Category Archives: WWII

Modern, Vietnam, WWII

Army Commendation Medal

Army Commendation Medal

Army Commendation Medal

 

The Army Commendation Medal is a mid-level award given out for “sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service.” It entered service in 1945 as the Army Commendation Ribbon. By 1960 it had achieved full medal status.

The medal can be awarded to any member of the US Armed Forces (except general officers) that distinguishes oneself while doing service with the US Army anytime after December 6, 1941.  Members of a friendly foreign military are eligible as of  June 1, 1962.

The commendation is awarded on the approval of a Colonel or higher. The medal is a bronze hexagon approximately 1 3/8 inches wide. The medallion shows a bald eagle with the wings spread, three arrows grasped in its talons. On its chest is a shield with thirteen stripes. The reverse of the medallion contains the words For Military Merit. There is a space between the military and merit for the recipient’s name along with a laurel sprig. The ribbon is 1 3/8 inches wide in myrtle green with five white stripes spaced evenly apart.

WWII

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt

The good ol’ Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was one of the most stalwart airplanes on the Allied side during WWII. This fighter-bomber entered service in November 1942. Fully loaded with rockets and bombs could tip the scales at almost 8,000 pounds. That meant that it carried by itself about half the payload of the B-17 bomber.

With over 15,000 made during the war the plane saw service with not only the United States, but in the forces of Britain, France, Russia and were piloted by pilots from Mexico and Brazil. One even found its way into the service of the German Luftwaffe! (It was captured after the pilot was forced to make an emergency landing behind German lines.) When the war ended they found service with the Chinese Nationalist forces in Taiwan.

She was heavier than many of planes of the war but was more than able to match their speeds. The cockpit was very large and comfortable for the pilots and the planes were very hard to kill. They had a very good safety record and were truly a favorite among the best pilots. In fact, the P-47 was so effective that in a single two-year period the plane was responsible for downing almost 4,000 enemy aircraft, 9,000 trains, 86,000 trucks, and 6,000 armored vehicles.

While the P-47 was in service among several nations well into the 1960’s its ongoing legacy can be found in the A-10 tank buster. Though mostly known by the loving moniker “warthog” its official name is the Thunderbolt II and like its namesake is an integral part of our military identity.

 

 

Korean War, WWII

Assam Draggins

Assam Draggins

Assam Draggins

 

Flying the inestimable P40 Thunderbolt, the 25th Fighter Squadron was formed at Hamilton Field California in January 1941. A year later in January of 1942, this unit became one of the first deployed to fight the Japanese in the.

After a stop in Melbourne Australia, the unit continued to Karachi, India where it began its combat operations. In September it flew its first escort mission.  Eventually, they moved to Assam, India, where the unit picked up the name “Assam Draggins”.

Its primary mission was to disrupt that Japanese in Burma. In February 1943 it carried out its most important mission. With their P40s modified to carry 1,000 pond bombs, they stood in for a B25 squadron. They managed to halt a major Japanese advance.

Over the course of World War II, this unit saw more combat than any other fighter squadron and was finally deactivated in December 1945. Only to be called back into service during the Korean conflict where it flew out of, ironically enough, its base in Japan.

For more on the history of this incredible air unit and its further adventures, click here.

 

 

WWII

Lt. CMDR G. R. Ford Jr. USNR

Lt. CMDR G. R. Ford Jr. USNR

Lt. CMDR G. R. Ford Jr. USNR

 

In the wake of the Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor In December 1941 a young college football star from the University of Michigan decided to put his life on hold in order to join the US Navy. That young man would serve in the war and end up going into politics. Eventually, he would serve as the President of the United States.

That young man was Gerald R. Ford who gained his commission in the US Naval Reserve as an ensign in April 1942.  The first year of the war he spent training  Navy pilots in basic navigation, ordnance, gunnery, first aid, and drill. And of course, he acted as a coach for all the sports that were offered on the base.

In May 1943 he was assigned to the USS Monterrey, a light carrier that was still under construction in New Jersey. During his time attached to the ship, he served as the assistant navigator, Athletic Officer and commanded an anti-aircraft battery. He saw plenty of action during the tour. The Gilbert Islands, New Ireland, the Marianas, and Western Carolines, Wake Island and many actions in the Philippines. After almost losing his life in a typhoon that did major damage to the ship and the fleet, in December 1944 he was transferred off the Monterrey and was sent to the Navy Pre-Flight School at Saint Mary’s College of California where he became the football coach. He passed the rest of the war in that post.

On February 23, 1946, he left the service under honorable conditions. During his military career, he was awarded the American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with nine and 3/16 bronze stars, the Philippine Liberation Medal with two and 3/16 bronze stars and a World War II Victory Medal.

During those years he learned many lessons about leadership and sacrifice that would serve him for many years to come. From college football star to a warrior, to President of the United States, Ford did pretty well for himself.

WWII

The Original Thunderbolt

The Original Thunderbolt

The Original Thunderbolt

 

Yes, we call the A-10 the Warthog, but that’s just a pet name. Officially it is the A-10 Thunderbolt II. The plane in the photo is its original namesake. The P47 Thunderbolt which was one of the largest and heaviest single-engine fighter planes that ever got off the ground.

How heavy? Well, put it like this. Fully loaded a single P47 could carry almost half of what the bigger B-17 could carry as far as the ordinance. That’s almost 2,500 pounds of explosive goodness. And versatile! She could serve as short to medium range escort for the bombers, was very effective at high altitude air to air and excelled at the ground attack role.

Though a very large part of US military in WWII it was used by France, Russia, Britain, Mexico, and Brazil! It sure did get around. With over 15,000 units manufactured during the war, it is no wonder that it found so many homes.

How effective was the Thunderbolt in WWII? Estimates credit the numerous P47 squadrons with the destruction of 86,000 German railway cars, 9,000 locomotives, 6,000 armored fighting vehicles, and 68,000 trucks. That does not count the enemy aircraft or infantry that found itself on the business end of its eight Browning .50 cal machine guns, bombs and possibly ten rockets. She was a tank with wings.

The best story about the P47 though has to be its nickname, the “Jug”. Apparently when it first sent to Britain its profile bore a striking resemblance to the milk jugs in use at the time. So the name Jug stuck. What do you think? Better or worse than Warthog?

 

Uncategorized, WWII

PBY-5A Catalina The Eye in the Sky

PBY-5A Catalina The Eye in the Sky

PBY-5A Catalina The Eye in the Sky

Being a flying boat has some advantages and during WWII the PBY-5A Catalina put them to good use. She was versatile and served a number of roles. This model does a good job of showing her off but they really need to be seen in person to be appreciated.

Around 3,300 were built for the war and they served in almost every theater. She was first introduced in 1936 and remained in service with the US Navy until 1957 but the Brazilian navy kept them in service until 1979. Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and even the Soviet Union all used them during their lifetime. Today some still fly and act as firefighting platforms all over the world.

The Catalina had a crew of ten and had two 1,200 horsepower engines. She could reach 195 miles per hour and had a range of about 2,520 miles. Armed with machine guns and capable of carrying 4,000lbs of bombs she could always manage to hold her own.

Her biggest role was as a submarine hunter in the Pacific as well as the Atlantic theater. They would escort convoys and when called upon would take the fight straight to the enemy subs. As patrol craft, few planes are in her league.  They helped the Royal Navy track the Bismark in 1941, leading the sinking of the massive ship. The helped spoil a surprise Japanese landing in Malaya on December 7, 1941, and most notably took part in the Battle of Midway, spotting the location of the Japanese carriers in the early hours of the battle. Scenes like these were repeated many times during the war where the Catalina’s always seemed to be on point.

 

Cold War, Vietnam, WWII

The Quonset Hut A Home Away From Home

The Quonset Hut A Home Away From Home

The Quonset Hut, A Home Away From Home

A small city in the middle of nowhere made up of the same style buildings. Semi-circular, corrugated metal, long and low. That is a Quonset Hut you see making up these small cities that have served as makeshift homes and office for the military since the early days of WWII.

In 1941 the US Navy was looking for a lightweight, general purpose prefabricated building that could be shipped anywhere in the world. The George A. Fuller construction company won the bid and the first of many of these huts rolled off the assembly line.

During WWII over 150,000 of these buildings were produced and after the war, they were sold for about $1,000 to the civilian market with many turned into small starter homes for families. Colleges turned them into cheap student housing, many churches and small business invested in the steel half-shells. Some military bases, especially overseas, still make use of these and other similar designs. You can even buy the kits on eBay if you wanted to have a new one for whatever purposes.

Odds are you have seen them in one place or another. If you were or are military I can almost guarantee it. They will always be a symbol of the industriousness and flexibility of the armed forces. The ones in the picture above were deployed during the Vietnam War and served as a hospital and administration.

Oh and the name, Quonset Hut? It comes from where they were originally manufactured, Quonset, Rhode Island. Which is famous for exactly nothing else!

 

WWII

The IJN Kongo

The IJN Kongo

The IJN Kongo

Above is a model of the IJN Kongo one of the main battleships of the Imperial Japanese fleet during WWII. It was constructed in 1913 and had a total displacement of about 36,000 tons. She had a max speed of about 30 knots and had a main armament of 8 14″ guns as well as a smaller number of 6in and 5in guns. She was a beast.  One of the most amazing aspects of the Kongo was that it was actually built by Vickers in England having been designed by Sir George Thurston. Yep, one of the main Japanese ships was built by England, someone kicked themselves thirty some years later.

Of course, it was not as if the Japanese were not able to build capital ships of its size, they had already built several but were very interested in finding out how the British were doing it. So they ordered one and when is received used as a template for three sister ships.

Among the battles she participated in during her career are:

Battle of Midway

Invasion of the Aleutian Islands

Guadalcanal

The Philippine Sea

Leyte Gulf

Battle of Samar

The old girl got around and was a major thorn in the side of the US Navy, but they finally got their revenge on November 16, 1944, when she was attacked by the submarine U.S.S Sealion in the Formosa Strait. Kongo took two torpedoes to the port side which caused flooding in her boiler rooms. Still able to maintain speed the ship limped along until finally, the damage was just too great. The order was finally given to abandon ship.

All things considered a fairly good career for the ship that’s name translates to “invincible”.

 

 

 

WWII

You Audie Know This Guy!

You Audie Know This Guy!

You Audie Know This Guy!

 

Quick question. When asked to name a WWII hero, what names come to mind? If Audie Murphy is not one of the first names you think of, you need to learn more about this man.

Born  June 20, 1925, In Texas, he lied about his age to join the military during WWII.  He tried to get into the Navy and the Marines before finding a home in the Army. In 1945, at the ripe old age of 19, he won the Medal of Honor after single handily holding off an entire German company. For over an hour! BY HIMSELF! What did you do today?

But wait, that is not all. After holding them off he helped to lead the counter-attack even though he was out of ammunition and wounded.

During the war, he served with distinction in Tunisia, Sicily, Naples, Anzio, Rome,  France, the Ardennes and on into Germany. During that time he won every single award for valor that the US Army had. Then added several from France and Belgium for good measure.

After the war, Audie became an actor, best known for playing himself in the movie To Hell and Back and numerous westerns. For the rest of his life, he fought against what would be known today as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and worked hard for the cause of getting this disorder into the spotlight. Even our greatest heroes did not go untouched by their experiences. In 1971 he finally met a foe he could not defeat and died in a plane crash.

The picture above shows one of his caps and just a few of the multitude of ribbons that this man earned. There is no greater example of the American Warrior than this man and I behoove you to find out more of the details of his life and actions.

 

Modern, Vietnam, WWII

The USO On Tour

The USO On Tour

The USO on Tour

OK, I can not say for sure if what we are seeing is an actual USO show. I can tell you it is during the Vietnam War. There was in fact singing and dancing with a lot of people sitting there in a combat zone watching it. BUT we will call it a USO show so we can talk about that for a bit, eh?

The USO, United Service Organization is a non-profit that has been in existence since 1941. Their mission consists of providing services and live entertainment to troops and their families all over the world. In a way, during wartime, it becomes a home away from home for the US soldiers.

Disbanded after WWII it was reconstituted for the Korean War and has been going strong ever since. Regardless of political affiliations millions of people donate and hundreds of performers donate their time for this cause.

Currently, there are over 160 locations in 14 countries around the world and 27 states with over 8 million visitors in 2011.

For the troops in the field visits by some of the top names in Hollywood have always been welcomed. Among the top-tier was Bob Hope, who will always be the face of the program. In more recent times celebrities such as Jay Leno, Bruce Willis, Steve Martin Robin Williams, Gary Sinise,  Toby Keith, and many, many more.

It is all about helping the men and women of the armed forces to understand that they are never forgotten and that their sacrifice and the burdens they bear and appreciated. Sometimes live music, warm food, and good company can help to take the sting out of a bad and serious deployment.