One last bottle for the 'boys' of the 6th Division (Marines)

The Oregonian ^ | April 1, 2008 | Tom Hallman Jr.

[jazusamo]

SEMPER FI!

By Fredrick D. Joe

World War II Marine veteran Reese Anderson, 84, with
'The Last Man's Bottle,' a bottle of Scotch belonging to Anderson
and the rest of his comrades from the Marine Sixth Division.

[jazusamo]

"THE STRIKING 6th"

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

The 6th Division captured more than two-thirds of Okinawa, which military history accounts said was a strategic jewel. The Marines captured five enemy airfields, two seaplane bases and three anchorages. Control of the island meant that Allied forces controlled the East China Sea and cut off Japanese shipping routes.

Marines killed more than 18,000 Japanese troops, more than had been killed by any Marine division in any other campaign, and captured 3,254 prisoners, also a record, according to historical accounts.

[llevrok]

When the last vet from the 6th dies, that will be the end of the line."

Were it me, I'd pass it along to a present day outfit so the 6th lives on forever (as do all great Marine memories and traditions)

[indcons]

In before jazusamo's ping :)

To all: please ping me to threads that are relevant to the MilHist list (and/or) please add the keyword "MilHist" to the appropriate thread. Thanks in advance.

Please FREEPMAIL indcons if you want on or off the "Military History (MilHist)" ping list.

[jazusamo]

LOL! That was close.

[indcons]

:)

BUMP for good measure

[ConorMacNessa]

Semper Fi, 6th Mardiv!

[colorado tanker]

Okinawa was one long and tough campaign. It was the first time our troops captured territory considered part of Japan proper inhabited by large numbers of Japanese civilians.

The people who say we shouldn't have dropped the bombs need to study Okinawa because it was a preview of the horrors that would have happened if we had to invade the home islands.

[freema]

Beautiful!

[jazusamo]

Absolutely agree, many more would have perished on both sides had we invaded the homeland.

The human rights activists that use the two A-bombs to advance their activism are nuts.

[stylin19a]

More people died as a direct & indirect result of the Battle of Okinawa, than died from 2 A-bombs.

[colorado tanker]

Multiply the American and Japanese military casualties and the Japanese civilian casualties (many of which were suicides) by the ratio of Okinawa's population to the Home Islands and you get some idea of the bloodbath the invasion would have been.

The bombs saved a lot of lives on both sides.

[tubebender]

I attended the funeral of a Navy Vet of WWII today, They are going to Glory every day at a alarming rate. My brother was a member of the 303rd Bomb Group, Hells Angels, who flew out of Molesworth England. He sent me a notice that last year was the last reunion as there are not enough surviving members to sustain it :(

[SouthTexas]

Agreed, we lose far too many every day.

[jazusamo]

Yes, sadly they’re disappearing fast. I had two uncles that were WWII Army vets in Europe that are gone. My FIL went to his last reunion about eight years ago and there were only a few there, Army Ordinance in Europe and he passed away four years ago. I still have one uncle that was Navy in the So Pacific that’s living and I believe he’s 86.

[metesky]

Nice. I once had a couple of hits of fifty year old brandy, at a funeral of course. Real gasoline.

[glock rocks]

God bless them, each and every one.

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you:

1. Jesus Christ
2. The American G. I.

One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

[WestCoastGal]

Wow, How true!

God bless them all. We owe them everything.

[Centurion2000]

"Ask any Marine what the most important, life-changing event was, and he'll say becoming a Marine," Shepard said. "Tradition is important. We conjure up ghosts of the past to remind new Marines that we will not fail. We owe it to the guys who came before. When the last vet from the 6th dies, that will be the end of the line."

Amen to that. Semper Fi.

[MinuteGal]

"He gently touched the display case. 'They were my buddies', he said. 'Now our time is over.'"

Your time and that of your buddies will never be over, Andy, sir. I salute you and thank you and your division's heroes from the bottom of my heart.

Damm, I hate when my screen gets all blurry.

Leni