SO WHAT DID YOUR PARENTS DO IN THE BIG WAR
"Leonard Oglesby" lencsgt@{NO SPAM}lightspeed.net wrote in message
news:2007110518173643658-lencsgt@NOSPAMlightspeednet...
On 2007-11-04 21:18:55 -0800, Leonard Oglesby lencsgt@{NO
SPAM}lightspeed.net said:
On 2007-11-04 11:41:05 -0800, SHIVER ME TIMBERS
said:
Well after watching the Ken Burns series THE WAR ad naseum ad naseum, I
thought I'd come into the group today with one of my curious questions.
What did your parents, family, etc. do in the big WWII.
Mine worked at the Canada Car foundry in what was then called Fort
William, Ontario.
They were inspectors helping to make Hawker Hurricanes and later other
types of figthers including the Curtis Helldiver.
How about your folks.....
My father flew P-47s and P-38s in the SW Pacific, New Guinea, Leyte,
Linguyan, Okinawa with the 9th FS, 49th Fighter Group, 5th Air Force
1943-1945.
On August 21, 1945 Dad flew as part of the P38 escort for the
"Surrender" Betties on their return flight from Ie Shima back to Kyushu.
He was also a member of the Honor Guard flight which flew into Japan on
August 29 1945 prior to the signing of the Surrender documents on the
USS Missouri on September 2, 1945, Making the 9th Fighter Squadron of
the 49th Fighter Group the first USAAF tactical unit to land on Japan.
Here is a piece from the 9th Fighter Squadron History, "The Flying
Knights";
"On Wednesday, 29 August, twenty-five airplanes received
preliminary loading of C-rations, cots, blankets, and pilots'
clothes. At first sixteen planes were to make the trip as the
honor squadron then the number was upped to twenty-five,
and finally down to eight. The eight oldest pilots in the
squadron, all veterans of the Leyte Campaign and two
second tour boys form Gusap, took off with a four plane
additional escort at 1200 hours, 30 August 1945. Major
Petrovich, squadron C.O., led the flight with Lt. Corley flying
his wing. S/Sgt. Serapin was riding piggy-back in Corley's
ship. Lt. Oglesby, veteran of 150 missions and 400 combat
hours with four Nips to his credit and then on his second
tour of duty flew Red Flight Element. Lt. Gribble, veteran of
the Leyte scrap, flew number four. Captain Howes, with over
598 combat hours and four Nips destroyed in aerial combat
under his belt led White Flight with Captain Clark flying his
wing. Lt. Poston, who returned to combat with Oglesby
when stateside flying proved too dull, led White Flight
Element with Lt. Smith, back just south of Kyushu and the
eight original planes winged on thru a clear sky, though
thunderheads and towering cumulus hovered over the
mountains to the west. Three and one-half hours out,
towering Fujiyama became visible through the haze ahead,
its top hidden in clouds, as the flat, green plains of the
Atsumu-Hanto peninsula passed under the left wing. The
flights landed at Atsugi Airstrip, southeast of Tokyo, at 1615
hours and were parked by Colonel Gerald Johnson, former
group commander, then operations officer of the first
American airstrip in Japan, in a grassy field just north of the
strip.
A Jap truck, drive by an American GI, drove up and the
baggage and personnel loaded aboard. The truck drove past
a number of "Jacks" in apparently good condition, past the
partially damaged hangars housing 11th Airborne personnel,
and in a few minutes, pulled up in front of an unpainted,
two-story, wooden barracks building that served as
headquarters for the 63rd Service Squadron. A few minutes
later the pilots were stowing their gear in two-men rooms of
a similar wooden structure not far away, one of a row of GI
barracks very like the American version. A few differences
could be noted upon inspection, mainly in toilet and bathing
facilities. The oriental version of a latrine provided no
support to the user and the shower bath was replaced by the
community pool, complete with round wooden buckets and
stools on which the bather sat while dipping water from the
cement hot water tanks on the side. All furniture, desks,
mirror heights, etc., were scaled to the shorter oriental
stature.
The Japanese had provided a mess hall, which was to operate
until V-J Day, equipped with white linen table cloths,
chinaware and floral centerpieces. Polite, if non-committal
Japanese waiters served the dinner, consisting of soup, cold
plate meat and fish, potatoes, peas and one quart of Japanese
beer per man. The beer, very much like Australian brew, was
excellent.
Thus it was; the senior pilots of the "Flying Knights" moved
in one month from the peaceful shores of Lingayen to the
midst of the turmoil of occupying the heart of Japan, 1,800
miles to the north. So far as was known at the time, the outfit
had flown its last combat mission of the war, suitable
enough arriving in the van at the enemy capital."
--
πΉ
My Dad was too young for WWII service as he's 74 this past October 16th, but
he can remember them announcing Pearl Harbor in the newspaper and on the
radio. My Mom doesn't remember it much at all as she was raised on a very
small farm about 15 minutes from where I currently reside in Kentucky. I
have an Uncle was a medic in a field hospital somewhere in New Guinea
though. My Grandfather was a "track watcher" for the local railroad keeping
an eye out for sabotage, while my Grandmother was busy trying to raise 13
kids. Guess you could say when Granpappy wasn't watchin' the tracks, he was
watchin' Granmammy have another kid. LOL
--
Lonnie
*Photo Attached:
Specialist 4th Class James R. Potter
United States Army (1954-1956)
Basic Training at Ft. Knox, KY
Overseas Assignment to Pirmasens, Germany
MOS: Field Wireman/Pole Line Construction
****Note: In 1989, I used to operate radios off the antennae he helped
erect back in the mid 50's. Wow!!!
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