and
that the local military helped police during the '30s
hurricane.  He and his family moved to Ashaway shortly
before the hurricane hit.  He attended White Rock school
until 3d grade, then the Immaculate Conception Catholic
school.  Money was tight because of his dad's health
problems, so he went to Ashaway School for 5th-6th
grades, finishing 7th-12th grades at Westerly High.
Morrone heard the news about Pearl Harbor being bombed in
1941 while working with his father in their family-owned
gas station in Ashaway.

2

Morrone was allowed to enlist in the aviation cadet
program in February, 1943, foregoing his last few months
of high school.  On graduation day, his parents took the
stage to pick up his diploma at the high school.  (Only
students with minimal-level grades were allowed to
graduate early.)  He took pilot training in Nashville,
TN, then was reassigned to flight engineering school in
the spring of 1943.  He took aircraft and engineer
training for approximately three months at the Seymore
Johnson Field in North Carolina.

He next went to Fort Myers, FL, for gunnery training.
"The first gun I fired was a 22 at an arcade....Then they
started training us with these skeet range, one/half moon
circle.  We all were pretty good at it; before we got
done we would put a house on one end of the moon and a
house on the other end of the moon, about five or six
positions so you never knew when the skeet was coming out
but after a while you got so good you could get about 28
or 26 out of 30."  The skeet shooting was done with a 12-
gauge shot gun. Morrone was impressed by an instructor
from Tennessee who could shoot from the hip, "He could

3

hit anywhere."  They next trained by standing within a
round hoop in the back of a jeep that went around an oval
track; anytime the jeep hit cable lines in the track,
"they would shoot out of the bushes at different angles,"
teaching the trainees to lead at different angles.
Another training course was to shoot skeets from a turret
in a 40'-50' tower.  The trainees were graded on their
shooting ability.  "[T]he last step was in an actual
plane--we went on a B17--I was the top turret.  A few
other guys didn't know how to shoot (short purse), and we
burned out more barrels than they could count."  In order
to get his wings and graduate from aerial gunner school,
Morrone had to prove that he could dismantle detail strip
a 50 caliper gun blindfolded, without gloves, and
removing extraneous broken parts that his instructor
inserted.

4

After graduating in early 1944 as a flight engineer
gunner top turret, Morrone went to Columbus, SC, for
overseas training.  "In the B25 unit after that training
was done, they flew us down to Hunner Field in Savannah,
GA, where we picked up these brand new B25's, and then we
ferried them overseas--South Atlantic route via Trinidad
and Natal, Brazil and across to Ascension Island into
Decar, Africa, up the coast to Marrakesh and then into
Tunisia."  Morrone served as a staff sergeant flight
engineer during the trip.

5

He flew 70 combat missions out of Corsica with the 5th
bomb wing of the 310th squadron, 380th bomb group.  From
spring of 1944 until the end of the war he received air
medals six times, including the Distinguished Flying
Cross.  "We got that on my 70th mission [March 17, 1945]
in the Northern Apennines.at the Burma Pass.  Our main
objective was to stop the Germans from bringing the
supplies into Italy.  We had to cut their lifelines.
General Canon started to use a different strategy, so he
decided to bomb bridges and we worked up through south
France....and went into Poe Valley, [burning] a lot of
bridges and railroad cars.  Finally we pushed them
further north and that was the worst part of the mission
because we bombed right in to the Alps...you see, the

6

only way the Germans could get their supplies into Italy
was through southern Austria....As it turned out, the
target was heavily fortified and when we were on our bomb
run we were getting everything they could shoot up at us.
A lot of guys were shaken up but we kept a tight
ship....the place was full of flack.  And I guess what
happened was we saw the lead ship open the bomb bay doors
and no bombs came out so the bombardier must have
panicked, and it was too late to drop them.  So the squad
commander had us go around again--all hell broke
loose....[W]e lost several aircraft.  I can't recall
what, my ship got hit so hard that before we got under
control we lost about 2500 feet.  Pilot declared an
emergency and we headed back out for southern France.

7

Because we were based in Corsica we had to clear the
hills so we jettisoned everything out of the airplane
except for the freid [ed.?] meter and the nord bomb site
and the top turret guns....[W]e had lost the left engine
when we got a direct hit...I had no hydraulics, and we
had all we could to keep the plane flying level so we
wouldn't go off in a dive.  Thank God we had good
engines, we kept the power on....we came in at about 125
m.p.h. right over the bushes.  We cut everything off--
selective fueled value--fueled off everything.  We just
rolled into the bushes."  That was Morrone's last
mission.

8

While on a boat going from Corsica to Naples, Morrone
heard about President Roosevelt passing away.  He and his
outfit stayed three weeks in a stateside hospital for
being "flack happy and nervous." By this time a Tech.
Sergeant, he went to Shenoot Field in Illinois for
training as a B29 flight engineer.  He was scheduled to
go to the Philippines, but VJ day and Hiroshima occurred.
Morrone had enough points to get out of the service by
fall of 1945.  He joined the Air Force reserve after
being discharged to Westover Airforce Base.  The state of
Rhode Island gave Morrone and other veterans money out of
what was called the "52-20 club" ($20/week for 52 weeks).

9

Upon reentering civilian life, Morrone and his brother
built a gasoline station in Ashaway, where Morrone worked
until 1954.  He then worked from 1954 to 1971 at the Gulf
station on Main Street.  Since 1971 he has worked at
Dunn's Corners.  Using the GI. Bill of Rights, he got his
pilot's license (commercial, multi-engine, and instrument
license), flying out of the Stonington Airport.  When Ack
Ack married an Urso girl in 1953, General Holland of the
National Guard let the two large families use the state
armory for the wedding reception--without fee.

10

Ack Ack became the first commander of the VFW Post in
Westerly during 1946 or 1947 after co-founding it with
friends Al Cofone, Joe Ruisi, Bubba Urso, Harry Champlin,
Slim Algiere, and Roger Crandall.  They named the AF VFW
8955 Post "Amanico Falcone" after two Pawcatuck brothers
who were killed early on in the war. The Westerly
veterans used to meet upstairs at the old YMCA building
on High Street, which has since been torn down.

Audio tape interview:     July 13, 1992
Interviewer:              Colonel Coulahan
Written History Editor:   Cheryl Abdullah

--1915860659-2129043075-791492735:#25905--

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 14:20:18 -0400
From:    Mike Yaklich <[email-masked]>
Subject: attempted Japanese coup of August 1945

        As can be gathered from my previous post, the Emporer's decision to
surrender on the terms offered by the Allies in the so-called "Potsdam
Proclamation" was only grudgingly accepted by some of the leading Japanese
military figures.  The representatives of the Army in particular, especially
War Minister Anami, continued to experience second thoughts which made it
difficult for them to fully support the decision, even though it had come
straight from the divinity, as defined by their nationalistic Shinto creed.
This led to all sorts of vacillation, especially in the dealings of the Army
high command with its more fanatic junior officers (in the "government by
assassination" period-- to use the title of Hugh Byas' book-- of the early to
mid 'thirties it was almost always the junior officers who were the most
radical and the most prone to violent action; there was even a word for this in
Japanese, "geko-kujo," translating roughly as "the bottom overturning the
top").  One of the key players in the abortive uprising of August was in fact
Anami's brother-in-law, Lt-Col Masahito Takeshita.  Initially Anami, when
confronted with Takeshita, explained matters so evasively that it could easily
be construed that the Emporer had somehow been maneuvered or deceived into his
monumental decision to end the war.  Nor was this the only encouragement given
to the eventual conspirators.  It seems remarkable how many of the younger
officers explained their plan to their superiors and asked for support.
Although none of the major military leaders actually backed the coup, it is
also true that none of them betrayed the conspiracy, much less attempted
themselves to use their powers of military discipline to prevent it.  Indeed,
few even tried to convince the plotters that their ideas were mistaken and
their proposed course of action improper!!
        Anami himself made a further attempt to change the Emporer's mind,
approaching Hirohito's brother, Prince Mikasa.  He was taken aback when the
Prince gave him the cold shoulder, and told the General that "since the
Manchurian Incident the Army has at times acted not quite in accordance with
the Imperial wish," adding that Anami's current attitude was "most improper."
Anami, of course, was also under unceasing pressure from the conspirators.
Just before the next cabinet meeting, to discuss (and, supposedly, to approve)
the concrete Allied surrender terms since received, Anami had been cornered in
his office by a group of officer dissidents who suggested that if he could not
change the Emporer's mind he should commit hara-kiri.  At this cabinet meeting
it was still not possible to come to a definitive decision to unanimously
endorse acceptance of the surrender terms.  And on August 13th Anami approached
Army Chief-of-Staff General Umezu with a proposal to ask Field Marshal Shunroku
Hata, commander of the still intact Japanese armies in China, to intercede with
the Emporer on behalf of the senior officers.  But Umezu told Anami's
representative that he now supported the Emporer's decision.  The continued
reluctance of several high officials to "bear the unbearable" led, on August
14th, to Emporer Hirohito making a second, formal decision in favor of the
surrender on the terms proposed by the Allies.  Such, I guess, was the devotion
of the Japanese military to their Emporer-- unless, of course, his position
happened not to agree with their own.
        Meanwhile, the officers' conspiracy continued to shape up.  The true
leadership of the coup was in the hands of several officers, with Colonel
Okikatsu Arao and Major Kenji Hatanaka emerging as the dominant voices.  It is
remarkable how the concepts of honor, propriety, and loyalty to which these
men in theory pledged their entire lives could be easily discarded when they
came into conflict with their proposed course of action.  The theoretical guru
of the officers' clique was a nationalistic history professor named Hiraizumi,
whose lectures and writings had earlier captured the imaginations of many of
the conspirators.  But even when Hiraizumi (who did believe in a literal
interpretation of loyalty to the Emporer and did not endorse acts of Geko-kujo),
personally wrote to Hatanaka and urged him to "refrain from acting rashly at
their own discretion," the major and his cronies did not abandon their plan.
Another conspirator was Major Hidemasa Koga, son-in-law of the former Prime
Minister General Tojo.
        Even as late as August 14th (and in Umezu's case AFTER the meeting at
which the Emporer gave his final decision) both Anami and Umezu in separate
meetings with the conspirators left the young officers with the impression that
they might have the support of these generals.  This was largely due to the
reluctance of Anami and Umezu to come out categorically against the proposed
coup.  Takeshita even believed Umezu had changed his mind.  Later in the day
Anami finally expressed his opposition to the action, and said that military
discipline would be enforced, and that anyone wishing to oppose the action of
the government would have to cut him down first.  Oddly enough, though, he took
no action against the conspirators per se, not even precautionary measures such
as ordering surveillance or house arrest.  On the evening of August 14th Anami
did however render one important service to the peace process.  He addressed
the assembled section chiefs of the Army's Imperial General Staff and in no
uncertain terms explained the decision and the Army's duty to help in
implementing it, no matter how unpleasant a prospect that might be.  He also
urged his officers not to commit suicide.  This speech was regarded as
instrumental in preventing any of the senior Army officers from joining the
coup once it started.
        On the morning of August 15th Hatanaka put his still haphazard
arrangements into action.  He went to Colonel Toyojiro Haga, commander of the
2nd Regiment of the Konoye Division, which constituted the Palace Guard.
Hatanaka simply lied to Haga, telling him that Anami, Umezu, General Tanaka
(commander of the Eastern Army district which included Tokyo), and Lt-General
Takeshi Mori (commander of the Konoye Division) all supported the plan (in
fact, we have seen Anami and Umezu's attitude; Tanaka had thrown Hatanaka out
of his office the previous day without even listening to the plan).  This lie
gave Hatanaka and his group a body of armed men with which to carry their plan
through.  Lt-Col Ida, a previous conspirator who had dropped his support (he
now felt that the officers of Imperial headquarters should simply commit mass
suicide in atonement for their failure) was also re-enlisted by Hatanaka, again
through stretching the truth.  Just after midnight, in the early hours of
August 15th, Hatanaka and Ida went to put their plan before General Mori.  Mori
listened, but said he could not decide whether to support the coup until he
visited a nearby Shinto shrine and prayed for guidance.  At this, Hatanaka
became exasperated at the delay, drew his pistol, and shot Mori dead.  Ida
attempted to appeal to General Tanaka once more, but was not allowed to even
see the Eastern Army commander, and was given a negative response by his aide.
After this rebuff Ida, still somewhat shocked by the murder of Mori, dropped
his support for the coup and promised to attempt to restore order.
        But events were proceeding.  An order went out to the Konoye Division,
bearing the seal of its commander, Lt-Gen Mori.  But Mori, of course, was
already dead.  The order had been written by Major Koga, and the seal affixed
by Major Hatanaka.  Accordingly, troops of the division surrounded the Imperial
Palace, for the second time in ten years.  The Emporer was now isolated until
he could be brought to see reason.  But the conspirators were unable to find
the recordings (for safety, two different ones had been made) of the Emporer's
announcement to his people (it was thought only the Emporer himself could make
such an announcement and be believed-- to spare him the ordeal of a live
broadcast his speech was pre-recorded).  This was the key to the entire
situation, for the Emporer's words had to be prevented from reaching the
nation.  The recordings had been effectively hidden at the instigation of the
Keeper of the Privy Seal, Marquis Kido.  The conspiracy began to rapidly
unravel.  Colonel Haga, commander of the 2nd Regiment, had gone along so far
and provided the "muscle" to surround the Palace, but as the day progressed he
was growing impatient and suspicious about the whereabouts of General Mori
(remember, Haga still thought Mori supported the coup).  General Takashima,
chief-of-staff to Tanaka at Eastern Army HQ (and a former instructor of
Hatanaka's), managed to reach the major on the phone.  Speaking of "needless
sacrifices," he told Hatanaka it was "highly moral to obey the Emporer's
order."  Hatanaka burst into tears and agreed to call off the uprising.  But
even this promise was soon broken.  Hatanaka, in a last attempt to prevent the
surrender, took over the building of the national broadcasting company, and at
gunpoint demanded to be allowed to address the nation.  It took another phone
call from Eastern Army HQ to finally persuade him to give up his hopeless
crusade.  Security police reaching the building were able to induce the
would-be rebels to leave quietly (notice, still no arrests).  Officers regained
control of the now leaderless troops surrounding the Palace and ordered them to
return to their barracks.  Later in the morning Hatanaka shot himself in the
head, leaving behind a poem that read,
        "I have nothing to regret
         now that the dark clouds have disappeared
         from the reign of the Emporer"
        Hatanaka was joined in suicide the same day by General Anami.  General
Tanaka also killed himself later (on August 24th), not due to the revolt but
because he had failed to prevent the devastating fire raids on Tokyo, which was
militarily part of his district.  The coup attempt was over the same day it had
begun, although there were other small-scale mutinies around Japan (for
example, at Atsugi air base, where the pilots dropped leaflets on Tokyo
claiming the Emporer's spirit had been subverted).  But once the Emporer's own
voice had been broadcast to the nation no such effort had any real chance of
succeeding.

        I hope this fills in what you needed.  Virtually all of it is extracted
more or less verbatim from John Toland's "The Rising Sun."  My apologies for
taking so long to get this out, it was less a case of finding time to type it
as of digging out the information, which required following one of many threads
through the book.  Also, a bit of a nerve problem in my left hand (fortunately
the doctor thinks its just a pinched nerve and not carpal tunnel or anything
like that) delayed my keyboarding.

        Regards

        Mike Yaklich

PS: on related Japanese matters, my "thank you" note to Jack McKillop and Greg
Kelly should have said M6A, not A6M (being as the second is so familiar I guess
my brain just short-circuited)

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 14:12:32 EST
From:    Alan Wild <[email-masked]>
Subject: INF: 3rd Army Chronology - 30Jan45

January 30, 1945
D-Day +238

-6th Cavalry group establishes outposts along the high ground east of
 Hosingen, on the southern flank of III Corps.

-17th Airborne and the 6th Armored Div continued clearing Germans from the
 west side of the Our River.

-VIII Corps, 90th Inf Div, 358th & 359th Regiments capture Auel, east of
 the Our River. 4th Inf Div makes small advances east of Hemmeres. The
 87th Inf Div attacks to the east capturing Schlierbach, Rodgen, and
 clearing Andler, Schonberg, and Atzerath.

-XII and XX Corps units maintain their positions.

-Two flight missions were recalled due to persistent bad weather.

***Source: _Patton's Third Army, A Chronology_ by Charles Province

Alan Wild, Sr. Prog/Analyst
ACC - Lippitt - URI
Kingston, RI  02881

American Legion, Post 102
I am the NRA.

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 13:42:57 GMT-6
From:    "Robert T. Moore" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: ? resources

Hello, Margaret!

Will try to answer your questions.

> With consideration of limitations of budget - if you could recommend
> several "best sources" of information about WWII for students "lest they
> forget" - what would you want to see students read?

    That depends on the topic. If you are looking for general
histories that deal with WWII in all its aspects, which of necessity
will only be a superficial treatment, then I recommend:

    Time-Life Books series dealing with the Second World War.
    Marshall-Cavendish Illustrated History of the Second World War
   (44 volumes, easily read and very informative)

   Almost any other general history on this topic will do the job.

>         - what are the most critical concepts you would wish them to
> understand?

    1. To understand why the War was fought. Consider the political,
economic and military factors of all major combattant powers.

    2. To understand the era between the wars. A knowledge of this
and some exposure to WWI history will give a good understanding of
the advent of WWII, and not just related to American history but
European as well.

    3. An understanding of major political and military personalities
gives insights into the decisions that were made. Thus some
biographical study would be necessary.

    4. To appreciate the sacrifices made for the survival of our way
of life, of men, women, children on the Home Front and the soldier at
the front. Then, hopefully, your students will understand why we must
never forget our veterans of military service who made it possible
for them to read and study what they want.

>         - would you be willing to communicate with them to answer any
> questions that they might have?  - and, if so, in what area is your
> expertise or special interest?

    Absolutely. Would welcome any contact with anyone wanting info on
this topic. My special interest in WWII would encompass the following
areas of all major combattants:

    Russia, Germany, US, Japanese, British, French this, the
following topics
    All things relating to: the army
                            the navy
                            the air force
                            the Waffen-SS (German elite unit)

    Strategy, tactics, military personalities at all levels of
command, particularly German, American, British and some Japanese.

    If there is a question, please let me know.

    There are others on this List who are very knowledgeable and, I
am certain that they will contact you.

    Hope this has been of interest.

    All the best, and please stay in touch.

    Terry

 >
>
> margaret                                [email-masked]
>

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 15:28:29 EST
From:    Alan Wild <[email-masked]>
Subject: INF: 3rd Army Chronology - 31Jan45

January 31, 1945
D-Day +239

-G-2 identifies that while some reinforcements were reaching the German
 lines, no new divisions were being identified. It became apparent that
 the Germans were fully occupied with the Eastern Front, relying on the
 Siegfried Line, Winter weather, and favorable terrain in the west.

-VIII Corps, 90th Inf Div, 358th and 359th Regiments attacked and captured
 Heckhalenfeld, Winterspelt, and Eigelscheid. 4th Inf Div, 12th Regiment
 captures Elcherath, Ihren, and Weppler. 8th Regiment crosses the Our
 River and advances about 3 miles. 87th Div captures Heum, and Laudesfeld.
 11th Armored remained in the assembly area.

-III, XII, and XX Corps patrolled aggresively or made limited objective
 attacks.

-XIX TAC grounded due to heavy weather.

***

Alan Wild, Sr. Prog/Analyst
ACC - Lippitt - URI
Kingston, RI  02881

American Legion, Post 102
I am the NRA.

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 15:33:24 EST
From:    Mike Fetters <[email-masked]>
Subject: Enola Gay Exhibit

Statement by I. Michael Heyman, Secretary, Smithsonian Institution:

This morning I shared with the Board of Regents my decision to replace
"The Last Act: The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II" (the Enola
Gay exhibition) scheduled to open in May at the National Air and Space
Museum. I have taken this action for one overriding reason: I have
conlcluded that we made a basic error in attempting to couple an
historical treatment of the use of atomic weapons with the 50th
anniversary commemoration of the end of the war. Exhibitions have many
purposes, equally worthwhile. But we need to know which of many goals is
paramount, and not to confuse them.

In this important anniversary year, veterans and their families were
expecting, and rightly so, that the nation would honor and commemorate
their valor and sacrifice. They were not looking for analysis, and,
frankly, we did not give enough thought to the intense feelings such an
analysis would evoke.

Once the controversy was upon us, our staff made a sincere effort to
create a more balanced exhibition. Within a month of my becoming
Secretary of the Smithsonian last Fall, plans for the exhibition were
substantially revamped. They included a new 4,000 square foot section on
the War in the Pacific and extensive revisions to the script throughout.
In all, I believe we eventually succeeded in creating plans for a more
balanced presentation. However, the problem was more than one of
balance. There was, in fact, a fundamental flaw in the concept of the
exhibition. In retrospect, I now feel strongly that despite our sincere
efforts to address everyone's concerns, we were bound to fail. No amount
of re-balancing could change the confusing nature of the exhibition.

Therefore, I intend to take several actions. Let me just say that it is
rare for the Secretary of the Institution to step in and take direct
charge of an exhibition, but I have concluded that given the complexity
of the circumstances, it is the best course of action. As a first step,
I intend to replace the exhibition to eliminate the fundamental
inconsistence of purpose. I think the new exhibition should be a much
simpler one, essentially a display, permitting the Enola Gay and its
crew to speak for themselves. The focal point of the display would be
the Enola Gay. Along with the plane would be a video about its crew. It
is particularly important in this commemorative year that veterans and
other Americans have the opportunity to see the restored portion of the
fuselage of the Enola Gay.

Although there will be no formal consultation process for this
undertaking, I will work with whomever I believe necessary to produce
it.

Secondly, the Institution has much to learn from this experience. To
that end, the University of Michigan has agreed to co-sponsor a forum
with the Smithsonian this spring on the subject of the appropriate ways
for museums to handle controversial subjects. In particular we will
discuss the Smithsonian's role and responsibilities as a national
museum.

Thirdly, I believe that the issue of atomic weapons is one which the
Institution, in its role as a public forum on important issues, can
address well in the future, but not necessarily in an exhibition.
Therefore, I am considering a series of public symposia to be held at a
later date. It is a serious and difficult undertaking, and I intend to
enlist the assistance of national experts, curators, military
historians, representatives of veterans groups, representatives of peace
groups and others to consider what happened.

Finally, sometime in the future the Enola Gay will be displayed at the
Air and Space Museum's extension at Dulles International Airport in
Virginia. That extension will, for the first time, allow the Smithsonian
to display this important icon in its entirety.

I have a number of regrets about this sad situation. One is that it has
gotten in the way of the commemoration of our nation's victory over
aggression 50 years ago. We at the Smithsonian do not want to have this
controversy overshadow the recognition that our veterans so richly
deserve.

I also regret that the Enola Gay controversy has led some to doubt the
value of historical inquiry in museums. I believe that important
artifacts of American history ought to be exhibited in an historical
context. However, I do intend to conduct an extensive management review
of the National Air and Space Museum.

And finally, I regret that this action will be seen by some as a
criticism of those responsible for this exhibition. The central problem
was not their lack of skill or hard work, but rather our collective
inability to anticipate the difficulty of presenting this complex
subject in conflicting contexts.

Just over four months ago, I came to the Smithsonian Institution imbued
with grea hopes I still feel. This Institution is a splendid array of
museums and research centers with an extraordinary staff. But I also
came in the midst of a controversy that is now consuming me and the
Institution and is interfering with the important work our nation asks
us to do. It is a time to move forward. On this, the eve of our 150th
anniversary in 1996, we can work to achieve our fundamental goal of
making the Smithsonian, the nation's museum, representative of and
accessible to greater and greater numbers of Americans. The public's
trust is sacred, and we intend to do all in our power to be worthy of
that trust.

*************************

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 17:30:54 -0500
From:    Dan Ford <[email-masked]>
Subject: Enola Gay etc

USA Today said today (Monday) that the Smithsonian regents are meeting
today, with the likely result of drastically scaling back the famous
exhibit as a result of the hammering they have taken from veterans' groups.

                 - Dan    <[email-masked]>

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 16:49:38 -0400
From:    Mike Yaklich <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: INF: 50 Years Ago - 31-JAN-1945

        I believe that is the same film, "the Fighting Lady" and can be viewed
aboard the CV-10 at Patriots' Point museum in Charleston, S.C.

        Regards

        Mike Yaklich

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 18:38:51 -0500
From:    Burt Knight <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Help for aunt in Westerly RI

for 'Barrow', read 'Barrel' and it makes a lot more sense..

Mortars were in several sizes but the 81mm and the 60mm were the standard
company grade mortars.  Believe it or not, the description of the operation is
reasonably accurate for a Brandt or Stokes type mortar.  The US adopted the
Brandt design, as opposed to the Stokes, in the '20's. The description sounds
like the man was a third man (the Gopher of the team). The first would be a lot
more detailed in operation and the first and second were trained to disassemble
and reassemble the mortar. Of course minds age differently.  My father can
still run down the complete tech layout of a B29 or A26 Central Fire Control
system (50 years later) but I've got some friends from 'Nam who can't remember
how to use a P38 can opener and who get confused with phrases like 'Didi'.

Cheryl, feel free to run the stuff by us, even Hiway 20 though it's the wrong
war <gr>, there's a few of us around who were there and the basics never
change.   BWK

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 18:16:33 EST
From:    Henry Sirotin <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Reenating events and USO Shows

Well, if you translate my home phone number to an old-fashioned
"exchange" name, 779 becomes Psychotic 9-.....

HS

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 18:06:49 EST
From:    Henry Sirotin <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: International Law

Dear Nechama,

There could be different standards for different classes of mail.
There should be an office or representative of the Universal Postal
Union in London. This group has been setting the international mail
standards since 1878 or so.

Henry Sirotin

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 18:16:39 -0600
From:    "Tim J. Watts" <[email-masked]>
Subject: TAC: Aerial Mining

Jack McKillop's chronology of the AAF recently included a report of B-29's
mining Saigon, Camranh Bay and Singapore harbors.  Does anyone know how
they did this?  Did they drop them from 30,000 feet?  Or did they go down
on the deck?

Generally speaking, what was the tactic for any aircraft dropping mines
into water?  Low and slow seems most likely, but I'm just curious.

Thanks in advance.

Tim J. Watts
Valparaiso University

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 16:38:18 -0800
From:    Steve New <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: P-51s to Russia?

You wrote:

>
>Jack McKillop provided detailed info on my query on the 55 (oer more)
>P47(D's) sent to Russia under Lend-Lease.
>
>Thanks Jack!  My query was more , "Why was such a comparatively
advanced
>aircraft sent compared with the 'older-tech' P-39, P40 that were sent
in
>larger numbers".  I believe typical export procedure is to provide
>less advanced types to allies so why were the relatively new P-47Ds
sent?
>
>Eric ([email-masked])
>
>
My guess is that these were sent as some of the last Lend lease aircraft
provided to Russia.  Toward the end of the war, production of P-40s,
P-39s and P-63s was ending.  P-47 production was ongoing, but the AAF
was already in a position to plan on standardizing on the P-51 for the
remainder of the war, and immediate post war period.

They had the P47Ds, and didn't really have a use for them (Republic by
then providing the much improved P47N).  If the British didn't need them
for the far east, and the various and sundry south american air forces
had all they could handle (Guatamala, Brazil, Peru, Mexico etc.) why not
give them to Moscow?

Remember, by late '44 and '45, the P47D was no longer the high tech
aircraft that it was in '43.  They were being superceded by P47Ns,
P51Fs, P59s and P80s, while the P84 was already in development.  It is
argueable that in the La-7 series that the Russians were already
building their own aircraft that were better than the P47.

--

Steve L. New
[email-masked]
Just an armadillo on the shoulder of the information superhighway.

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 19:56:58 EST
From:    Alan Wild <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Westerly RI oral history #1

Cheryl, that was something; I happen to live close enough to the local
places you speak of to put 2 and 2 together. Very nice,...

'Appreciado,... -Alano de Savajo

Alan Wild, Sr. Prog/Analyst
ACC - Lippitt - URI
Kingston, RI  02881

American Legion, Post 102
I am the NRA.

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 16:56:44 -0800
From:    Steve New <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Help for aunt in Westerly RI

You wrote:

>
>> Cheryl,I can't offer much help [from AZ] but an 81 mm Mortar has a
Bipod
>> [two legs that support the tube or barrel]
>
>Here is what the transcription itself says:  " A mortar shell is like a
>little small missile.  You have a base plate, you have a tri-pot
[probably
>tripod] and you have a barrow, which would, you would elevate it at the
>distance that you wanted that shell to go....[You] had the first
gunner,
>the second gunner and the third.  That's the three parts.  There were
>three men to a mortar.  [Interviewer: What was the firing mechanism?]
>Well, it was like an explosive on the bottom.  You shoot a gun and it
has
>a trigger and the trigger detonates [ouch?], your shell has the same
thing,
>it hits and then it goes off into the air.  It propels itself....[An
88mm
>shell] is pretty big.  You had the 88mm mortars and you had the 60mm
mortars."
>
>End quote.  I will flag the hard copy of my summary with an "81mm
mortar"
>and "tripod or bipod?" queries.
>
>> an Infantry Division runs> around 14,500 men plus equipment... which
>> probably handles the boxcar> question.
>
>Yup, I'd say he meant boxcars plural. (We're translating Rhode
Islandese.)
>The situtation with the boxcars is that it took 6 days and 5 nights to
>take a trip across France (from Caen to Metz) that would normally take
only
>hours. At times, everyone had to be real quiet on the train to keep
"bedcheck
>Charlie" (German reconnaisance) from discovering their presence.
>
>> I can help on some of that technical stuff... the rest is beyond> me.
>> Jim O'Neil
>
>Thanks, Jim, these were two quick examples of me feeling uncomfortable
>about the transcriptions I'm working with.  I know from previous
>interviewing work I've done (with children's authors) that even the
>horse's mouth gets facts confused at times.  I'd *like* to run the 12
>pages of finished summaries past at least one person familiar with
>military stuff before submitting them as "done."  Before some kind
person
>volunteers, there are a total of 104 of these narratives (I'm only
doing
>six of them).
>
>Westerly is a teeny town but its WWII contributions are significant
>thanks to its Sons of Italy (most of whom came from Calobria in
southern
>Italy).
>
>What I can do is upload my summaries to this list (except the Vietnam
one
>by an engineer who helped build Highway 20 there) and anyone who wants
to
>can comment on them.  Thanks again,
>
>Cheryl
[email-masked]
Yes, the tri-pot should be a bi-pod, and the "barrow" should be barrel,
this is the tube that the mortar shell is slipped into.

--

Steve L. New
[email-masked]
Just an armadillo on the shoulder of the information superhighway.

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 17:23:23 -0800
From:    Steve New <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: embarassing question

You wrote:

>
>        Gee, its embarrassing for a self-described "Italian specialist"
to
>havve to ask this, but I'm wondering if one of the aircraft people on
the list
>can save me a bunch of digging.  My question concerns where some of the
leading
>aircraft manufacturers of WW2 Italy were located.  I know that Fiat was
in
>Torino, Breda in Milan, Macchi on the shores of Lake Como, and CANT in
the
>Trieste/Monfalcone area.  Can anyone out there tell me where
Savoia-Marchetti,
>Caproni, and Piaggio had their main factories?? (I know that Caproni
farmed a
>lot of its work out to subsidiaries, and that one of these was at
>Castellamare).  Bonus points for Meridionale/IMAM or Saiman!!!  Also,
I'm aware
>that Reggiane was also a subsidiary of Caproni, am I correct in
thinking they
>were located in the Reggio Calabria area??  Any help, including a quick
>reference source where I could find this for myself, would be greatly
>appreciated (I checked three books on WW2 combat aircraft, including
Gunston's
>"Encyclopedia," without finding reference to the main Italian
manufacturers
>and their locations).
>
>        Regards and thanks in advance
>
>        Mike Yaklich
>
>
Ambrosini:  Lake Trasomeno

C.A.N.S.A.:  Cameri

Caproni:  A large conglomerate, main works were at Taliedo, Milan
          with plants at Ponte San Pietro, Bergamo; Vizzola Ticino,
          Varese; Littorio, Rome and Lido de Roma.

C.M.A.S.A.:  Pisa

Meridionali/IMAM:  Naples

Piaggio:  Sestri Ponente, Genoa; Finale-Ligure, Pisa; Pontedera

Reggiane:  Reggio Emilia

Savoia Marchetti:  Sesto Calende

Source;  Italian Civil and Military Aircraft, 1930-1945 by Jonathan
Thompson, Aero Publishers,1963.  ISBN 0-8168-6500-0.  A must have for
any WWII "Italian specialist".

--

Steve L. New
[email-masked]
Just an armadillo on the shoulder of the information superhighway.

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 22:22:38 -0500
From:    Ben Frank <[email-masked]>
Subject: PAUL TIBBETTS AT AIR S

By now, I daresay that everyone on the list has seen the TV news story about
the Enola Gay exhibit being dropped. In the Style section of the Washington
Post today there was an interview with Paul Tibbetts, a fair and evenhanded
interview. In it he said that he had lost no sleep over the fact that he
dropped the bomb and couldn't see what all the fuss was about. He also said
that the exhibit should be cancelled, and so it is. Ben Frank

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 1995 23:14:39 -0500
From:    Cheryl Abdullah <[email-masked]>
Subject: Westerly RI oral history (1 of 5)

--1915860659-728009859-791525963:#15981
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

Dear WWII list members, I am attempting to attach the ascii-ized version
of a Westerly, Rhode Island oral history.  Assuming this works, please
feel free to comment, query, critique this summary.  Thanks in advance,

Cheryl                                    [email-masked]

--1915860659-728009859-791525963:#15981
Content-Type: APPLICATION/octet-stream; name="morr.txt"
Content-ID: <Pine.3.07.9501302323.A15981@acme>
Content-Description: Ack Ack Morrone oral history

Narrator:  Technical Sergeant Angelo Anthony "Ack Ack"
Morrone

Brief Biographical Background:
DOB: 3/27/25
POB: Westerly, RI
Civilian premilitary occupation: High-school student;
helped father at family gas station/restaurant.
Post-military experience:  Gas-station attendant; first
commander and cofounder of the Westerly VFW Post.
Separation or discharge date:  Fall, 1945
Branch of Service:  Air Force.
Overseas duty:  Corsica.
Special Awards:   Distinguished Flying Cross.

1

Highlights/Anecdotes of the Military Experience:

Morrone was born on a farm in "Varietyville," a little
village on the edge of White Rock, off the end of Canal
Street.  He recalls seeing the National Guard and the
American Legion marching during parades in Westerly, and
that the local military helped police during the '30s
hurricane.  He and his family moved to Ashaway shortly
before the hurricane hit.  He attended White Rock school
until 3d grade, then the Immaculate Conception Catholic
school.  Money was tight because of his dad's health
problems, so he went to Ashaway School for 5th-6th
grades, finishing 7th-12th grades at Westerly High.
Morrone heard the news about Pearl Harbor being bombed in
1941 while working with his father in their family-owned
gas station in Ashaway.

2

Morrone was allowed to enlist in the aviation cadet
program in February, 1943, foregoing his last few months
of high school.  On graduation day, his parents took the
stage to pick up his diploma at the high school.  (Only
students with minimal-level grades were allowed to
graduate early.)  He took pilot training in Nashville,
TN, then was reassigned to flight engineering school in
the spring of 1943.  He took aircraft and engineer
training for approximately three months at the Seymore
Johnson Field in North Carolina.

He next went to Fort Myers, FL, for gunnery training.
"The first gun I fired was a 22 at an arcade....Then they
started training us with these skeet range, one/half moon
circle.  We all were pretty good at it; before we got
done we would put a house on one end of the moon and a
house on the other end of the moon, about five or six
positions so you never knew when the skeet was coming out
but after a while you got so good you could get about 28
or 26 out of 30."  The skeet shooting was done with a 12-
gauge shot gun. Morrone was impressed by an instructor
from Tennessee who could shoot from the hip, "He could

3

hit anywhere."  They next trained by standing within a
round hoop in the back of a jeep that went around an oval
track; anytime the jeep hit cable lines in the track,
"they would shoot out of the bushes at different angles,"
teaching the trainees to lead at different angles.
Another training course was to shoot skeets from a turret
in a 40'-50' tower.  The trainees were graded on their
shooting ability.  "[T]he last step was in an actual
plane--we went on a B17--I was the top turret.  A few
other guys didn't know how to shoot (short purse), and we
burned out more barrels than they could count."  In order
to get his wings and graduate from aerial gunner school,
Morrone had to prove that he could dismantle detail strip
a 50 caliper gun blindfolded, without gloves, and
removing extraneous broken parts that his instructor
inserted.

4

After graduating in early 1944 as a flight engineer
gunner top turret, Morrone went to Columbus, SC, for
overseas training.  "In the B25 unit after that training
was done, they flew us down to Hunner Field in Savannah,
GA, where we picked up these brand new B25's, and then we
ferried them overseas--South Atlantic route via Trinidad
and Natal, Brazil and across to Ascension Island into
Decar, Africa, up the coast to Marrakesh and then into
Tunisia."  Morrone served as a staff sergeant flight
engineer during the trip.

5

He flew 70 combat missions out of Corsica with the 5th
bomb wing of the 310th squadron, 380th bomb group.  From
spring of 1944 until the end of the war he received air
medals six times, including the Distinguished Flying
Cross.  "We got that on my 70th mission [March 17, 1945]
in the Northern Apennines.at the Burma Pass.  Our main
objective was to stop the Germans from bringing the
supplies into Italy.  We had to cut their lifelines.
General Canon started to use a different strategy, so he
decided to bomb bridges and we worked up through south
France....and went into Poe Valley, [burning] a lot of
bridges and railroad cars.  Finally we pushed them
further north and that was the worst part of the mission
because we bombed right in to the Alps...you see, the

6

only way the Germans could get their supplies into Italy
was through southern Austria....As it turned out, the
target was heavily fortified and when we were on our bomb
run we were getting everything they could shoot up at us.
A lot of guys were shaken up but we kept a tight
ship....the place was full of flack.  And I guess what
happened was we saw the lead ship open the bomb bay doors
and no bombs came out so the bombardier must have
panicked, and it was too late to drop them.  So the squad
commander had us go around again--all hell broke
loose....[W]e lost several aircraft.  I can't recall
what, my ship got hit so hard that before we got under
control we lost about 2500 feet.  Pilot declared an
emergency and we headed back out for southern France.

7

Because we were based in Corsica we had to clear the
hills so we jettisoned everything out of the airplane
except for the freid [ed.?] meter and the nord bomb site
and the top turret guns....[W]e had lost the left engine
when we got a direct hit...I had no hydraulics, and we
had all we could to keep the plane flying level so we
wouldn't go off in a dive.  Thank God we had good
engines, we kept the power on....we came in at about 125
m.p.h. right over the bushes.  We cut everything off--
selective fueled value--fueled off everything.  We just
rolled into the bushes."  That was Morrone's last
mission.

8

While on a boat going from Corsica to Naples, Morrone
heard about President Roosevelt passing away.  He and his
outfit stayed three weeks in a stateside hospital for
being "flack happy and nervous." By this time a Tech.
Sergeant, he went to Shenoot Field in Illinois for
training as a B29 flight engineer.  He was scheduled to
go to the Philippines, but VJ day and Hiroshima occurred.
Morrone had enough points to get out of the service by
fall of 1945.  He joined the Air Force reserve after
being discharged to Westover Airforce Base.  The state of
Rhode Island gave Morrone and other veterans money out of
what was called the "52-20 club" ($20/week for 52 weeks).

9

Upon reentering civilian life, Morrone and his brother
built a gasoline station in Ashaway, where Morrone worked
until 1954.  He then worked from 1954 to 1971 at the Gulf
station on Main Street.  Since 1971 he has worked at
Dunn's Corners.  Using the GI. Bill of Rights, he got his
pilot's license (commercial, multi-engine, and instrument
license), flying out of the Stonington Airport.  When Ack
Ack married an Urso girl in 1953, General Holland of the
National Guard let the two large families use the state
armory for the wedding reception--without fee.

10

Ack Ack became the first commander of the VFW Post in
Westerly during 1946 or 1947 after co-founding it with
friends Al Cofone, Joe Ruisi, Bubba Urso, Harry Champlin,
Slim Algiere, and Roger Crandall.  They named the AF VFW
8955 Post "Amanico Falcone" after two Pawcatuck brothers
who were killed early on in the war. The Westerly
veterans used to meet upstairs at the old YMCA building
on High Street, which has since been torn down.

Audio tape interview:     July 13, 1992
Interviewer:              Colonel Coulahan
Written History Editor:   Cheryl Abdullah

--1915860659-728009859-791525963:#15981--

------------------------------

End of WWII-L Digest - 29 Jan 1995 to 30 Jan 1995
*************************************************