Book R & R: Judgment at Tokyo

This Book Review and Recommendation is for "Judgment at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia" by Gary J. Bass.

(Disclosure: I borrowed this book from my local library and there are no affiliate links on this page.)

Remember when Amazon wouldn’t let you just rate a book, you had to write a review? I used to hate it when occasionally (actually more times than I care to remember) someone would one-star a book and comment “This book was not about what I thought it was.” Totally not fair to the author or potential readers. Way uncool.

I picked up this book because I was looking for something else. Collectively, we know about war crimes committed by the Japanese during WWII. Conditions in POW camps, summary executions, killing of civilians, and similar war crimes are commonly depicted in documentaries, books, and movies. I wanted to know about the trials of front-line perpetrators. The people who did these things. Their capture, trials, and punishments. This book was not so much about that. Rather, “Judgment at Tokyo" is about the prosecution of those men at the top.

The book goes into great detail on the trial of twenty-eight of the most visible war criminals captured in Japan, including Hideki Tojo. They were to be tried by an International Military Tribunal, consisting of judges representing the Allied Powers that fought the war against Japan. The standard for charges was based on whether the defendants ordered the crimes or knew about crimes and did nothing to either stop them, or investigate charges by the Allies during the war.

What were some of the crimes? A few mentioned include the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, the Bataan Death March, the Burma-Thailand Death Railway, and specifically the mistreatment of POWs which includes beheadings. During the war the Japanese took 132,134 prisoners, mostly from Great Britain, the United States, Australia, and the Holland. Of those, 35,756 died in captivity. That’s a mortality of 27 percent. Compare that to 4% for those POWs held by Germany and Italy. There is even a charge of cannibalism. Eight downed American Navy fliers picked up and taken to the island of Chichi Jima were murdered and ritualistically eaten by Japanese officers there. One Navy flier rescued before drifting to the island was nineteen-year-old future President George H.W. Bush. After the trial, seven of the defendants were sentenced to hang. Sixteen others received life in prison, the remaining had lesser sentences.

Author Gary Bass thoroughly covers the two-and-half-year trial, including background on the judges, the charges, and the events that have anything to do with the trial. As you can imagine, it is lengthy at just under seven hundred pages, excluding front and back matter. But the book is very readable and I found it interesting. My only criticism is that the author tends to view the past through the lens of today’s values. Particularly so when it comes to the dropping of the atomic bombs. So, the book didn't cover exactly what I was looking for, but overall, it was worth the time.

And the answer to my question is that it looks like most of the low-level offenders were captured and tried in the country where they committed the crime. Some where noteworthy, like the trial of General Tomoyuki Yamashita in the Philippines (Read “Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita, and the Battle of Manila by James M. Scott for an excellent coverage of the Manila Massacre and Yamashita’s trial). Rough totals: an estimated 5,000 Japanese were tried for war crimes. Half the total charged received prison sentences. As many as 900 were put to death. (Ref: PBS American Experience website.)

The 99th Infantry Battalion (Separate)

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A Norwegian-American Unit formed during World War II.
(Original article written 7-14-2013 by Jim Broumley)

99th Infantry Battalion
Shoulder Patch

One of the reasons I enjoy studying and writing about WWII is that during that time the concept of "special operations" was really taking root. There are a lot of interesting stories in the histories of these types of military units. Quite a few units were conceived on paper, or actually formed and began training, to fulfill specific missions or operate in a particular theater or environment. Units like the 1st Special Service Force, Darby's Rangers, Merrill's Marauders, etc, easily come to mind. Even the airborne was initially conceived as a small unit, special operations force, according to General William Yarborough. (The general made that statement in an oral history interview that I used as a reference while researching the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion.)

Upon the United States' entry into World War II, plans for unconventional warfare operations in Norway began developing under the code name "Plough." The goals of these operational plans were to eliminate Norway as an economic asset for Germany, keep large numbers of German troops on occupation duty in Norway, limit German troops deployed in Norway the ability to attack allied convoys headed to supply the Russian port of Murmansk, to prepare for the liberation of Norway, and open a link through Norway to Russia. The unit first envisioned for this mission was the 1st Special Service Force, "the Devil's Brigade," activated on July 2, 1942. The 1st SSF began its training with skills in winter warfare like skiing and mountain climbing.

Concurrently, U.S. Army planners knew that they needed soldiers who could blend in with the local Norwegians. It was determined that the Army should recruit native speakers of Norwegian and Americans of Norwegian descent for a special unit. On July 10, 1942, the 99th Infantry Battalion (Separate) was activated. Many of the men who volunteered for the unit came from Minnesota and the Dakotas. There were also a number of Norwegian merchant seamen who were locked out of their home country when the Germans invaded. All the volunteers were either American citizens or were required to apply for citizenship.

The 99th Battalion began their training at Camp Ripley, Minnesota on August 15, 1942. The Battalion's first commander was Captain Harold D. Hanson. Their strength was 884 men, led by Norwegian-American officers until native Norwegians could be trained at officer candidate schools. They adopted a shoulder sleeve insignia representative of their native origins: a Viking ship on a shield utilizing the Norwegian national colors of red, white, and blue. The unit's training began with soldier skills and physical conditioning. Fort Ripley was built for summer training, so in September the 99th moved to Fort Snelling, Minnesota, at the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The local Scandinavian immigrant communities in the area made the soldiers feel at home with a number of social events.

On December 17, 1942, the 99th Infantry Battalion moved out to Camp Hale, Colorado for winter training on skis and snowshoes. When the snow melted in the spring the soldiers were trained in rock climbing and mountaineering. The 99th Battalion arguably received the best winter warfare training available to American troops at the time. President Roosevelt, known to champion special ops units of the day, reviewed the Battalion on Easter Sunday, 1943. During their nine months of training in Colorado, the unit took on the nom de guerre of the "Norwegian Avengers."

Unfortunately, in the spring of 1943, the Allied Powers decided to take the Norwegian operation away from the 1st Special Service Force and their attached 99th Infantry Battalion. It was determined that once such a large ground force was inserted into Norway that they could not be supplied or extracted if necessary. Their mission could actually be accomplished by bombers of the Royal Air Force, despite the belief by the Norwegian government that the damage caused by any of these combat operations would hurt the economy and the people of Norway more than the German occupation. However, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the CIA, had an interest in Norway (as well as every other occupied country). In June 1943, about a hundred Norwegian speakers from the 99th Battalion were recruited for OSS operational teams. Some of these men would eventually parachute into Norway with Major William Colby as part of OSS "Operation Rype."

Two months after their mission was scrubbed, the 99th Infantry Battalion was ordered overseas. In August the Battalion moved to Camp Shanks, New York. Then on September 5, they departed for Great Britain on the troopship SS Mexico. While in England the 99th continued to hone their mountaineering skills, but they also trained as armored infantry (infantry that supported tanks). The "Norwegian Avengers" became part of the great Allied army preparing to cross the channel and fight for the liberation of Europe.

The 99th Infantry Battalion landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy on June 21, 1944, and by June 30th was participating in the liberation of Cherbourg. While attached to the 2nd Armored Division in mid-August, the commanding general said that the Norwegians were the only infantry unit that his tanks had trouble keeping up with. The last week of that month saw the 99th Infantry Battalion fighting to secure the bridge over the Seine River in the city of Elbeuf. This was one of only two escape routes for the Germans fleeing Normandy. By September the Battalion, still attached to the 2AD, saw heavy action along the Meuse Canal near Maastrict, Holland. October saw the 99th attached to the 30th Infantry Division and engaged in their most intense combat of the war, blocking the German retreat from Aachen by attacking the German city of Wurselen. During November and December, the Norwegians served as the U.S. 1st Army reserve against possible German airborne operations.

The day after the Germans began their offensive in the Ardennes area of Belgium, kicking off what became known as the "Battle of the Bulge," the 99th Infantry Battalion was ordered forward into a defensive position south of Malmedy. They were part of Task Force Hanson, named for their commander LTC Harold Hanson, which consisted of the 99th along with the 526th Armored Infantry Battalion and the 825th Tank Destroyer Battalion. On December 21, Task Force Hanson was attacked by Panzer Brigade 150. This German unit, commanded by SS Colonel Otto Skorzeny, was intended to operate behind Allied lines posing as Americans. They wore American uniforms and drove captured American vehicles. When their initial clandestine mission failed, they re-entered the fight as a regular armored unit. Their combat mission was to take Malmedy in order to attack the rear of the Americans who were blocking the advance of the 1st SS Panzer Corp at Elsenborn Ridge. The 99th Battalion and other units of the 30th ID stopped Skorzany's attack, inflicting heavy losses on the Germans. However, due to the accents of the Nowegian-Americans, during the Battle of the Bulge more than a few members of the 99th Infantry Battalion were detained as suspected German infiltrators.

After the fight for Malmedy, the Norwegians spent the next 31 days on the line between Malmedy and Stavelot, conducting raids and running combat patrols. When they came off the line they were moved to Tilff, Belgium for several days then on January 22, 1945, the Battalion moved by rail to Barneville, in Normandy. In France, the 99th Infantry Battalion became part of the newly created 474th Infantry Regiment (Separate). The 474th Infantry was a collection of the elements left from deactivated special-purpose units. Along with the 99th, the 474th included the 1st Special Service Force, and the surviving members of the 1st, 3rd, and 4th Ranger Battalions. Backing up the infantry was an artillery company of 105mm self-propelled cannon and the 552nd Anti-Tank Company with M-8 armored cars and light tanks.

99th Infantry Bn arrives in Norway

On February 22, 1945, the 474th Infantry was given the mission of providing security for the 12th Army Group rear area. The 474th was then attached to Patton's Third Army. The 474th was tasked with clearing out bypassed German units and demilitarizing civilian populations. In April LTC Hanson was tasked to provide guards and vehicles from his 99th Infantry Battalion to transport Nazi gold and art treasures from the Kaiseroda salt mine in Merkers, Germany to the Reichsbank in Frankfurt. The estimated value of these treasures was 2.1 billion dollars.

Two days after VE day (Victory in Europe, May 7, 1945) the 474th Infantry, including the 99th Battalion, finally received orders to go to Norway. Their mission there was to assist in the disarming and demobilization of approximately 300,000 German soldiers there. The regiment arrived in Oslo on June 8, where the 99th was quartered at Camp Smestad, a former German army camp. By August the 99th had assisted in processing and transporting nearly 100,000 military personnel back to Germany. When King Haakon returned from exile to Norway, he was greeted by an honor guard from the 99th Infantry Battalion. Consequently, the king designated the Norwegian Americans his personal honor guard unit. The 99th also took part in several large parades commemorating the Allied victory in the World War.

The 99th Infantry Battalion had received a large number of replacements due to combat losses. Nevertheless, the unit retained a strong Norwegian presence. Those men were able to take advantage of a generous leave and pass policy to look up relatives and friends with which they had no contact for five years. There was also a great deal of fraternization with the local civilian population. At least fifty new brides followed the 99th Infantry Battalion home.

On October 16, 1945, the 99th Infantry Battalion departed Oslo, Norway aboard the SS Bienville. They arrived in Boston on November 1. The 99th Infantry Battalion (Separate) was demobilized at Camp Miles Standish on November 2, 1945. The Norwegian-Americans had earned five Campaign streamers for Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes, and Central Europe. The Battalion had spent 101 days in combat, losing 52 men killed and 207 wounded, with six unaccounted for. Members of the 99th were awarded fifteen Silver Stars and twenty Bronze Stars.

The 99th Infantry Battalion was a unique unit in American military history. With the origins of the Battalion in the Scandinavian communities of Minnesota, it is not surprising that there is an exhibit honoring their service at the Minnesota Military Museum located at Camp Ripley, near Little Falls, Minnesota.

References:

99th Infantry Battalion (Separate) WWII Educational Foundation: http://www.99battalion.org

Bekke, Maj Doug (Ret), "Norwegian-Americans and the 99th Infantry Battalion (Separate)," a paper for the Military Historical Society of Minnesota, accessed at: http://www.mnmilitarymuseum.org/files/5613/2261/5287/99th_Infantry_Battalion_Sep.pdf

Minnesota Military Museum Website: http://www.mnmilitarymuseum.org/

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What happened at Howland Island during WWII?

If the name “Howland Island” rings a bell with you at all, it’s probably because it was the spot in the Pacific Ocean that Amelia Earhart was trying to locate during her around-the-world flight. She didn’t find it. Her plane disappeared on July 2, 1937. But something I didn’t know is that the Japanese bombed Howland Island on December 8, 1941, one day after their attack on Pearl Harbor.

Howland Island is located about 1700 miles southwest of Hawaii. It lies roughly halfway on a direct line from Hawaii to Australia, which made it a good spot to refuel in the early days of transoceanic flying. That is if you could find it. The island is only 1.4 x .55 miles, approximately one square mile in size. Howland came up on my radar when I was watching an excellent YouTube video on World War II in the Pacific. In the list of locations that the Japanese attacked on December 7-8 that we all know, (Hawaii, the Philippines, Wake, Guam, etc.) the narrator included Howland Island. Since I had not heard this before I had to look into it.

Howland Island was on sailing maps by the late 1700s. It is believed that Captain Bligh landed on the island for a short stay in 1789 after being set adrift by the mutineers of the HMS Bounty. Whalers in the early 1800s knew where it was. The United States gained possession of Howland Island in 1856, but really the island was a hazard to navigation (there were multiple shipwrecks on the island) and a place to harvest bird guano. In 1935, colonists came to the island to establish both a scientific research facility and to solidify American claims to this and other South Pacific islands. The belief was that the island would be used as part of a chain of refuel stops for commercial aircraft. In fact, WPA funds were used to build an airstrip on the island specifically for Earhart’s flight.

The Japanese attacked the island on December 8, 1941, with 14 bombers based in the Kwajalein Islands. Two colonists were killed in the attack. There was extensive damage to the airstrip. Two days later a Japanese submarine shelled the island, destroying the remaining buildings that had survived the first attack. Two times a single bomber flew over and dropped bombs on the island, even though there was nothing left to bomb. The U.S. Navy rescued the survivors on January 31, 1942. A battalion of U.S. Marines occupied Howland in September of 1943 and the island was called Howland Naval Air Station. But the war moved on and it was abandoned in May 1944.

Today, Howland is an uninhabited, unorganized, territorial possession of the United States. In 1974, a wildlife refuge was created that included Howland and 12 miles of ocean around it. Entry to the Howland Island National Wildlife Refuge is only by a special permit granted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

The Brazilian Expeditionary Force During WWII

Brazil’s Contribution to the Allies in World War II

I read an article recently in Military History Magazine about the Brazilian Expeditionary Force in World War II. Realizing that I am rather “America-centric” in my reading, this opened my eyes to the contribution of Allied nations other than “The Big Three” Allied countries of the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and the United States.

Brazilian troops, newly arrived at Naples, Italy from

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. July 16, 1944. National Archives

Since the war began in 1939, the United States made ever-increasing overtures to Latin American nations to ally themselves with the countries fighting fascism. However, Brazil would become the only South American country to send troops into combat. Of course, this alignment was in Brazil’s best interest. The Atlantic is at its narrowest point between the coasts of Brazil and Africa. Brazil’s government knew that the United States would require air and naval bases for a safer and shorter route to get troops and supplies to Europe. A military alliance would also turn into a trading partnership that would give Brazil an advantage over its South American neighbors.

Initially, Brazil tried to maintain a neutral status. But after contracting for American bases to be built in Brazil, they severed diplomatic relations with Germany, Japan, and Italy on January 28, 1942. As a result Axis submarines began to target Brazilian merchant shipping. U-boats sunk 13 Brazilian merchant ships by July, killing 600. Brazil declared war on Germany and Italy on August 22, 1942.

The Brazilian Navy participated in the Battle of the Atlantic, escorting a total of 614 convoys. They sank a total of twelve submarines (11 German and 1 Italian) along their coast. Brazil lost a total of 36 ships, including merchant vessels, and losing approximately 1600 crewmen, both navy and civilian.

Shoulder sleeve insignia of 1st EID

By Government of Brazil - Wikipedia

Once war was declared, Brazil began to organize an expeditionary force to send to the European Theater. The country was woefully unprepared for war and the United States contributed to their training. However, political disagreements over the size, use, and command of the force delayed their deployment for two years. The first troops of the Brazilian 1st Expeditionary Infantry Division (1st EID) departed for Italy in July 1944. Before the end of the war, over 25,000 Brazilian soldiers would serve in Italy.

The 1st EID was assigned to the US IV Corps of General Mark Clark’s US Fifth Army. They fought alongside African American soldiers of the 92nd Infantry Division and Japanese Americans of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Although under American command, one could argue that the Fifth Army was a multi-national force. British units consisted of commonwealth and colonial forces from New Zealand, Canada, India, Nepal, Palestine, South Africa, Rhodesia, and various African colonies. Free French forces were comprised of Senegalese, Moroccans, and Algerians. Soldiers from occupied countries such as Poland, Greece, and Czechoslovakia were also part of the Fifth Army, as well as anti-fascist Italians.

The 1st EID wore a shoulder patch that has a caricature of a snake smoking a pipe. It was inspired by a saying in Brazil during their training that, translated from Portuguese meant “it’s more likely that a snake will smoke a pipe before the Brazilian Expeditionary Force would go to the front and fight.” The soldiers embraced this put down and came up with the motto “The snake will smoke.” The patch is the result of that and it gave them their nickname: “The Smoking Snakes.”

The 1st EID fought as part of the Fifth Army in northern Italy until the end of the war in May 1945. During their time in combat, the Brazilians took over 20,500 prisoners. They lost 948 men killed in action. For a rundown of their combat operations, read the article “The Boys from Brazil” by Jerome A. Long in the Winter 2023 issue of Military History magazine.

2nd Lt. Jorge E.P. Taborda, from Rio de Janeiro, a pilot

with the First Brazilian Fighter Squadron serving in Italy.

National Archives Photo. 

The Brazilian Air Force also made a significant contribution to the war effort. The 1st Squadron of the Brazilian 1st Fighter Aviation Group trained at US bases in Panama and was designated operational in May 1944. They participated in the defense of the Canal Zone until they deployed to Italy in September 1944. They flew the P-47 Thunderbolt, attached as a squadron of the US Air Force 350th Fighter Group. Most of their missions were supporting ground units. Unlike the ground element of the BEF, the aviators were not going to get any replacement pilots. Out of the 48 operational pilots that deployed with the squadron, 22 were lost: five were killed by anti-aircraft fire, eight others were shot down over enemy territory, six were medically grounded and three more were killed in accidents. In their cumulative 5,465 combat flight hours, the 1st Fighter Squadron amassed an impressive record of damage to the enemy.

Of course we are drawn to the history of our own country. But I think the takeaway here is that we need to acknowledge that the Second World War was definitely a world war. By my count, there were 21 combatant nations joining the Americans, the British, and the Soviets on the Allied side of the war. Not to mention the four former Axis nations that swapped sides and joined the Allies later in the war (Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, and Finland.) Who knows? Maybe knowing the contribution of a WWII ally will change how we view our foreign relations today.

A Summary History of the 101st Airborne Division

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 "The Screaming Eagles"
(Original article written 5-9-08 by Jim Broumley)

Since 1974 the 101st Airborne Division has been the United States Army's "Air Assault" Division. The Division is capable of lifting, by helicopter, a 4,000-soldier combined arms force up to 150 kilometers behind enemy lines in one lift. Having approximately 281 helicopters, including three battalions of Apache attack helicopters, makes the "Screaming Eagles" the most versatile fighting unit in the Army. It is the world's only air assault division. The 101st consists of three infantry brigades, Division Artillery, Division Support Command, the 101st Aviation Brigade, the 159th Aviation Brigade, the 101st Corps Support Group, and various other separate commands stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Although the Screaming Eagles won their fame and reputation during the Second World War, the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) can trace its lineage back to World War I. In the build-up to the Great War, the 101st Division was originally activated on July 23, 1918. Without fanfare, the Division was demobilized in December 1918. In 1921 the 101st Infantry Division was reconstituted as a reserve unit with headquarters in Wisconsin. This is where the distinctive "eagle head patch" was acquired. The eagle's head represented "Old Abe," the famed eagle mascot of the Wisconsin Infantry Regiment during the Civil War. The Division remained in the reserves until needed for World War II. The Screaming Eagles were disbanded as a reserve unit and reactivated in the regular army as the 101st Airborne Division on August 15, 1942.

The United States Army began testing the viability of parachute units in 1940, after seeing the success of British and German paratroop units in the early days of World War Two. The first tests, conducted at Fort Benning, Georgia, were so successful that soon the army was forming Parachute Infantry Regiments (PIR). Once the United States was thrust into the war, the army authorized airborne divisions. The 82nd and 101st would serve in the European Theater and later the 11th Airborne Division would see action in the Pacific.

Originally the 101st Airborne was comprised of the 502nd PIR and two glider infantry regiments (GIR), the 327th and the 401st. Also assigned were three artillery battalions and various support units. Rigorous training began at Fort Benning, Georgia and Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In June of 1943, the Division was joined by the 506th PIR, of "Band of Brothers" fame, who had been training at Camp Toccoa, Georgia at the foot of Currahee Mountain. The Division deployed to England in September 1943.

After eight more months of training in England, the Screaming Eagles were ready. On June 6, 1944, the Pathfinders of the 101st Airborne Division were leading the way into France for Operation Overlord: D-Day. In the fight against the German 6th Parachute Regiment for the town of Carentan, Lieutenant Colonel Robert G. Cole, Commander of the 3rd Bn, 502nd PIR, became the first member of the Division to be awarded the Medal of Honor. The 101st would spend 33 days in combat before returning to England to receive replacements and train for their next operation.

In September of 1944, the 101st Airborne Division made its second combat jump. This time the jump was in Holland for Operation Market Garden. During this battle, Private First Class Joe E. Mann of the 3rd Bn, 502nd PIR became the second member of the Screaming Eagles to be awarded the Medal of Honor. The Division spent 72 days in combat before being moved to France for refit.

On December 16, 1944, the Germans launched a surprise attack with thirteen armored and infantry divisions in the Ardennes region of Belgium. The front of the Americans was in danger of collapse. On December 17th the 101st received orders to move north out of France and defend the town of Bastogne, Belgium. This was the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge.

Bastogne was a hub of highways that moved through the Ardennes, a forested area that forced the German mechanized forces to use these roads. The Germans surrounded the city on December 20th, isolating the 101st and some elements of the 10th Armored Division. On December 22nd the Germans issued a demand for surrender. The acting Commander of the 101st, General McAuliffe, gave his famous reply of "Nuts." The Germans needed to seize the town of Bastogne for the success of their offensive. Although facing five German divisions, the Screaming Eagles held the town until help broke through on December 26th. The Division continued the defense of Bastogne for three more weeks, earning them the moniker of "The Battered Bastards of Bastogne."

The last mission of World War II for the Screaming Eagles was the taking of the German town of Berchtesgaden, Hitler's retreat in Bavaria. From March until August of 1945, the 101st Airborne served as occupation troops and took the surrender of German military units and prominent Nazi officials. In August of 1945, the Division moved to Auxerre, France to train for the invasion of Japan. The operation became unnecessary when Japan surrendered two weeks later. The 101st Airborne Division was deactivated on November 30, 1945, at Auxerre, France.

In the next eleven years, the 101st Airborne was activated and deactivated three times. Finally, in 1956 the Division was reorganized as a five-brigade division and came back to the Regular Army and its permanent home of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Between 1956 and 1964 the Division was reorganized again and participated in several major exercises as the world transitioned into the nuclear age and the United States entered the Cold War. Most notable during this period was the 101st Airborne's deployment to Little Rock, Arkansas, in September of 1957 to assist in maintaining order during a series of civil disturbances. The unrest was a result of the integration of Central High School in Little Rock. This was a major event in the quest for racial equality and the professionalism of the troops of the 101st Airborne prevented possible tragedy.

The First Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division was deployed to Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam on July 29, 1965. They were the third United States Army unit to arrive in country. The remainder of the Division arrived in Vietnam in December of 1967, just before the Tet Offensive of January 1968. During Tet, the Screaming Eagles were engaged in combat operations as far south as Saigon and as far north as Quang Tri. One platoon of the Second Brigade landed on the roof of the United States Embassy in Saigon which was under attack by the Viet Cong.

During the early days of Vietnam, the Division made its transition from parachutes to helicopters as the method of insertion. In July of 1968, the Division changed its name to the 101st Air Cavalry Division. The next year, on August 29, 1969, the Division changed its name again to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Mobile), making it the Army's second airmobile division.

In late 1971 and early 1972, the Screaming Eagles left Vietnam and returned to Fort Campbell. During almost seven years of action in Vietnam, the 101st Airborne participated in 15 campaigns. Most notable were Hamburger Hill in 1969 and Firebase Ripcord in 1970. The Division served in the northern I Corps area of operations against the NVA infiltration routes through Laos and the A Shau Valley. The Division supported the ARVN Operation Lam Son 719 which involved invading southern Laos in 1971, but only aviation units actually entered Laos. During Vietnam, seventeen Medal of Honor awards were given to members of the Division. The Division suffered 4,011 soldiers Killed in Action during Vietnam, which is twice the number of casualties from World War II. The 101st was the last American Division to leave the combat zone of Vietnam.

In 1974 the Army terminated jump status for the Division and the Screaming Eagles formally became America's Air Assault Division. The Screaming Eagles took on their current designation of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). In the post-Vietnam years the Division has evolved into the rapid deployment force that it is today participating in major exercises and peace keeping operations throughout the United States, Honduras, Egypt, Rwanda, Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, and elsewhere.

Since the end of the Cold War, the 101st has served proudly in the Persian Gulf War in January of 1991, conducting an air assault deep into enemy territory in the Iraqi desert. The Division sustained no soldiers Killed in Action during the "100-hour war" and captured thousands of enemy prisoners. The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) was the first conventional unit to deploy in the War on Terror. In 2002 the Division's Third Brigade participated in Operation Anaconda facing an intense period of combat in the rugged terrain of Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. In 2003 the Screaming Eagles, led by Major General David Petraeus invaded Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Division has made a second deployment to Iraq in November of 2005 to conduct counterinsurgent operations and to train Iraqi security forces.

General Order Number Five, which gave birth to the 101st Airborne Division in the early days of World War II, begins "The 101st Airborne Division…has no history, but it has a rendezvous with destiny." The Division has certainly lived up to those prophetic words. The 101st is one of the most famous fighting forces in the world. Thousands upon thousands of proud soldiers have worn the distinctive "Screaming Eagle" shoulder patch, which is arguably the most recognizable unit insignia in the United States military.

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The 1st Armored Division "Old Ironsides"

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A Short History of the 1st Armored Division
"Old Ironsides"

The 1st Armored Division, nicknamed "Old Ironsides," is the oldest and most recognizable armor division in the United States Army. It was the first armored division to see combat in World War II. The Division is currently home-based at Fort Bliss, Texas, and is part of the US III Corps.

As part of the mechanization of the U.S. Army and the buildup for WWII, cavalry and reconnaissance units were brought together to form the 1st Armored Division at Fort Knox, Kentucky on July 15, 1940. Major General Bruce R. Magruder was the Division's first commander, serving in that capacity from July 1940 until March 1942. General Magruder is also responsible for the Division's famous nickname. In 1941, General George S. Patton Jr. had just named his 2nd Armored Division "Hell on Wheels." The 1st Armored Division needed a nickname too, so General Magruder held a contest to find a suitable name. Approximately two hundred names were submitted including "Fire and Brimstone" and "Kentucky Wonders." The General chose to study them over the weekend but none of the suggestions appealed to him. It happened that General Magruder had just bought a painting of the U.S.S. Constitution during a drive for funds for the preservation of that famous fighting ship, which is nicknamed "Old Ironsides." General Magruder was impressed with the parallel between the development of the tank and the Navy's "Old Ironsides" spirit of daring and durability. He decided the 1st Armored Division should also be named "Old Ironsides."

The 1st Armored Division boarded the Queen Mary at the New York Port of Embarkation, Brooklyn Army Terminal on May 11, 1942. Five days later the soldiers of the Division landed in Northern Ireland and trained on the moors. On October 29, 1942, Old Ironsides moved to England to depart for North Africa.

The 1st Armored Division's first contact with an enemy was as part of the Allied invasion of North Africa, Operation Torch on November 8, 1942. The Allies did receive unexpected, and heavy, resistance from Vichy-French units; however, the invasion forces suppressed all resistance in the beachhead area within three days. Old Ironsides then advanced toward Tunisia. The soldiers of the Division learned hard lessons about armored warfare and the harsh conditions of North Africa.

In January of 1943 Old Ironsides was part of II Corps and received the mission of defending central Tunisia against an Axis counterattack. In February the 1st Armored Division met with a superior German armored force at Kasserine Pass. The Division sustained heavy losses in personnel and equipment and was forced to withdraw. Old Ironsides was battered but kept in mind its lessons learned. The Germans outran their supply lines and faced determined Allied resistance. After three more months of hard fighting, the Allies could finally claim victory in North Africa. Old Ironsides was reorganized in French Morocco and then moved to Naples, Italy on October 28, 1943, to support the Allied effort there.

As part of General Mark Clark's U.S. Fifth Army, the 1st Armored Division took part in the attack on the infamous Winter Line in November of 1943. Old Ironsides then flanked the Axis forces in the landings at Anzio and moved on to participate in the liberation of Rome on June 4, 1944. The 1st Armored Division continued to serve in the Italian Campaign until German forces in Italy surrendered on May 2, 1945. In June of 1945, Old Ironsides was moved to Germany as part of the U.S. Army occupation forces.

In the drawdown of forces after WWII, the 1st Armored Division was deactivated on April 25, 1946. With the success of the Russian-made T-34 tank by the enemy at the outset of the Korean War in 1950, there was a renewed enthusiasm for armored forces in the U.S. Army. As part of the new buildup of forces, Old Ironsides was re-activated on March 7, 1951, at Fort Hood, Texas, and was the first U.S. Army unit to field the new M48 Patton tank.

Although the 1st Armored Division did not participate as a division in the Vietnam War, two of their subordinate units did. Company A, 501st Aviation and 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry served with distinction. Both units earned Presidential Unit Citations and 1-1 Cavalry received two Valorous Unit Awards and three Vietnamese Crosses of Gallantry. Neither unit was officially detached from the 1st Armored Division. Veterans of both units may wear the Old Ironsides as a combat patch. Also, in 1967 three Old Ironsides infantry battalions were formed into the 198th Infantry Brigade and deployed to Vietnam. Two of those battalions, 1-6th Infantry and 1-52nd Infantry, were returned to the 1st Armored Division.

As Vietnam wound down, the United States turned its attention back to the Cold War in Europe. The 1st Armored Division was moved to Germany in 1971, home-based in the West German city of Ansbach. The Division remained in Germany for the next twenty years as part of the American forces committed to a NATO defense of Europe.

In November of 1990, Old Ironsides was alerted for deployment to the Middle East in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. In less than two months the Division moved 17,400 soldiers and 7.050 pieces of equipment by rail, sea, and air to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Shield. On February 24, 1991, the 1st Armored Division crossed into Iraq to begin Operation Desert Storm as the leading unit in VII Corps' main flanking attack. Its mission was to destroy the elite Iraqi Republican Guards Divisions. In an 89-hour blitz across the desert, Old Ironsides traveled through 250 kilometers of enemy territory. They destroyed 768 tanks, armored personnel carriers, and artillery pieces. The 1st Armored Division also captured 1,064 prisoners of war. Old Ironsides returned to Ansbach, Germany on May 8, 1991. Their triumph was celebrated by a visit from the Vice President of the United States and participation in victory parades in Washington D.C. and New York City.

The 1st Armored Division was called to serve once again, this time in the Balkans. Old Ironsides was ordered to Bosnia-Herzegovina and part of Operation Joint Endeavor on December 14, 1995. The 1st Armored Division was relieved by the 1st Infantry Division and returned to Germany in November of 1996.

In 1999, Old Ironsides was deployed again. This time 1st Armored Division was supporting Operations Allied Force and Joint Guardian. Operation Allied Force took Old Ironsides soldiers to Albania in response to the ethnic cleansing and fighting there. Operation Joint Guardian was to uphold the United Nations Security Council resolution to bring peace back to the Kosovo region.

The 1st Armored Division began its participation in the global war on terrorism when it received deployment orders to the U.S. Central Command on March 4, 2003. By April 15th Old Ironsides was moving out to participate in Operation Iraqi Freedom. During their 15-month deployment, Task Force 1st Armored Division was the largest division-based task force in U.S. Army history. Units serving with the Task Force included brigade-sized elements from the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, the 1st Cavalry Division, the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, the 124th Infantry Battalion, the 18th and 89th Military Police Brigades and the 168th MP Battalion. At its height, more than 39,000 soldiers were part of Task Force 1st Armored Division. The Division took responsibility for Baghdad in April of 2003. Old Ironsides was scheduled to return to Germany in April of 2004, but their tour was extended by three months to defeat a Shia militia led by Moqtada Al Sadr.

The Division's 3rd Brigade was deployed to Iraq once again for Operation Iraqi Freedom III in January of 2005, this after only eight months at home. They were attached to the 3rd Infantry Division as part of Task Force Baghdad. The 2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT) deployed to Kuwait in November 2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom IV. Old Ironsides' 1st Brigade deployed again to Iraq in January 2006.

In 2005, the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) commission determined that the 1st Armored Division should leave its home bases in Germany and move to Fort Bliss, Texas. While it took several years to accomplish the movement, Old Ironsides' division headquarters uncased its colors in May 2011.

Like their naval namesake, the 1st Armored Division carries with it the traditions and military values for which Old Ironsides has been known for over half a century. They also are the standing armor division of the United States Army, on the cutting edge of technology and tactics, and remain relentlessly strong today. Both active soldiers and veterans are proud to wear the 1st Armored Division patch and say, "I was with Old Ironsides."

View the Index of Unit Histories

Nonfiction R&R: Fire and Fortitude

This book Review and Recommendation is on "Fire and Fortitude, The US Army in the Pacific War, 1941-1943" by John C. McManus.

If you are like me, when you think of World War II in the Pacific, you immediately think of the Marine Corps. Maybe it’s all those old war movies like “Sands of Iwo Jima,” or the marine narratives by Eugene Sledge and Robert Leckie? But I must admit my ignorance. I was shocked when I read in “Fire and Fortitude” about the contribution of the Army versus the Marines.

This in no way detracts from the amazing accomplishments of the USMC during the Second World War. That being said, the Army presence in the Pacific dwarfed the marines. In the Pacific Theater during WWII, the Marine Corps fielded six combat divisions. The United States Army, on the other hand, deployed twenty-one combat divisions, along with several regimental combat teams and separate battalions. Not to mention massive numbers of logistics, medical, intelligence, and transportation personnel. With so many army personnel fighting against Japan, why aren’t some of the battles and campaigns that were predominantly army operations more well-known?

In “Fire and Fortitude," the author cites historian and writer Cole Kingseed for five reasons the Army is not known for its contribution to the war in the Pacific Theater: The “Germany first” strategy that prioritized the European Theater, a maritime nature of the war in the Pacific that led to a naval-dominated narrative, MacArthur’s PR campaign that failed to credit the accomplishments of subordinate units, press coverage weighted to the European Theater because correspondents found it a more pleasant environment over remote Pacific islands, and the racial aspect of fighting Japan and their approach to war.

I'm glad to see that we’re starting to take a long-overdue look at the Army in the Pacific. There seem to have been a number of books that focus on an aspect of this huge subject area published over the last couple of years. “Fire and Fortitude” (2019) is the first volume in a trilogy chronicling the US Army in the Pacific. McManus begins this book with a look at the pre-war army. He then provides a review of Pearl Harbor from an army perspective that I found unique. He, of course, covers Bataan and Corregidor, but I found the chapter on the struggle to take Buna during the Papuan Campaign in New Guinea to be the most interesting. Probably because it is one of the least highlighted battles in the media and popular history.

The second volume of the trilogy is already out in hardback. I’m looking forward to the release of the third. I’ve read a couple of other works by McManus, like “The Dead and Those About to Die.” “Fire and Fortitude” has the same level of readability combined with historical detail. What Ian Toll has written about the Navy in the Pacific, and Rick Atkinson accomplished for the European Theater, John McManus has tackled for the Army in the Pacific. Definitely a must read. 

Book R & R: Agent Sonya

This book “Recommendation and Review” is for “Agent Sonya” by Ben Macintyre.

I am a Cold War veteran, having spent three years patrolling the East German border back in the 1980s. Maybe that’s why I like spy stories so much. Fiction or nonfiction, it doesn’t matter. At least from a media standpoint, the Cold War made for some good spy stories. You had definitive bad guys (that would be the Soviets) versus us, the good guys. This book isn’t like that.

“Agent Sonya: Moscow’s Most Daring Wartime Spy” by Ben Macintyre is the true story of Ursula Kuczynski, also known as Ruth Werner, Ursula Beurton, Ursula Hamburger, or her code name: Sonya. She was born in Germany in 1907 and was a teenager and young adult during the political upheaval immediately following World War I. She became a devout, ideological communist, passionately opposed to the rise of fascism in her country. When her husband was offered a job in Shanghai, she went with him. There in China, she met other communists and was recruited into working for Soviet intelligence. Over her career worked in China, Poland, Switzerland, and Great Britain. Although Sonya didn’t “spy” firsthand, she did run agents in these locations and radio information back to Moscow.

I’ve read books by Ben Macintyre before, specifically Rogue Heroes and Agent Zigzag. So I knew the writing would be excellent and that this book, like the others mentioned, would be a true story that reads like fiction. What makes this book different from the usual spy story is that it is told from the perspective of Kuczynski. I gained an understanding of why a person would embrace Communism during the 1920s, especially if faced with a weak government (the Weimar Republic) and a threat of Fascism. As an aside, Ursula became disillusioned with the Soviet Union after the purges by Stalin in the 1930s, but she never lost her idealistic faith in communism. During the story of her career as a spy during the 30s and 40s, you of course sympathize with Ursula and are on the virtual edge of your seat during the times she was nearly caught.

SPOILER ALERT! If you don’t want to know the rest of the story, skip the next paragraph.

Why a book devoted to this one spy? One of her agents she ran in Great Britain was another German Jew, a talented physicist by the name of Klaus Fuchs. Fuchs had escaped from Hitler’s Germany and was sponsored into Great Britain. He was investigated and cleared to work on Britain’s atomic bomb project, despite being a devout communist. Once Fuchs realized what the project was about, he decided to share all the information about his work with the Soviet Union. Agent Sonya was his handler in Great Britain. When Great Britain’s nuclear bomb program was merged with the Manhattan Project (the United States nuclear bomb project), Fuchs was sent to work in the U.S. and passed off to a KGB handler in America. The information that Fuchs passed to the Soviets arguably gave them the bomb or certainly allowed them to develop their own five years earlier than expected. When Fuchs' treachery was found out, it would lead straight back to Ursula. In 1950 she escaped Great Britain and settled into retirement in East Germany, eventually writing a book about her own escapades.

So you have to ask: Did Agent Sonya help to start the Cold War or did she prevent World War III by helping to maintain a balance of power? Don’t try to answer that question without reading the book. I think it will change the way you look at that period of our history. It did mine. 

Book R & R: The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz

This book Recommendation and Review is for “The Boy who Followed His Father into Auschwitz” by Jeremy Dronfield.

By the cover design and title, I mistakenly at first thought this book was a work of fiction. So did my wife who first saw it on the shelf in our local bookstore. She read it; she was enthralled by it. Then she insisted that I read it. She is not a big reader of nonfiction history and rarely pushes me to read nonfiction (that’s because my nonfiction reading stack is always piled so high). So, I moved this read to the top of the list. Really glad I did.

This is a true Holocaust story that reads like fiction. In fact, the author started out a fiction writer but switched to narrative nonfiction. If you read a lot of books about World War II, you might know Jeremy Dronfield from his previous nonfiction work, “Beyond the Call.” At the time I’m writing this, “The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz” has 4.8 stars on 1853 reviews on Amazon. With numbers like that, it is no wonder it is a bestseller and I'm probably wasting your time telling you that the book reads like a novel. A “page-turner” as my dad would say.

The book is about the Kleinmann family of Vienna, Austria. There is the father, Gustav, a combat veteran of the First World War, his wife Tini, and their four children, Edith, Fritz, Herta, and Kurt. They are a Jewish family, but not overly devout, living in a Jewish neighborhood. They are part of the community; they have non-Jewish friends and neighbors. The story begins with the impending vote in Austria on Anschluss, the joining of Germanic peoples together under the Third Reich. The family lives through the arrival of the Nazis, the growing prejudice of their non-Jewish neighbors, and Krystallnacht. All this beginning in March of 1938, a year and a half before the beginning of World War II in Europe and over three and a half years before America entered the conflict.

Soon after, the Nazis begin to arrest Jewish adult males, initially as political prisoners. Gustav and his eldest son, Fritz, are caught up in this and sent to Dachau. Fritz was only sixteen. I had the opportunity to visit Dachau, a concentration camp outside of Munich, when I was stationed in Germany back in the 1980s. This connection allowed me to visualize the Kleinmanns in this evil and depressing place. Gustav and Fritz are transferred to other camps during the course of their years as slave laborers. While they are in captivity, Tini attempts to get her other children sponsored to immigrate to Great Britain and the United States. She is only partially successful. After years of starvation and beatings with no word from the other members of his family, Gustav is informed that he and hundreds of other prisoners will be sent to Auschwitz, the infamous Nazi concentration camp in Poland. Upon hearing this news, Fritz volunteers to go to Auschwitz with his father. Both believe this is a sentence of certain death, but they believe that it is better to be together than to die alone.

The book is based on a diary Gustav kept during his six years in concentration camps. Not only will you learn of the horrors of the concentration camp system, but also how difficult it was to flee Germany or an occupied country. Hint: countries like the United States and Great Britain limited the intake of refugees, and once the war was declared on and by these countries, even this avenue was cut off to the victims of the Nazi regime. This is an amazing story and through the experiences of this one family the reader gains a visceral understanding of the different ways that people suffered during the Holocaust.

I wish that every American would read this book. I spent three years in Germany, forty years after the war. I found the German people to be warm and friendly. I enjoyed my time there. Though I could never reconcile how the people I met there who were alive during that time could possibly allow the rise of fascism and the Holocaust to take place, much less enter a pathway to war that would eventually destroy their country. I worry that we have demonized the Nazis to such a level that we can’t learn anything from this period of history. I hope that is not the case. This is different than reading about fighting the war. This is about learning about the cause and effect of it. Please read two books. First, “The Nazi Seizure of Power” by William Sheridan Allen. In this book, you’ll learn how the Nazis took over Germany, not by Hitler from the top down, but on a grassroots level through local action by Nazi party members. The other is this book, “The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz” by Jeremy Dronfield. If you’ll make that investment of time, and it won’t be boring, then you’ll understand the what and the how. I doubt we’ll ever understand the why.

Book Review: To Wake The Giant

Book R&R: "To Wake The Giant: A Novel of Pearl Harbor" by Jeff Shaara

In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a Jeff Shaara fan. I have read every book he has written, as soon as they become available. When I heard that he was going to revisit World War II and specifically Pearl Harbor, it went straight to the top of the reading pile. Besides, with the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII upon us, the subject is very appropriate.

"To Wake the Giant" begins approximately one year before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In the usual Jeff Shaara formula, he tells the story of the event by following major historical characters who played a role in decision making and examples of "regular people" who were greatly affected by the event. In the case of "Wake the Giant," Shaara provides the perspective of the United States' chief negotiator with Japan, Secretary of State Cordell Hull, the architect of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, and a new enlistee to the U.S. Navy named Tommy Biggs, who gets assigned to the USS Arizona.

Of course, we hear the voices of other characters who are part of the multitude that made or were affected by this pivotal event in World history. Secretary of State Hull, of course, meets with President Roosevelt and Secretary of War Stimson among others that include Japanese Ambassador Nomura. These meetings let the reader know what the American government knew leading up to the war. Dialog between Yamamoto, his staff and other admirals, show us the planning for the attack. And in Hawaii, we see the preparations for war through the viewpoint of Admiral Husband E. Kimmel and his staff. Finally, Tommy Biggs and his shipmates show us what life was like for a battleship sailor in the weeks before the war and the horrific battle on December 7, 1941.

"To Wake the Giant" is a page-turner. I was never bored or distracted. Like all Shaara novels, the book is well researched and very readable. To me, this author writes the epitome of factual historical fiction, which as I've said many times is a great way to learn details of an event. And if you're not careful, you might even become a fan of history. So put this book on your summer reading list.

Midway: A battle, a book, and two movies

I miss the old movies from the 60s and early 70s. My dad loved them, we'd watch them together and I actually learned a lot of military history from watching those Saturday reruns (some of that history I admit had to be corrected). One of those was the 1976 movie Midway with Charlton Heston and Henry Fonda. This was on our list of classic war movies, so I bought a copy on DVD for my dad a few years ago. When the new version of Midway came out in 2019 with Woody Harrelson as Admiral Nimitz, I had to see how it compared, so I added a copy of that version to my collection.

Which version is better you ask? Tough question. Right off the top, I’ll tell you I liked the older version better. But for the life of my I couldn’t figure out why. Is it because the Charlton Heston version used real aircraft and historical footage? (the onboard carrier scenes were filmed on the USS Lexington.) Maybe the computer-generated battle scenes in the 2019 version were a turnoff. That and a bit of overacting? Maybe? Just a little? Amazon customers couldn’t help. Both movies are well received with thousands of reviews. Well, maybe we should ask which one was more historically accurate. And that’s where the book comes in.

I admit that I am not nearly as familiar with WWII naval history as I am with the land-based battles. I did not know a great deal about the Battle of Midway. When I don’t know about something, I can’t just take Wikipedia’s word for it. I have to go find a book. No disrespect to Wikipedia, it’s a great resource for background information. I just have to have a book. I chose “The Battle of Midway” by Craig L. Symonds. The book was really good. I’m not the only one who thinks so, it has 4.7 stars on 590 reviews. The book begins with Admiral Chester Nimitz taking over as CincPac in the days following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. We’re given all of the background we need that leads us up to the battle, including the Battle of the Coral Sea, the breaking of Japanese codes, and the Doolittle Raid. The book then provides a blow by blow telling of the Battle of Midway that occurred just six months after Pearl Harbor. I enjoyed reading it.

Which movie was more historically accurate? First, ignore the storyline in the first movie involving Heston’s fictional character and his son. Then I would say with the broad-brush strokes they are both historically accurate. But I have to admit that when it comes to details and character portrayals, the 2019 Woody Harrelson version beats out the 1976 version. For example, Joe Rochefort, the officer in charge of breaking one of the Japanese codes that were so instrumental in the American victory was portrayed in the 1976 movie as eccentric and unconventional. That is not a true description of this brilliant officer, and he was more accurately depicted in the 2019 movie. As it turns out, the 2019 movie did a much better job of showing the real men who played integral parts in the battle. McClusky really did damage his lungs with a faulty air tank, and Admiral Yamaguchi did, in fact, choose to go down with the Hiryū. As it turns out, it seemed like the 2019 movie of Midway was based on Symonds’ book.

I know I haven’t helped you choose just one of these. But hey, while you are socially distancing yourself you’ve got time to enjoy all three. My recommendation, as always, is to read the book first. 😉

D-day plus 75 years and other stories to be heard.

I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that even if you are not a fan of history, but you participate in social media, or certainly if you watch the evening news, you know that it is the 75^th anniversary of the WWII Allied invasion of France. Over the past eight years we’ve had a number of significant anniversaries of our country’s military history. They include the 150^th anniversary events that took place during the American civil war, the 100^th anniversary of WWI battles, and now the 75^th anniversary of World War II and the 50^th anniversary of the Apollo Moon Landing. I appreciate these benchmark anniversaries because like James Holzauer’s winning streak bringing new fans to Jeopardy, the buzz about the anniversary of a significant historical event will make more people take note and hopefully learn about these great trials and triumphs of our past. The difference between the 75^th anniversary of the Normandy invasion and the other wars mentioned is that we still have a lot of regular people who can tell us what it was like.

Surviving veterans and eyewitnesses to the Second World War are in their nineties. I heard on ABC News the other night that over 300 World War II veterans pass away every day. And the thought occurred to me that we aren’t considering how many non-veterans we are losing who can tell us what it was like on the home front during the war years. Of course I love my military history, but one of the most fascinating and educational places I’ve visited is the Rosie the Riveter and WWII on the Home Front National Historical Park. There is a lot to learn from those who stayed home, worked, and sacrificed to win the war.

And what about veterans and civilians from other countries? When it comes to meeting folks from our “Greatest Generation,” I’m lucky to be a baby boomer. When I was in my twenties most WWII veterans were in their sixties, so I have met a few in my time. Moreover, having been stationed in Germany for three years, I met a few German veterans and civilians who experienced the tragedy of war first hand. My landlord’s father (I called him “Opa Willie”) fought on the Russian front, but deserted at the end of the war so that he could surrender to American forces. Good thing he did. I dated a German woman for a while whose father was a POW held by the Russians. They did not repatriate him for eleven years. And I met that girl’s apartment manager, who was married at age 19 and only spent three weeks with her husband before he went off to fight in the war. He never returned and remained missing in action. She never remarried.

As an aside, do you think that Germany has learned from its history? I think so. When I visited the concentration camp at Dachau, I saw school children arrive on a bus for a field trip. That is just one example of how the Germans don’t hide from their past. This week, Chancellor Angela Merkel thanked the Allies for “liberating Germany from the Nazis.” I’m sorry, but I just can’t see the United States being that forthright, especially when you read reports that say that only about forty percent (40%) of Americans can correctly answer the history questions on the citizenship exam.

I regret that I didn’t start a serious study of history until after my years in the army. I believe my conversations with the veterans I had met would have taken a different turn. Like many young people, I had different priorities. Nevertheless, I can’t help but wish I could go back and take the opportunity to conduct an in-depth oral history interview with all of these people I’ve met over the years. Of course, there are members of this great generation still with us. And it is not too late to hear their stories and it is never too late to learn our history, so that we don’t have to repeat it.

Rosie the Riveter and Henry J. Kaiser

Day Trip to Rosie the Riveter and WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California.

It has been a busy summer with teaching summer school and getting ready to start teaching history, civics, and economics at a new school in August. But that doesn’t mean we didn’t take the opportunity to take a few day trips around California. One Saturday earlier this summer, Sheila and I took a drive up to Richmond, California, to visit the Rosie the Riveter and WWII on the Home Front National Historical Park.

Richmond, California is just north of Oakland and Hayward on the east side of San Francisco Bay. The area was once heavily industrialized and it has a noteworthy history from World War II. Just a few miles further northeast is the Port Chicago Naval Magazine Memorial (a topic for another trip report) in the city of Martinez, and a little further northeast is the city of Pittsburg, California, where Camp Stoneman was located. Camp Stoneman was a staging area for troops shipping out to the Pacific Theater during WWII and during the Korean War. Notables departing from there included the 503rd PIR during WWII and my dad during the Korean War.

Richmond was an excellent choice for this park. During WWII the city was home to four Kaiser shipyards and a Ford plant that built tanks and jeeps. In all the city could boast 56 different war industries. The yards were built from scratch beginning in 1940. Thousands of workers flocked to California from the Dust Bowl, the South, and all over the United States. The city of Pittsburg grew from a population of 24,000 to 100,000 in a matter of months. Families lived in tents and trailers until the city's infrastructure caught up with the population boom. Housing, schools, and medical facilities had to be built along with the mad rush to produce the equipment of war. Some of the workers had construction experience

from the large Depression era projects like Hoover and Grand Coulee Dams. But very few had any experience building ships and many had no industrial experience at all. The yards on the west coast were integrated. Thousands of workers were African American and Hispanic. Twenty-five percent of the workforce were women, living up to the familiar icon "Rosie the Riveter." And although it was not easy, great strides were made for and by labor, civil rights, and women. People came together to do great things for the war effort. The ultimate example is the Kaiser Shipyard construction of the liberty ship Robert E. Peary in 4 days, 15 hours, and 25 minutes, a world record accomplished in November of 1942.

The genius and drive behind these accomplishments was a man named Henry J. Kaiser. Kaiser started out as a road builder in the 1920s. He was a key player in major building projects like the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River during the Depression. Kaiser was an entrepreneur in the truest sense. He bid and won a contract to build ships for Great Britain in 1940 without having a shipyard to build them in. He brought his construction crews down from the Grand Coulee project to begin work on the shipyards in Richmond. When he needed cement and couldn't get it, he started a cement plant. When he needed steel and couldn't get as much as he needed, he built steel mills. When his workers needed medical care he built a hospital and sponsored a health plan, again something never before offered to workers. Kaiser Permanente medical consortium has survived to be one of the giants in the medical services industry today. Henry Kaiser was a problem solver, no doubt about it.

Unfortunately, after the war the Kaiser yards closed. As a result, Richmond went through tough decades of poverty and crime. However, during the latter part of the twentieth century, much of the abandoned industrial infrastructure was removed, and an environmental cleanup took place. Where three of the four Kaiser shipyards stood is now a public marina, park, and blocks of new condos and townhouses. Rosie the Riveter is a partnership park between the National Park Service and the city of Richmond. The city built the Rosie the Riveter memorial in Marina Park in 2000. A bike path connects the memorial to the NPS visitor center next to the Ford plant and Shipyard number three whose buildings are still standing. It is only a one mile walk between the two. It is a pleasant walk with views of the San Francisco skyline. The visitor center is a nice little museum where you will learn more about World War II on the home front and the Kaiser Shipyards. You can also go on board the SS Red Oak Victory, a victory cargo ship being restored and docked at the pier by Shipyard #3.

Still a work in progress, eventually the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front Historical Park will include a sample of worker housing, the child development centers built for Kaiser workers, and the first Kaiser Hospital. It's hard to imagine what the area looked like with four shipyards and a Ford assembly plant all working at full capacity. But the park is certainly worth the trip. To know more, I definitely recommend a book I picked up in the gift shop:
"Build 'Em by the Mile, Cut 'Em off by the Yard, How Henry J. Kaiser and the Rosies Helped Win World War II" by Steve Gilford.