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Post by friscohare on Oct 14, 2011 16:43:24 GMT -5
Tap Survival Reserves[/u][/url] (Investor's Business Daily, 10/14/11) The indomitably spirited never give in. How they maintain optimism despite unimaginable challenges: • Live in defiance. The amazing Doc Brown. That's what Hollywood YMCA regulars called dentist and retired Army Maj. Albert Brown. The basketball enthusiast was notorious for mopping the hardwood with men 20 years his junior. Lesser known was his status as the oldest confirmed survivor of World War II's horrific Bataan death march of 1942. Voice-over actor Don Morrow, an occasional roundball opponent, found out after befriending Brown. In "Forsaken Heroes of the Pacific War," released earlier this year, Morrow and co-author Kevin Moore told Brown's story. Read more...
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Post by friscohare on Oct 19, 2011 13:25:22 GMT -5
Wow, today is the 67th Anniversary of MacArthur's return to the Philippines: Remembering Gen. MacArthur's 'I shall return'[/u][/url] (Philippine Star, 10/19/11) Sixty-seven years ago today, Gen. Douglas MacArthur fulfilled his famous and often repeated promise that he made to the Filipino people when he arrived in Australia after his harrowing escape from the island of Corregidor by PT Boat, “I Shall Return”. This was Gen. MacArthur’s promise that became the rallying cry for a beleaguered nation caught in the Second World War and suffered through a humiliating Japanese occupation from 1941 to 1944. Gen. MacArthur’s wading ashore from a barge in the company of then Philippine President Sergio Osmeña Sr. with Carlos P. Romulo has been one of the most iconic black and white photographs of World War II akin to the famous raising of the American Flag in Mt. Suribachi in Iwo Jima. MacArthur’s promise of “I Shall Return” was radioed to Filipino guerrillas here under an American civilian, Col. James Cushing. These words became the wrapper in cigarettes and chewing gum which you can find on display in Hotel Alejandro, Tacloban City, the country’s only museum hotel. Read more...
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Post by VeeVee on Oct 19, 2011 22:51:18 GMT -5
Yes indeed! Along the same vein...
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MacArthur’s A-Day Ad Lib By Greg B. Macabenta To many Americans and Europeans, D-Day, the 6th of June, is of major importance in world history -- important enough to bring to the continent droves of tourists, mainly veterans of World War II who fought in the European theater, and their families. It was on that day in 1944 when allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy on the way to liberating Europe from the Nazis.
It was in that context that I suggested to Tourism Secretary Mon Jimenez, on my recent visit to Manila, that October 20 be viewed as an opportunity for tourism promotion. It was on that day in 1944 when US forces, led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, landed at Red Beach in Palo, Leyte, to start the liberation of the Philippines.
To veterans of the war in the Pacific, that day is as significant as D-Day. In fact, for families of the thousands of US and allied soldiers buried in the American cemetery in the former Fort Bonifacio, and those who fought in Bataan, Corregidor, Leyte, and the many war fronts across the archipelago, October 20 should inspire an annual sentimental journey to the Philippines -- similar to that one made by Gen. MacArthur and his wife, Jean, in 1961.
To MacArthur, October 20 was A-Day or Attack-Day. The day he would make good on his solemn vow, “I shall return!”
This fact would have been buried in the landfill of history had Filipino-American Rudy Asercion not accidentally discovered a letter of an American sailor to his sweetheart, telling her, “Tomorrow is A-Day.” Asercion is executive director of a San Francisco non-profit, the West Bay Pilipino Multi-Service Center, and a commissioner of the Veterans War Memorial Commission. He was rummaging through the archives of the commission when he came upon the sailor’s letter.
Intrigued, Asercion dug further and confirmed from records that A-Day was MacArthur’s code name for the start of the liberation of the Philippines. Asercion didn’t stop there. He brought this to the attention of the White House, with the support of Yolanda Stern, president emerita of the Federation of Filipino-American Chambers of Commerce, and Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba (Ret.), the FilAm general who blew the lid off the US Army human rights abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
Acknowledging that A-Day was an occasion that merited honors, President George W. Bush issued a proclamation to that effect. On Oct. 20, 2004, the first official commemoration of A-Day in America was held at the Herbst Theater, War Memorial Bldg. in San Francisco. Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, who was then Philippine ambassador to Washington, graced the occasion, along with officers of the American Legion, Philippine consular officials, and FilAm community leaders.
Asercion, Taguba, and Stern did not stop at this decidedly significant achievement. That same year, they lobbied for the California legislature to pass a bill that would include in the social science curriculum of the state’s Department of Education the vital role played by Filipino soldiers in World War II. Recognition of this role was pivotal in the granting of benefits to Filipino veterans by the US Congress and the Obama presidency -- a role denied by the Rescission Act of 1946.
Unfortunately, despite positive action by the state legislature, then Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have given our veterans the recognition due them.
Unfazed, Asercion, Taguba, Stern, and a more empowered FilAm community, including KAYA, a youth group that actively helped in the Obama presidential campaign, lobbied the current legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown. They finally succeeded.
Last October 8, Brown signed AB 199, co-authored by Assembly Pro Tempore Fiona Ma and Assemblyman Paul Cook, that urges the inclusion of Filipino World War II veterans in the 7-12 public high school curriculum in California.
According to Asercion, California is one of three states authorized to print textbooks for use in schools across the US. This could mean that the inclusion of Filipino veterans in textbooks used in the state will result in their inclusion in social studies in schools all over the country.
Like the Energizer bunny, Asercion just keeps going and going and going. To commemorate A-Day this year, he has arranged for a luncheon in honor of 12 surviving Filipino veterans. To be held at the War Memorial Building, the old soldiers will have community leaders waiting on them. Already committed to don their waiters’ aprons are Carmen Colet, president of the San Francisco FilAm Chamber of Commerce; Rodel Rodis, president of US Pinoys for Good Governance and former president of the San Francisco Community College Board, and Yolanda Stern. I have also been asked to play waiter at the event.
Hopefully, others whose schedules have been as tight as ours, will manage to free themselves for at least two hours to honor these aging heroes. Gen. Taguba, who resides in the Washington DC area, will be unable to make it. But he continues to plug for Filipino veterans in his current key position in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has sent word that he will try to squeeze the luncheon into his heavy schedule. Assembly Pro Tempore Fiona Ma is expected to announce, with Rodis, Stern, and Asercion, the proposed curriculum mandated by AB-199.
This will include personal testimonies of Filipino veterans recorded on audio and videotapes, as well as historical records that Asercion has doggedly exhumed from the archives of the commission.
For a number of reasons, the observance of A-Day this year will not be as high-profile or as impressive as the first one held in 2004. It’s easy to point out why this is so. Blame is so much easier to identify.
But the fact is that Rudy Asercion, Gen. Tony Taguba, and Yolanda Stern have lighted an ember that continues to glow, despite community apathy. It just deserves to be fanned more vigorously, indeed, more creatively. Like the annual Filipino festivals that I also pointed out to Mon Jimenez as presenting rich opportunities to promote the Philippines and Philippine tourism, the ember of A-Day and AB-199 can be made to burst into flame. We hope that more zealous and caring individuals will step up to fan the ember and help dispel the darkness of our anonymity in America and in the rest of the world.
gregmacabenta@hotmail.com
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Post by legionnaire on Oct 20, 2011 1:38:17 GMT -5
US participation in D day landings:
Utah beach - 23,250
Omaha beach - 34, 250
Airborne - 15,500
Point du Hoc - 225 Rangers
total : 73,225 out of 112, 890 US participants
US KIA - estimated 6,603
US landings in A day Leyte:
US Army - 200,000
Filipino Guerrillas - 3,189
US KIA - 3,504
The naval battle in and near Leyte Gulf was the biggest naval battle in history. We might add that it was not only a big battle in itself, but was also decisive in its results. Had the Japanese won that battle, the American troops that had landed on Leyte the biggest American invasion force in the Pacific war at that time might have been wiped out and the liberation of the Philippines might have been retarded.
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Post by labrador on Oct 20, 2011 2:50:30 GMT -5
The Naval Battle of Leyte Gulf is truly a forgotten epic. People talk about sinking the bismarck, the pearl harbor attack the sinking of the Yamato but you never hear people talk about the US destroyers Johnston and Hoel and their epic suicide charge against Kurita's Battleships.
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Post by friscohare on Oct 21, 2011 0:04:54 GMT -5
The naval battle in and near Leyte Gulf was the biggest naval battle in history. Indeed it was! I have more to say about the fading memory of Leyte Gulf and WWII P.I. in general. I'll save that for later. In the meantime: This is a 1945 US Navy photo of the Destroyer USS Melvin. Military historians believe the USS Melvin is the only destroyer to sink an enemy battleship in World War II - the Japanese battleship Fuso on Oct. 25, 1944 at the battle for Leyte Gulf in the Philippines.We Didn't Know It Was History's Greatest Battle[/u][/url] The Battle of Leyte Gulf, on Oct. 20, 1944 was one of the most dramatic moments of World War II (By Gabe Pressman, NBC New York, 10/20/11) It was one of the most dramatic moments of World War II. On October 20, 1944, General Douglas MacArthur waded ashore on the beach at the island of Leyte in the Philippines, declaring, “To the people of the Philippines: I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God our forces stand again on Philippine soil – soil consecrated in the blood of our two peoples. We have come, dedicated and committed, to the task of destroying every vestige of enemy control over your daily lives, and of restoring, upon a foundation of indestructible strength, the liberties of your people.” It marked the beginning of the greatest naval battle in history, the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Somehow that battle is receding in the memory of many Americans, obscured by the decisive and important engagements of the European war. Yet naval historians know how important it was and what powerful personalities were involved. I remember it because I was in it. I was an ensign on a small ship, the USS PC 470. And on that fateful October day we were part of the 7th Fleet. Our mission: to help land the troops on the beach. We were anchored about 2000 yards off what the battle plan called “Yellow Beach 2.” Read more...
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Post by friscohare on Oct 22, 2011 23:41:33 GMT -5
World War II veteran and Salinas resident Roy Diaz, 94, is recognized and applauded by a crowd gathered May 30 for a Memorial Day ceremony at the Garden of Memories Memorial Park in Salinas.Roy Diaz of Salinas, Bataan Death March survivor, celebrates 95th birthday[/u][/url] (The Californian.com, 10/21/2011) [...] History has given Diaz special distinction, however. He's a survivor of the Bataan Death March — one of the most notorious atrocities of World War II — who was a prisoner of war for 3 1/2 years in Japanese slave-labor camps. In February 1941, he was one of 105 members of Company C, 194th Tank Battalion of the U.S. Army, largely made up of young men from the Salinas area. They had signed up for a National Guard unit that was converted. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, plunging the United States into the war, Company C was stationed in the Philippines. It became among the first armored units to engage in combat against Japanese soldiers. Read more..._____________________________________________ Mario 'Motts' Tonelli's story resonates from Notre Dame to southeast Asia, where he spent 2-1/2 years as a prisoner of war[/u][/url] (St. Petersburg Times, 10/21/2011) [...] Throughout his life, Motts would insist he was so intoxicated with adrenaline, he didn't remember the play. Three years later, he signed with the NFL's Chicago Cardinals, who assigned him the same number he wore in college. At the time, it must have seemed Motts had reached a pinnacle. It turned out to be a prelude. Two years later, he found himself in a harrowing procession of gaunt prisoners of war, marching along the southern tip of Bataan. Stragglers often were disemboweled by their Japanese captors. Motts had enlisted in the Army at the end of the 1940 season, as the United States was bracing for war against Nazi Germany. In late 1941, he and his artillery regiment had been assigned to the Philippines. (Mr. Motts was a Sergeant with the 2nd Bn. HQ, 200th Coast Artillery Regiment) Read more...
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Post by friscohare on Oct 24, 2011 21:04:16 GMT -5
The President [of the Philippines] delivering his speech during the 67th Leyte Gulf Landings Anniversary at the Macarthur Landing Memorial National Park, Palo, Leyte.War heroes honored[/u][/url] (Samar News, 10/21/11) PALO, Leyte – World War II Filipino war heroes were honored yesterday (October 20) during the 67th commemoration of the Leyte Gulf Landing Anniversary in Palo, Leyte, Philippines. Philippine president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, who was the guest of honor of the event, said his administration is doing everything to pay tribute to those sacrifices and heroism done by the Filipino war veterans during the “last major naval engagement of World War II" in Red Beach, Palo, Leyte. In his message, Pres. Aquino said he has been observing the active participation of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) in updating the list of pensioners, which will served as basis of the US government to pay them fairly. Read more..._____________________________________________ Arvid Anderson, 86, of Crawfordsville, pauses to read the headstones Tuesday in Arlington National Cemetery. Anderson was one of 90 World War II veterans who made the trip to Washington aboard an Eastern Iowa Honor Flight.Local WWII veterans visit D.C. memorials via Honor Flight, find nation's gratitude[/u][/url] (Iowa City Press Citizen, 10/23/11) [...] Rinas, who is 92 and lives at Lantern Park Nursing Home in Coralville, is a survivor of the Bataan Death March — the forced 63-mile trek by 70,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war in 1942 by the Japanese. Up to 10,000 soldiers died on the march to the prison camp, and for the next 43 months, Rinas, a member of the Army Air Corps, was held as a POW. When Rinas was released and came home at the end of the war, he was considered 100 percent disabled after bouts with scurvy, malaria and all manner of tropical diseases, Livingston said. Remarkably, he made a full recovery and went on to college on the G.I. Bill had four children and taught science for more than 30 years in Marion. “This is true of his whole generation of veterans — they don’t quite get why people make a big deal about this,” Livingston said. “It’s nice they have this memorial, but they just did what they did and never thought of themselves as heroes.” (Mr. Bruno Rinas was a Staff Sergeant with the 3rd Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group when captured on Bataan. Read more...
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Post by friscohare on Oct 24, 2011 21:07:57 GMT -5
Silverio Cuaresma, 99, gestures at his daughter's Las Vegas home while talking Thursday about his World War II service as a guerrilla intelligence officer under U.S. Army Maj. Edwin RamseyFilipino-American veterans in Nevada fight for benefits[/u][/url] (Las Vegas Review-Journal , 10/23/11) At 99 years old and tethered to an oxygen tank, Silverio Cuaresma hardly fits the image of a poster child. Yet, the Filipino-American Veterans of Nevada are hoping that he'll anchor their campaign. The group wants to present President Barack Obama a petition when he visits Las Vegas today. The petition, with more than 500 signatures, calls for an executive order to compel the Department of Veterans Affairs to grant each of these World War II veterans who are U.S. citizens a one-time, $15,000 benefit as promised under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Others still living in the Philippines could receive $9,000. Cuaresma was a Philippine guerrilla intelligence officer who served under famous U.S. Army cavalry Maj. Edwin Ramsey and led raids that killed many Japanese Imperial Army soldiers in central Luzon. Cuaresma is currently midstride in appealing the VA's denial of his benefit claim. Read more...
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Post by friscohare on Oct 25, 2011 19:55:09 GMT -5
RECOGNIZED – Preston Davis is pictured with two of his grandchildren.Local veteran finally receives medals, awards
[/b][/u] (Abilene Reflector-Chronicle, 10/25/11) Preston Davis, of rural Abilene, is a true believer in the old adage that “All good things come to he who waits.” As a young man fresh out of Abilene High School, Davis saw extended combat during General Douglas MacArthur’s campaign to liberate the Philippine Islands as World War II drew to a close and finally, after 66 years, the final awards that a grateful Philippine government had bestowed upon him in 1945 found their way to his living room wall. As the Allied armies advanced against the Japanese forces, Davis earned several awards and decorations from both the United States and Filipino governments in the late summer of the war’s final year. However, when the fighting stopped and the war ended, and he had the opportunity to return home all the young Kansan could dream about was putting the war as far behind him as possible. “Heck, I wasn’t thinking about any medals at the time,” he said. “I was a young man who had survived the war and all I could think about was getting back home to my family and getting on with my life.” Read more...
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Post by oklahoma on Oct 26, 2011 10:14:43 GMT -5
Hey Frisco...I was pleased to see that Roy Diaz is still with us. I have a book, somewhere in my junk, about POWs in the PI and Roy is mentioned several times, the last being when he was injured and he feared that he would be crippled for life. Good to see that he survived and has lived to such a ripe old age. They don't make 'em like that anymore. Thanks for posting this info. Cheers.
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Post by friscohare on Nov 6, 2011 18:33:57 GMT -5
Hey Frisco...I was pleased to see that Roy Diaz is still with us. I have a book, somewhere in my junk, about POWs in the PI and Roy is mentioned several times, the last being when he was injured and he feared that he would be crippled for life. Good to see that he survived and has lived to such a ripe old age. They don't make 'em like that anymore. Thanks for posting this info. Cheers. You're welcome, okla. I'm very happy to have posted it.
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Post by friscohare on Nov 6, 2011 18:38:13 GMT -5
DBM allots P25M for Corregidor
[/b][/u] (The Philippine Inquirer, 11/04/11) Malacañang has earmarked P25 million for the refurbishing of historical facilities in Corregidor due to the rising number of tourists arriving in the island, according to Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad. “The Aquino administration recognizes the importance of preserving historical sites like Corregidor,” Abad said. “Apart from preserving our cultural heritage, this also supports our bid to boost tourism in the country.” Also known as “The Rock,” Corregidor symbolizes for many the courage, valor and heroism of Filipino soldiers who fought side by side with the Americans during World War II. “That is certainly a cultural heritage that we would want to preserve and showcase to the world,” the budget chief said. Abad added that the implementation of the restoration project is needed to save the historical structures in Corregidor Island from collapsing. Read more...
_____________________________________________________ Govt allots P25M to restore Corregidor glory
[/b][/u] (GMA News, 11/06/11) The government is allocating P25 million for the restoration and preservation of the historical Cine Corregidor Complex, in order to save the historical structures on Corregidor Island from further falling in disrepair after these were heavily damaged by recent typhoons. Department of Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad said over the weekend that President Benigno Aquino III has directed the sum’s allocation because he recognizes the importance of preserving historical sites like Corregidor. He also noted that the site’s restoration would not only preserve Filipino cultural heritage but also boost tourism in the country. Tourist arrivals in Corregidor Island in the first ten months of 2011 have increased to 76,224, as compared to last year’s 70,891 tourists as shown in the Department of Tourism (DOT) records. A surge in more tourist arrivals is expected with the upcoming international marathon event on December 19 where some 500 to 1,000 runners are expected to join. “Aside from having a picturesque view, Corregidor stands for the courage, valor and heroism of Filipino soldiers who fought during World War II. That is certainly a cultural heritage that we would want to preserve and showcase to the world," said Abad. Read more...
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Post by labrador on Nov 6, 2011 23:07:33 GMT -5
i hope they don't refurbish it by putting up a giant white corregidor sign ala hollywood!
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Post by friscohare on Nov 11, 2011 15:38:59 GMT -5
Happy Veteran's Day everyone! Here are a bunch of stories that came out in the past two days: A Philippine government official walks past thousands of marble crosses following a wreath-laying ceremony at the American Cemetery and Memorial at suburban Taguig city, east of Manila, Philippines, to pay tribute to U.S. veterans and their families on Veterans Day, Friday Nov. 11, 2011. The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial contains the remains of WWII Americans who died in the Pacific, China, India, and Burma along with Philippine Scouts who served with the U.S. forcesObama observing Veterans Day with Arlington rites[/u][/url] (ABC News, 11/11/11) WASHINGTON (AP) - November 11, 2011 (WPVI) -- President Barack Obama is taking part in Veterans Day observances in Washington and San Diego before heading to Hawaii for an Asia-Pacific summit. The president is hosting a veterans breakfast Friday at the White House, then laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns before speaking at a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. Soon after, Obama flies to California to take part in the first-ever Carrier Classic, basketball game between Michigan State and No. 1 North Carolina aboard the USS Carl Vinson. The Veterans Day observances come a day after the Senate approved Obama's call for a tax credit for those who hire jobless veterans. In a written statement, he said the vote is a fitting way to help honor those who've served their country. _____________________________________ Pueblo boxer never lost the will to fight[/u][/url] (Pueblo Chieftain, 11/10/11) Sometimes the accomplishments of a great athlete get lost over time. Fortunately, the Greater Pueblo Sports Association Hall of Fame didn't lose sight of the late Frank "Inky" Pechek. He will be inducted into the hall for his outstanding boxing ability in the 1920s and 1930s, and also is remembered for his military service. Pechek, who was born in Pueblo, died in September 1987 at the age of 76. Pechek served in the U.S. Army from 1940-67. He survived the Bataan Death March and was a prisoner of war for 44 months during World War II. He received many commendations in the military, including the Purple Heart. In June 2001, U.S. Congressional Representative Dana Rohrabacher described the horrors and brutality the prisoners experienced on the march. "They were beaten, and they were starved as they marched. Those who fell were bayoneted. . . . The Japanese culture at that time reflected the view that any warrior who surrendered had no honor; thus was not to be treated like a human being. Thus they were not committing crimes against human beings." (Mr. Pechek served with the Luzon Force/I Corps Headquarters as a T/Sgt.) Read more...
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Post by friscohare on Nov 11, 2011 15:51:22 GMT -5
Tom Harrison, a WWII veteran, received a package in the mail last week that contained quite a surprise: the Army Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star and the Legion of Merit Medal. He also received a Victory Medal and a Presidential Unit Citation. WWII veteran receives recognition he deserves 6 decades later[/u][/url] (Desert News, 11/10/11) SALT LAKE CITY — For this year's Veterans Day, one World War II vet in Salt Lake City has something extra this year to commemorate his service in the Philippines. Tom Harrison, who is 93, received a package in the mail last week that contained quite a surprise. Harrison was commissioned through the ROTC at the University of Utah in 1941 and sent off to war in the Pacific. He endured the brutality of the Bataan Death March and three-and-a-half years in a labor camp, but never got all the recognition he deserved — until now. "You can get used to most anything, if you make up your mind to do so," he said of his ordeals. Harrison was among 20,000 American troops on the Bataan Peninsula who ran out of food and ammo and had to surrender in April 1942. "It was a terrible experience," he said. Japanese troops forced the starving and exhausted POWs to walk more than 70 miles to the ships that took them to prison labor camps. "If you got out of line, if you fell, you were likely to either be bayoneted or clubbed to death," he said. All the way, they were brutalized by their captors. "You tried not to attract attention of a guard with a bayonet." He survived the march and more than three years in a prison camp, until they were freed in the summer of 1945. Harrison wrote a book about his experience in 1989. (Mr. Harrison was a Captain with the 21st Field Artillery, Philippine Army.) Read more..._____________________________________ Navajo Code Talkers[/u][/url] (My Fox NY, 11/10/11) MYFOXNY.COM - The only unbroken code in modern military history was created by the Navajo Code Talkers. We're going to have one of the code talkers on Thursday's Good Day New York to talk about the heroic efforts of his unit. It baffled the Japanese forces of WWII. It was even indecipherable to a Navajo soldier taken prisoner and tortured on Bataan. In fact, during test evaluations, Marine cryptologists said they couldn't even transcribe the language, much less decode it. The secret code was a surprisingly simple marvel of cryptographic innovation. It contained native terms that were associated with specialized or commonly used military language, as well as native terms that represented the letters in the alphabet. Watch the video
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Post by frank on Nov 11, 2011 17:09:09 GMT -5
Thanks for the post. Hope you had a great Vetrans day also.
Was in LA for the FACLA pre-march presentation for the Fil-Am Vets.
I caught the tail end of the San Fernando Valley Vet. Day parade.
Will upload images later. Frank
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Post by friscohare on Nov 11, 2011 22:40:43 GMT -5
Bataan Death March Documentary[/u][/url] (WSIL-TV, 11/11/11) CARBONDALE - A documentary on the Bataan Death March, produced by an SIU professor, will debut Friday night. Jan Thompson spent nearly two decades on the project, interviewing more than 75 survivors, including one from Southern Illinois. And actor Alec Baldwin narrated the half hour documentary. Jan Thompson began work on the documentary 19 years ago and through a family connection, she got close to Bataan POW survivors. “My dad was a prisoner of war and I started to attend prisoner of war reunions and just got hooked talking to these men,” says SIU Professor Jan Thompson. Thompson grew up listening to her father's stories, and was familiar with what the POWs went through. Read more...
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Post by friscohare on Nov 11, 2011 22:52:34 GMT -5
Col. Jim Slife, commander of the 1st Special Operations Wing, offers words of respect and gratitude to retired Tech. Sgt. Pete Loss prior to the Purple Heart ceremony at his private residence in Fort Walton Beach, Nov. 11, 2011. The medal was presented for the sacrifices Loss made during World War II as a prisoner of war and Bataan Death March survivor.No longer a 'Loss': World War II survivor receives Purple Heart[/u][/url] (Hurlburt Field, 11/11/11) FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. -- Nearly 70 years later and after trekking 60 miles over unforgiving terrain on what would infamously become known as the Bataan Death March, retired Tech. Sgt. Pete Loss is receiving the Purple Heart for the hell he endured as a prisoner of war in the Pacific theater of World War II. Colonel Jim Slife, commander of the 1st Special Operations Wing, awarded the Purple Heart to Loss in a private ceremony held at his residence in Fort Walton Beach. "The Bataan Death March captured the very worst of what our service members endured and the very best of what America represents," Slife said. It's fitting that today, on Veterans Day, that we can award the Purple Heart to a true hero. It's how we should spend every Veterans Day." The Purple Heart is awarded to persons who have received wounds or lost their lives in action against an enemy of the United States, during periods of war or armed conflict. Loss was among the 75,000 U.S. and Allied forces that were surrendered after the Japanese overwhelmed the strongholds on the Bataan peninsula in the Philippines. After having never received the Purple Heart for his World War II commitment, a petition was submitted on his behalf to acknowledge Loss' eligibility for the medal. Army officials agreed. "That's all he talked about, you know," said Magdelene, Loss' wife. (Mr. Loss served with the 75th Ordnance Company) Read more...
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Post by friscohare on Nov 11, 2011 23:23:11 GMT -5
Robert Vogler wearing the Japanese-American friendship medal received during his trip to Japan in October.Robert Volger Jr. – Bataan suvivor learns ‘We can overcome anything’[/u][/url] (Pomerado News, 11/10/11) Retired Master Sgt. Robert Vogler Jr., a Bataan Death March survivor and World War II prisoner of war, recently led a delegation of fellow POWs to Japan to help with reconciliation between former enemy nations. When describing his experiences as a prisoner of the Japanese, Vogler, now 90, said, “It was a nightmare. … The march was a living hell.” On Dec. 8, 1941 (in the Philippines, Dec. 7 in the United States), Japan attacked the Philippines just hours after attacking Pearl Harbor. The Philippines were under United States’ control and had American military bases and personnel there. Vogler, a Rancho Bernardo resident, said by November 1941 there were signs war was imminent. In 1940, as an 18-year-old, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and requested to be sent from California to the Philippines because “it sounded interesting … would be kind of fun and I wanted an adventure.” (Mr. Vogler served with the 17th Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group) Read more..._____________________________________ Guest column: Norbertine priest recalls his military service[/u][/url] (Green Bay Press Gazette, 11/10/11) The 32nd Red Arrow Division, the Wisconsin-Michigan National Guard, fought in the Philippines in World War II, which explains why so many veterans from Northeastern Wisconsin served there. I became interested in learning about the U.S. military's involvement in the Philippines after having spent time in Manila, starting in the 1990s. I learned of the Red Arrow Division and about many other Northeastern Wisconsin soldiers, sailors and Marines who also served there in many other outfits. I have met several of them, including Jack McKeough. Originally from Fond du Lac, Jack was attached to the 87th Combat Engineers. He is better known today as the Rev. Father Brendan McKeough, a Norbertine priest living in active retirement at the Priory at St. Norbert College. Jack is an ideal representative to speak about what it was like to be from Northeastern Wisconsin fighting in the Philippines in World War II. With the Engineers, Jack saw both the front lines just ahead as well as the aftermath of battle and its effects on the Filipinos. The 87th Combat Engineers arrived early in 1945 at Cabanatuan, a town close to the notorious POW camp where the American survivors of Bataan and Corregidor had been interned in 1942 and only recently liberated. Read more..._____________________________________ Grundy County Had 20 POWs During World War II[/u][/url] (Republican Times, 11/11/11) During World War II, 20 military men from Grundy County were taken prisoners of war. Three, Cpl. Lewis W. Findley, Charles M. Frame and Capt. Harold B. Wright, died while being held in Japanese prison camps. Several suffered wounds while being taken prisoners but received no medical treatment during the internment. The surviving 18 returned to the United States, but only eight returned to grundy County to establish civilian lives. Three immediately moved to new locations and five stayed in Trenton and Spickard. At the present time, Donald Woodard is the only Grundy County surviving POW from World War II. He resides on a farm with his wife, Letha, on Highway 65, south of Trenton. Sgt. Chester Jason Brown graduated from Trenton High School in 1933 and from Trenton Junior College in 1936. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in March 1941 and was stationed with the medical corps in the Philippines when Corregidor fell to the Japanese on May 7, 1942. He was liberated on Jan. 31, 1945 from the Cabanatuan prison camp on Luzon during a daring raid by American Rangers. He returned to Trenton and Married Norma Marcaline Wilson on Oct. 17, 1945. He attended the Chillicothe Business College before moving to Albany, in 1946, where he was employed by Doolin Motor Co. until 1953. He had an insurance agency in Maryville for three years before purchasing a bulk oil business in Albany. Jason and Marcaline were the parents of eight sons and three daughters. Jason died on May 9, 2004 at the age of 97. Read more...
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