Subject: WWII-L Digest - 28 Mar 1995 to 29 Mar 1995

From: Automatic digest processor <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 1995 00:05:47 -0500

There are 36 messages totalling 1339 lines in this issue.

Topics of the day:

  1. Where was the queen? (2)
  2. Name that gun, Enfield No4 Mk1 (6)
  3. INF: USN Chronology 03-29-95
  4. Bataan death march (2)
  5. Re[2]: Bataan death march (2)
  6. WW2 Rifles (2)
  7. 1st Marine Div. - 'found Jim
  8. your mail (2)
  9. "Battle of the Bulge" film (WAS Bataan death march)
 10. Enfield No4 Mk1
 11. MOVIE: Battle of the Bulge (was: Re: Bataan death march)
 12. Search Request
 13. USS Ward (DD-139) (2)
 14. MEDIA:Victoria Cross II (3)
 15. BATAAN DEATH MARCH
 16. General Howard
 17. [INF] USAAF 30 MAR 45
 18. Medals and Awards
 19. THUNDERBOLT
 20. 1ST MARINE DIV. - 'FOU
 21. PT Boat info request and ...
 22. V-J Day or V-P Day
 23. Accidental killing of Marine

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

Date:    Tue, 28 Mar 1995 22:57:17 -0800
From:    Sidney Allinson <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Where was the queen?

Bill Huber...
        Youseem a little mixed on your queens.  :-)
        The original question by someone was, "Where did Queen Elizabeth
ive during the Second World War?"

The answer is that Queen Elizabeth lived in London throughout the war
wuth her husband, King George, and her two daughters, Princess Elizabeth
and princess Margaret.
        It was Princess Elizabeth who became a driver in the army (ATS),
not "Queen Elizabeth".
        Of course, princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth in 1952,
ascending to the British Throne after the death of her father, King George.
Her mother, who was Queen Elizabeth during the war, then became the Queen
Mother.

Sidney Allinson.

--

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

Date:    Tue, 28 Mar 1995 23:09:24 -0800
From:    Sidney Allinson <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Name that gun, Enfield No4 Mk1

Patrick...
        The large rear sight opening of the LeeEn which you dislike
in target practice was a great advantage in battle conditions; a different
type of shooting alrogether.

--

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 04:00:12 PST
From:    "Keller, Theron P." <[email-masked]>
Subject: INF: USN Chronology 03-29-95

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

1945
03/29 Thu. Aircraft from two carrier task groups (Rear Adm. J. J.
           Clark and Rear Adm. F. C. Sherman) attack airfields and
           shipping in the Kagoshima Bay area, Kyushu, Japan.
            Japanese naval vessels sunk:
             Submarine chaser NO. 192, by Army aircraft,
              off Formosa,
              22 d. 40'N., 120 d. 15'E.
             Coast defense vessel NO. 18, by Army aircraft,
              South China Sea,
              14 d. 44'N., 109 d. 16'E.
             Coast defense vessel NO. 84, by submarine HAMMERHEAD
              (SS-364), South China Sea,
              14 d. 30'N., 109 d. 16'E.
             Coast defense vessel NO. 130, by Army aircraft,
              South China Sea,
              14 d. 44'N., 109 d. 16'E.

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:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 07:10:37 -0700
From:    John Brewer <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Name that gun, Enfield No4 Mk1

On Tue, 28 Mar 1995, Sidney Allinson wrote:

> Patrick...
>         The large rear sight opening of the LeeEn which you dislike
> in target practice was a great advantage in battle conditions; a different
> type of shooting alrogether.

        This is certainly very true. A peek thru a more recent battle
        rifle (say, a FAL or the like) will confirm this. Target acquisition
        thru anything much smaller would be hopeless under real conditions.
        /john

 John M. Brewer   wb5oau
 [email-masked]

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 09:17:36 EST
From:    Dee Shneiderman <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Name that gun, Enfield No4 Mk1

There has been a bit of discussion on the newsgroup, rec.guns, recently about
the Lee Enfield.  I got mine at a discount store for about $42 and it is in
good condition.  I agree that its action is nice and smooth, especially for a
novice like me. It is also easy to disassemble for cleaning, refinishing, etc.
It shoots well and I had no recoil bruises. (And I'm just a 5'4" librarian,
whatsa matter with you big, strong guys? ;-).)

Dee Shneiderman
Reference/Bibliographic Instruction Librarian
Pembroke State University
Pembroke NC 28372
910-521-6265

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 08:41:39 EST
From:    Alan Wild <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Bataan death march

Hi Terry,... What comes to mind each time I think of MacArthur is a scene
from a movie _The Battle of the Bulge_ with Henry Fonda, you know? The
actor who played "Dano" on Hawaii-50 played a young Lt in the movie. His
unit surrenders and gets MG'd. He survives, discovers other lost corpmen,
who then ask if they should surrender. "No!", he replies. "Just hang loose".
Ok. Movie. But given the fanaticism of the Japanese, could anyone predict
a better fate for their POWs? The Chinese had examples for the world at
that time of what the Japanese were inclined toward.

I believe MacArthur's West Point achievements fell short in guerilla tactics.
Not all american units surrendered, and if none did, the Japanese would
have probably not made it to Guadalcanal. IMHO In Bob Asprey's book on
guerillas throughout history, he identifies that many officers, cut off
by the surprise, formed guerilla units and were aided and in part supplied
by Filipino natives on Luzon. A network setup in the myriad of hilly
islands in the area aided survivors of sunken American ships. MacArthur
failed to take into account the terrain where, in the _The Old Breed_ jungle
is identified as a place where the general principles of war fall apart;
1) find the enemy and maintain contact - very difficult in the jungle
2) bring superior firepower to bear on his position - often not possible
   without significant and expensive air support. Generally you fight
   with equal arms.

Asprey says about "50 groups emerged before the Japs could consolidate their
conquest. They occupied Luzon in the north, the Visayan Islands (parti-
cularly Leyte and Samar) in the center, and Mindanao in the South". Chapt
30 in this book is worth reading. They fashioned weapons out of what they
could. In '43, the Japanese had to increase patrolling due to they're
nuisance. The duty of the soldier is to harass and tie-up as many possible
enemy troops.

There are approx. 114,830 square miles on some 7100 islands that make up
the Philippine Islands. MacArthur could have issued orders that he would
return, fine, and that as many volunteers as possible hit the islands.

This, I would have considered proper. Some groups, Asprey points out, did
"requisition anything they could find, including women, with no notion of
fighting the Japanese." These groups lacked a leader. Had MacArthur
identified their duty, and given them the moral support of knowing that
they would be scattered throughout the islands in numbers, these groups
may not have gone renegade and may have caused havoc to the Japanese.

Best regards, Alan

>Just read your post and would like to respond.
>
>>The blame for the thousands of lost men should go to MacArthur who, knowing
>>the chances, should have decided to resist. Any way of dying seems to me
>>would have been preferable to getting bayonneted in the back if you fell from
>>exhaustion. I have a low regard for MacArthur and can not figure why he
>>was regarded so highly, other than he was good at politics.
>
>    Perhaps so, but hindsight is always 20/20. At least one is alive
>even in captivity, no matter how cruel it may be. Even if death is a
>result during the time, at least there is the hope that one will
>survive no matter what.
>
>    I can appreciate your feelings toward MacArthur, but don't forget
>that he was West Point's most distinguished graduate and he was a
>world-class strategist regardless of his shortcomings. His masterful
>development of the island-hopping strategy in the Southwest Pacific
>saved many many lives while inflicting the maximum casualties on the
>enemy.
>
>    These are my thoughts, and would like to hear yours or any one
>else's.
>
>    All the best.
>
>    Terry

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

American Legion, Post 102
I am the NRA.

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 09:30:58 EST
From:    Alan Wild <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Bataan death march

Hi Joe,...
He and King share the responsiblity. The Japanese are not barbarians,...
The Chinese had a different story; the Koreans had a different story;
no one listened. It truely was a surprise.

'Regards, Alan

>
>Alan Wild <[email-masked]> writes:
>> The blame for the thousands of lost men should go to MacArthur who, knowing
>> the chances, should have decided to resist. Any way of dying seems to me
>> would have been preferable to getting bayonneted in the back if you fell from
>> exhaustion. I have a low regard for MacArthur and can not figure why he
>> was regarded so highly, other than he was good at politics.
>
>        Actually, MacArthur *was* against surrender.  Ned King took it upon
>himself to surrender.  In fact, MacArthur had ordered King to counterattack
>on the day that he had surrendered.  This attack was a crackpot scheme that
>could be compared to the crazy plans emanating from the Berlin bunker three
>years later when German troops were in full retreat.  The troops of Bataan
>had had little or no food for several days, were ravished by disease, were
>low in ammunition, and had little in the way of artillery support (the guns
>of Corregidor faced outward).  When King discussed terms with the Japanese
>colonel Homma had sent, King asked for assurances that his men would be
>treated properly.  The colonel responded, "The Imperial Japanese Army are
>not barbarians."  With that statement, King surrendered his command.  After
>the war, MacArthur denigrated King when he spoke of him at all and sought to
>assign blame for the Philippine disaster on King and the other men he left
>behind.
>--
>Joe Barone
>[email-masked]
>I thought I told you to get me a good-lookin'
>kid -- not this fat, sausage-chewin' wino!

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

American Legion, Post 102
I am the NRA.

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 09:00:49 CST
From:    "SCHERRER, TIM" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re[2]: Bataan death march

Speaking of the Battle of the Bulge--where was that movie filmed--the
southern deserts of Belgium?  Didn;t look like the Bulge to me!

************************************************************************
*  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:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 10:25:44 EST
From:    Jonathan Perkins <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Name that gun, Enfield No4 Mk1

Just thought I'd throw my $0.02 worth into the pot on this....

For what it is worth, the No. 4 Enfield has about 5 sight variations depending
upon the model, the date of manufacture, and the country.  The Canadian-
produced rifles were equipped with a variety of sights at different points
in their service lives, including a simple L-type flip aperature with 300 and
600 yard settings, as well as a number of variants of a precision aperature
rear sight combined with a large aperature battle sight (the forerunner of
what is now called a "ghost ring" aperature sight, allowing quick target
acquisition under battle conditions out to about 200 yards).  If anyone is
truly interested, I have the Canadian technical manual at home and can even
quote you stock part numbers! (some of which are NSN, believe it or not).
As to the question about the range gradations of No. 4 rear sights, all the
.303 calibre rifles are set in yards.  Rifles that were converted
after the war to 7.62mm NATO had the sights changed to metres, however.

Both the Enfield No. 1 and No. 4 family of rifles are excellent pieces of
equipment.  Provided that they do not show excessive throat wear or have any
major defects in their rifling, all of these rifles are quite acceptably
accurate.  My personal preference runs more toward the No. 1's, the original
Short Magazine Lee Enfields (SMLEs).  Most of those that are found in
today's surplus market are No. 1 Mark III* variants, which were produced
toward the end of WWI or during the inter-war period.  They are most commonly
found without the magazine cut-off fitted, or with the magazine cut-off slot
unmilled.  Earlier variants can be found under some circumstances with the
long range volley sights, or with extra barrel bands fitted for use as
grenade-launching rifles using a cup discharger or rod system, etc.  The
No. 1 Mk. IIIs were made in a number of places, including Enfield proper and
Birmingham Small Arms in the UK, Lithgow in Australia, and Ishapore Arsenals
in India.  All evidence some slight variations in manufacture and design,
even within the same mark.  Many of the nicest rifles on the market today
are surplus Lithgow rifles, or Orange Arsenal (Australia again) factory
re-furbished rifles that were in military storage up until a few years ago.
Ishapore Arsenals produced some very fine 7.62mm NATO variants of the No. 1
Mk. III, and some of these are available if you look in the right places
(the rifle is still in use by the Indian police in some spots, and the
Indians were famous for producing a .410-bore single shot variant of the
SMLE for crowd control duties).

The combination of the Lee bolt action and magazine design and the Enfield
rifling pattern made for a very successful rifle.  Musketry purists were
unhappy with the SMLE rifles at the turn of the century, however, arguing
that they were much less accurate than the tightly-locking Mauser designs,
and that the .303 cartridge lacked the flat shooting characteristics of
other more "modern" small arms rounds.  This, of course, led Britain into
designing and manufacturing (largely under licence in the U.S.) the Enfield
P14 (P17 in .30-06), which was a Mauser bolt design.  Early on they
experimented with a .243 calibre round, which was indeed very flat shooting
but which also had excessive recoil, muzzle flash and barrel/chamber erosion
(note: this was not the .243 that is available on the market today, but a
full size case necked down to .243 calibre--something of a wildcat round in
today's terminology).  Thankfully for many of the "Tommies" in the trenches
of WWI or the jungles and deserts of WWII, other minds prevailed and the
SMLE stayed the standard issue rifle of the British and Commonwealth
militaries.  The SMLE is slightly harsher to shoot than the No. 4, due to
the fact that it is slightly lighter.  The heavier recoil is most noticeable
when using the standard Mk. VII ball ammunition, but it is said that the
old Lee Metford cavalry carbines were much worse (the SMLE was designed so
that it could be used by both the cavalry and the infantry--up until then,
each branch of the service had adopted their own carbine and long rifle
versions, although many cavalry units adopted the long-barrelled infantry
rifles for their greater range and accuracy while serving in South Africa
during the Boer War).

The other major variant in the Enfield line that hasn't been mentioned
thus far is the No. 5, or jungle carbine.  This handy little rifle is a
darling to carry compared to the full size rifles, but is an absolute
bastard to shoot.  It was equipped with a small rubber recoil pad that
did little to dampen the kick.  The No. 5 was most commonly carried
during the late WWII and post-war campaigns in Kenya and the Malay
republic, etc.

Anyway, I've prattled on far too long.  Suffice to say that I feel these
rifles are very good, and that they gave great service.  As to the Mausers
on the other side of the fence, they were also great rifles, but built
to a different standard and philosophy.  That is another story, however.

Cheers.

--
----------
Jon Perkins--Ottawa, Canada
[email-masked]

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 10:22:44 EST
From:    Alan Wild <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Name that gun, Enfield No4 Mk1

Hi Dee,...
>
>There has been a bit of discussion on the newsgroup, rec.guns, recently about
>the Lee Enfield.  I got mine at a discount store for about $42 and it is in
>good condition.  I agree that its action is nice and smooth, especially for a
>novice like me. It is also easy to disassemble for cleaning, refinishing, etc.
>It shoots well and I had no recoil bruises. (And I'm just a 5'4" librarian,
>whatsa matter with you big, strong guys? ;-).)
>
>Dee Shneiderman

That's tellin'em, Dee. But on the topic of the peep-sights. I have a
Remington .22 cal. that has a tiny rear aperture. Very accurate, very
tough to get a sight picture of a squirrel. Sydney is right on target.
It's a trade off; a blade rear sight has the quickest target acquisition,
but less accuracy. I believe the Enfield rear aperture to be a good
compromise. -Al

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

American Legion, Post 102
I am the NRA.

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 10:59:00 -0500
From:    Max Calderwood <[email-masked]>
Subject: WW2 Rifles

Those battle rifle fans will be glad to know that a large stock of brand new
Moisin Nagant M44 carbines have come into the country to a company in Southern
Ohio.

I just got mine and it was manufactured in 1955 at the Polish factory #11, and
the finish is far superior to the Russian wartime guns.

So if you want an "out of box" WW2 rifles I can post details.
The M44 is probably "the gun" that defeated the Third Reich.

Also, there are lots of new condition Enfields out there...so the fancier
should act fast!

Best wishes,

Max

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 10:40:09 EST
From:    Alan Wild <[email-masked]>
Subject: 1st Marine Div. - 'found Jim

  Yo Ben! I got a call last night from James C. Wilbur, Sgt. He remembers
you well, perhaps for your sake too well. He and I had a laugh about a
time you both were in a CP foxhole on Peleliu. It was night, and you had
to go,... so you did. With the Japanese running around everywhere, he
heard something and turned, bringing the bolt back on his Thompson.
You exclaimed, "Don't shoot, it's me, _____"

So you have a Marine Corps nickname... hmmm. Of course if you pay me, I
won't tell anybody. ;-) (just kidding - all in good fun)

Anyway, he's in Illinois:   James C. Wilbur, Sr.
                            320 Sheridan Dr.
                            Condo C1
                            Willowbrook, IL  60514
                            Phone: (708) 325-6382

Please call him, Ben. I know he'd love to hear from you. I'm shipping _The
Old Breed_ to him today. He should get it by Monday. His son is married to
a blonde Greecian woman, so he says, and is not in the service. He lent
the book to someone 3-5 years back and that was the last he saw of it.
It was good to get word through to him. He remembers Carmen Zapelli who
played trumpet in the band with you guys. I guess Carmen was shot in the
liver at Peleliu and died in Jims arms. It will be the 50th anniv of the
landing, Easter 50 years ago, on Okinawa soon. He told me some trivia
about the cover of _The Old Breed_,... it is made of the recycled Marine
dungarees.

He said he will sign and send me a book his brother, "Bud" wrote, who
was in the 3rd Div.. Bud died last year on the Marine Corp birthday
and was buried on Veterans day, Jim told me.

God speed...

It was only after we talked for quite a bit and hung up, that he called
back laughing with the above story about the foxhole on Blue Beach. He
furtherly mentioned that the Marines had to fight to get out of the surf
and onto the beach. Anyway he remembers quite a bit. He should get a
computer and join the list.

'Regards, Alan

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

American Legion, Post 102
I am the NRA.

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 11:21:42 EST
From:    Alan Wild <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Name that gun, Enfield No4 Mk1

Thank you, John,... very informative. -Al

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

American Legion, Post 102
I am the NRA.

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 11:54:26 -0500
From:    Greg Kelley <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: your mail

Chuck (and others)

it does indeed sit by the State Capitol; the surviving members of the
Ward's crew still meet regularly here in town-- I work with the wife of
one of 'em.....

                                          Glad To Be Of Service!

                                          Greg Kelley
                                          St. Paul Public Library
                                          [email-masked]

On Tue, 21 Mar 1995, Chuck McCormick wrote:

> By the way, the Ward was crewed by Naval Reservists from St. Paul,
> Minnesota.  The former crewmen of the Ward formed a club called the
> 'first shot club' after the war and I think that the 5" gun that fired
> the first US shots in WWII sits someplace near the State Capitol Building
> in ST. Paul.

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 11:56:42 -0500
From:    Greg Kelley <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: "Battle of the Bulge" film (WAS Bataan death march)

SPAIN (that's right-- the Spanish Army provided all those M-47s....)

                                          Glad To Be Of Service!

                                          Greg Kelley
                                          St. Paul Public Library
                                          [email-masked]

On Wed, 29 Mar 1995, SCHERRER, TIM wrote:

> Speaking of the Battle of the Bulge--where was that movie filmed--the
> southern deserts of Belgium?  Didn;t look like the Bulge to me!
>
> ************************************************************************
> *  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:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 12:32:07 -0500
From:    Frederick J Milford <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: your mail

Just to pick a little nit with the ground and air forces, I believe Ward
carried 4-4"/50s as main battery.  The Farraguts (DD 348-355) were the first
DDs to carry 5"/38s.  I'm talking here about DD 139 at PH on 7 December
1941--there may be another post WW II DD by the same name.

Fred Milford

>
> Chuck (and others)
>
> it does indeed sit by the State Capitol; the surviving members of the
> Ward's crew still meet regularly here in town-- I work with the wife of
> one of 'em.....
>
>                                           Glad To Be Of Service!
>
>                                           Greg Kelley
>                                           St. Paul Public Library
>                                           [email-masked]
>
> On Tue, 21 Mar 1995, Chuck McCormick wrote:
>
> > By the way, the Ward was crewed by Naval Reservists from St. Paul,
> > Minnesota.  The former crewmen of the Ward formed a club called the
> > 'first shot club' after the war and I think that the 5" gun that fired
> > the first US shots in WWII sits someplace near the State Capitol Building
> > in ST. Paul.
>

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 10:34:51 -0700
From:    Jim O'Neil <[email-masked]>
Subject: Enfield No4 Mk1

Allan,
>
>> The rear sight to the No.4, Mark I rocks front and back to produce 2 sight
>> pictures: one short and one long range. They are marked 300 & 600. Does
>> anyone know if that is yards or feet. It might sound like a dumb question,
>> but many weapons have trajectories that travel through the line of sight
>> twice, and it seems absurd that the first pass should be up through the
>> line of sight at 300 YARDS. :-/
>>
This is very logical, the idea being that at 300 yds "Battlesight" the
rifle man can engage any one from next to him iout to about 375 yards [It
is in Yards I am sure] without concerning himself with anything but "aim
middle of target + lead for movement" and fire. The rise and fall will be
about 4-6 inches-inconsequential in the realm of average soldier accuracy.
The 600 yard setting is a hold over from earlier times when long range
rifle fire was deemed effective , mostly because Infantry still fought in
tight masses. The average GI isn't going to hit anything at 600 yards.

Jim O'Neil   Indecision is the cornerstone of Military Flexibility

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 10:45:02 -0500
From:    Barone <[email-masked]>
Subject: MOVIE: Battle of the Bulge (was: Re: Bataan death march)

Tim Scherrer <[email-masked]> asks:
> Speaking of the Battle of the Bulge--where was that movie filmed--the
> southern deserts of Belgium?

        The tank battles were filmed at a sandbox at the Hollywood park!
Half seriously, though, I think I've built model tanks that were more real
looking than the five-and-dime toy tanks that they used in that movie! I
half expected Mothra to come stomping through the set, kicking the tanks
around!  This movie epitomizes all the worst elements of Hollywood's
attempt at making a(n) historical war movie.
--
Joe Barone
[email-masked]
Our CO got decapitated by an 88 three weeks ago...  But don't say you're
sorry; he'd been trying to get us killed since we landed at Normandy...

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 14:06:02 GMT-6
From:    "Robert T. Moore" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Search Request

Hello, All!

Can anyone send me the address of the search service for former U.S.
Army personnel which used to be at Fort Harrison, Ind.? I think now it
is in St. Louis. Thanks in advance.

Terry

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 16:07:00 CCS
From:    Jorge Merino <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: USS Ward (DD-139)

Two questions about destroyers?

1. Which class did USS Ward belong to?
2. How many Fletcher (DD-445) class destroyers were ordered/built?

Jorge Merino

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 15:36:52 EST
From:    Mike Oaks <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: WW2 Rifles

On Wed, 29 Mar 1995 10:59:00 -0500,
Max Calderwood  <[email-masked]> wrote:

>Those battle rifle fans will be glad to know that a large stock of brand new
>Moisin Nagant M44 carbines have come into the country to a company in Southern
>Ohio.
>

snip   snip   snip

please post the details...
                           MAO

/====================================================================\
|    Michael A. Oaks                                                 |
|    Systems Analyst                  Music: A means to mark times   |
|    [email-masked]              stepping stones through |
|    Kennesaw, Georgia 30144                 your calendar of life.  |
|    Tel: (404)423-6049  Fax (404)423-6541          ~ ~ ~ ~      MAO |
|    VWAR-L #146 - - (Sgt. USAF = / AFCS / AFSS / AFDC)              |
\====================================================================/

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 15:45:29 -0500
From:    James E Irwin <[email-masked]>
Subject: MEDIA:Victoria Cross II

>From the DoD Newswire 29 March 1995

:ROMMEL RAID LEADER'S VICTORIA CROSS FETCHES RECORD

    LONDON, March 28 - A British Army Victoria Cross awarded
to the leader of an ill-fated attempt to capture Germany's
Major-General Erwin Rommel in 1941 sold for a record 121,000 pounds
($194,000) on Tuesday.
     Auctioneers Spink said an anonymous British bidder bought the
medal, which had been expected to sell for 80,000 pounds ($128,000).
It set a record for an army VC, Britain's highest award for bravery in
wartime.
     The medal was awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel Geoffrey Keyes, 24,
who died leading the commando raid in the Libyan desert.
     The attempt to capture Rommel behind enemy lines, dramatised in
the film "The Desert Fox," was thwarted by faulty intelligence.
     When the commandos attacked, Rommel, commander of the Afrika
Korps, was 400 km (250 miles) away. All the raiders were killed except
for two who trekked through the desert to Egypt, surviving for two
months behind enemy lines.
     The overall record for a VC is held by a medal awarded to World
War One air ace Major Edward "Mick" Mannock, which sold for 132,000
pounds ($211,000) in 1992.

======

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 James E. Irwin (Jim)                  Internet address:
 Defense Personnel Support Center        [email-masked]
 2800 S. 20th Street                   215-737-3678
 Philadelphia PA  19101-8419           Autovon 444-3678

                     "Never in the field of human conflict
                     was so much owed by so many to so few."
                               Winston S. Churchill
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 15:09:15 -0600
From:    "Louis R. Coatney" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: MEDIA:Victoria Cross II

Wasn't Keyes the son of a British admiral on the
  Mediterranean scene?

Lou Coatney, [email-masked]

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 13:38:31 -0800
From:    Jim Curry <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: BATAAN DEATH MARCH

If I remember right, the first detailed report of the Bataan Death March
was made by Captain William Dyess, a USAAF fighter pilot who survived
the march and escaped from Japanese captivity. Dyess returned to the States
in 1943, I believe, and gave a full account of his experiences.  I don't
think the March became general public knowledge until 1944.  Dyess himself
returned to active duty but was killed soon after.

Jim Curry
[email-masked]

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 16:09:14 -0600
From:    "William L. Huber - SAA" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Where was the queen?

>         Youseem a little mixed on your queens.  :-)
>
> Sidney Allinson.

Oh, *that* Queen Elizabeth......  {futile attempt on my part to not
look like a total moron}

Ciao, Bill Huber / [email-masked]

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 18:57:59 EST
From:    "OConnor, Christopher M" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re[2]: Bataan death march

MacArthur was given to much credit.  It is my belief that he was
more interested in looking good then in trying to defend the
Philipeans.  He is more like a politicain of the 1990'2 then
a great military leader.  You cab take this with a grain of
salt if you wish because I only know what I read for I was born
in 1976.  However I do consider myself well versed on WW II for
it has been an interest of mine for my entire life.
Sincerely,
Chris([email-masked])
>Hi Terry,... What comes to mind each time I think of MacArthur is a scene
>from a movie _The Battle of the Bulge_ with Henry Fonda, you know? The
>actor who played "Dano" on Hawaii-50 played a young Lt in the movie. His
>unit surrenders and gets MG'd. He survives, discovers other lost corpmen,
>who then ask if they should surrender. "No!", he replies. "Just hang loose".
>Ok. Movie. But given the fanaticism of the Japanese, could anyone predict
>a better fate for their POWs? The Chinese had examples for the world at
>that time of what the Japanese were inclined toward.
>
>I believe MacArthur's West Point achievements fell short in guerilla tactics.
>Not all american units surrendered, and if none did, the Japanese would
>have probably not made it to Guadalcanal. IMHO In Bob Asprey's book on
>guerillas throughout history, he identifies that many officers, cut off
>by the surprise, formed guerilla units and were aided and in part supplied
>by Filipino natives on Luzon. A network setup in the myriad of hilly
>islands in the area aided survivors of sunken American ships. MacArthur
>failed to take into account the terrain where, in the _The Old Breed_ jungle
>is identified as a place where the general principles of war fall apart;
>1) find the enemy and maintain contact - very difficult in the jungle
>2) bring superior firepower to bear on his position - often not possible
>   without significant and expensive air support. Generally you fight
>   with equal arms.
>
>Asprey says about "50 groups emerged before the Japs could consolidate their
>conquest. They occupied Luzon in the north, the Visayan Islands (parti-
>cularly Leyte and Samar) in the center, and Mindanao in the South". Chapt
>30 in this book is worth reading. They fashioned weapons out of what they
>could. In '43, the Japanese had to increase patrolling due to they're
>nuisance. The duty of the soldier is to harass and tie-up as many possible
>enemy troops.
>
>There are approx. 114,830 square miles on some 7100 islands that make up
>the Philippine Islands. MacArthur could have issued orders that he would
>return, fine, and that as many volunteers as possible hit the islands.
>
>This, I would have considered proper. Some groups, Asprey points out, did
>"requisition anything they could find, including women, with no notion of
>fighting the Japanese." These groups lacked a leader. Had MacArthur
>identified their duty, and given them the moral support of knowing that
>they would be scattered throughout the islands in numbers, these groups
>may not have gone renegade and may have caused havoc to the Japanese.
>
>Best regards, Alan
>
>
>>Just read your post and would like to respond.
>>
>>>The blame for the thousands of lost men should go to MacArthur who, knowing
>>>the chances, should have decided to resist. Any way of dying seems to me
>>>would have been preferable to getting bayonneted in the back if you fell from
>>>exhaustion. I have a low regard for MacArthur and can not figure why he
>>>was regarded so highly, other than he was good at politics.
>>
>>    Perhaps so, but hindsight is always 20/20. At least one is alive
>>even in captivity, no matter how cruel it may be. Even if death is a
>>result during the time, at least there is the hope that one will
>>survive no matter what.
>>
>>    I can appreciate your feelings toward MacArthur, but don't forget
>>that he was West Point's most distinguished graduate and he was a
>>world-class strategist regardless of his shortcomings. His masterful
>>development of the island-hopping strategy in the Southwest Pacific
>>saved many many lives while inflicting the maximum casualties on the
>>enemy.
>>
>>    These are my thoughts, and would like to hear yours or any one
>>else's.
>>
>>    All the best.
>>
>>    Terry
>
>Alan Wild, Sr. Prog/Analyst
>ACC - Lippitt - URI
>Kingston, RI  02881
>
>American Legion, Post 102
>I am the NRA.

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 19:13:00 EST
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: General Howard

The following article is from the US Air Force News Service and
expands on the notice of General James Howard's deathe last week.

277.  Medal of Honor winner dies
     WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- The military's only World War II fighter
pilot to win the Medal of Honor in aerial combat over Europe died
March 25.
     Brigadier General James H. Howard, 81, had suffered a long
illness, according to civilian press reports.  Howard, who lived in
Belleair Bluffs, Florida, died in a veteran's hospital.  He is
survived by a stepdaughter and two sisters.
     Howard earned the MOH for single-handedly protecting a B-17
formation on a long-range mission near Berlin Jan. 11, 1944.  Howard
had become separated from his P-51 unit during an earlier encounter
with Luftwaffe aircraft.
     According to the citation signed by President Franklin D.
Roosevelt, rather than wait for help, Howard fended off some 30
aircraft for nearly 30 minutes and was credited with shooting down
at least four of the planes.  Out of ammunition and dangerously low
on fuel, Howard was forced to turn for home.  His aircraft had been
hit only once during the battle and not one of the bombers were lost.
     Howard was born in China -- his parents were missionaries --
but returned to the United States to finish high school and college.
He graduated from Pomona College, Claremont, California, with a
bachelor's degree in chemistry.
     In 1938 Howard entered naval aviation training.  Two years later,
he left the Navy to join the American Volunteer Group, flying with
Colonel Claire L. Chennault's "Flying Tigers" in Burma and China.
Howard shot down more than six Japanese aircraft and was once himself
shot down by ground fire.
     When the AVG merged with the Army Air Forces in 1942, Howard
returned to the United States and was commissioned a captain.  By the
fall of 1943 Howard was a major and commander of the 354th Fighter
Group, which was the first American unit to receive P-51 Mustangs.
     When the war was over, Howard left active duty to form his own
systems engineering company.  He retired from the Air Force Reserve
in 1966 as a Brigadier General.
--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air Force News Agency                   :  DSN: 945-6164
AFNEWS/IICX                             :  [email-masked]
Kelly AFB, TX 78241-5000                :  131.13.24.1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 19:16:24 -0500
From:    Frederick J Milford <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: USS Ward (DD-139)

>
> Two questions about destroyers?
>
> 1. Which class did USS Ward belong to?
> 2. How many Fletcher (DD-445) class destroyers were ordered/built?
>
> Jorge Merino
>
Jorge,

Ward, DD 139, was one of the famous WW I DDs.  She was part of the first big
group DD 75-185, usually known as the Wickes class.  "Four stackers" or "four
pipers".

A rough count of the Fletcher class DDs is 119 in the 1940 group and 56 in the
repeat, 1941-42, class.

The appendix to Norman Friedman's "US Destroyers: An Illustrated Design
History"
is a useful and generally accurate source.

Fred Milford

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 19:22:00 EST
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: [INF] USAAF 30 MAR 45

COMBAT CHRONOLOGY OF THE US ARMY AIR FORCES
FRIDAY, 30 MARCH 1945
FTP SITES
  1. ftp.rutgers.edu in directory pub/wwii/usaf
  2. byrd.mu.wvnet.edu (129.71.32.152) in pub/history/military/airforce/
     wwii_chronology

AIRCRAFT MENTIONED IN THIS REPORT:
  A-20, Douglas Havoc
  A-26, Douglas Invader
  B-17, Boeing Flying Fortress
  B-24, Consolidated Liberator
  B-25, North American Mitchell
  B-26, Martin Marauder
  B-29, Boeing Superfortress
  C-46, Curtiss Commando
  F-5, Lockheed Lightning
  P-38, Lockheed Lightning
  P-40, Curtiss
  P-47, Republic Thunderbolt
  P-51, North American Mustang

NOTE: A number in parenthesis after a target name indicates the number of
bombers attacking.

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): 8 B-25s cancel a shipping strike because of
weather.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 5 B-24s bomb the Samah Bay area of
Hainan Island. In China, 4 B-25s, supported by 24 P-40s, knock out a bridge
at Chungmow; 10 B-25s bomb Hsuchang, 9 bomb Changanyi, and 9 pound the
Yanglowtung railroad yards; 15 P-40s fly escort; 2 B-25s bomb Hankow
Airfield, 2 bomb Neihsiang, and single B-25s attack targets around Fang-
cheng, Nanyang, and Anlu; 100+ fighter-bombers over S and E China hit troops,
railroad targets, trucks, tanks, supplies, and rivercraft especially around
Hankow, Wuchang, Kanchou, and Hangchow; the airfield area at Kanchou and
airfield and railroad yards at Hangchow are hit particularly hard; the 529th
Fighter Squadron, 311th Fighter Group, based at Pungchacheng with P-51s,
sends a detachment to operate from Hsian.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In the C Burma battle area 41 P-38s
and P-47s hit enemy troops and supplies at Loiwing, Pawngleng, and Nawnghkio;
7 B-25s hit personnel, a supply area, and trucks behind the enemy lines in
and near Laihka and at Kongleng; 7 other B-25s attack road bridges, knocking
out a bridge at Loi Putau; transports complete 612 sorties to forward areas.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  AIRBORNE OPERATIONS (IX Troop Carrier Command): HQ 349th Troop Carrier
Group and the 312th Troop Carrier Squadron arrive at Barkston, England from
the US with C-46s.

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 918: 1,402 bombers and 899 fighters are dispatched to attack
targets connected with U-boat construction or operation; they claim 8-1-12
Luftwaffe aircraft; 5 bombers and 4 fighters are lost:
  1. 530 B-17s are sent to hit 2 U-boat yards (64) and an oil depot (169) at
Hamburg; 263 bomb the port area at Hamburg, the secondary target; 1 hits
Bremen, a target of opportunity; bombing is both visual and using H2X radar;
they claim 0-1-3 aircraft; 3 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 252
damaged; 14 airmen are KIA, 10 WIA and 28 MIA. Escorting are 289 of 304
P-51s; they claim 4-0-7 aircraft in the air and 1-0-1 on the ground; 3 P-51s
are lost.
  2. 448 B-17s are sent to hit the U-boat yard (318) and rail bridge (109) at
Bremen visually and with H2X; 1 B-17 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 225
damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 6 WIA and 11 MIA. The escort is 268 of 287 P-51s;
they claim 2-0-1 aircraft.
  3. 382 B-24s are dispatched to hit the U-boat yard (273) and Bauhaben port
area (85) at Wilhelmshafen both visually and with H2X; 1 B-24 is lost and 56
damaged; 8 airmen are KIA and 1 WIA. 105 P-47s and P-51s escort.
  4. 32 of 36 B-17s fly a DISNEY mission to the U-boat yard at Farge; 14
B-17s are damaged.
  5. 6 B-17s fly screening missions.
  6. 153 of 159 P-51s fly a freelance mission for the bombers; they claim
1-0-0 aircraft.
  7. 11 P-51s escort 5 F-5s on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany.
  8. 26 of 31 P-51s fly scouting missions.
  Mission 919: During the night, 13 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands
and Germany; 19 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions to Norway; 1 B-24 is lost and
1 crashes in the Orkney Islands.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 337 A-20s, A-26s and
B-26s attack the Bad Oeynhausen tank factory, the Munden ordnance depot, the
Ebenhausen oil depot, 2 town areas and 6 targets of opportunity, and drop
leaflets; fighters escort the bombers, fly patrols and armed reconnaissance,
and support ground forces; fighter support is provided for the US 3d and 7th
Armored Divisions near Paderborn and at the Edersee dam on the Eder River,
the XII Corps N of Frankfurt/Main, the XX Corps in the Hersfeld and Hanau
areas, and the XVI Corps in the Marl-Polsum area. Units moving: HQ 322d
Bombardment Group (Medium) and the 449th and 452d Bombardment Squadrons
(Medium) from Tille Airfield, Beauvais, France to Le Culot, Belgium with
B-26s; HQ 404th Fighter Group and the 506th Fighter Squadron from St Trond,
Belgium to Keltz, Germany with P-47s; the 153d Liaison Squadron, IX
Tactical Air Command (attached to Twelfth Army Group), from Euskirchen to
Bad Godesberg, Germany; the 428th, 429th and 430th Fighter Squadrons,
474th Fighter Group, from Florennes, Belgium to Strassfeld, Germany with
P-38s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): In Austria, 60+ B-17s and B-24s
bomb the Vienna N stations and goods depot, the Graz and Klagenfurt
marshalling yards, the Kapfenberg tank works, and several minor targets of
opportunity; 28 P-38s and P-51s sweep the Zagreb, Yugoslavia-Graz, Austria
area and others fly reconnaissance.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy during the night of 29/30
Mar, A-20s and A-26s continue to pound Po River crossings, loading points,
and other communications in the Po Valley; during the day XXII Tactical Air
Command fighters and fighter-bombers fly some 400 sorties against fuel and
ammunition dumps, stores, bridges, rail lines, marshalling yards, buildings,
motor vehicles, trains, and a variety of targets over wide areas of N Italy;
weather forces the medium bombers to attack mainly alternate targets; the
B-25s bomb railroad bridges (or bridge approaches) at San Ambrogio di
Valpolicella, Rovereto, Chiari, Palazzolo sull'Oglio, Legnago, Ora, and
Romano di Lombardia.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 10 Guam Island-based B-24s bomb the airfield on
Marcus Island in the N Pacific; during the night 5 others individually strike
Chichi Jima Island airfield.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): 2 missions are flown during the night of
30/31 Mar.
  Mission 48: 12 of 14 B-29s attack the Mitsubishi aircraft engine plant at
Nagoya, Japan shortly past 0000 hours without loss.
  Mission 49: 85 of 94 B-29s mine Shimonoseki Strait between Honshu and
Kyushuu Islands; 2 others drop their mines in other areas; 1 B-29 is lost.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Luzon Island,
B-24s bomb the Balete Pass and Solvec Cove areas; P-38s hit artillery
positions in the Santa Fe area;  B-24s and A-20s hit Legaspi Port and nearby
Little Batsan; A-20s and fighter-bombers continue ground support missions in
the Laguna de Bay area and W of Ft Stotsenburg. B-24s and A-20s support
ground forces on Cebu Island. B-24s, B-25s, and P-38s hit Bongao Island,
Philippine Islands, and the Sanga Sanga, and Kuching, Borneo area.

SOURCES:
AIR FORCE COMBAT UNITS OF WORLD WAR II, Office of Air Force History,
  Headquarters USAF, 1961, ISBN 0-912799-02-1
COMBAT SQUADRONS OF THE AIR FORCE, WORLD WAR II, Office of Air Force
  History, Headquarters USAF 1982
THE ARMY AIR FORCES IN WORLD WAR II: COMBAT CHRONOLOGY, 1941-1945 by the
  Office of Air Force History, Headquarters USAF, 1973
THE MIGHTY EIGHTH WAR DIARY by Roger A. Freeman, ISBN 1-85409-071-2

Jack McKillop
USAF (Airways and Air Communications Service)
1955-59

-------------------------------------------------------------------
|  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 them.  |
|  [email-masked]  |                       FDR              |
-------------------------------------------------------------------

30/0021Z MAR

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 20:13:49 -0500
From:    "Douglas S. Bohannon" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Medals and Awards

As a collector, I believe that the collecting and trade of medals and awards
has some
positive attributes.

Collectors have assessed a value to militaria that often precludes their
destruction or
disposal. Militaria is preserved and the availability of militaria promotes
the collectors
interest in history. This is what initiated my interest in military history.

I have foreign military items that many people would like to have seen destroy
ed but
collectors like myself have saved.

Literally millions of military awards are given out by all countries
throughout the years and
many have been lost. Many museums have massive collections with multiple
duplicates of
many items. Most of their collections are never shown because of lack of
space or interest.

Many people who end up with rare and valuable military items dispose of them
through
garage sales and even garbage pickup.

I can guarantee you that militaria in collectors hands will never face this
fate.

Doug Bohannon
[email-masked]

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 20:29:49 -0500
From:    "Paul C. Perkins, M.D." <[email-masked]>
Subject: THUNDERBOLT

Mr. Godek,

     Thank you very much for the lead -- a fellow I interviewed for the
Mustang book, Clyde East, also mentioned this gathering of eagles. Maybe next
year I can get some time off. As for now - I'll be content with contacting by
phone and maybe getting to speak with a few of these fellows individually.

Paul C. Perkins
[email-masked]

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 21:13:40 -0500
From:    Ben Frank <[email-masked]>
Subject: 1ST MARINE DIV. - 'FOU

Thanks, Alan, for the update on Jim Wilbur. I knew he lived in Illinois
somewhere, but then heard he had gone to Rhode Island (?). As a matter of fact,
I returned the week before last from San Antonio and the Nimitz Foundation
conference, where I spoke. Another old buddy, C.B. White, is retired in the
area and we have maintained contact over the years. I spent a pleasant evening
with him and his wife. I don't know that Carmine Zapelli died in Jim's arms,
but he died on Okinawa. One of the other guys in the outfit was cleaning his
M-1 and had an accidental discharge. It was an armor-piercing round which went
through Carmine's stomach and just about destroyed the knee of his pup-tent
mate, a kid by the name of Lieberkowski, whom we called "Chicken." Carmine died
because he was so scared and in shock, his veins were deflated and the corpsman
couldn't a needle and plasma into him. We watched him die. C.B. and I spoke of
him just the other night. The guy who shot him was hustled out of the outfit
immediately and no one ever saw him again, except I did in my home town of
Stamford. This guy was older than the rest of us, a draftee, and not too well
liked. He was a hair dresser in civilian life. When I met him, a number of
years after the war, he still didn't know what happened. I told him. This is
something he'll have to live with for the rest of his life. Anyway, thanks for
the information. Ben Frank

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 21:21:27 -0500
From:    "Douglas S. Bohannon" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: PT Boat info request and ...

Ralph,

Look up:

   Fast Fighting Boats 1870-1945
   Their Design, Construction and Use
   By Harald Fock
   Naval Institute Press
   1978 Nautical Publishing Company Limited
   ISBN 0-87021-820-4

This book has several references about Herreschoff Mfg. Co.

The author indicates , page 137, Herreschoff manufactured MTB 283-290 were
delivered to the Royal Navy under lend-lease.

I could not find a reference of these boats going to Russia.

In:

U.S. Small Combatants
An Illustrated Design History
by Norman Friedman
1987 Naval Institute Press
ISBN 0-87021-713-5

Table on page 503 indicate Herreshoff built US PT numbers 29-36 where went to
Great Britian as Lend-Lease to become MTBs 287-294.

It is possable that the PT numbers 29-36 were re-issued to active US PT boats
used during the war.

Many American PT boats, British MTBs and German R and S boats were used by
foreign navies up to the 1970's. If you research older Jane's Fighting Ships,
you will run across listings of operational WWII vintage fast attack craft.

I hope this helps.

Doug Bohannon
[email-masked]

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 20:25:50 -0600
From:    "Louis R. Coatney" <[email-masked]>
Subject: V-J Day or V-P Day

At the risk of shattering some stereotypes of me, I'd like
  to say that -- after 50 years -- changing the name of the day
  of the end of the war in the Pacific from V-J (Victory over
  Japan) to V-P (Victory in the Pacific) Day sounds like a very
  good, constructive idea ... at least on ONE CONDITION.

I know there has been a big furor in the media about the Clinton
  Administration wanting to stop using "VJ Day" in official
  correspondence, etc.  Surely, the use of VJ Day at the end of
  the war and in the 50 years since should be noted in
  history books.

However, the ultimate historical emphasis should be on the fact
  that this was as much a victory for the Japanese (*people*),
  as it was for their opponents.  I don't mean this in respect
  to the postwar Japanese economic resurgence.  I mean this in
  regard to their social and political liberalization and
  integration with the rest of our world community.

Our enemies should not be -- or have been -- the Japanese people,
  but rather the Japanese Militarism (and militarists) which they
  followed.  (VJM Day?)  Even for WWII veterans, it is time to
  stop seeing the Japanese *people* as enemies.  (An important
  opportunity for reconciliation was lost, when the Pearl Harbor
  Survivors' Association blocked the inclusion of CDR Fuchida --
  who had done everything possible to express his own personal
  repentance for the attack -- from the ceremonies in 1991.)

However, there *IS* one condition I have for this "enlightened"
  renaming to "VP Day" -- AND for Japan's inclusion in the U.N.
  Security Council -- and that is

    Japan's public acknowledgement of the evil of Japanese
  Militarism and of *that institution's* ultimate responsibility/
  guilt for the grief and destruction of the Asian-Pacific
  War -- to include an internationally acceptable coverage of
  that in Japanese schools and textbooks.

    This is why I believe an International Historical
Commission on the Asian-Pacific War is so vital at this
critical moment in the world's history:  If Japanese
Militarism is let off the hook for the War and its tragedies
(by misguided Western historians attempting to rewrite
history for the sake of academic exercise and novelty, say)
that monster and those tragedies might well happen again.
Such a commission should be truly representative of the member
countries and be composed of veterans and political leaders --
not just academics.  (After fair consideration, the American
Historical Commission rejected my idea, saying that the academic
conferences, etc., should be enough.)

  It should also be remembered that the UN was created in
opposition to Axis militarism/totalitarianism and that ideology
should be clearly renounced/denounced before any nation is
allowed membership on the Security Council.

  We MUST reach an international resolution and reconciliation
on the history of the Asian-Pacific War.  Please support my
proposal.

Lou Coatney, Historian at Large
  [email-masked]

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 20:31:15 -0600
From:    "Louis R. Coatney" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Accidental killing of Marine

Interesting.

On VWAR-L, a former Marine described a similar occurrence
  in Vietnam, where the victim had both of his arms shot off
  by a squadmate by accident.

However, in this case a young Marine officer pulled out his
  .45 and executed the perpetrator on the spot.

Lou Coatney, [email-masked]

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

Date:    Wed, 29 Mar 1995 19:50:15 -0800
From:    Jim Curry <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: MEDIA:Victoria Cross II

Hello, Lou!
He was the son of Admiral Sir Roger Keyes of Zeebrugge fame, the predecessor
of Lord Louis Mountbatten as head of Combined Operations (Commandos).
Jim Curry
[email-masked]

On Wed, 29 Mar 1995, Louis R. Coatney wrote:

> Wasn't Keyes the son of a British admiral on the
>   Mediterranean scene?
>
> Lou Coatney, [email-masked]
>

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

End of WWII-L Digest - 28 Mar 1995 to 29 Mar 1995
*************************************************