Category Archives: WWII

WWII

The Soldiers of Imperial Japan

The Soldiers of Imperial Japan

The Soldiers of Imperial Japan

In 1931 the Imperial Japanese Army numbered just under 200,000 men and officers. It was with this force that they invaded Manchuria under the guise of protecting Japanese owned railroads against Chinese bandit attacks. This eventually blossomed in all out war between China and Japan. That war that lasted until 1945.

Not content to be fighting bandits and the Chinese army, they used their client state in Manchuria as a launching pad into the Soviet Union. Yes,  from 1932 to 1941 the Russians and Japanese were fighting all along the Chinese border. Remember that from the history books? In 1941 the two sides agreed on a non-aggression pact that ended that conflict. There were only a few actual battles. Most of which the Russians won. Very little territory changed hands. Bigger wars were on the horizon for each.

The Men

The men that made up the army were conscripted, given medical examinations and classified with Class 1-A. The highest classification that said the men were fit for duty. There were a total of five classifications. Depending on if the nation was at war or not would depend on what happened to the men after they received their classifications.  It was possible that a full mobilization of the male population would have been serving in the military in some way shape or form.

In 1941 the Imperial Army numbered around 1.7 million troops, most of which would be serving in China with the rest spread out across the Pacific.  By the 1945 the army numbered more than 5.5 million.

The Casualties

As far as casualties suffered during World War Two, approximately 2.5 million killed. Presumed dead and missing totaled around 800,000 and just about 7,500 prisoners of war. Yes, that number is correct and reflects that something in the men behind those numbers. Death was preferable to capture and dishonor.  Let that sink in for a minute when you look at the photo.

One other thing to think about. The last official surrender by an Imperial Japanese soldier occurred in December 1974, almost thirty years after the war ended.

 

WWII

The Prison Door

A Prison Door From Nuremberg

The Blame

The cause for a war is something that usually can not be attributed to one man. When it comes to WWII it would be easy to say that Adolf Hitler took civilization to the brink of destruction. It was his voice that rose above the crowd and took him to power. His desire to punish the enemies of his country. His personality that convinced millions to follow him on the path to war. It was he who decided that anyone that was not part of the “Aryan” race were to be considered subhuman and disposable.

One man alone however can not shoulder the entire blame. While many Germans followed because they didn’t have much choice, many more followed because they agreed with the vision of what Germany should be according to Hitler. When the war ended Hitler was not there to take responsibility for his actions, but many of those who served him were.

The Trial

After the war many of these men, civilian and military, were taken into Allied custody. They would stand trial, though many probably did not deserve it. The German town of Nuremburg would become the place for these trials and there the story of the war gained a new dimension. Some simply said they were following orders and were not responsible for the atrocities. Some argued that they were right for what they did. In total 185 Germans stood trial for their actions during the war. Twelve were sentenced to death. Eight life sentences and seventy-seven prison lengths of various terms.

The Prison Door

While they awaited trial the men remained in the jail located at the Palace of Justice. The door in the photo above is from that prison. The men spent their days in a small cell, fed through a slot in the door and taken back and forth to the proceedings under armed guard. While in their cells each door had a soldier assigned to it. Their job was not to prevent escape, but not in they way you may think.

Rather than being worried that the prisoners would break out and make a run for it, they feared that if left alone the prisoners would take their own life. Like Hitler did. Doing this would mean they would avoid responsibility for the crimes they committed. Even so, six men escaped justice via suicide, including Hermann Göring. The prison door above is a reminder that while one man can not start a war. It stands also as a reminder that sometimes there is justice.

Word and Phrases, WWII

Kilroy Was Here

Kilroy was here

Kilroy Was Here

 

The doodle and phrase seems to be everywhere that US Soldiers have visited throughout the years.  It is really cool to think that something like this went viral before the term going viral even came to be. So who is Kilroy and where does he come from? Now that is an interesting story.

Mr. Chad

The origin of the doodle part, the bald man, big nose, hands looking over a wall, most likely originated in Britain in the early days of WWII. That character, named Mr. Chad, was a response to the rations during the war. His image would appear on walls with a phrase such as “Wot? No tea?” Or whatever was in short supply at the time.  US servicemen stationed in Britain took note of Mr. Chad and took him onto the continent during the invasion of France.

Kilroy

The name Kilroy is a little tougher to nail down. For the most part it is thought that Kilroy wasn’t a real person, just a neat name to go with the image. There is however at least one possibility that makes sense. In 1946 a radio contest tried to find out where the name came and phrase came from. One of the contestants was James J. Kilroy, a steel worker from Massachusetts. During the war his primary job was inspecting tanks and ship hulls.

As Kilroy explained to the ATA:

I started my new job with enthusiasm, carefully surveying every inner bottom and tank before issuing a contract. I was thoroughly upset to find that practically every test leader [the head of a work crew] I met wanted me to go down and look over his job with him, and, when I explained to him that I had already checked the job and could not spare the time to crawl through one of those tanks again, he would accuse me of not having looked the job over.

I was getting sick of being accused of not looking the jobs over and one day as I came through the manhole of a tank I had just surveyed, I angrily marked with yellow crayon on the tank top, where the tester could see it, ‘Kilroy was here.’

The following day, a test gang leader approached me with a grin on his face and said, ‘I see you looked my job over.’ I nodded in agreement.

Kilroy figured that other workers may have seen his mark and took the expression with them when the went in the military. He was able to provide witness and collaboration for the events and won the contest.

Uncle Joe?

That seems like a good enough answer to me.  The best Kilroy story though by far is from the Potsdam Conference in 1945. Churchill, Truman and Stalin were meeting to make their plans for the post war world. During a break Stalin reportedly went into one of the restrooms. When finished he came out asking one of his aids who Kilroy was. Not even Uncle Joe could avoid a visit by Kilroy!

 

WWII

Airborne Assault

Assault From The Sky An American Airborne Trooper Uniform

Airborne Assault

Who would want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane? Well, there were many men who did during WWII. In operations that ranged from the Normandy Invasion to Operation Market Garden to the final jump into Germany the Airborne troops took their life in their hands to end up where there were needed, when they were needed.

101st Airborne Division

The most famous of the airborne troops in the US Army came from the 101st Airborne Division, the Screaming Eagles who first saw battle during the Normandy invasion. Tasked with jumping behind the German line to capture strategic targets in advance of the landings, they were to use a combination of parachute drops and gliders to reach their targets. It did not go well.  The start of their offensive led to the troops ending up widely scattered, sometimes miles from their targets.

That first night they lost almost 1,500 men. But with an incredible fighting spirit and some reinforcements they were eventually able to reach their goals. During the rest of the campaign they would serve as a mobile reserve, filling gaps in the line and relieving other units. As  one of the best units they saw a lot of action. But the heavy losses of men and material took its toll. The spent the summer of 1944 refitting and reinforcing the unit. Called upon several more times to make drops and fill gaps in the lines the 101st would eventually find its place in history at Bastogne where they stood surrounded by the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge.

The Uniform

The uniform in the picture would be an example of the in from these men wore. They were light troops, fast and mobile but often lacked the heavier weapons of regular infantry. But all things considered it was not the weapons that made them the best . It was the warrior nature, the never say die attitude. Whatever drove these men to jump out of perfectly good airplanes, showed itself even more once they hit the ground.

WWII

A Day of Infamy at Pearl Harbor

Scrap from a Japanese bomb used at Pearl Harbor

A Day of Infamy at Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941. We all know the date. We all know what happened at Pearl Harbor. This picture is of a piece of a bomb that was dropped by a Japanese airplane that morning.

The build up to the war between the US and Japan was a slow burn. That burn was brought to a boil when Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931. Japan needed space and China had it. The story of what happened to the Chinese people during the occupation is for another time. While the US had many interests in China, it was not prepared to go to war, yet.

Fast forward almost a decade and we see Germany making taking over much of Europe, but being very, very careful to not bring the US into the war even though they were ostensibly supporting the Allies through the Lend Lease act. Germany, however had allies of their own, namely Japan.

Conspiracy?

This is where things get a little difficult. There are those that believe that the US, and President Roosevelt, took steps to goad Japan into war, which because of their alliances, would force Germany into direct conflict with the US.

Acting through a series of laws and executive orders, exports of many items classified as war materials were banned for export The president was granted the authority to make exceptions to this law and he did, choosing to provide material to the Allies.  He refused to allow Japan access to those resources. Not long after the administration seized Japanese assets in the US and cut off their supply of oil.

Cut off from these much-needed imports meant they needed to find the material somewhere. The rest of the Pacific Rim would do. All this happened in an environment where the Japanese tried seeking diplomatic solutions, but war with the US looked more and more like a possibility.

The hope was that a strong enough blow would stun the US into inaction. This would give Japan time to expand its holdings and replace much of what the embargoes were disallowing. Once done they would then try to negotiate a peace with the US.

Infamy

On December 7, 1941 they attacked the US Fleet at Pearl Harbor and struck a crippling blow. The biggest mistake was that while they decimated the fleet, they missed the aircraft carriers that were not in port that day. While stunned, America maintained the capacity to strike back.

Japan, declared war, the US declared war on Japan, and right on cue Germany declared war on the US. Roosevelt got just what he wanted.

That little piece of metal is a souvenir that we get to keep from that day, a day which will live in infamy.

To learn more about the historic sites located at Pearl Harbor, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

WWII

Shoot to Kill

 

So, some people say that the pen is mightier that the sword. Sometimes that may be true, but it can also be said that the sometimes the most devastating shots come not from a gun, but a camera.

Above in the picture are cameras that were used during WWII to gather intelligence and determine the effectiveness of bombing missions.

It should be no surprise that the first gun cams came about during WW1, used mainly for training by the British Royal Flying Corps were special versions of the Lewis machine gun were fitted with cameras and took pictures when rounds were fired.

By the time WWII came about, most aircraft contained versions of these cameras. In fact when you are watching a shows about WWII and see all that great dogfight footage, odds are they came from cameras like this.

Besides recording aircraft kills, the cameras were used to determine effectiveness of bombing. By rolling the film during bombing missions it would be much easier to determine whether a target was destroyed, damaged or missed. Sometimes this footage would be released to the public via newsreels, to show the people at home just how that war was going. Another application has seen footage from these cameras being used to identify resources from the other side of the fighting. Pilots and aircraft, units and soldiers.

This technology has continually improved as time has gone by. Between having the cameras on the aircraft, on the personnel and now on satellites, war has never been covered so well.

 

Museum, WWII

The U-505 On Display

The U-505 On Display

The U-505 On Display

 

At the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago, Il you will find the WWII German submarine, U-505 on display. The Allies captured her in 1944 and she came to the museum in 1954.  You might expect this post will be about the submarine, with technical specs and telling the story of its capture, but it’s not. That will most likely come later. Today’s post is about something over heard when we were taking in the exhibit.

First off I want to say hats off to the museum on the display. It is breathtaking. As we were moving around from one side of the boat to the other and checking out the various artifacts in the room a young couple was following close behind, parts of their conversation wafted through the hubbub of the cavernous room but plain as day these words were clear, “Why are we looking at a German submarine? We need to get rid of it and all the Nazi stuff…”

Say What Now?

It took a second to realize what she was saying and now fully dropping eaves on the conversation it appeared that the young woman had the impression that anything to do with the Nazi’s needed destroyed or buried deep. Her boyfriend/husband/partner agreed wholeheartedly and as we neared the exit of the exhibit, where a German Kreigsmarine Flag was displayed, they almost ran out of the hall.

Let me get this out there first. The Nazi’s were the bad guys and there is little dispute to that. You can get into the nuances of the politics and such all day but that does not change the facts. If you fought under the Nazi regime, you were not on the side of the angles.

What that overheard conversation brought to mind though is the idea that all traces of the Nazis should be removed, just like some people are looking to remove all traces of the Confederacy. The thing is if you remove or hide all traces of the past, especially the bad things, and bad people or even just things you don’t agree with, you increase the chances of those things happening again.

The Lesson

The U-505 is a reminder of a war that happened. As a relic from the defeated side, we should treated it with the same reverence as an American naval vessel. It is OK to respect your enemy, even if they are “evil”.  Hopefully the couple that came out that day realizes looking into the past does not mean just the good parts. I bet they are the kind of people who jump to the last chapter of a book.  Than judges the entire novel based on the ending. OK, this rant is over, next time you see the U-505 here, we’ll get into the good stuff.

Modern, WWII

Hot Racking

Ah the US Navy. So many young people join up expecting to see the word, new and exotic places and people. However there may be something left out of most of the “travel brochures.” In the photo above you see racks, also known as bunks from a US Navy warship, in this an aircraft carrier.  Three beds in a fairly small space. See during you time stationed aboard the ships that tiny space is your home and your personal space. The beds lift for storage for your personal items and you have the little curtains, so maybe not so bad right?

Maybe.

Or maybe not.

See on some ships, smaller ones for sure, submarines for certain, that bed you see. Well, odds are good you share that with at least one, maybe two other people. Not at the same time of course.

It is called hot racking (or hot bunking) and it is the process where multiple people share a single berth. While one person is on watch (working) someone is sleeping in the bed. When when the shift is over the one returns to the rack that is probably still warm from the person that just got up to go and enjoy their day of work. Wash, rinse repeat, for six months. Yes, that also means that you could be sharing a bed with someone who you have never actually met. What would your mother say?

Don’t feel bad though. They do the same sort of things in prisons sometimes.

 

Word and Phrases, WWII

Thank God That Such Men Lived…

General George Patton was a lot of things. He was a warrior and a poet in the classical sense. He thought that he had lived many lives before and sometimes did not understand things such as weakness or fear. He was a man who had a purpose and it just so happened that the times he lived in were ripe for that purpose.

The quote of his above is from a speech that he gave at the Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston, on June 7, 1945. It is ingrained in the wall of the Illinois WWII Memorial and at first glance it causes one to take pause and much like Patton himself you need to look at it fully to appreciate the merit of what he is saying.

He had used similar words before in 1943 while dedicating an Allied cemetery in Italy, “I consider it no sacrifice to die for my country. In my mind we came here to thank God that men like these have lived rather than to regret that they have died.” This quote, which came first, sheds light on the second and provides it with a little context.

Patton was a warrior in the classical sense. His job was war and he was good at it. To his detriment he did not always grasp some of the finer details of the job, some of the more human aspects. The slapping incidents are one example. (If you need background on that click here.) He expected every man under him to fight, that was their job, and when he found these men that were unable to mentally continue the fight he lashed out. it is not that he was a callous man, he was just a man who saw a job that needed done and stood for no obstacles in that path. His superiors recognized that in him and while such actions from almost any other general would have seen them dismissed, they need what Patton brought to the table.

Now back to the quote. it would be easy to read the first part and think that those were the words of a callous Patton, one who did not fully grasp the human cost of war. Perhaps he did not even see the men that he commanded but only pieces on a chess board. That is not the fact however. He did see the men and knew the cost, in his role though he had to be able to put it into context. No better quote by the man shows how he was able to do that. By thanking God that these men lived he is showing that their sacrifice, though great, was what was necessary to defeat their enemy. He elevates them in a way from men to legends, and such a thing from this man can not be taken lightly.

Yes, light on history but heavy on commentary. Just that kind of day…

Movie Reviews, WWII

Movie Review (Sort of): Pearl Harbor (Yes the Affleck One.)

Pearl Harbor [Blu-ray]

So lets get this out of the way right at the top. This is not a great movie. I don;t normally do this, but I am actually going to post a bit of Roger Ebert’s Review:

“Pearl Harbor is a two-hour movie squeezed into three hours, about how on Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese staged a surprise attack on an American love triangle. Its centerpiece is 40 minutes of redundant special effects, surrounded by a love story of stunning banality. The film has been directed without grace, vision, or originality, and although you may walk out quoting lines of dialogue, it will not be because you admire them”, and criticized its liberties with historical facts: “There is no sense of history, strategy or context; according to this movie, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because America cut off its oil supply, and they were down to an 18-month reserve. Would going to war restore the fuel sources? Did they perhaps also have imperialist designs? Movie doesn’t say”*

*Ebert, Roger. “‘Pearl Harbor’.” Chicago Sun-Times, May 25, 2001. Retrieved: June 25, 2009.

Yeah, that about sums it up, but if that is the case why am I offering up a review of it on the site? Because as bad as the movie is it does have something that not a lot of movies about Pearl Harbor has, the American reaction to the attack, The Doolittle Raid. See the last bit of this movie takes our leading men and throws them against Tokyo in modified B-25 Mitchell bombers to various effect.

See the Doolittle Raid achieved very little except as a reflexive action. They hit us and we hit them back. It was a moral boost to Americans and a message to the Japanese that distance would not protect them.

As of today this movie stands as one of the handful, and by far the most modern, of films that shows this incredible feat. It is hard to recommend such a bad movie but as pure brain candy and maybe an introduction to the Pearl Harbor, Doolittle Raid myths, OK, I can see that. Your mileage may very.