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Pearl Harbor August 15, 1945
An Arizona Memorial Museum Association Publication | www.arizonamemorial.org
Continuous streams of light from colored flares illuminate the night sky over Pearl Harbor as the news flash from Domei stating Japan had accepted Potsdam terms was received at the Commander Cruisers-Destroyers base. Every ship in the harbor joined in the celebration. 14 Aug. 1945 (National Archives photo and caption).
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Okinawa: The Final Campaign The last stop on the Allied march through the Pacific was an island only 400 miles from Japan.
EDiTor Ray Sandla
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Legacy of a Bloody Battle The fanatical, well-planned defense of Okinawa caused casualties beyond anyone’s expectations.
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Kamikaze Organized in October 1944, suicide pilots proved a devastating, desperate last resort. The Invasion of Japan 500,00 Purple Hearts were ordered for the unprecedented number of casualties expected during the Allied invasion of Japan.
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Top Secret Photographs detailing preparations for the atomic missions flown from the island of Tinian have sat in a small, inconspicuous box at the National Archives for decades.
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“Today, the guns are silent.” Ceremonies were held aboard the USS Missouri to commemorate the surrender of the Japanese military 60 years ago.
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Pearl Harbor Survivors Recall the End of the War Remembrance asked four witnesses to America’s entry into WWII on December 7, 1941, to recall where they were when the war ended.
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A Realized Dream A new Visitor Center and Museum on Saipan helps residents and veterans remember. Close in Spirit Students from a Milford, Connecticut middle school have put their hearts into the campaign to build a new Pearl Harbor Memorial Visitor Center. Cover Photo: Pearl Harbor. Victory celebrations at Pearl Harbor, 15 Aug. 1945. (National Archives) Back Cover: August 14, 1945. Wars End, Celebration New York City. Celebrating the surrender of Japan they threw anything and kissed anyone in Times Square. (National Archives photo # 80-G-377094)
Ray Sandla USMC WWII Commemorative Series Publications Skip Wheeler National Park Service The Arizona Memorial Museum Association is a non-profit cooperating association of the National Park Service providing funding for interpretive and educational programs at the USS Arizona Memorial, Kalaupapa National Historical Park on Molokai, Hawaii, War in the Pacific National Historical Park on Guam, and American Memorial Park on Saipan. All photos by Ray Sandla unless otherwise credited
remembrance is a Quarterly Publication for Members of the Arizona Memorial Museum Association
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America’s World War II in the Pacific December 7, 1941 — August 14, 1945
When I first started working for the Arizona Memorial Museum Association, like most other revisionist-minded amateur historians, I was swayed by the allegations of conspiracy and cover-up shrouding the true rationale for the dropping of the atomic bombs in 1945. Espoused most publicly by historian and political -economist Gar Alperovitz, the idea that the dropping of the atomic bombs was not necessary to subdue Japan and end WWII, gained a measure of respectability, as well as extreme notoriety, in the mid-1990’s. The ill-fated Smithsonian exhibition of the reconstructed Enola Gay can be seen as a physical manifestation of these ideas. Criticized by veterans as unbalanced and favoring the suggestion that a vengeful America bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki for purely political reasons, the controversy caused the resignation of the Air and Space Museum Director and spawned a Congressional investigation. Despite their emotional volatility, the contentions put forth by Mr. Alperovitz in The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb (1995) are organized, well-researched and compelling. The basic ideas are summed up by the author in the following statement: “[The book] describes and delineates what I have called the "two-step" advice given at the time--namely the judgment that (1) when the massive but still neutral Red Army attacked in early August (step one), this would force Japan to realize the inevitability of defeat; and once this happened then (2) a clarification of the terms in favor of the Emperor (step two) would bring an end to the fighting.” My thinking has changed over the course of my tenure here at the Arizona Memorial. I have met veterans and have read some of the massive collection of literature concerning the War in the Pacific. One fact above all others I feel mitigates Mr. Alperovitz’s claims: The Japanese realized again and again the inevitability of their defeat in battles spanning the South Pacific, yet, unbelievably to Western witnesses, continued to fight to the utter destruction of their forces. To think that the same military leaders who lauded civilian Saipanese suicides, made gods of kamikaze pilots, and viewed capitulation as traitorous, would lay down arms when confronted with logical, reasoned defeat, was, to veterans of these campaigns, dangerously naive. That Japan was bent on self-destruction seemed obvious to people on the front lines of battle. To them, nothing but the supernatural show of power provided by the atomic bombs could have shocked Japan into submission. No amount of rationalization can lessen the extreme brutality of destroying cities, populated by women and children, as well as military resources, in blinding flashes of heat and light. The tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will remain embedded in the American national consciousness forever. However, to parade the inevitable political machination surrounding the decision to drop the bomb as primary motivations denies the experience of a generation of people with firsthand knowledge of WWII in the Pacific. The debate about the necessity of the atomic bombs may have helped to make the world confront the reality of atomic warfare in a way it hadn’t done before. Unfortunately, it hasn’t seemed to stem the tide of nations desiring atomic capabilities. This issue of Remembrance is about the end of World War II in the Pacific and is dedicated to the men and women who brought that end about. w
Tokyo, Japan. Seaman Paul Gray of San Dimas, California, rides a Japanese bicycle, Aug. 1945. Photo taken by Lt. Wayne Miller. (National Archives: Photo reference number 473728.)
Please contact Remembrance with any questions or comments or leave a message on our website guestbook www.arizonamemorial.org remembrance@hawaii.rr.com 1 Arizona Memorial Place Honolulu, Hawaii 96818
RAy SANDlA, EDITOR
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OkinawaThe Final Campaign Colonel Joseph H. Alexander, USMC (Ret) The Final Campaign: Marines in the Victory on Okinawa
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aybreak on 29 May 1945 found the 1st Marine Division beginning its fifth consecutive week of frontal assault as part of the U.S. Tenth Army's grinding offensive against the Japanese defenses centered on Shuri Castle in southern Okinawa. Operation Iceberg, the campaign to seize Okinawa, was now two months old — and badly bogged down. The exhilarating, fast-paced opening of the campaign had been replaced by week after week of costly, exhausting, attrition warfare against the Shuri complex. The 1st Marine Division, hemmed in between two other divisions with precious little maneuver room, had advanced barely a thousand yards in the past 18 days — an average of 55 yards each bloody day. Their sector featured one bristling, honeycombed ridge 2
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line after another — sequentially Kakazu, Dakeshi, and Wana (with its murderous, reverse slope canyon). Just beyond lay the long shoulder of Shuri Ridge, the nerve center of the Japanese Thirtysecond Army and the outpost of dozens of the enemy's forward artillery observers who had made life so miserable for American assault forces all month long. But on this rainy morning, this 29th of May, things seemed some how different, quieter. After days of bitter fighting, American forces had finally overrun both outposts of the Shuri line: Conical Hill on the east, captured by the 96th Infantry Division, and the Sugar loaf complex in the west, seized by the 6th Marine Division. Shuri no longer seemed invincible. r e m e m b r a n c e
o k i n a w a : Company A of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines moved out warily, expecting the usual firestorm of Japanese artillery at any moment. There was none. The Marines reached the crest of Shuri Ridge with hardly a firefight. Astonished, the company commander looked west ward along the ridge several hundred yards to the ruins of Shuri Castle, the medieval fortress of the ancient Ryukyuan kings. Everyone in the Tenth Army expected the Japanese to defend Shuri to the death — but the place seemed lightly held. Spiteful small arms fire appeared to come from nothing more than a rear guard. Field radios buzzed with this astounding news. Shuri Castle itself lay beyond division and corps boundaries, but it was there for the taking. The assault Marines asked permission to seize the prize. Major General Pedro del Valle, commanding the 1st Marine Division, did not hesitate. By all rights the castle belonged to the neighboring 77th Infantry Division and del Valle knew his counterpart, Army Major General Andrew D. Bruce, would be angry if the Marines snatched the long-sought trophy before his soldiers could arrive. But this was an unprecedented opportunity to grab the Tenth Army's main objective. Del Valle gave the go-ahead. With that, Company A, 1/5, swept west along the ridge against light opposition and took possession of the battered complex. Del Valle's staff had to do some fancy footwork to keep peace with their Army neighbors. Only then did they learn that the 77th Division had scheduled a major bombardment of the castle that morning. Frantic radio calls averted the near-tragedy just in time. Results of the Marines' preemptive action incensed General Bruce. Recalled del Valle: "I don't think a single Army division commander would talk to me after that."Notwithstanding this inter-service aggravation, the Americans had achieved much this morning. For two months the Shuri Heights had provided the Japanese with superb fields of observed fire that covered the port city of Naha and the entire five-mile neck of southern Okinawa. Even now, as the Marines of A/1/5 deployed into a hasty defensive line within the Castle's rubble, they were oblivious to the fact that a Japanese rear guard still occupied portions of the mammoth underground headquarters complex directly under their muddy boondockers. They would be astounded to learn that the subterranean headquarters of the Thirty-second Army measured 1,287 feet long and as much as 160 feet deep — all of it dug by pick and shovel. The Japanese had in fact stolen a march on the approaching Tenth Army. Most of their forces had retreated southward during the incessant rains, and would soon occupy the third (and final) ring of their prepared, underground defenses, a series of fortified escarpments in the Kiyamu Peninsula. Seizing Shuri Castle represented an undeniable milestone in the Okinawa campaign, but it was a hollow victory. Just as the flag-raising on Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi signified only the end of the beginning of that prolonged battle, the capture of Shuri did not end the fighting. The brutal slugfest on Okinawa still had another 24 days to run. And still the Plum Rains fell, and the horrors, and the dying, continued. w r e m e m b r a n c e
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Map source: The Final Campaign: Marines in the Victory on Okinawa.
The areas around Shuri Castle and Wana ridge proved to contain some of the most sophisticated defenses yet encountered by US forces in the South Pacific. Concrete reinforced reverse-slope positions, well-sited machine-gun nests, and pinpoint accurate interlocking fields of fire proved deadly to Marine and Army forces on okinawa. For an in-depth look at this battle, as well as other War in the Pacific battles, go online at http://www.nps.gov/wapa/indepth/sections/pacificTheater.htm
Map source: Pictorial History of World War II, Volume 2, The War in the Pacific.
on April 1, 1945, Gi’s and Marines of the US Tenth Army stormed the southwest shore of okinawa following landings on the smaller islands in the west. The ships depicted on the map show the direction of the two operations and aircraft carrier support. S u m m e r / F a l l
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By Col. Joseph H. Alexander, USMC (Ret) The Final Campaign: Marines in the Victory on Okinawa Okinawa proved extremely costly to all participants. More than 100,000 Japanese died defending the island, although about 7,000 uncharacteristically surrendered at the end. Native Okinawans suffered the most. Recent studies indicate as many as 150,000 died in the fighting, a figure representing one third of the island's population. The Tenth Army sustained nearly 40,000 combat casualties, including more than 7,000 Americans killed. An additional 26,000 "non-battle" casualties occurred; combat fatigue cases accounted for most of these. Marine Corps casualties overall — ground, air, ships' detachments — exceeded 19,500. In addition, 560 members of the Navy Medical Corps organic to the Marine units were killed or wounded. General Shepherd described the corpsmen on Okinawa as "the finest, most courageous men that I know . . . . they did a magnificent job." Three corpsmen received the Medal of Honor. As always, losses within the infantry outfits soared out of proportion. Colonel Shapley reported losses of 110 percent in the 4th Marines, which reflected both the addition of replacements and their high attrition after joining. Corporal Day of 2/22 experienced the death of his regimental and battalion commanders, plus the killing or wounding of two company commanders, seven platoon commanders, and every other member of his rifle squad in the battle. The legacy of this great battle can be expressed in these categories: Foreshadow of Invasion of Japan. Admiral Spruance described the battle of Okinawa as "a bloody, hellish prelude to the invasion of Japan." As protracted a nightmare as Okinawa had been, every survivor knew in his heart that the next battles in Kyushu and Honshu would be incalculably worse. In a nutshell, the plans for invading Japan specified the Kyushu landings would be executed by the surviving veter4
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May 8, 1945. okinawa. Americans on okinawa hear of victory in Europe. A few yards behind the front lines on okinawa island, fighting men of the US Army's 77th infantry division listen to radio reports of Germany's surrender on May 8, 1945. Their battle hardened faces indicate the impassiveness with which they received the news of the victory on a far distant front. one minute after this photo was taken, they returned to their combat post. National Archives photo and caption.
ans of Iwo Jima and luzon; the reward of the Okinawa survivors would be the landing on the main island of Honshu. Most men grew fatalistic; nobody's luck could last through such infernos. Amphibious Mastery. By coincidence, the enormous and virtually flawless amphibious assault on Okinawa occurred 30 years to the month after the colossal disaster at Gallipoli in World War I. By 1945 the Americans had refined this difficult naval mission into an art form. Nimitz had every possible advantage in place for Okinawa — a proven doctrine, specialized ships and landing craft, mission-oriented weapons systems, trained shock troops, flexible logistics, unity of command. Every thing clicked. The massive projection of 60,000 combat troops ashore on l-Day and the subsequent series of smaller landings on the surrounding islands represented the fruition of a doctrine earlier considered harebrained or suicidal. Attrition Warfare. Disregarding the great opportunities for surprise and maneuver available in the amphibious task force, the Tenth Army conducted much of the campaign for Okinawa in an unimaginative, attrition mode which played into the strength of the Japanese defenders. An unrealistic reliance on firepower and siege tactics prolonged the fighting and increased the costs. The landings on Ie Shima and Oroku Peninsula, despite their
successful executions, comprised the only division-level amphibious assaults undertaken after l-Day. likewise, the few night attacks undertaken by Marine and Army forces achieved uncommon success, but were not encouraged. The Tenth Army squandered several opportunities for tactical innovations that could have hastened a breakthrough of the enemy defenses. Joint Service. The squabble between the 1st Marine Division and the 77th Division after the Marines seized Shuri Castle notwithstanding, the battle of Okinawa represented joint service cooperation at its finest. This was General Buckner's greatest achievement, and General Geiger continued the sense of teamwork after Buckner's death. Okinawa remains a model of interservice cooperation to succeeding generations of military professionals. During the taping of the 50th anniversary commemorative video of the battle, General "Brute" Krulak provided a fitting epitaph to the Marines who fell on Okinawa. Speaking extemporaneously on camera, he said: “The cheerfulness with which they went to their death has stayed with me forever. What is it that makes them all the same? I watched them in Korea, I watched them in Vietnam, and it's the same. American youth is one hell of a lot better than he is usually credited." w r e m e m b r a n c e
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K a m i k a z e “It was horrifying to try and comprehend someone intentionally diving through a hail of deadly anti-aircraft fire with the sole purpose of killing themselves in a blinding explosion.” — Sonarman 1st Class Jack Gebhardt, USN, USS Pringle, sunk by suicide aircraft during the Battle of Okinawa. (Source: Naval Historical Center)
On the 18th of October, 1944, the commander of Japan’s First Air Fleet based in the Philippines, Admiral Kimpei Teraoka, wrote in his personal diary: We can no longer win the war by adhering to conventional methods of warfare.... Instead, we must steel ourselves against weakness.... If fighter pilots set an example by volunteering for special attack missions, other units will follow suit. These examples will, in turn, inspire surface forces and army forces.... We conclude that the enemy can be stopped and our country saved only by crash-dive attacks on their ships. (Source: The Japanese Navy in WWII, ed. D. Evans)
The tactic devised, named kamikaze, or divine wind, for a typhoon in 1281 that destroyed an invading Mongol fleet, began in late October, 1944, reaching a terrifying climax in April 1945 off the Japanese island of Okinawa. Consisting mainly of inexperienced university student volunteers, kamikaze were the most feared weapons a desperate Japan possessed near the end of the war. The following excerpt details one ship’s experience in the waters off Okinawa.
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ur tour of duty on this picket station was uneventful until the morning of April 16th, when we underwent a concentrated attack by Japanese suicide planes. The attack commenced about 8:27 [a.m.] when we were attacked by four Vals [singleengine Japanese Aichi D3A naval dive bomber with a 2-man crew], which split, two heading for our bow and two swinging around to attack us from the stern. We shot down three of these and combined with a nearby lCS [support landing craft] in splashing the fourth one. Then two other planes came in from either bow, both of which were shot r e m e m b r a n c e
down by us. It was about the seventh plane that we were firing on that finally crashed into us amidships and started a huge fire. This marked us as a cripple with the flames and smoke billowing up from the ship.... Two planes came in quick succession from astern and crashed into our after fiveinch twin mount. The first one carried a bomb which exploded on deck. The second one dropped its bomb on deck before crashing into the after mount. Shortly thereafter, two more planes came in on the port quarter crashing into the deckhouse just forward of the crippled after five-inch mount. This sent a flood of gasoline into the two compartments below the after crew's head and with the fire that was already raging in the after crew's compartment just aft of the fiveinch mount number three, we now had fires going in all of the after three living spaces, besides the big fire topside in the vicinity of the number four 40 mm [antiaircraft gun] mount. Then two planes...no, the next one was a plane from our port quarter that dropped a bomb just about our port propeller and jammed our rudder when it was 26 degrees left. The next plane came from the port bow, knocked off our yardarm, and a [F4U] Corsair chasing it, knocked off our Sugar Charlie [SC air search] radar. Then a plane came in from the port bow carrying a big bomb and was shot down close aboard. A large bomb fragment from the exploding bomb knocked out the power in our number two five- inch mount which is the one just forward of the bridge. Shortly thereafter this mount, in manual control, knocked down an Oscar [single-engine Japanese Nakajima Ki-43, Army-type fighter with a 1-man crew] coming in on our starboard bow when it was about 500 yards from the ship. At the same time the alert
mount captain of number one five- inch mount sighted a Val diving on the ship from the starboard bow, took it under fire and knocked it down about 500 yards from the ship.... The next plane came in from the starboard bow strafing as it approached and dropped a bomb just below the bridge which wiped out our two 20 mms [antiaircraft guns] in that area and killed some of the people in the wardroom battle dressing station. This plane did not try to crash either, and was shot down, after passing over the ship, by our fighter cover. The last plane that attacked the ship came in from the port bow, and was shot down by the combined fire of the Corsair pilots and our own machine guns, and struck the water close aboard and skidded into the side of the ship, denting the ship's side but causing no damage. The action had lasted an hour and 20 minutes. We had been attacked by 22 planes, nine of which we had shot down unassisted, eight planes had struck the ship, seven of them with suicidal intent, two of these seven did practically no damage other than knocking off yardarms. Five of these seven did really heavy material damage and killed a lot of our personnel. We had only four of our original eleven .20 mm mounts still in commission. Eight of the original 12 barrels of our .40 mm mounts could still shoot but only in local control, all electrical power to them being gone and our after five-inch mount was completely destroyed. Our engines were still intact. w Recollections of Commander Frederick Julian Becton, USN, Commanding Officer of the destroyer USS Laffey (DD-724) which, despite being struck by eight Japanese suicide (kamikaze) aircraft on 16 April 1945, did not sink. (Source: Naval Historical Center) S u m m e r / F a l l
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The Invasion of Japan By May of 1945, the world was ready to commit millions of Allied troops to an assault on the home islands of Japan By Charles R. Smith Securing the Surrender: Marines in the Occupation of Japan, Marines in World War II Commemorative Series
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y May 1945, as bitter fighting continued on Okinawa and Americans celebrated Germany's surrender, Pacific strategists had developed detailed plans for Operation Downfall, the two-phased invasion of the Japanese home islands to begin on 1 November. More than 5 million Allied troops would conduct the two largest planned amphibious assaults in history. As planned, all six Marine divisions and three Marine aircraft wings would play major combat roles. Operation Olympic, the first phase of Operation Downfall, would involve the seizure of southern Kyushu by 14 divisions of the U.S. Sixth Army. Their objectives were to seize airfields, harbors, and staging areas for the subsequent buildup and launching of Operation Coronet, the amphibious assault by 23 divisions of the U. S. First and Eighth Armies on 1 March 1946 against the industrial and political heart of Japan, the Kanto Plain on Honshu. The Marine ground component for Olympic was V Amphibious Corps, composed of the 2d, 3d, and 5th Marine Divisions, under the command of Major General Harry Schmidt. For Coronet it was III Amphibious Corps (1st, 4th, and 6th Marine Divisions) under Major General Keller E. Rockey. On 1 November, three corps of three divisions each would conduct simultaneous amphibious assaults against three separate locations on southern Kyushu. General Schmidt's V Amphibious Corps would seize a beachhead near Kushikino and then clear the Satsuma Peninsula, bordering the west side of Kagoshima Bay. The Army's XI Corps would land at Ariake Bay and take the eastern peninsula. I Corps would land further up the island's east coast. The three corps would move north and establish a defensive line, stretching from Sendai in the west to Tsuno in the east, effectively blocking Japanese reinforcements from moving south through the central mountains. If needed, a fourth corps and two additional divisions would reinforce the three assault corps. The Japanese defensive plan for Kyushu encompassed three phases. First, thousands of suicide aircraft and boats would attack 6
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Map source: Pacific War Atlas
the American fleet, targeting troop transports in an effort to disrupt the landings. Second, newly organized defense divisions occupying heavy fortifications overlooking the beaches, would attempt to prevent the landing force from gaining a foothold. Finally, mobile divisions based inland would counterattack toward threatened positions. In August 1945, Japanese ground forces on Kyushu consisted of 14 divisions and several independent brigades, about 600,000 diehard troops, most of whom were deployed near the invasion area. Ideally, an attacking force should have at least a three-to-one superiority in numbers over the defenders. On Kyushu, American and Japanese ground forces would be of almost equal strength. In addition to regular military units, Allied forces would also face a large citizen militia, armed with whatever was at hand. The battle was expected to be bloody and costly. lieutenant General Thomas A. Wornham, who commanded the 27th Marines and would have taken part in the assault, later noted that when he commanded the 3d Marine Division he would often commute between Japan and Okinawa and "we'd fly right over Kagoshima, and you could see the beaches where Operation Olympic was to be. ... Every time I flew over I'd say: 'Thank God that the Japanese decided to
call the war off when they did, because I don't think any of us would have made it.' It was pretty wild country down there." With Kyushu-based fighters furnishing air support, Operation Coronet would be launched in March 1946. First Army would land two corps abreast at Katakai and Choshi on the Pacific Coast east of Tokyo. The XXIV Corps (three divisions) and General Rockey's III Amphibious Corps would seize the peninsula flanking Tokyo Bay. The Eighth Army's two corps would land at Sagami Bay and seize the vital yokohama-yokosuka port complex. In subsequent operations, the First Army would advance on Tokyo from the east while the Eighth Army would attack the capital from the southwest. Facing Allied troops would be nine divisions totalling some 300,000 men, with an additional 27 to 35 divisions available as reinforcement. The dropping of the atomic bombs ended the war and the need for an invasion of the Japanese home islands. If the invasion had proceeded, it would have been costly. While there is no way to accurately predict casualties, there is no doubt that the Japanese would have suffered immense losses, both military and civilian, dwarfing those inflicted by the atomic bombs. And American casualties certainly would have been in the hundreds of thousands. w r e m e m b r a n c e
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End of the War Chronology 1945 9 March Program of low-level (10,000 ft.) incendiary attacks against Japanese cities begins with a massive B-29 raid on Tokyo that kills about 100,000 Japanese and destroys 16 square miles of city. 5 April Japanese Prime Minister Koiso resigns and is succeeded by anti-militarist Kantaro Suzuki. The USSR formally informs the Japanese Government that the 1941 Neutrality Pact between the two nations will be allowed to lapse. 20 May Japanese forces begin pulling back from positions within China. 16 July Plutonium weapon successfully detonated at Trinity site near Alamogordo, New Mexico Potsdam Conference begins 26 July Potsdam Declaration issued, demanding unconditional surrender of Japan 6 August Atomic bomb destroys most of Hiroshima 8 August
USSR declares war on Japan
9 August Plutonium over Nagasaki Massive begins
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10 August Ambiguous peace feelers from Japan to neutral capitals seem to signal a desire to modify the terms of the Potsdam Declaration 12 August Military members of Japanese cabinet block surrender
the
14 August Raids on targets in Japan by B29’s from the Marianas. The last bombs drop after 2:00AM on the 15th Prime Minister Suzuki gains agreement to ask the Emperor to decide on continuing the war or suing for peace, and the Imperial Conference decides to accept the Potsdam Declaration. A speech is written for the Emperor, and he records it at midnight. Militant militarists mutiny and attempt to seize the recording. They fail due to lack of support from the Minister of War, who commits ritual suicide. 15 August The Emperor’s speech, broadcast at noon, announces defeat and the end of the war to the people of Japan. 21 August Fighting in Manchuria ends. 2 September Formal surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Harbor. 24 October The last major Japanese Army units in the Pacific are disarmed. Source: National Park Service, War in the Pacific website http://www.nps.gov/wapa/indepth/PacTheatTopics/EndofWar.htm r e m e m b r a n c e
Top: Tokyo. PoW's wait on a small dock in the Tokyo waterfront area for rescue craft manned by the U.S. Navy to approach and to take them out to a waiting U.S. Navy ship the USS Benevolence (AH-13). Tall structures in the background have been bedecked with signs calling for rescue. 1 Sep 1945. (National Archives Photo) Bottom: New York City. August 14, 1945. Americans of italian descent in New York City wave flags and toss papers into the air as they celebrate the news of Japan’s unconditional surrender to the Allies on August 14, 1945. (office of War information # 208-N-43468) S u m m e r / F a l l
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These rarely seen, formerly top secret, photographs were taken during preparations for the atomic missions f lown from the island of Tinian on August 6 and August 9, 1945. Due to their size, the bombs had to be lowered into special pits over which the airplanes Enola Gay and Bock’s Car parked. Seen up-close, the bombs take on a homemade, improvised appearance. The accom panying captions are dry and matterof-fact, as if the writer was not aware the world had changed forever. To see more of this photo collection, visit the AMMA website: www.arizonamemorial.org/
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Left: LB [Little Boy] unit being hoisted into bomb bay of Enola Gay. Comdr. A. F. Birch behind unit. Above top: Comdr. A. F. Birch, numbering LB unit L-11, before loading on trailer in Assembly Bldg. #1. Unit L-11 was the one dropped on Hiroshima. Dr. ramsey standing nearby. Above middle:Tail of Enola Gay being edged over pit and into position to load unit into bomb-bay. Unit shown in pit, covered with canvas. Above bottom: Polar cap of FM [Fat Man, the bomb dropped on Nagasaki] unit being sprayed with plastic paint before Assembly Building #2.
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General Douglas A. MacArthur Supreme Allied Commander September 2, 1945 USS Missouri, Tokyo Bay
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On September 2, 1945, the Japanese government formally surrendered to Allied forces in Tokyo Bay. The documents were signed on board the newly commissioned USS Missouri in a nod to President Harry Truman, former Senator from the battleship’s namesake state. On September 2, 2005, ceremonies were held on the historic battleship, now berthed at Ford Island’s pier F-5, commemorating the 60th Anniversary of events that officially ended WWII. Guests of honor included eyewitnesses to the surrender James Starnes, the Missouri’s navigator and officer of the deck on September 2, 1945, and Murray yudelowitz, a gunner’s mate assigned to the ship. WWII prisoner of war Col. Ben Skardon, US Army (Ret.) also spoke, giving a chilling account of his Bataan Death March experience. Mr. Starnes’ account of the ceremony included the subtle detail so valuable to those who care about history. He described how Gen. MacArthur, hands shaking with nervousness, made two entrances onto the deck of the Missouri; the first apparently was made before everyone was ready and therefore not nearly dramatic enough. The ceremonies closed with the voice of Gen. MacArthur honoring the fighting spirit of American troops, “Their spiritual strength and power has brought us through to victory. They are homeward bound.... Take care of them.” w r e m e m b r a n c e
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Far left: Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the instrument of Surrender on behalf of the Japanese Government, on board USS Missouri (BB-63), 2 September 1945. Lieutenant General richard K. Sutherland, U.S. Army, watches from the opposite side of the table. Foreign Ministry representative Toshikazu Kase is assisting Mr. Shigemitsu. (National Archives 80-G-332699) Above left: Spectators and photographers pick vantage spots on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, to witness the formal Japanese surrender proceedings. (National Archives 111-SC-210644) Above right: Sixty years later, formal commemoration ceremonies would take place on the port side of the ship, leaving the starboard side relatively free of visitors. Above: Framed by the USS Arizona Memorial, Vice Admiral robert Kihune, USN (ret.) gives the welcoming remarks aboard the USS Missouri during the official commemoration ceremony marking the 60th Anniversary of the surrender of Japan. inset: Ben Skardon relates his Bataan Death March experience to the crowd. His tale of survival, trust and friendship overcoming brutality brought the crowd to its feet. For more photos of the ceremony, please go to the AMMA website’s News and Events page, www.arizonamemorial.org. S u m m e r / F a l l
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The End of the War Al rodrigues was born in Kaua’i, Territory of Hawai’i and moved to Honolulu after high school. Before joining the Navy reserves in 1940, Al worked at the royal Hawaiian Hotel, spending most of his free time surfing. Al’s duty station was Bishop’s Point, located just across the street from Hickam Army Air Field. His job was furnishing logistics for small craft and maintaining the submarine nets that spanned the harbor entrance. on duty on December 7, 1941, Al raced to the armory after hearing the general quarters alarm and was issued a .30 caliber rifle. He shot at the planes passing overhead; planes flying so low, he could actually see the faces of the Japanese pilots. As he was near Hickam Field, Al witnessed Japanese aircraft shooting at incoming American B-17 bombers arriving from California. Al was transferred to the battleship USS Washington and saw extensive action throughout the Pacific. in 1945 he was transferred to new construction at the Third Naval District in New York City. Al and his family have generously donated their time to the USS Arizona Memorial, with Al, Sr. a valued National Park Service Volunteer in Parks (ViP) participant, and his son, Al, Jr., serving on the board of the Arizona Memorial Museum Association.
Al RodRigues New YoRk CitY
Left: Al rodrigues at the USS Missouri ceremonies commemorating the 60th anniversary of the end of World War ii. right: Al in 1941. Below: Times Square, New York City, VJ Day.
“I was on a battleship and in February of 1945 they sent me to new construction at the Brooklyn Naval Shipyard and fortunately I got shore duty at the First Naval District in Manhattan and I was right there in Manhattan the day the war ended. In fact I had just taken my boss down to a hotel in Times Square for a meeting and when we got out, Times Square was just jammed, we couldn't drive a car so he says, ‘We'll see you in the morning Chief, forget about the car.’ And that's where I was. “Actually when we walked out we just saw, at that time, thousands of people, but according to the paper there were about a million people in Times Square; we heard that the war ended, it was VJ Day. Everybody was screaming, yelling, and drinking and getting drunk. As a matter of fact that night some girls from New Jersey took me home. That's part of the war. “All storekeepers, yeomen, we had enough points to get out of the service but they froze our getting out and sent us down to lido Beach (long Island) to set up a station where you could release all the people in the Navy. So I didn't get out until about four or five months after the war ended.”
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thomAs e. uNgeR itAlY Tom Unger was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. on December 7, 1941, Tom was an 18 year-old civilian. During the attack, he rode a truck into what is now Hickam Air Force Base and, with a crew of red Cross volunteers, assisted doctors and medics in caring for the dead and wounded. At one point, Tom helped rescue a soldier from a guardhouse when it came under fire. The following day, Tom joined the Hawai’i Territorial Guard, a citizen volunteer group armed to back up the military in the event of an invasion. He joined the Army soon after the attack and assisted in setting up the first prisoner-of-war camp on American soil since the Civil War. Later in the war, Tom saw combat in three campaigns in italy. Today, Tom supports the USS Arizona Memorial by volunteering his time. Left: Tom Unger in Honolulu after arriving home from italy at war’s end. right: Tom today at the USS Arizona Memorial. Top right: Technical Sergeant Tom Unger, Montecatini, italy, 1944.
“When our war in Europe ended, [I was] actually in Italy. The Italians surrendered earlier and that’s when the Germans came pouring down, several divisions. I was with the 349th Anti-tank company of the 88th Division [US Army] and I was up in the Alps in a town called Bolzano, it’s where the ice man was dug up not so long ago. There were a number of stragglers up there including members of the French Vichey government and there was a particular woman that got attached to me and I didn’t know anything about her. One day she told me, “Come with me,” and I was confronted by a CIC [Counter Intelligence Corps] sergeant. He said, “She is Vichey, she is finished.” So she said goodbye to me and she was taken away. So that was kind of a surprise to me. There were stragglers up there in the Alps because it was a beautiful ski resort. Naturally the Germans were up there with all their women and all their fine amenities. “My assignment immediately was to take over a TODT organization; they were German prisoners. I was given a large, beautiful villa to live in. It was just a hollow structure; nothing luxurious about the thing, but we did have a roof over our heads. The Germans had their own facilities, had their own tents; they brought their mess hall with them on wheels. I got to know the two officers very well. One was Colonel Ridder and the other was Oberleutenant Kirkoff. Kirkoff spoke perfect English, we got into many conversations.... the TODT organization was a civilian organization, but they wore uniforms; they were all engineers. I said,
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‘What do you guys do?’ ‘Well,’ he says, “In the daytime you knock out the Bremmer Pass and at nighttime we put it back in.’ “My division moved south of Rome. I was sleeping in a pup tent. I remember getting up that morning and somebody said something about a big bomb had dropped. That’s about all we knew about it then…but not only a big bomb was dropped but the war was over in the Pacific. We all knew we were going to go to the Pacific sooner or later. So we were really happy about the thing, very much relieved. Of course I had more points because I got points for being in the Pacific where I came from and then I got points for being overseas again over in the Mediterranean theatre. I had all kinds of points; I was the first guy to go home. I was kinda sad to leave my guys, I was in no hurry to go home. But there was a feeling in Congress to get the boys home, if you have to put them on rowboats, just get ‘em over and get ‘em home. I still don’t understand why they were in such a big rush to get us to go home. It almost cost me my life. I had a slight wound, actually I got off without any real big wound or mental problem or anything else in the military and here I get on an aircraft and [when we got to] Indianapolis, the pilot landed the plane halfway down the runway. And he started pulling this thing out and we saw telephone poles going by and buildings; we damn near got killed when I came home!”
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heRb weAtheRwAx geRmANY Herb Weatherwax was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on June 3, 1917. He was drafted into the US Army on June 6, 1941 and was assigned to the 298th infantry regiment at Schofield Barracks after basic training. on December 7, 1941, Private Weatherwax was on a weekend pass when he heard an announcement over a local radio station that Pearl Harbor was under attack by Japanese forces. The announcement instructed all military personnel to report to their duty stations. on his way to Schofield Barracks, Herb witnessed the destruction at Pearl Harbor and Wheeler Army Airfield near Schofield. Herb joined the National Park Service volunteer program in 1996 and enjoys sharing his war stories with visitors to the USS Arizona Memorial. Upper left: Herb Weatherwax and russian soldier Leonid Kruglov at the Elbe river, 1945. Above left: Herb Weatherwax today. Above right: Herb in uniform, 1940’s.
“[T]he European war ended and we had just joined up with the Russians at the Elbe River at a town named Torgau and then we teamed up for a few days and then the Army unit withdrew back and the Russians took over that territory. Then we got rumors that they were going to pull us out of Germany and bring us over to fight the Japanese in the Pacific and we weren’t too happy about that…. “I was in the 69th Infantry Division and we had accompanied General Patton across from Belgium on into Germany, we heard his tanks moving at night…we moved along pretty well. “Then we got word that the atomic bomb had been dropped and I can tell you for a fact that all the troops were just jumping with joy. We were happy that it was just about over. I had four and a half years of military service at the time and I was thinking that was enough. Then we got word that the Japanese had surrendered, and I remained in Germany until December (1945), then came back to Hawaii for my discharge. “It [an invasion of Japan] was a rumor; there was no direct order at the time. It was understandable; they needed all the men they could get. Our job was to try to destroy the enemy and we had a big force out there after the war ended and they had no use for us. “We went through hell in Europe. I went through the winter; when you don’t bathe, you don’t clean, just bundled up with the clothing they give you. My feet…I had frostbite, but you couldn’t
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do anything about it. They didn’t pull us back…we stayed there and continued to go on. “I was trained to lay mines but we never did that because we were the aggressive force. Our job was to clear the mines so that our troops and the convoy could move on. There was a danger of course, but we were trained well for it. It’s one of those things in the military; you get trained and you go ahead and do the job but we don’t think that we might set a booby trap off and blow ourselves up. “I saw the destruction as we moved along; it was a terrible thing. It was the inhumanity of man to man. The cities were all destroyed of course. Our Air Force was very instrumental in that, we pulverized all the cities as we moved along. In the latter part, the SS troops had already started to retreat and then they left a lot of the kids and the old folks to fight and they weren’t disciplined, they weren’t like the SS. So many of them just came down to the cities to surrender; they hung white flags from the windows. The biggest enemy I think at that time when I was out there was the weather, the winter. I think we lost quite a bit of men as a result of it. I’m glad it’s all over with….”
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Above left: Sterling Cale as a young sailor and bugler at Great Lakes Training Center, 1940. Above right: Sterling at the USS Arizona Memorial’s remembrance Circle today. Top right: Sterling in 1943.
“As far as I can tell we had made the trip down to Canton Island in the middle of the Pacific down by where the dog-gone equator is. We were just coming back, about halfway back, when the second of September came about. Being on the ship, as far as I can remember, we had seven regular Navy people on there, and all the rest of them were reservists. Our commanding officer actually was F.F. [Nakel], we called him Fearless Furman, and he was a Circuit Court judge in Indianapolis. I think when we came across the equator we had him sitting in irons for about three days. “As far as VJ Day was concerned, it didn’t seem to stir up much of a noise on the ship. We didn’t do any celebrating at all. Nothing special, probably gave a hip hip hooray three times for the banzais we used to have, but that’s about all. “We had heard about the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. They said it was no sneak attack on us; we always said it was a sneak attack but that’s not really the way Japanese fight. We dropped a few pamphlets for Nagasaki and Hiroshima; didn’t seem to bother them too much until we actually dropped the one bomb and then three days later we dropped the other bomb and then suddenly everything stopped.
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Sterling Cale was born in Macomb, illinois in 1921. He enlisted in the Navy’s Lighter-Than-Air Training (dirigible) at Lakehurst, New Jersey but when the Hindenburg went down in flames in 1937, the Navy cancelled the program and Sterling graduated as a hospital pharmacist mate. Working out of the Pearl Harbor shipyard dispensary on December 7, 1941, Sterling witnessed attacking planes diving on Battleship row. Later, PHM2c Cale was in charge of the burial party removing bodies from the USS Arizona. Sterling spent WWii on Guadalcanal with the 1st Marine Division and was on a Navy ship in the South Pacific when peace was declared. Sterling volunteers at the USS Arizona Memorial and shares his experiences with high school students across the state of Hawai’i.
“But you know under those kind of conditions you can’t give too much of a big hurrah because you are having to kill people and maim people and make people in bad shape for life just to stop a war. “Man came down from the radio room, our radioman, and said we just heard over the wire that VJ Day…the war is over. I think we just gave a short hurray and that’s about all there was to it. It’s a funny thing when you’re in the service, you have such a job to do that when something special happens, you don’t make a big deal about it. I was here for December 7th, I’m a Pearl Harbor Survivor. I was in charge of the burial detail on the USS Arizona, taking off all the bodies. The ones [names] you see out there on the big white wall, some of them I couldn’t get so they’re still aboard and the rest of them I took off. I had burial detail for six weeks; taking off bodies and taking them up to Red Hill for temporary burial and then taking them up to Punchbowl. Still, a whole bunch of them are unknowns.”
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A PlACE TO REMEMBER A new Visitor Center and Exhibit Hall on Saipan tell the story of a people, a place, and a world war By Ray Sandla 1 6
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On Saturday, May 28, 2005, American Memorial Park unveiled its new Visitor Center to the public. Six years between conception and realization, the new building includes the World War II Exhibit Hall, a state-ofthe-art 120-seat theater, a library, and the Arizona Memorial Museum Association bookstore. “The opening...of the American Memorial Park Visitors Center is a proud and significant event in the history of the commonwealth,” wrote Saipan Governor Juan Babauta and lt. Governor Diego Benavente in a message to ceremony participants and guests. “Together with the Marianas Memorial, which was dedicated last year, these projects are both a tribute and a closure to the wartime events
that engulfed our islands over 60 years ago.... It is our fervent hope that this new Visitor Center will be an instrument of peace. We hope that it will become a center for learning, a gathering place for students, visitor, and neighbors.” AMMA is proud to partner with the National Park Service (NPS) in welcoming people to the center. AMMA bookstore manager Jessica Jordan hopes to have many more of the predominantly Japanese tourists to Saipan come to the exhibit and learn more about an island so closely associated with Japanese history. NPS Site Manager Chuck Sayon sees the center as a place for memory, hope, and renewal for the native r e m e m b r a n c e
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people of Saipan as well as American veterans of the battle for Saipan and Tinian. “Inside this Center a story unfolds behind each picture, each artifact, and each recording.... It is our duty and honor to carry on the legacies and accounts of a passing generation,” said Mr. Sayon at the opening ceremony. David Sablan, a civilian survivor of the conflict that raged across his island 60 years earlier, remarked in his opening address, “I had a chance to go through the Center yesterday.... It is like walking through 60 years of history and once we open [these doors] you will probably have the same kind of feeling I had because I lived through the war; I was 9 years old when the invasion hit Saipan.” To walk through the exhibit hall is to journey through the sights and sounds of a small, yet strategically crucial, Pacific island catapulted into world war. From pre-war occupation by Japan and the growth of the sugar industry to chronologies and strategies of Pacific campaigns, exhibit planners have positioned artifacts, photography, sound and lighting to immerse the visitor in a complete sensory experience. Tom Shaw, AMMA President, summed up the reasons the Association wants to contribute to the success of American Memorial Park: “The Arizona Memorial Museum Association is honored to play a part in the opening and continuing operations of the new American Memorial Park Visitor Center. It is with a deep sense of gratitude for the sacrifice of so many that we take on a significant role in recognizing those who gave so much, and are forever remembered, here in this park.” AMMA members can be proud of their contributions to the new Visitor Center at American Memorial Park on Saipan, for it is truly a place to remember. w 1 David Sablan, a guest speaker at the opening ceremony of the new American Memorial Park Visitor Center and a friend walk through the Exhibit Hall. “it is like walking through 60 years of history...” he said in his remarks. 2 “invasion: on the Beaches” section of the historical exhibit. Artifacts and photos combine with motion-activated sound and lighting effects to produce a realistic vision of war in the Pacific. 3 “indigenous Peoples’ Experience” profiles pre-war Saipan, dominated by the Japanese presence and a growing sugar industry. 4 “The Final Campaign” details the Marianas as the vital link in the final, decisive bombing operations of WWii.
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5 The civilian experience on Saipan continues to be a complicated affair. Saipanese have generally welcomed the freedoms brought about by US intervention. Yet for those locals old enough to remember, the Japanese appear, perhaps nostalgically, as benevolent despots. Songs are still remembered that extol the schools, roads, and industry built during the Japanese period. official US Marine Corps photo S u m m e r / F a l l
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A COURT OF HONOR Carl Matthews, a veteran of the 4th Marine Division, landed on Saipan on 15 June, 1944. He spoke about that time, and the meaning of memory, at the opening ceremony of the new American Memorial Park Visitor Center
ladies and gentlemen, I want you to know that you have bestowed a signal honor to permit me to stand here today and I am pleased to be party in the dedication of this magnificent structure. A structure that’s dedicated to the memory of those whose names appear on the courts of honor just a little ways away from this spot. you may not know that in 34 days in 1944 between June 15th and the 9th of July thirty-one hundred and forty five Americans died on this island; but there were also more than 900 natives of this island who gave their lives as well. 61 years ago on the 15th of next month, G Company, 23rd Regiment, 4th Marine Division landed at Charan Kanoa on Blue beach. And I have the proof in this book to back that up. If you turn to page 8 in your program, you will see an article entitled “Operation Forager.” Below that title you will see an amphibious tractor. In front of that tractor you will see a man standing. That man is lt. James Stanley leary, Jr. from Ahoskie, North Carolina. Two men in front of him is Wendell Nightingale from Skowhegan, Maine. And the person in the center there is Carl Matthews from Hubbard, Texas. So we were there....24 days later, out of a group of 280 men, 40 men had given their lives right here on this island. yesterday I visited these courts of honor. My eyes searched for the names of those I knew were there. Again and again my finger came to rest on a name that was inscribed in the stone. 1 8
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And I thought about those men whose names were there; who they were, where they were from, what they had done. I found the names of leary and Nightingale, the two men who were with me on the beach. There was Bob Howard; there was Pete Anderson; there was Frank Whitty from Desdemona, Texas; there was Morgan and Wennikens. But you know I found other names there too. Names like Castro; names like Camacho; names like Sablan; names like Tenerio, and a great host of others. Those were not just names, they were names of people, some of whom I knew. They were very dear friends, but they were also somebody’s son, somebody’s brother, somebody’s daddy in some cases, somebody’s sweetheart, somebody’s friend. Some people may ask why do we put these names in stone and spend time coming again and again to visit these places. Why indeed? These were people who prized freedom more than life itself. They were willing to leave New york and Pennsylvania, Maine and Texas, Oklahoma and California. They came to this spot that we never heard about and fought a battle here. They were willing to give life for freedom... John Wennikens was 19 years old, he was from Wisconsin, and he died before we had been on the beach three minutes. We moved in about 4 or 5 minutes more and Frank Whitty from Desdemona, Texas who left a wife and baby was hit by a r e m e m b r a n c e
sniper and he fell. On our left flank were three men from supply, one was Pete Anderson. They got a direct hit from the artillery that was coming from Hill 500, launching the shells as far out into the ocean as they could throw them. Those men disintegrated. There was Bob Howard, about 4 days later. We were having a firefight not too many miles east of here. Howie had a gut shot. lt. leary and I rushed to him, one on either side and I can remember lt. leary saying, hang on Howie, hang on Howie, you’re gonna be ok. And he said Mr. leary I’m hurt bad and I don’t want to die. Hang on Howie...but Howie didn’t hang on. I remember when the lieutenant walked behind the little farmhouse and when he came back, I was crying too. I remember when Wendell Nightingale died. We were fighting in an attempt to take the Japanese Command Post and he was wounded. We raced back to the little depression from which we had come and we looked out and he was writhing on the ground and Richard Freeby from Texas ran out and grabbed him when he was hit again, and he died...his name is there. But the lieutenant, whose picture you see on page 8 standing in front of that Amtrac, 23 days after we had landed we were coming down a cliff just above San Roke, one day away from victory...and a machine gun opened up as he and I talked and he fell to the ground and he was dead from a machine gun burst. last summer I was here, one of the most beautiful times of my life. People came up to me and hugged me and thanked me and some of them actually wept. As they said, you came here and you saved my grandmother...my daddy has often talked about how you came here and saved his life. But you see it wasn’t me, I didn’t do that. They were hugging me because I represented all these people here that died. I was representing all those who were wounded and taken out to the hospital ships and I was for them the 19% left that didn’t get wounded or didn’t die out of our company. The Whittys, the Howards, the Nightingales, the learys...but also Jack Campbell who was wounded and carried away the first day. Jacoby and Hickman who were wounded at the same time trying to help each other. Gunny Sergeant Ruth who was walking wounded but who went back and was wounded again, and has since died. last summer I was honored to be part of a parade, the first one I had ever experienced...I had a parade here and you honored me and I was thrilled. The throngs lined the street and
they said thank you, thank you, God bless you. I remember an older man sitting in a chair as we passed and he waved and he had tears in his eyes; he was eighty-two years old. Mothers were cheering, children were waving flags and if there was ever a time in my mind to have a question of why the battle of Saipan was fought, the answer lined the street on both sides with those people who cheered and clapped their hands and cried. One hundred years from now little children will visit this very park and they will walk around and they will see all these names in these courts of honor. I’m so pleased that this has been done, it’s a thrill to my heart. It bears testimony to people like Jerry Facey and Diego [Benevente, lt. Governor of Saipan] and all the others who have dreamed about this and now it’s become a reality. years from now there will be little children that will gather here and say daddy, who are these people? They will spend time inside this splendid facility that bears testimony of all those dreams and all those efforts and all those determinations and they will learn who these people were and what they did for Saipan and what they did for America and indeed what they did for the world. They will know that John Wennikens was remembered; they can remember Frank Whitty and say you’re not forgotten; they can say about Pete Anderson, thank you for giving your life. They can say Bob Howard, you died out here a few miles away but your name will live on here in Saipan. Wendell Nightingale, your story will be told again and again. Stanley leary, your remains were never recovered out there above San Roke on that cliffside, you’re still out there today, nobody ever went down and got your body. But you will live on in our grateful hearts forever. My words lack the eloquence to convey what is really in my heart today. lincoln said it best and I don’t think I could improve on that a bit. He said: It is for us to be dedicated to this great task that remains before us. That from these honored dead we take increased devotion to the cause for which they gave the last measure of devotion. That we here, you and me, gathered here today highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. That this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom and that government, our government, the government of Saipan, the government in Washington, the government in Austin Texas, of the people, for the people, by the people shall not perish from the earth. Thank you very much, God bless you.
Left: Marines who landed in the first assault wave at Saipan, bid farewell to fallen comrades who have been prepared for burial. Defense Department (USMC) 81,921 Above: “in front of that tractor you will see a man standing. That man is Lt. James Stanley Leary, Jr. from Ahoskie, North Carolina. Two men in front of him is Wendell Nightingale from Skowhegan, Maine. And the person in the center there is Carl Matthews from Hubbard, Texas. So we were there....24 days later, out of a group of 280 men, 40 men had given their lives right here on this island.” Far right is Carl Matthews on May 28, 2005, speaking at the opening of the new American Memorial Park Visitor Center. To see more images of the museum and Carl Matthews, please visit the AMMA website Media Gallery under American Memorial Park, New Visitor Center. r e m e m b r a n c e
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heart Eighth graders from Milford Connecticut take on a campaign to raise money for the USS Arizona Memorial
Seated left to right: Jason Jacobs, Vincent Limauro, Steve Ellis, and Maryah ortiz. Standing left to right: Ashley Walter, Mr. Tom Acri, Hannah Westberg, Mr. Ernest Arroyo, Alicia Timpanelli, Justin Bell, Mr. Jack Stoeber, Pearl Harbor Survivor, Victoria Jaser, and Mike Dunlin. Missing: Justin Dosantos
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t may have been called “Pennies for Pearl Harbor,” but the eleven students of an 8th-grade class at the West Shore Middle School in Milford, Connecticut, wanted to raise money for the national campaign to rebuild the Arizona Memorial Museum and Visitor Center in Hawaii. They began their plans for a fund-raising dinner in November 2004, as a class project in Mr. Tom Acri’s social studies class. last summer, Mr. Acri attended a teacher workshop at the Arizona Memorial where he learned of the fund raising efforts to build a new and larger museum and visitor center. The current center is in need of repairs and is barely able to accommodate the 1.5 million visitors who come to the Memorial each year. “larger than expected visitation, structural deterioration due to water intrusion, inadequate climate controls and insufficient education and curatorial space all contribute to the need to replace and expand the current museum and visitor center, “ lisa Ontai, museum spokesperson said. “The national effort has children helping to raise the estimated $34 million rebuilding cost. It provides students an opportunity to develop a greater appreciation for the events leading up to the attack, and connects them to an important historical site,” Ontai said. When Mr. Acri asked his class in the fall if they would like to get involved in raising funds for the Memorial, the response was an enthusiastic “yes.” Mr. Acri said, “I felt from Day One that this was a special class. They took this project under their wing, and as one of the students said, I’m just their secretary.” looking back, the students didn’t realize how much work and time would be involved. That didn’t seem to matter as they felt that building the new museum and visitor center was worth the effort. “It helps our future generations of students,” said eighth-grader Mike Dunlin. Mike also said that he had an uncle who was at Pearl Harbor and survived the attack. “He didn’t like to talk about it though, because he had a lot of friends who died.” The students wrote letters to local merchants and at times visited them in person, seeking donations for their raffle. They even hired a caterer for the dinner that was held on May 18, 2005. “We probably sent out about 100 letters asking for donations,” said student Hanna Westberg. Justin Bell, 14, said they got a letter plus several medallions from the Secretary of the Navy, Gordon England. 2 0
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They also received a letter of thanks and a personal check for $20.00 from Hawaii Governor, linda lingle. To learn more about Pearl Harbor, students invited Stratford resident, Mr. Ernest Arroyo, author of the book Pearl Harbor, to their classroom. Mr. Arroyo donated to the class a map of Pearl Harbor, a framed photo of the Arizona Memorial and two signed copies of his book for the school library and for the raffle. He presented to each of the students a gift packet that included brochures from the Arizona Memorial and the Pearl Harbor History Associates, the Pearl Harbor Visitors Guide and the Pearl Harbor Collector’s Card set. Mr. Arroyo said, “If anyone could have had the opportunity to meet these kids at work as I did, to see the dedication, the teamwork, the enthusiasm, one could not help but feel proud to see them in action.” The students created very large folding wallboards depicting stories about some of the ships, the heroes and the military and civilian casualties. “The youngest person to die that day was only three months old,” said Ashley Walter. Vicky Jaser, for example researched Hickam Field, an Army airfield that was also bombed. The panels were used to decorate the school cafeteria to help illustrate the importance of their cause. At the dinner the students were amazing. Big band music from the 40’s was played throughout the festivities to put everyone “In the mood.” As guests arrived, the students greeted them, escorted them to tables, ate with them and were their hosts for the evening. They sold raffle tickets and when it was time for the raffle and awarding the prizes they did an outstanding job. Honored guest for the evening was Pearl Harbor Survivor, Jack Stoeber who was aboard the U.S.S. Whitney, a destroyer tender. The students have learned a great deal about this pivotal part of our nation’s history and of the casualties of that day. “We’ve put a lot into this,” Marayah Otriz said, “but we get something out of it too.” The dinner and raffle was a complete success with the students raising $840.00 for the new Pearl Harbor Memorial Museum and Visitor’s Center. Their teacher, Mr. Acri, said, “It was one of the most memorable events of my teaching career.” To learn more about the effort to rebuild the Pearl Harbor Memorial Visitor Center, please visit the website: www.pearlharbormemorial.com r e m e m b r a n c e
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Embracing Defeat
The Divine Wind
Flags of Our Fathers
Member Polo Shirt
Japan in the Wake of World War II
Japan’s Kamikaze Force in World War II
The Story of the Iwo Jima Flagraising
John W. Dower
Capt. Rikihei Inoguchi and Cdr. Tadashi Nakajima with Roger Pineau
James Bradley with Ron Powers
paperback, $19.95 + shipping & handling
member price $11.90
Available only to members of AMMA, this white cotton polo shirt proudly proclaims your dedication to preserving America’s historic treasures
paperback, $17.95 + shipping & handling
member price $15.26
member price $16.96
paperback, $14.00 + shipping & handling
Small, Medium, Large, XLarge, XXLarge
$25.00 includes shipping/handling
Telephone toll free: 1-888-485-1941 Email: azmemph@hawaii.rr.com r e m e m b r a n c e
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